Some hunters in the area prefer digging coffin-shaped holes in the field; within these they lie on their backs with canvas or camouflage material and a magnum shell decoy concealing them from the radar eyes of incoming geese. This system works very well but creating it is a lot of work (especially if a shovel doesn't fit your hands). Others simply lie on their backs in white parkas (to blend in as snow geese), using sloping rests to keep their shoulders and heads resting comfortably in a prone position. Similar variants exist -- but any system that allows the hunter to blend in with the decoy spread will work.

Hunters should be positioned near the front line of the spread, which is designed like a J-hook duck decoy set or something similar to give the geese a place in which they think they can land, but one close to the hunters, once they are committed and come within shooting range.

One thing I have noticed more and more in recent years is the increased use of flags, especially when black and white flags are mixed. Flagging works, and is especially useful on mornings that see the geese seeming to shy away from sets without them.

When the first flights of geese are seen moving across a field, flagging should begin immediately. Mixing black and white flags rather than using only flags of the same color adds contrast to the sets and seems to attract the birds' attention more quickly.

Flagging is designed only to get the geese's attention. Once they see the waving flags and begin to head toward the blind, it's time to lay the flags down and let the decoys and your calling bring the birds the rest of the way in to you.

Pass-shooting involves positioning yourself on a levee or at a treeline that the geese pass over at both high and low altitudes. Many guides don't like it, but it can enable you to bag a few geese without having to set out decoys.

Generally, pass-shooting is done during the latter part of the morning by hunters who have finished hunting over decoys but still lack some birds to fill their limits. Pass-shooting along levees near fields occupied by hunters over decoys often results in birds being "spooked" by the pass-shooters and often results in low success among those in the fields, so it's easy to understand why some frown on the method.

The gun of choice for most goose hunters is the 12 gauge. I'm no exception, although I've used my 20 gauge to shoot many of them. Shot size should be nothing smaller than No. 2. BB; BBBs are good, too, as are some of the other larger shot-shell pellets. I've hunted with guys who shot 10-gauge shotguns but also have heard their moaning afterwards about their sore shoulders. I prefer a comfortable hunt, and am not all that mad at the geese.

If you're hunting in a group and in a decoy spread, be it with a hunting guide or with just a few buddies, take stock of what any other hunters are doing and where they're positioned before you fire on decoying geese. One person is needed to call the shots so that everyone has an opportunity to take the geese. Many decoying geese have fled the scene untouched after an overeager hunter has fired his shotgun while others still were waiting for someone to yell "Take 'em!" Don't be greedy.

And don't forget the personal gear to take along with you: a camera to record in-the-field photos of your hunt, towel and gun oil for keeping your shotgun and other gear in good shape -- anything that may collect moisture or dirt. A bottle or two of drinking water will come in handy, as will different chokes for your shotgun to address different shooting conditions. All these things should be considered along with rain gear, waders, waterproof boots and facemasks.

Buy the best shot shells available for the conditions under which you plan to hunt. As in dove hunting, inferior shot shells can lead to a lot of missed shots and, unfortunately, a lot of crippled birds.

Once your hunt is over, getting the birds cleaned and on ice as soon as possible should be considered mandatory. The quicker that they're cleaned and iced down, the better that the big birds will taste on the table.