Duck hunters open their season Saturday and the prospects appear good. Mallards are the primary duck in Northern California and, according to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), their numbers are up considerably. Duck season runs through Jan. 28.
The daily bag limit is seven birds, of which all can be mallards. However, the daily limit may include only two mallard hens. The bag limit also can consist of three scaup, two redhead, one canvasback and one pintail. The total birds allowed in the bag limit can only be seven regardless of the combination. Hunters are also reminded that motorized flying wing decoys can”t be used until Dec. 1. However, wind-powered decoys or kites can be used.
The Sacramento Valley is the primary wintering ground for the ducks and geese on the West Coast. Every year thousands of birds make their way down the flyway to the rice fields in the valley. When the waterfowl population reaches its peak in late December, there can be as many as three million ducks and one million geese in the valley. It is one of the largest concentrations of waterfowl in the world.
The Sacramento Valley is crammed with private duck clubs and national wildlife refuges. The private clubs lease for up to $5,000 per person for a two-man blind. This is one area where money talks and the people who have it can find some of the best hunting in the nation.
For the hunter on a budget, there are the state and federal waterfowl refuges. The refuges are open for hunting on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The hunting fee is $14.95 per day, or you buy a two-day pass for $25.45 or a season pass for $117.85. Hunters are also required to purchase federal and state duck stamps. This year the federal stamp costs $15 and the state stamp $14.95.
Junior hunters get in free when accompanied by an adult hunter. The bad news is that the refuges won”t open for hunting until Oct. 28 because of the late rice harvest this year. The DFG delays the opening of the refuges because of the fear that hunters will drive the ducks off the refuges and they will concentrate in the rice fields and eat the rice.
While most of the hunting takes place in the rice fields and on the refuges in the Sacramento Valley, there also will be duck hunters out on Clear Lake for the opener.
Duck hunting is allowed on the lake, however there are some restrictions.
You can”t shoot within 150 yards of an occupied building and you can”t shoot within a half-mile offshore within the city limits of Lakeport and Clearlake. Anderson Marsh as well as the State Park are off limits. Other than that, the lake is pretty much open for duck hunting.
Two favorite areas to hunt are Long Tule Point and Rodman Slough. Most of the hunters use decoys and work off the tule points. The primary duck at Clear Lake is the mallard, but later in the year other species of ducks such as teal, pintail and canvasbacks will migrate to the lake. To reach these areas and to keep from trespassing on private land you need a boat.
Clear Lake hosted a good population of wild ducks at one time, but in the past 10 years the ducks have tended to stay in the Sacramento Valley. Now the duck hunting on the lake is only rated from fair to poor, one reason being the number of bass boats on the lake. On most weekends there is a bass tournament and the ducks don”t like the boats roaring by at 60 mph.
Other lakes in the area also offer decent duck hunting. Indian Valley Reservoir and Lake Pillsbury both have a fair population of ducks.
When it comes to dedication, few hunters are as committed as duck hunters. They think nothing of standing out in a gale with rain pounding down on them, all the time blowing on a duck call in hopes that a duck will fly their way. The strange thing is that many people don”t even like the taste of a wild duck. I”m the exception. To me there is nothing tastier than a fat mallard that”s been slowly cooked on a rotisserie.
