He recommends that clients use a 12-gauge loaded with No. 4 non-toxic shot. In an effort to minimize wounded birds, he likes to hold fire until the birds are within 15 or 20 yards. Mike loves to call the birds, but warns against calling too frequently. He believes that over the season's duration, the birds actually learn his call and those educated birds will flare when they hear it.

Curt Welch, of Special Moments Guide Service, hunts public lands and offers what he calls the "sagebrush hunt." He sets up in the sage and the rocks, intending to get a south wind driving birds to him. He'll put out 6 or 12 shell decoys or 3 or 4 floaters in a bit of green grass to bring down the birds.

To get the attention of high flyers, a few shakes of a goose flag does the trick. On calling birds, Welch firmly believes that "silence is golden." "If the birds are interested, then they'll come in. If not, they won't," he said.

So he rarely calls. Like Franklin, he notices that late-season birds get smart and are more likely to flare when called.

Welch warns boaters to remember that the mid-Columbia River is subject to daily water-level fluctuations, by as much as 10 feet in some cases because of diurnal power demands. It pays to keep an eye on the river to make sure you can get back to the boat launch.

Whether you favor a saltwater marsh, a freshwater slough or desert sagebrush goose hunt, the Columbia River has something for every hunter. l

Find more about Washington-Oregon fishing and hunting at: WOgameandfish.com