Smith has also gone to hunting blues and snows over fewer decoys. Rather than spend all morning setting out 500 to 1,000 decoys, he only sets up 50 to 100. The key to using so few is making sure to put them in the right spot.

If you're hunting a field in which the geese are feeding, all you've got to do is show them where you want them to light and put them in your lap," Smith said. "Get out there and find some geese before they go to roost.

"Go back to that field the next morning and set out those 50 to 100 decoys where you want them to land. It's like I always tell people: If you're having a hard time finding me, find out where my breakfast table is --because you can bet I'll be there the next morning."

TRUE GRIT
While all these tactics can help you kill more geese these days, there's another tip that could help you succeed. Hunters who have large tracts of land can manage that land as a grit pile.

"It's getting more and more popular," said Rue. "Pile up some sand with heavy grit in the fields near your blinds. Geese need that grit for their gizzards, and hunting a grit pile is the closest thing to bait that you've ever seen. You can't establish a grit pile hunting it every day, though -- you've got to be able to rest it so the geese can get their grit without being shot at all the time."

Grit piles take some time and effort to establish, and they can get costly, but for hunters with big tracts of property, it can help them kill more of these geese that seem to be getting older and wiser by the season.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Contact Erik Rue at (337) 598-4700 or www.calcasieucharters.com. David Smith is at (337) 546-6492 or www.davidsmithhunting.com.

Find more about Louisiana fishing and hunting at: LAgameandfish.com