Duck hunters kick off their season Saturday and from all indications it should be a good one. In fact, hundreds of ducks and geese are already on their wintering grounds in the Sacramento Valley while others are streaming in daily.
The daily duck limit is seven and can consist of seven mallards, of which only two can be hens. The limit can also have one pintail and two canvasbacks. Hunters are advised that the total ducks allowed in the daily limit is seven, regardless of the species. The possession limit for ducks is three times the daily limit. The goose daily limit is 20 snow geese and 10 dark geese. The possession limit is three times the daily limit. That means a hunter on a three-day trip can bring home 90 geese and 21 ducks.
While most of the hunting takes place in the rice fields and on the refuges in the Sacramento Valley, duck hunters can hunt at Clear Lake for the opener. Clear Lake is popular with duck hunters from throughout the North Coast. A lot of people don’t know it is legal to hunt ducks and geese on Clear Lake with some restrictions, including no shooting within 150 yards of an occupied building.
Hunters are also encouraged to stay away from the shorelines where there are homes. Nothing upsets a lakeside homeowner more than having a hunter blasting away at ducks even though he’s the legal 150 yards away. Hunting is also not allowed within the confines of the Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh. Other than that, the lake is pretty much open for duck hunting. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) game wardens will be out on the lake checking hunters.
Two favorite areas are Long Tule Point and Rodman Slough. This year because of the drought Rodman Slough is dry and boats can’t get into the 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 migrate to the lake. There is also a good population of Canada geese on the lake.
Other lakes
Other lakes in the area also offer duck hunting. Indian Valley Reservoir and Lake Pillsbury both have a good population of ducks. The ramp at Indian Valley Reservoir is out of the water but kayaks can be launched.
Wildlife refuges
For hunters who don’t care to hunt on Clear Lake and can’t afford the $2,000 or so that it takes to belong to a private duck club, you can try one of several refuges in the Sacramento Valley that allow hunting. The refuges are open for hunting on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
There are two methods of hunting the refuges. One is to apply for a reservation and the other is get in what is called the “sweat line.” To apply for a reservation, you have to obtain an application from a license agent and submit it, listing the day you want to hunt. If your name is drawn, you can take a hunting buddy with you. Each refuge has a daily hunter capacity and hunters with reservations are allowed on first.
If there aren’t enough hunters with reservations, then hunters are taken from the sweat line until the hunter capacity is reached. Also, when a hunter is done hunting on the refuge another from the sweat line is allowed to hunt.
Most of the refuges offer hunting as good as the most expensive private duck clubs and at a fraction of the cost. A one-day pass costs only $23.76, a two-day pass is $37.10, and a season pass is $162.30. In addition to a California hunting license, waterfowl hunters are also required to have both a state duck stamp and a federal duck stamp.
The federal refuges in the valley are Sacramento, Colusa, Delevan and Sutter. The state wildlife areas are Gray Lodge and Upper Butte Basin. Each has a different hunter quota. Sacramento has a daily quota of 259, Colusa’s is 80, Delevan allows 172 hunters and Sutter 80.
Sacramento and Delevan offer blinds, but hunters must furnish their own decoys. At Colusa and Sutter, hunters can free roam and place their decoys wherever they want.
The Colusa Refuge is especially popular with hunters. This area holds a lot of quality ducks such as mallards and pintails. It is also a small refuge and has excellent flooded fields and ponds. The other good news is it is only an hour’s drive from Lake County.
