Hi everyone I,m a new water fowler , I don't know much about the ins and outs of the sport . How do you sign up for a Cibola hunt. It was hard enough to do Wister reservations . Think that I did it all right . I have 30 Canada goose decoys , calls , camo ,shells, 50 corn decoys (avery) . Didn't get a ground blind as of yet . Dec's are new with flocked heads . 4 floaters , 3 flyers , 24 half sell birds. Going to get some goose flags also . If my spread can add to your spread let me Know!! I live in the Burbank area . Lets hunt . Thanks Dale
Cibola goose hunting
- Thread starter dhntr48
- Start date
Cibola is in Arizona.....So you need an Arizona license & duck stamp.....There are 2 units.....The Farm & Island....They no longer take ressies.....The Farm Unit is where the honker hunting is done and the Island Unit is mostly ducks with some geese.
Since they got rid of the ressie system, I'm not sure how you get on....Either lotto in the morning or 1st come, 1st served the morning of the hunt.
Cibola NWR........928-857-3253
Since they got rid of the ressie system, I'm not sure how you get on....Either lotto in the morning or 1st come, 1st served the morning of the hunt.
Cibola NWR........928-857-3253
It looks like this year there will be no reservation system. I have not heard what the new refuge manager has planned this year.
Cibola wintered about 3K geese last year so hunting continues to be very poor. It used to be the South Wests best Canada goose hunting (1990's). Keep in mind that there is fierce competition on Farm Unit II with most folks hunting under 10 - 15 dozen full body decoys. Not saying you can't go and get a few geese now and then, it's just tough. And shooting geese that aren't committed to your decoys (20 yards or closer) will get you a quick trip to the parking lot. At least they got the sky busting reeled in. It was bad for a while.
I am going to call the manager tomorrow and will report back.
Cibola wintered about 3K geese last year so hunting continues to be very poor. It used to be the South Wests best Canada goose hunting (1990's). Keep in mind that there is fierce competition on Farm Unit II with most folks hunting under 10 - 15 dozen full body decoys. Not saying you can't go and get a few geese now and then, it's just tough. And shooting geese that aren't committed to your decoys (20 yards or closer) will get you a quick trip to the parking lot. At least they got the sky busting reeled in. It was bad for a while.
I am going to call the manager tomorrow and will report back.
I hunted there two years ago. NBK is correct regarding the Farm land unit. People pull up with trailers full of full body decoys and they ARE NOT friendly. I went the day before my hunting reservation to scout out the area and talk to the refuge manager about where I had to be in the morning and if I need anything specific. I was told to meet at the office in morning and the blind draw would happen there. Well sure enough the office doesn't mean the refuge office it means the little wooden shack on the Farm Unit. So I got there a couple minutes late because of that and all the guys there told me I lost my #2 picking spot and I am now last. Every hunter there refused to let me know what was going on because they knew the longer it took me to get my form filled out the more chances that they could pick in front of me which is exactly what happened. #2 spot turned into last spot. Ill tell you what, never met a bigger bunch of A-holes in my life even the refuge manager. In the end the geese flew no where near the field all day and no one even took a shot. I would avoid this place at all costs until the geese numbers begin to rise.
After the bad experience we had on the Farm unit we decided to do some varmit hunting getting coyote and racoon. The place is littered with wildlife including deer on the arizona side. Bring a fishing pole as well because they have some bass fishing there. All and all the place is worth checking out but I would go to do some jump shooting and hunt other species rather than drag a trailer full of decoys for the off chance you can get some geese to commit (the no sky busting is heavily emphasized and enforced).
After the bad experience we had on the Farm unit we decided to do some varmit hunting getting coyote and racoon. The place is littered with wildlife including deer on the arizona side. Bring a fishing pole as well because they have some bass fishing there. All and all the place is worth checking out but I would go to do some jump shooting and hunt other species rather than drag a trailer full of decoys for the off chance you can get some geese to commit (the no sky busting is heavily emphasized and enforced).
The Farm Unit has been garbage for years. I bet they are only successful on days when new birds arrive. After that, it's like watching the Goose Parade from roost to feed, by-passing most hunt-able spots. It all depends on the holding ponds. If they are full of water, the honky tonks will stay on the refuge after the morning flight from Cibola Lake. Those ponds were implemented to keep the geese on the refuge, the refuge manager at the time felt like they were his geese and wanted to make hunting very difficult....he succeeded.
Don't get me wrong, if you're at the right place at the right time, you can be done on a single flight of birds. But now a days, the right time is like a full star alignment...new birds, right place, right wind, no bozos next to you, good decoys, good calling,,,,yada yada yada...
Cibola actually has some CA areas to hunt, but yo need to know where you are. The Fed wardens are an extra cocky bunch...
If you want to shoot some honks there, I would look into the Cibola Sportsmans Club for a guided shoot to get a feel for it. Not sure is they still do guided hunts??
BTW, you're going to want some quality Full Body decoys or good floaters, I wouldn't waste the effort with shells or silos there...
Good luck!
Don't get me wrong, if you're at the right place at the right time, you can be done on a single flight of birds. But now a days, the right time is like a full star alignment...new birds, right place, right wind, no bozos next to you, good decoys, good calling,,,,yada yada yada...
Cibola actually has some CA areas to hunt, but yo need to know where you are. The Fed wardens are an extra cocky bunch...
If you want to shoot some honks there, I would look into the Cibola Sportsmans Club for a guided shoot to get a feel for it. Not sure is they still do guided hunts??
BTW, you're going to want some quality Full Body decoys or good floaters, I wouldn't waste the effort with shells or silos there...
Good luck!
dhntr48 said:
No White goose (snows/ross/ blues) shooting! Dark goose (Canada Honker, speck) yes!