Trending
Because the approaching Labor Day weekend attracts anglers, boaters, and hunters to the same waters, the need for cooperation, courtesy, and safety is important.
Weather and water conditions permitting, a long holiday weekend brings people together when what they looked forward to was solitude. Solitude can still be enjoyed, but you will need to select the right places. Even then, you might encounter a Canada goose hunter who thought that he'd found a place off the beaten track.
Hunting for Canada geese opened statewide Sept. 1, as did hunting for mourning doves. Geese are found on rivers, large streams, and lakes and are hunted during the September Canada goose season from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. This hunting season for geese brings hunters to some of the same places used by boaters and fishers during September's pleasant weather.
Anglers and boaters can easily avoid entering each other's space by moving at least a short distance. If you see a kid fishing for panfish at the best fishing spot, why not let the youngster try his luck without disturbing him? After all, he was there first. It's a matter of courtesy.
The same applies to hunters who arrive first. Goose hunters usually place decoys on the water before sunrise. They then hide in blinds on shore or on an island. Flying geese that see the decoys and hear hunters call like geese may fly toward the decoys. If geese fly close enough to the blinds, hunters will shoot.
Hunting geese safely requires shooters to be aware of the approach of boaters, canoeists, and kayakers. Depending on the time of day and the weather, these people can be hard to see on the water. They have the right to be there. It is the hunter's responsibility to shoot safely.
The best goose hunting in September is usually early in the morning. That is when anglers and boaters are most likely to encounter decoys on the water. If you are fishing and boating and see decoys, look for blinds with hunters to be close by. A blind could be on land, or a camouflaged boat could serve as a blind. Hunters deserve to be there, provided the location is open to hunting.
A goose hunter could own a watercraft that is used specifically for hunting. Most hunters also use their watercraft for fishing or recreational boating. Doing so, they get their money's worth from the vessel.
Goose hunters who do not hunt at water may instead place decoys in an open field that geese fly to and land to feed. A local flock of geese may feed at the same field repeatedly and will return unless spooked by hunters, in which case the geese find other places to feed. They might return to a vacated field later in the year.
Geese found here in September are resident geese that stay year-round.
To hunt geese, you need decoys that are bought until eventually you own as many as you believe are needed. Places to hunt include the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers, along with large lakes open to hunting. These and other waters are apt to be hunted during Labor Day weekend, but not on Sunday when waterfowl hunting is prohibited.
To hunt geese and other waterfowl nationwide, you are required to use non-toxic ammunition. Ammunition that contains toxic lead shot (tiny pellets) is illegal. Commonly used non-toxic ammunition contains shot made with steel, bismuth, or tungsten. When the latter substances fall to the ground or into water, they do not cause lead poisoning if ingested by feeding waterfowl.
A goose hunter is required to have a general hunting license, a migratory game bird license, and a federal duck stamp. For an adult age 17 and older, the total cost to hunt geese is $55.91. With these three licenses, a hunter also may hunt other waterfowl, such as ducks, when duck seasons are open later.
Pennsylvania has two different zones for goose hunting. One is our local Resident Goose Population Zone, and the other in the southeastern corner of the commonwealth is the Atlantic Population Zone. The local zone has four separate goose hunting seasons; the first season lasts from September 1 through September 25. In this season, the daily bag limit is eight geese, with 24 geese being the possession limit.
When you consider that there are four local goose hunting seasons in 2026-27 and the final season remains open through Feb. 20, a hunter with licenses, decoys, and ammunition has ample opportunities to go afield. It will be necessary, of course, to own warm clothing for hunts in December, January, and February.
Keep in mind that starting Nov. 1, all boaters, including waterfowl hunters and anglers, are required to wear a life jacket through next April.
If you are wading instead of boating and place goose or duck decoys in the water in any season of the year, consider wearing a life jacket for safety. What appears to be shallow water may have hazardous drop-offs or channels that are hidden from view.
Lakes and waterways on Labor Day weekend typically are still warm. Rain could change that somewhat. Creeks have been low all summer and, like rivers and groundwater, need rain. If it rains and rivers become cloudy and higher for the holiday, anglers can focus on catching channel catfish or flathead catfish as opposed to smallmouth bass. With live bait such as river chubs or crawdads, you could catch catfish or bass.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission eliminated their deputy game warden and deputy waterways conservation officer programs effective Sept. 1. That change caught us by surprise. Both commissions now rely only on their full-time, professional wardens and officers.
In recent years, wardens, officers, and their deputies had extra work during Labor Day weekend when hunters hunted early-season doves and Canada geese and anglers and boaters used rivers and lakes. As everyone knows, a full-time warden and a full-time officer can be at only one place at a time. We and the two wildlife agencies will learn over time whether closing the deputy program was the right decision.
Meanwhile, anglers, boaters, and hunters are on their honor to do what is right.