Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Info > California Report > California Varmint Hunting

California Varmint Hunting

2007- 2008 Hunting Season

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS: You must possess a California hunting license to hunt varmints in California. You must possess bobcat tags also to hunt bobcats.The cost of a hunting license is:

Annual resident $37.30
Junior annual resident hunting license is $9.70.
Non resident annual hunting license is $129.40
Two-Day Nonresident license, age 16 and over (not valid for big game) $37.30
Reduced Fee, Disabled Veteran $5.75.
Duplicate Hunting License $6.30.
Hunter Education Stamp is $3.75.

The California hunting license is good from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. California resident and nonresident hunting licenses are nonrefundable and nontransferable.

Definition of Resident. A resident is defined as any person who has resided continuously in California for six months immediately before the date of application for a license, tag or permit; persons on active duty with the armed forces of the United States or an auxiliary branch; or Job Corps enrollees.

Disabled Veteran Hunting Licenses. A $5.75 hunting license is available for qualified disabled veterans. To be eligible, applicants must submit: (1) a letter from the Veterans Administration verifying that the applicant has a 70 percent or greater service-connected disability and was honorably discharged from the United States armed forces; and (2) evidence of meeting California hunter education requirements. Applicants renewing this license may submit their disabled veteran hunting license from the previous year as proof of meeting eligibility requirements. The reduced-fee provisions do not apply to hunting tags or species stamps. Disabled Veteran Hunting Licenses are issued only through DFG Offices.

Hunter Education Special Requirement. Hunting licenses shall be issued to hunters only upon presentation of one of the following:

An annual California hunting license from a prior year or evidence of having held such a license; a California hunter education completion or equivalency certificate; a certificate of competence or completion of a California approved hunter education training course from any state or Canadian province; or a current year hunting license from any state, province, European country or South Africa. For further information, contact any DFG office or license agent. A California hunter education validation stamp must be affixed to hunter education certificates from California.

BOBCAT SEASON

October 15th 2007 to February 28th 2008 with a hunting license.

November 24th 2007 to January 31st 2008 with a trapping license.

Tags are only available from DFG offices and are $9.50 for 5 tags. Bag and possession limit is 5 bobcats per season.

Recorded or electronically amplified bird or mammal calls may not be used to take any nongame bird or mammal except, coyotes, bobcats, American crows and starlings.

BADGER SEASON is November 16th 2007 to February 28th 2008. There is no bag or possession limit.

GRAY FOX SEASON is November 24th 2007 to February 28th 2008. There is no bag or possession limit.

DESERT KIT FOX, FISHER, MARTIN, RIVER OTTER AND RED FOX may not be taken at any time.

WOLVERINE, SAN JUAQUIN KIT FOX, ISLAND FOX AND RINGTAIL are classified as either threatened and/or fully protected species and may not be taken at any time.

MUSKRAT AND MINK season is November 16th 2007 to March 31st 2008 statewide. There is no bag or possession limit.

BEAVER season and Area: November 1 2007 through March 31 2008 in the counties of Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Nevada (except Sagehen Creek), Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba; and those portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties within 10 miles of the Arizona-California border. (This regulation supersedes Section 4001 of the Fish and Game Code.)

Bag and Possession Limit: There is no bag or possession limit in these areas for the taking of beaver.

(b) Beaver or any part thereof may not be taken in the balance of the state including the counties of Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Orange, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Ventura; and those portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties further than 10 miles from the California-Arizona border. (This regulation supersedes Section 4001 of the Fish and Game Code.)

RACCOON may be taken from July 1 2007 through March 31 2008 in the following area: All of Imperial County and those portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties lying south and east of the following line: Beginning at the intersection of Highway 86 with the north boundary of Imperial County; north along Highway 86 to the intersection with Interstate 10; east along Interstate 10 to its intersection with the Cottonwood Springs Road in section 9, T6S, R11E, S.B.B.M.; north along the Cottonwood Springs Road and the Mecca Dale Road to Amboy; east along Highway 66 to the intersection with Highway 95; north along Highway 95 to the California-Nevada state line.

November 16th 2007 through March 31 2008 in the balance of the state.

Bag and Possession Limit: No limit.

Method of Take: When taking raccoon after dark, pistols and rifles not larger than .22 caliber rimfire and shotguns using shot no larger than No. BB are the only firearms which may be used during this night period. (This regulation supersedes sections 4001 and 4002 of the Fish and Game Code.) (See sections 264 and 264.5 for light regulations.)

Dogs may be permitted to pursue raccoons in the course of breaking, training or practicing dogs in accordance with the provisions of section 265 of these regulations.

COYOTE SEASON is open year round with no bag or possession limits.

AMERICAN CROW SEASON

Dec. 3, 2007 - April 5, 2008.

Daily bag limit is 24 and possession limit is 24.

Crows may also be taken year round by landowners or tenants, or by persons authorized in writing by such landowners or tenants, when American crows are committing or about to commit depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance. Persons authorized by landowners or tenants to take American crows shall keep such written authorization in their possession when taking, transporting or possessing American crows. American crows may be taken only on the lands where depredations are occurring or where they constitute a health hazard or nuisance. If required by Federal regulations, landowners or tenants shall obtain a Federal migratory bird depredation permit before taking any American crows or authorizing any other person to take them.

GROUND SQUIRREL SEASON is open year round with no bag or possession limits.

The following nongame birds and mammals may be taken at any time of the year and in any number except as prohibited in Chapter 6: English sparrow, starling, coyote, weasels, skunks, opossum, moles and rodents (excluding tree and flying squirrels, and those listed as furbearers, endangered or threatened species).

HOURS FOR TAKING. Nongame mammals may be taken at any time except as provided in this section. (a) Area Closed to Night Hunting. Nongame mammals may be taken only between one half hour before sunrise and one half hour after sunset in the following described area: Beginning at a point where Little Panoche Road crosses Interstate 5 near Mendota; south on Interstate 5 to Highway 198; east on Highway 198 to Highway 99; south on Highway 99 to Interstate 5; south on Interstate 5 to the Los Padres National Forest boundary in Section 8, T 9 N, R 19 W, S.B.B.M near Fort Tejon Historical Monument; west along the National Forest boundary to Cerro Noroeste Road; northwest on Cerro Noroeste Road to Highway 33-166; north on Highway 33-166 to the Soda Lake Road; northwest on the Soda Lake Road and on the Simmler Soda Lake San Diego Creek Road to Highway 58 at Simmler; west on Highway 58 to the Cammotti Shandon Road; north on the Cammotti Shandon Road to the Shandon San Juan Road; north on the Shandon San Juan Road to Highway 41; northeast on Highway 41 to the Cholame Valley Road; northwest on Cholame Valley Road and Cholame Road to the Parkfield Coalinga Road in Parkfield; north on Parkfield Coalinga Road and Parkfield Grade to Highway 198; northwest on Highway 198 to the Fresno-Monterey county line; north along the Fresno-Monterey county and Fresno-San Benito county lines to the Little Panoche Road; north and east on the Little Panoche Road to the point of beginning at Interstate 5. This section does not pertain to the legal take of nongame mammals with traps as provided for by Sections 461-480 of these regulations, and by Sections 4000-4012, 4152 and 4180 of the Fish and Game Code. (This regulation supersedes Section 3000 of the Fish and Game Code.)

(b) On privately-owned property, not included in (a) above, nongame mammals may be taken from one-half hour after sunset to one half hour before sunrise only by the landowner or his agents, or by persons who have in their immediate possession written permission issued by the landowner or tenant that states the permittee can trespass from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise on property under the ownership or control of such landowners or tenants.

METHODS OF TAKE - Furbearing mammals may be taken only with a firearm, bow and arrow, or with the use of dogs, or traps in accordance with the provisions of Section 465.5 of the DFG regulations.

475. Methods of Take for Nongame Birds and Mammals. Nongame birds and mammals may be taken in any manner except as follows:

(a) Poison may not be used.
(b) Recorded or electrically amplified bird or mammal calls or sounds or recorded or electrically amplified imitations of bird or mammal calls or sounds may not be used to take any nongame bird or mammal except coyotes, bobcats, American crows and starlings.
(c) Fallow deer, sambar deer, axis deer, sika deer, aoudad, mouflon, tahr and feral goats may be taken only with the equipment and ammunition specified in section 353 of the DFG hunting regulations.
(d) Steel leg-hold and conibear type traps may be used to take nongame birds and mammals only in accordance with the provisions of section 465.5 of the DFG hunting regulations and section 4004 of the Fish and Game Code.
(e) No feed, bait or other material capable of attracting a nongame mammal may be placed or used in conjunction with dogs for the purpose of taking any nongame mammals. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a licensed trapper from using a dog to follow a trap drag and taking the mammal caught in that trap.

RADIO USE WHILE HUNTING: It is legal to use and posses two way radios while hunting in California.

HARASSMENT OF ANIMALS: DFG reg. 251.1. Except as otherwise authorized in these regulations or in the Fish and Game Code, no person shall harass, herd or drive any game or nongame bird or mammal or furbearing mammal. For the purposes of this section, harass is defined as an intentional act which disrupts an animal’s normal behavior patterns, which includes, but is not limited to, breeding, feeding or sheltering. This section does not apply to a landowner or tenant who drives or herds birds or mammals for the purpose of preventing damage to private or public property, including aquaculture and agriculture crops.

TRESPASS: If the land you hunt on is not your own, it belongs to someone else. Make sure you have a legal right to be there. Contact the owner or person who administers the property, and secure written permission to hunt. A hunting license does not entitle you to enter private property.“It is unlawful to enter any lands under cultivation or enclosed by a fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another, or to enter any uncultivated or unenclosed lands, including lands temporarily inundated by waters flowing outside the established banks of a river, stream, slough, or other waterway, where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering such lands, for the purpose of discharging any firearm or taking or destroying any mammal or bird, including any waterfowl, on such lands without having first obtained written permission from the owner of such lands, or his agent, or the person in lawful possession thereof. Such signs may be of any size and wording, other than the wording required for signs under Section 2017, which will fairly advise persons about to enter the land that the use of such land is so restricted.” Section 2016, Fish and Game Code.

SAFETY: It is always unlawful to: Place on, or carry or possess a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle or conveyance or its attachments on any public road or other way open to the public: Hunt while intoxicated; Shoot at any game bird from a powerboat, sailboat, motor vehicle, or aircraft while under power or still moving from use of sail or motor. (See Section 251) Shoot any firearm from or upon a public road or highway.

DISCHARGING FIREARMS OR OTHER DEADLY WEAPONS SAFETY ZONE: It is unlawful for any person, other than the owner, person in possession of the premises, or a person having the express permission of the owner or person in possession of the premises, to hunt or to discharge while hunting, any firearm or other deadly weapon within 150 yards of any occupied dwelling house, residence, or other building or any barn or other outbuilding used in connection therewith. The 150-yard area is a “safety zone.”

CALIFORNIA DFG WEBPAGE is at http://www.dfg.ca.gov

BIOLOGY

Coyotes are canines - part of the dog family along with wolves and foxes, and are slightly smaller than a collie. Its nose is more pointed than domestic dogs, and its tail is bushier. Unlike most canines, the tail is held down between the hind legs when running. Coyotes are intelligent animals, able to adapt their behavior and diet to most situations. Coyotes have adapted physiologically to survive in the Southwest’s deserts. Desert coyotes weigh about half as much (20 pounds versus 40 to 45) as other coyotes, with shorter, thinner fur. They are therefore able to dissipate excess heat more easily. Also, they are paler-colored, and so absorb less heat, and are able to blend more easily into light-colored desert landscapes. Speedsters of the desert, coyotes lope as fast as 25 to 30 miles an hour, and can sprint up to 40 miles an hour. Chiefly nocturnal, they may travel several hundred miles in a night.

RANGE

They are found in nearly every habitat in North America and deserts are no exception. Once common only in the West’s open spaces, these pale-colored wild dogs began spreading across the country after wolves were nearly exterminated in the late 1800’s.

DIET

A true scavenger, the coyote will eat almost anything animal or vegetable. Although its diet consists predominantly of small rodents and rabbits, a ‘typical’ diet may contain up to 40% plant material.

REPRODUCTION

Social animals, coyotes mate for life and maintain family territories. Pups are born in April or May, with 4 to 7 young comprising the average litter. Both parents are active in rearing the young. Coyotes will typically occupy a den in the ground, but may use other shelter. Called ‘Song Dog’ in some Native American languages, the coyote’s sophisticated vocabulary involves a wide variety of growls, whines, yips, barks, and howls. The most distinctive of coyotes’ songs is a series of barks and yelps followed by a drawn-out howl and ending with short, sharp yaps. This broadcasts the locations of group members and reunites the band before or after hunting.

TRACK

Coyote tracks are about 2 1/2" (63 mm), from the rear of the pad to the front claws for the front foot and 2 1/4 inches for the rear foot. You can see a coyote's track is different from a regular dog's track by looking at the claw marks. A coyote's claws point inward and are narrow while a dog's claws will be pointed straight out.

The distance between tracks is 18 to 22 inches when the coyote is walking. . In the pic on the right, the front foot track is on the right and the rear foot track is on the left.

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CALLS

CLOSED REED CALLS - These calls are known as closed reed calls, meaning the reeds are enclosed in the body of the call. These calls are not as loud as the open reed calls.

OPEN REED CALLS - The open reed type calls have an exposed reed that sticks out where you can see the reed. These calls are usually harder to use, but they offer a larger range of sounds to the caller in my opinion.

BITE CALLS - Bite calls have a little rubber mouthpiece you can bite on to hold the call in your mouth and by changing the pressure on the mouthpiece with your teeth you can change the pitch of the call.

I've used the Lohman/Circe jackrabbit and cottontail calls for years and really like them. The jackrabbit call is really raspy and loud.

I have a Woodswise Vari-pitch Howler that is really good for a bite call that you can change the pitch on. The Johnny Stewart PC-1 vari-pitched call is one of the all time favorites among varmint hunters.

Many varmint hunters like the the CRIT'R Call which uses the open reed design so you can really wail on the call to reach way out there.

Dan Thompson Calls are a good choice for yotes and can be found at P.O. Box 624, Rawlins, WY 82301. PH# 307-328-4079. He makes a good howler and yote pup call. The PC-2 is a good yote call.

DEER FAWN SCREAMER CALLS - Another good call to have is a good deer fawn screamer. The Johnny Stewart FB-1 fawn bleat is a high pitched call and the Knight & Hale Game Calls 1024 fawn bleat is a low pitched call.

TURKEY DIAPHRAGM MOUTH CALLS - Another good coyote call is a turkey mouth call diaphragm. Every year I call in a yote or two during turkey season. You can yelp like a turkey or make painful sounding squeals with some practice. Like a bite call, this call leaves your hands free for quick action. Quakerboy Game Calls makes some good turkey mouth call diaphragms. You can get double, triple or quad layers of latex rubber in these calls. The more layers of latex, the harder it is to use the call. Diaphragms also come with cuts or notches in the latex to make them sound more raspy. If you're new to mouth diaphragm calls, get a basic single or double latex with no cuts and learn to use it well and then you can try out the raspier triples or quads with notches. Buy only aluminum frame diaphragm mouth calls since the plastic frame calls break when you bend them to fit the roof of your mouth. Trim the tape part of the call down with scissors so it's not as large, the large tape makes many people gag.

PEACOCK SCREAMER - I got this call to use as a shock call for turkey hunting but it has called in a few curious yotes. It has a painful wail to it and it is pretty loud.

LOCATOR CALLS

I have an old fire engine siren that I have hooked up to a cigarette lighter plug to do general scouting for yotes. You can drive the roads in new areas and stop and hit the siren to see if the area holds any promise. Yotes, like all dogs, can't resist howling back to a siren. A quick mark on the map and time and you have future areas to set up in. Code 3 makes good sirens. You can find these old sirens at swap meets or salvage sales. Make sure and only use the siren while stopped in your hunting areas. Mounting the siren in your vehicle and playing Barney Fife is frowned upon by most police departments.

STANDS FOR CALLING

Try to put the sun at your back and have a good view of the downwind landscape. A small rise in the terrain is helpful to give you a better view of what is approaching. Camo on your hands and face will help keep wary yotes from spotting you. Motion is what most animals will spot so be as still as you can be. Camo your gun barrel also, you don't want a barrel flash to ruin the hunt. Sitting in the shadows and under brush will help keep your outline of profile from being to obvious. Some yotes, juveniles especially, will trot straight in to your call, the older more experienced yotes will circle downwind to check out the situation. Putting a second shooter away from the caller downwind can pick up these wary yotes. We have even set the downwind shooter as far as 1/4 mile downwind to catch the wily yotes.

PLACES TO HUNT COYOTES

Fort Hunter Liggett on the central California coast has many coyotes to hunt. More info and maps at FHL Info.

HABITAT

Very common in urban and agricultural areas.

RANGE

Migration Status: Short distance migrant. Crows are found in almost all parts of the continental US and lower Canada. Click here for map showing the range of crows.

BIOLOGY & DESCRIPTION

Length: 17 inches . Entirely black plumage. Squared-off tail. Call is "Caw, caw". Similar species: Fish Crow very similar but has different call. Northwestern Crow also very similar but has different range. Ravens are similar but larger with wedge-shaped tails and a different call that sounds like "Kruk, kruk".

REPRODUCTION

Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting. Clutch Size: 3-8. Length of Incubation: 18 days. Days to Fledge:28-35. Number of Broods: 1, 2 in south.

DIET

Mostly seeds, lesser quantities of insects, carrion, fruit, nuts and eggs.

CALLING CROWS

In California you can legally use an electronic call or mouth call to call crows. Most crow hunters use an electronic caller although a mouth calls will work just as good.

HISTORY AND GENERAL INFO

The Beechey ground squirrel was named for Frederick William Beechey, who explored much of Northern California in 1826-28 as captain of His Majesty's Ship Blossom, this squirrel is also sometimes called the Beechey Ground Squirrel.  

HABITAT

California ground squirrels prefer to stay on field edges, along fence rows or roadsides. Unlike pocket gophers, ground squirrels are frequently visible in the field. They spend much of their time out the burrow, sunning, feeding, or socializing. The burrows provide protection and a place to rear young, store food, and rest and sleep. Their burrow system is not as extensive as that of pocket gophers, but it can be as deep as 6 feet. Ground squirrel burrow systems are much larger in diameter than are gopher systems, and their burrow entrances are always unplugged.

RANGE

Generally, ground squirrels spend most of their life within a fairly small area. In fact, most of their time is spent within about 100 feet of their burrow and rarely does a ground squirrel go beyond a 150-yard radius of its burrow.

The Beechey ground squirrel is found from central Washington through western Oregon, California and into the northern part of Baja California. This ground squirrel is found in plains, small meadows, tree-covered hillsides, rocky outcrops and granite taluses.

The Belding's ground squirrel, Spermophilus beldings, inhabits alpine and sub alpine meadows in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Habitats for the Belding's ground squirrel includes areas of alpine dwarf-shrub, wet meadow, perennial and annual grassland and thin stands of underbrush

DESCRIPTION

California ground squirrels have a flecked coat and a long bushy tail. In contrast, Belding ground squirrels are slightly smaller, have a short flat tail, and are solid brown. California Ground Squirrels may live as long as six years, but three or four years is probably their average life span in the wild. Captive ground squirrels have lived for ten years. Gray, light brown and dusky fur are mixed to give the California Ground Squirrel's upperparts a mottled appearance. A band of slightly darker fur, flecked with light gray, extends from the head over the middle of the back. Gray fur forms a cape over the sides of the head and shoulders. This gray cape may have a protective function, breaking up the animal's body outline and making it more difficult for a predator to spot. Light buff or grayish yellow fur covers the undersides.

Whitish fur rings the eyes and perhaps protects the squirrel's eyes from too intense sunlight. Black fur edges the outer rims of the ears. The tail, five to seven inches long and more than half the length of the head and body, is covered with mixed yellowish gray and black hairs and is lighter on the underside. Generally, California Ground Squirrels measure between sixteen and nineteen inches total length.

REPRODUCTION

Belding ground squirrels come out of hibernation and are first visible from mid-January to mid-February. They breed in late February and in March. The breeding season lasts 3 to 6 weeks. Young are born in the spring. About 4 weeks after birth, the young squirrels emerge from the burrow. Females have only one litter per year. They may appear to have more litters because the young squirrels are visible for a long period, but this is not the case. The fact is that older females breed first and then the younger females breed, thus giving the impression of multiple litters. Litter size ranges from 3 to 12 young and averages about 7 young. Females may live 10 years or more and have a life span twice that of males.

When they first emerge after hibernation, the squirrels may eat nothing at all, surviving on stored fats, or they may subsist on foliage. They prefer green foliage in early spring and will not eat seed like grain until later in the season. About June 15 to July 1 some of the adult males go into hibernation for the winter. The adult females begin to hibernate later, and then, as fall approaches, the young born that year begin. Although squirrels are not active for much of the year, they are very energetic and nearly double their body weight in a few months.

DIET

They often spend their time feeding (they eat a variety of seeds, fruits, acorns, roots, mushrooms, and even insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and caterpillars), sunning, dust-bathing, and grooming. In one of their favorite sun bathing positions the squirrel lies with its belly on the ground, elbows on the ground with forearms extended and head raised. They also like to sit straight up, motionless, with their arms hanging down across their chest and their paws resting one upon the other. From this position they love to look about. In fact, their vision is thought to be about equivalent to a human's.

California Ground Squirrels are ever vigilant and ready to sound an alarm if danger is perceived. If frightened, a squirrel often makes long leaps and emits a sharp, metallic alarm cry several times in rapid succession. The squirrel may pause near its burrow and clink at intervals, or it may drop down into its tunnel system.

TRACK

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