World-class honkers is central Illinois

[aunt betty]

If you're into hunting giant Canada geese you might want to pay attention to this one.

It's not that well-known but when the Sangamon River in Illinois floods in Late-December like it is now it gets epic. Combine that with the snowstorm in the west that's going to pretty well end before it gets this far east ALONG with the layer of ice that is getting put down to the north today...THERE WILL BE HONKERS! The ice ends at Champaign County...

Champaign Couty...just go and start pounding on doors tonight if you can !!!

THEY ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Champaign County is a "bowl". The weather tends to skirt around us and this year...all we need is a storm to the south and we're surrounded. The geese funnel in and OMG...

In two days I'm leaving the state and the geese. Y'all can have em all.

[quackhead]

Well, how'd it turn out?

[aunt betty]

Well, how'd it turn out?

Don't know. I went to arkansas. Quit chasing the honkers years ago. Laying on frozen ground when it's 12 degrees....that's canada goose hunting.

[gock5]

There's a lot of them around...been that way for the past 2 weeks or so.

[aunt betty]

There's a lot of them around...been that way for the past 2 weeks or so.

I know I could kill two a day but...I'd be sneakin and shooting them off borrow pits like I did as a kid. Back then nobody cared.
Try it now...I'd end up with 21 points and a big lawyer bill.
I'm pretty much done with geese. Too expensive to do it the right way. Permission !?!?! lol

I kind of recall noticing when everyone had cell phones meant "no more railroad tracks hunting, no more sneak-hunts in the fog, no more LOTTA STUFF I DID". Dang the old days were cool. I had an entire township to hunt with permission. (that's 100 square miles) Those days are over and have been since the 1990's.

Imagine walking out of a small Illinois town with your buddy, hunting the first field that's on the edge of town, then jumping on the tracks, walk til you see a ditch that looks good...decide we'll head that way a while. Hunt all day like that and at sunset make a bee line across the fields back to the house. (or call our girl friends to come and get us). We'd stash birds and rabbits all over and drive to get em.