Rice, water and geese: That's the combination that brings waterfowl hunters to the coastal rice prairies east and west of Houston every year, and the 2008-09 season is shaping up to be another good one.

Specklebellies and snows are the name of the game there, especially early in the season, but hunters shouldn't overlook the flocks of Canada geese that generally arrive in the marshes and prairies later in the season.

Hunters also are looking for bag limits similar to those in force last year, when they were allowed to take three Canadas and two specklebellies along with their 20 snow geese per day.

"Large numbers of specks and snows have been showing up really early for the last three years," said Bruce Sturbin of Houston, a veteran goose hunter, "and that isn't the way it used to be. Several years ago, we saw more birds arriving as the season progressed, but we've been seeing a lot of big bunches of birds coming down early ever since the 2006 season."

Although many geese, as well as ducks, appear to have short-stopped their migratory flights and are not traveling all the way down the Central Flyway in recent years, large concentrations of specklebellies, snows and Canadas continue to provide great waterfowling action along the Texas Coast. Also, goose hunters are waiting to see if this summer's flooding in the Midwest that wiped out many corn crops doesn't help push more geese and other waterfowl farther down the Central Flyway -- and quicker.

As the bag limits indicate, specklebellies and Canadas are the easiest to decoy. Snows and blues (the same species but with differing color characteristics) typically are more wary, except for the juveniles. They all are fun to hunt and any of those three major goose species are welcomed sights when decoying to a spread.

The key to finding the best spots is finding rice fields with water and that has a lot to do with weather conditions. Nevertheless, the I-10 corridor from Houston eastward to Orange as well as the rice fields west of Houston near Wharton and El Campo and northward to Eagle Lake are typical goose hunting hotspots that aren't expected to change. Even though rice crops in some of those areas have diminished in recent years as a result of changing land-use practices, the area continues to attract geese in decent numbers.

One hunting outfit -- recognized as the oldest goose-hunting outfit in Texas -- is at Eagle Lake. There, current outfitter Clifton Tyler's father, Marvin Tyler, hosted TV star Andy Griffith and golfer Sam Snead during an American Sportsman video hunt in 1970. That show helped give Eagle Lake its title of "Goose Hunting Capital of the World." It also launched the beginning of a new era, and new thinking on how to hunt geese.

Many goose-hunting guides who can provide excellent opportunities are to be found throughout the Houston east-to-west area. They pre-scout their fields every afternoon to find where the birds are feeding, have all the needed decoys and other equipment to get hunters into the fields before daybreak the morning of the hunt, and most clean and package the birds afterward.

Some fields may be leased by individuals or groups of hunters, but be aware that most of the best fields are already owned or have been leased by hunting outfitters. The majority of them will offer great services with experienced guides.

Last year's abundant rains provided lots of water for ducks and geese all along the Texas Coast, and that resulted in fewer hotspots, because the birds were spread out over a larger area than is normal. Also, adult snows appeared to outnumber juveniles substantially -- never good in a hunting situation. As a result, many hunting guides focusing on snows were forced to scratch their heads in an attempt to find ways to outsmart the older birds.

One method that Sturbin tried -- and that that worked for his hunting group, which leases fields just east of Houston -- was to set out larger spreads of decoys than usual. "We set out some spreads with as many as 400 rag, silhouette, and shell decoys," he said, "with most of them specklebellies and snows, but also with mallard, pintail and teal duck decoys. Those spreads worked really well, and we are planning on doing it again this year.

"It's a lot of work setting out that many decoys, but we want to shoot geese. And sometimes you have to work a little harder to make it a better hunt."