When the bad weather hits, the birds will sit tight in protected areas, often laying low on the windward side of points and islands on open water. As the weather clears, the hungry birds will resume their outbound flights to nearby grain fields, where hunters can enjoy excellent shooting.

Low-visibility conditions brought on by fog, snow, light rain and the like can put birds within easy shooting range. Even though ducks and geese have excellent eyesight, they can't see well through swirling snow and rolling fog. Field-hunters would be well advised to take advantage of inclement weather.

For more information contact the Rice Lake Management Unit at (641) 324-2431.

Rice Lake isn't the only area in Winnebago County that has good waterfowl hunting though. "We have about 6,500 acres of state, federal and county wildlife areas open to public hunting in the county," remarked Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Winnebago County Conservation Board in Forest City. These include the Myre Slough (540 acres), Hogsback Marsh (738 acres) and the Good Neighbors Marsh (309 acres).

"Goose production looks good on both county and state wetlands in the area," Schwartz said, "though geese that nested along the Winnebago River lost nests due to high water from heavy rains earlier this spring."

Find more about Iowa fishing and hunting at: IowaGameandFish.com