Pioneer of the Prairie

 By Wayne Waldrop

 There are many people who can be given credit for pioneering our hunting heritage into what it is today. There have been pioneers in the development of modern firearms and archery equipment, ammunitition, game calls, decoys, conservation practices and many other innovations that have led to hunting as we know it today.

But when it comes to snow goose hunting, no one can be given more credit for being a pioneer than Marvin Tyler, He shot his first snow goose in 1950. Only four yers later, in 1954, he made his mark in history by developing and using the first "Texas Rag Spread." His new concept revolutionized snow goose hunting into what it is today.

Up until that time some of the local residents of Eagle Lake, Texas, had duck ponds with blinds and would shoot geese if they happened to fly over their duck blinds. To actually hunt geese, they would wait for a foggy or windy morning and lay in wait for geese to fly over low enough for them to shoot. At that time, the only goose decoys that were available were the full-bodied decoys. None of the hunters in the area could afford them and had to resort to pass shooting or ambushing.

As an avid hunter who preferred to hunt waterfowl that were working decoys and coming into the call, Marvin Tyler constantly looked for a better, easier and more affordable way to hunt snow geese. He had heard that the natives in Canada used the white wings taken from snow geese for decoys. This gave him the idea to try using white tablecloths from his restaurant for decoys. He tried this approach and found that it worked. This gave Tyler a free source for his snow goose decoys. However, when the company that provided linen for Tyler's restaurant came to pick up the dirty linen, they were not happy to find that it was muddy and had rice straw falling out of it. Tyler's linen service suggested that he start using torn bed sheets. They were able to supply him with the sheets at very affordable prices. This was the birth of the Texas rag spread and made Eagle Lake, Texas, "The Snow Goose Capital Of The World." 

The very next year, in 1955, Marvin began taking paying hunters on snow goose hunts. The hunters would meet Marvin at his restaurant and he would take them to rice fields that already had rag spreads put in place, waiting for them. At that time, a guide was no more than someone who knew where the rag spreads were located. Sometimes a guide would stay with the hunters, and sometimes the guide would ride around checking on the other hunting parties he had taken out that morning.

In the beginning, Marvin's business was slow. But, it did provide good extra income for his family. Even though the hunting was good and the number of geese in the area was impressive, the news of this was slow to get out. For the remainder of the 1950's and throughout the 1960's, Tyler's business continued to grow, as did the snow goose hunting in the Eagle Lake area. With help from local and state outdoor writers, the word began to get out and several other guide services began operating in the area. The fledgling snow goose hunting industry was able to survive with customers from Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and some occasional out-of-state hunters who accidentally found out about the great snow goose hunting that was available in Eagle Lake. 

Suddenly, in 1970, something happened that put snow goose hunting and Eagle Lake, Texas, on the maps of every waterfowl hunter in the country. ABS contacted Marvin about hosting a group of hunters to film a snow goose show. The show was for their "American Sportsman" series, which was hosted by Curt Goudy and aired on Sunday afternoons. At the time, Marvin had no idea how much of an impact that one television show would have on his business and the future of snow goose hunting in the Texas prairie rice region.

Goudy, along with his guest hosts, Andy Griffith and Sam Snead, arrived in Eagle Lake, Texas, with a complete film crew. They hunted with Marvin and his son, Clifton, for 5 days. Griffith and Snead hunted with them for 4 days and shot a limit of geese each day. On the fifth day, Marvin took the film crew on a pass shoot in a driving rainstorm. They took 60 geese in less than an hour. All of the action from 5 days was condensed into a 12-minute episode that aired in 1971. The exposure from this single television show doubled Tyler's business in 1972. Then, in 1973, Tyler's business tripled. In only 2 short years, Tyler increased his operation from 8 guides taking hunters on 10,000 acres up to an unbelievable 100,000 acres and 25 guides.

For 20 years, all of the snow goose guides and their hunters had been struggling to lug more than 1,000 of the heavy and bulky white rags out to the middle of the wet and muddy rice fields and set out their rag spreads every morning. In order to be ready to hunt by legal shooting time, they had to get all of this done in the darkness. You can imagine what a difficult job this was when the rags were dry. Now, try to imagine how much more difficult it was to carry the rags out of the field when they were wet and muddy. And, of course, they also had to get all of their snow geese out of the field. With 25 guides, each using spreads of 1,000 rags or more, imagine the laundry operation Tyler's operation required. Tyler normally had 5 washers and dryers running around the clock for the entire hunting season. After 20 years of this labor-intensive hunting method, Tyler's operation was responsible for the next major innovation in the snow goose hunting industry, the white plastic rags.

In 1973, one of Tyler's guides had the idea of replacing the heavy white cloth rags with pieces of white plastic. The white plastic was much lighter and less bulky than the cloth. Not only was this much easier, it was much less expensive. They bought rolls of Dupont's white plastic banquet "cloth." It came in rolls that were 300' long and 40" wide. They cut it into 40" by 40" squares and made the perfect goose rag. Weighing only 1/10th as much as the cloth rags, one guide was able to easily carry 500 goose rags into the field.

As a true pioneer, Marvin Tyler left a legacy with the "Texas Rag Spread" that will continue as long as sportsmen continue in our pursuit of snow geese. Marvin's legacy also continues through his son, Clifton Tyler.

Clifton began hunting with his father at the early age of 6, even though he didn't begin shooting until he was 8. He became an avid waterfowler and worked for his father guiding hunters. In 1975, he began his own goose hunting club, "Clifton Tyler's Goose Hunting", which is still in operation today. Clifton is very much like his father was. He is an honest, straight-shooter who does everything with honor, character and integrity. His number one priority is to take care of his customers. Clifton's philosophy on choosing a guide service demonstrates his honesty and is insightful. 

"Killing a lot of game or getting a limit cannot be guaranteed by anyone. There are just too many variables to control," he said. "You should be guaranteed a competent, knowledgeable, courteous guide and good location to hunt, affording you a reasonable opportunity for a good hunt. The best source for information about this is from a reference who has hunted with a particular hunting club. Ultimately your decision with whom to hunt will rest with that first phone call you make to the hunting club. Look for some key red flags. If he promises great hunting or limit kills, that's a red flag. If he brags about his club being the best in the area, that's another red flag. If a guide or operator brags about what a great shooter he is, that's a red flag. You don't want a guide who shoots geese for you. An excellent question for the club owner is 'do your guide's shoot?' If it is an established, successful club, the guides will not shoot. My guides will not shoot unless the guest request that he does so. A waterfowl guide's job is to get birds within range for his guest, not to shoot birds for them.

  Snow goose hunting in Texas is a phenomenon that every waterfowl hunter should experience, and there is no place better than Eagle Lake, Texas. And there is no better outfitter to hunt with than Clifton Tyler, the son of the man who developed the "Texas Rag Spread." Eagle Lake is only an hour and half west of Houston. With proper planning, air fares and rental cars can be very reasonable. Texas nonresident hunting licenses are a bargain at $45.00 for 5 days. Plus the birds are plentiful, and the limits are liberal.

Clifton very honestly states, "I can not guarantee you a lot of shooting, but I will guarantee an enjoyable experience. I have a humble but very clean lodge. We prepare 3 home-cooked meals every day. The guides visit with our guest each evening. If you wish, you may cook you own meals. We have two bungalows with complete kitchens and outdoor bar-b-que grills. We offer complimentary skeet shooting from 4:00 pm until dark. Our guides will escort you to our picking station after your hunt and check-in your birds for you. Your birds will be processed, frozen and held for you until your departure."

If you are interested in experiencing snow goose hunting in the Texas rice prairie region, you should speak with Clifton Tyler before you book a hunt. Clifton can be reached by phone at his office (979) 732-6502 or on his cell phone at (979) 732-0852. You can also visit his website at: www.texasgoosehunt.com or email Clifton Tyler Goose Hunting at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it