Canada Goose Hunting Tips and Words of Wisdom from Mike Cornu

Full transcript for Episode 44: Canada Goose Hunting Tips and Words of Wisdom from Mike Cornu.

Tyce

Hey folks, welcome to the Bird Dog Podcast. I've got my good friend Mike Cornu on the show today. We literally just finished a Canada goose hunt — Mike put us on the X and we shot a two-man limit in about 20 minutes. He's one of the most dialed-in waterfowl and upland hunters I know, and he's been at it for a long time. Mike, tell everyone a little bit about yourself.

Mike

Moved to Park City from Delaware as a ski bum at 19 — that was about 50 years ago. Grew up in a family that hunted. My grandfather hunted in Canada — grouse and woodcock with Brittany Spaniels. My father was a bird hunter too. We moved around quite a bit as kids, so I didn't hunt much for a while. But once I settled in Utah, started a couple businesses, retired five years ago — now it's a serious pursuit. I travel from Canada to Texas to Maryland chasing green heads, Canada geese, roosters, grouse, turkeys, you name it.

Tyce

You've had some great dogs over the years. Take us through that.

Mike

My first real bird dog was Woody, a golden retriever. Great nose — phenomenal cripple dog. I remember telling people: if you hit a rooster and he's down in the field, just sit on a stump. Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes later, Woody would come back with the bird. It was uncanny. After Woody I went through several black Labs over the years — some better than others. One had Crohn's disease and had to be rehomed to a vet tech. They were all good functional dogs, but I didn't really know what level a well-trained dog could reach.

About a year and a half ago I connected with Tyce and got Cobb — a pointing Lab out of Stealth Point Kennels, Bo Allen up in Wyoming. Bo was a real believer in the switch-on, switch-off Lab — upland and waterfowl versatility. I got Cobb as a puppy, did some obedience with a local trainer, then got him to Tyce for force fetch and steadiness. We put a Senior Hunter title on him. And I'll say this: I spent 40 years hunting without a dog that could handle, and when Tyce showed me what Cobb could do in the field — whistle stop, directional casts, a blind retrieve across the river — I was genuinely blown away. I looked back at all those years and thought, what was I doing? Get a dog to that level if you can. It changes the game completely.

Tyce

Let's talk about how you approach Canada goose hunting. This morning was a perfect example — walk us through your thinking from start to finish.

Mike

Scouting is everything. I found this field on Tuesday — a triticale field, late season Canadas, 250 to 300 birds working it. I knew the flight time was around 8:00 to 8:05 AM. Today is Thursday, and the farmer's wife confirmed they came back yesterday. That's the first rule: find the X, confirm the birds are still on it, and don't disturb the field until you're ready to hunt.

The second rule is get in and get out. We shot our limit in 20 minutes, picked up fast, and left. The rest of the flock didn't even know what happened — they kept coming into the field after we were gone. If you sit there and keep shooting until the birds are gone, you burn the spot. But if you pop the front of a group and disappear, they'll come back. I've hunted fields like this for 40 years. Same farmer, same ground. That relationship and that restraint is worth more than one big day.

Tyce

Tell us about the decoy setup this morning — it was simple but it worked perfectly.

Mike

18 full bodies. That's it. Late season, edge hunt — we couldn't hide in the middle of the field, so we got on the edge and built a kosher blind. Kosher is that dried tumbleweed-type brush — it stacks perfectly, looks exactly like the field edge, and the geese don't look twice at it. Cobb was in his blind right next to me.

For the decoys: I think in family groups. Watch geese in a field with binoculars — they're not bunched together in a blob. They're in loose clusters, pairs, groups of four to six, with some space between them. That's how I set them up. I put 30% of the decoys to the birds' approach side, 70% on the far side, with an open landing hole in the middle. The idea is they want to come join the group — they finish into the gap. My furthest decoy was 30 yards out. I pace it so I know the distance. A decoying bird at 30 yards is a dead bird.

I always put one sentinel — an upright gander — watching over a family group. And I put a couple "walkers" right in the landing zone, around 15 to 20 yards out, as if two birds just touched down and are walking toward the feed. Those walkers are what pull birds those last few yards. For a middle-of-field hunt, I'll run a V with me at the base, family groups spread naturally around the V, and decoys behind me on windy days when birds want to land into the spread from the back.

Wind at your back, always. Birds land into the wind. If you can set up with wind behind you, they're coming right at your face. Five to ten miles per hour is ideal — it holds them in the air a little longer and gives you better shots. No wind is actually harder because birds can come from any angle.

Tyce

Calling?

Mike

Minimal. Canada geese aren't snow geese — you don't black-hole them in with a wall of sound. I might cluck once or twice to coax a group that's hesitating on the final turn. This morning I called once on one group. That's it. No flagging. I had a remote-controlled wing flapper in the spread and used it twice, but honestly we didn't need it. Quiet, still, patient. Let the decoys do the work.

Tyce

Any advice for someone who wants to start hunting Canada geese seriously?

Mike

Spend time watching them before you hunt them. Binoculars, a field they're working, an hour of observation. How do they come in? How do they use wind? Where does the family group sit in relation to the field? That education is worth more than any gear you could buy. Find the X. Confirm it. Get in, shoot your limit, get out. Don't burn your spots. And get a dog that can handle — if you hit a cripple and it walks 200 yards into a ditch, a handling dog goes and gets it and comes back. That bird doesn't get wasted.

Tyce

Mike, thanks for having me out this morning and for coming on the show. Great conversation and a great hunt.

Mike

Thanks Tyce. Anytime.