Jesse's Hunting > Jim Matthews > July 2003 - Dec. 2003

July 2003 - Dec. 2003

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PLASTIC TROUT WORM FISHING TECHNIQUES -- Mike Bennett-ONS 10dec03

Small plastic worms are the hot `secret' bait for urban trout

By MIKE BENNETT Outdoor News Service

At fist look, many anglers think plastic worms are for bass and not trout. That couldn't be further from the truth. Small two- to three-inch plastic worms, either impregnated with scent or with scent added, have changed the face of urban trout fishing for anglers "in the know" all over Southern California. The three-inch Berkley Power Worm, designed just for trout, is the most well-known and popular of these baits, but custom makers and other large companies are following suit and marketing these small trout worms as more and more anglers discover their allure. Originally used by jig fisherman, the trout worms were placed on the hook tip of jigs to add weight and color. A plain white jig could be fitted with an orange, yellow, natural, chartreuse, or even a pink worm to give it a whole different look in seconds. It is much easier for anglers to switch worms on a jig than to switch out the jig skirts, but the worm added a whole new magic to the jig by changing its silhouette and making it more like-like.

The trout found the jig-worm combo enticing as anglers fished them on extremely light line and either slow, steady retrieves or darting, erratic retrieves. Light line is the key to trout worm fishing because its small profile is perfect for fish that are heavily fished, over pressured, or lethargic. Two-pound line is the standard. Heavier lines makes the bait's movements sluggish and less life-like. Beside the jig-worm combo, there are two other popular riggings and fishing methods: Many anglers split shot these worms on small single salmon egg hooks. To rig the worm to the hook, place the point through the front of the worm and come out a quarter- inch deep on the worm. Slide the worm to the eye of the hook, and the worm should be sitting perfectly straight on the hook.

A small split shot should then be placed up the line from two to four-feet above the hook. When this rig is cast it is fished with a slow steady retrieve and a bouncing rod tip. This will let the worm dart and glide through the water and draw strikes from the weariest of trout. Some let the split shot and worm sink to the bottom before starting their retrieve, but most veteran anglers start at the top and then fish successively deeper water. It is best to start your first retrieve as soon as the worm hits the water, then let it sink a few more second with each following cast so it can cover the complete water table. This will allow you to find trout that are suspended or cruising at mid-depths.

Another technique that has become popular for this small worm is borrowed from the bass fishing crowd. Trout anglers are now doing ultra-light drop-shotting these little worms. The rig is almost the same as the split shot rig. The hook size and rigging style are exactly the same. But with the drop shot rig, you tie the hook to your line with a Palomar Knot, leaving a long tag line. At the bottom of the tag line you place a split shot or a drop-shot weight. This tag line length will determine how far from the bottom of the lake your Power Worm will sit. Once the knot is tied, the barb of the hook should be riding up (above the shank of the hook) and not the other way around. This reduces snags and seems to improve hooking success.

Another tip is to send the tag line back through the eye of the hook. While the weight bounces off the bottom, it gives the hook a slight up and down motion that sends ripples through out the worm that drives trout crazy. The drop-shot technique is always fished with the weight bouncing along the bottom and the worm swimming and dancing along up off the bottom where it is more visible to the trout. With whatever fishing method you use with the trout worm -- on a jig, fished with a split shot, or drop-shotted -- the addition of one of the many trout scents on the market adds to the bait's effectiveness. While still unknown by many anglers, the small trout worm has become one of the most effective lures on the market for trout.

UPDATE/CORRECTION:

In last week's outdoor column by Jim Matthews, it was noted that hunting and fishing license fees were increasing to $31.25 each for 2004. While this number is correct, to get that price hunters and anglers will have to pucharse them at Department of Fish and Game offices. When purchased at license vendors, the price will be $32.80. Vendors charge a $1.55 fee (or about five percent of the license cost) to sell the license, and the $32.80 price is actually printed on the license.

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FOREST CLOSURES & DEER MANAGEMENT -- matthews column 5nov03

Forest closures an opportunity to improve deer management

Outdoor News Service Due to the massive forest fires across Southern California the past two weeks, two of the four national forests in this region remain closed to public access. This will again effectively eliminate a portion -- and many argue the best part of the deer hunting season in this region.

While all of the forests had remained open this year right into late October after rethinking policies that effectively ended deer hunting last year, as of Wednesday this week, the Angeles and Cleveland national forest were closed to all public access. The San Bernardino announced it would be opening a portion of the forest on Friday (with a map of the open areas available at most ranger stations), and the Los Padres National Forest remained open to the public except in immediate fire areas that were still burning -- and that placed only the Sespe Wilderness off limits early this week.

The decision to close the forest and the triggering mechanisms were well known this year and well publicized. In the San Bernardino National Forest, hunters were even given special access when other recreational users were locked out during this drought and extreme fire danger, and the Los Padres -- true to its form -- has remained open again this year even with the fire threats. In talking with staff from the different forests, it looked unlikely that the Cleveland or Angeles forests would reopen before the end of the local deer seasons in this region, even with more rains, but hunters should check with the Forest Service before assuming their favorite hunting areas are open or closed, including in the Los Padres and San Bernardino.

The numbers for the local forests are as follows: Cleveland National Forest (858) 673-6180, San Bernardino National Forest (909) 383-5588, Angeles National Forest (626) 574-1613, and the Los Padres National Forest (805) 968-6640. Local ranger stations in each forest should also have information about their immediate area. If, as expected, the forests will continue to be closed, it gives us a unique opportunity to rethink our deer management program and manage all, or at least a portion, of these areas differently. Extreme heat the early part of our deer season kept hunter success well below normal; so this marks the second year in a row of low or no harvest in most popular deer hunting areas in Southern California.

We'll almost certainly have more older age class bucks than we've had in decades. Deer losses in fire areas, especially considering the size of some of the fires, complicate the picture, but the burns mostly will benefit our deer herds with improved forage, and numbers should bounce back quickly. For hunters, the reality is pretty simple: the DFG could move one or more zones in these closed areas into a quality deer management program like those that are sweeping through the South and East.

By limiting harvest to older age class bucks and teaching hunters to identify these deer, the health of the herd improves. There are higher buck-to-doe ratios, and harvest of older deer matches the harvest figures before the changes were instituted -- and hunters are generally more pleased because they see more bucks and shoot bigger deer. (We could also move our hunts post-rut into December or January, removing them completely out of potential fire closures.) I've been hunting on the Tejon Ranch since I was a kid. Since the ranch has gone to a quality deer management program, the average size of the bucks we see and shoot are now dramatically bigger than anything I ever remember seeing when I was young.

There are a lot of deer taken on the 200,000-plus acre ranch, it's just that now they are two or three or four years older than before. The same thing could happen on public lands, and with the fire closures we have a jump-start on the program. I'd like to see at least D14 managed for quality deer. The San Bernardino Mountains have always produced some of the best bucks on the California mule deer subspecies taken each year in the state, especially for hunters who are willing to get off the roads and into some of the back country and wilderness areas in the zone.

A quality management program here, especially with the fires we've had the past several years that have rejuvenated forest areas and the two years of closures, would make it a likely candidate for responding quickly to a new regulation. There'd be a lot of 4x4s taken in this zone in two or three years with new rules. But quality deer management would benefit all of our deer zones in this region. Now is the time to implement them. The DFG needs to step to the plate on this issue and perhaps Forest Service wildlife personnel need to ask the DFG to look at a quality deer management program for their area.

WATERFOWL REPORT -- ONS-matthews -- 05nov03

Hunting success continues to decline for Southern California waterfowlers

Hunting success for waterfowlers has generally continued to decline this past week, with the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area at the Salton Sea taking the biggest hit with both fewer hunters and fewer birds in the bag. While a few snow geese are being taken at Wister, the duck success rate was around a half-bird per hunter this last week. San Jacinto Wildlife Area's success last Wednesday that was better than opening day, thanks to an influx of greenwing teal and wigeon, with an average of nearly four birds per hunter, but by Saturday, the success rate dropped back down to less than 1 1/2 birds per hunter. Raahauge's Duck Club in Prado Basin has continued pretty good, with averages at around three birds per hunter on Saturday and a lot of mallards in the bag. Hunters are reminded again that pintail and canvasback season for the Balance of State, Southern California, Southern San Joaquin, and Colorado Rivers zones, which include Wister, San Jacinto, and Kern National Wildlife Refuge, are closed to the take of pintail and cans.

The split pintail season in the Balance of State and Southern San Joaquin zones does not reopen until Dec. 26. Pintail season does not open until Nov. 27 in the Southern California and Colorado River zones. Canvasback season does not open until Nov. 27 in all four of these zones. There have been hunters at state and federal waterfowl areas citing for taking pintail or canvasback each week since the season opened. What follows is the area-by-area breakdown for public hunting areas opening weekend:

At the SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA, there were 27 hunters last Wednesday who shot 105 ducks and three coots for a 4.00 average. The bag was made up of 45 greenwing teal, 22 wigeon, eight mallards, eight shovelers, seven cinnamon teal, four gadwall, three goldeneye, three pintail (hunters cited), two ringnecks, two scaups, and one bufflehead. On Saturday, there were 74 hunters who shot 100 ducks and five coots for a 1.42 average. The duck take included 46 wigeon, 21 mallards, nine gadwall, six greenwings, five cinnamons, four shovelers, four ruddies, two pintail (hunters cited), two redheads, and one scaup. San Jacinto is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, contact the wildlife area at (909) 928-0580.

At LAKE PERRIS STATE RECREATION AREA, there were 10 hunters last Wednesday who shot 12 ducks for a 1.20 average. The bag included seven greenwings, four mallards, and one wigeon. On Saturday, there were four hunters who shot a single mallard for a .25 average. Hunting is allowed until noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Only hunters with boats and motors can hunt the area, and the check-in station is at parking lots 11 and 12 at the jet ski launch ramp. Perris is open on a first-come, first-serve basis each shoot day. For more information, contact the San Jacinto Wildlife Area at (909) 928-0580.

At RAAHAUGE'S DUCK CLUB in PRADO BASIN, there were 25 hunters last Wednesday who shot 41 ducks and a coot for a 1.68 average. The bag was made up of 11 mallards, nine wigeon, seven gadwall, six greenwings, four cinnamons, three shovelers, and one wood duck. On Saturday, there were 22 hunters who shot 65 ducks and three coots for a 3.09 average. The bag consisted of 25 mallards, 15 gadwall, seven cinnamons, seven wigeon, three ruddies, two greenwings, and one shoveler. On Sunday, there were 27 hunters who shot 39 ducks and 35 coots 2.74 average. The duck bag included 21 mallards, five wigeon, three greenwings, two cinnamons, two redheads, two ringnecks, one gadwall, one ruddy, one scaup, and one wood ducks. Hunting is allowed Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and there are public blinds available each shoot day. For more information, call the club at (909) 735-7981 or check the club's web site at www.raahauges.com .

At the WISTER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the Salton Sea, there were 24 hunters last Wednesday who shot 15 ducks and six snow geese for a .88 average. The duck bag included nine greenwings, three mallards, two cinnamons, and one wigeon. On Saturday, there were 116 hunters who shot 67 ducks and nine snow geese for a .66 average. The duck kill included 23 greenwings, 14 cinnamons, 11 wigeon, nine gadwall, three mallards, two shovelers, two ringnecks, two bluewing teal, and one redhead. On Sunday, there were 70 hunters who shot 24 ducks, two coots, 12 snow geese and two Ross geese for a .57 average. The duck bag consisted of 11 cinnamons, seven greenwings, four shovelers, two mallards, one redhead, and one ringneck. Wister is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system and a daily drawing for sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact the unit at (760) 359-0577.

At the SONNY BONO-SALTON SEA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE there were four hunters last Wednesday who didn't shoot a bird. On Saturday, there were 12 hunters who shot four cinnamon teal and one wigeon for a .42 average. On Sunday, there were six hunters who shot four Ross' geese, one snow goose, one wigeon, and one greenwing for a 1.17 average. The refuge is managed as part of  the Wister Unit. For more information, contact the Wister Unit at (760) 359-0577.

At the FINNEY-RAMER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the Alamo River south of the Salton Sea, there were six hunters from Monday last week through Sunday who shot nine ducks for a 1.50 average. The bag consisted of six greenwings, two cinnamons, and one shoveler. Finney-Ramer is open to hunters seven days a week under a self-registration and self-reporting system. For more information, contact the Wister Unit at (760) 359-0577.

At the KERN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, no results were available for last Wednesday. On Saturday, there were 92 hunters who shot 309 ducks for a 3.36 average. The bag was made up of 114 shovelers, 63 cinnamons, 32 mallards, 30 gadwall, 25 greenwings, 20 redheads, 15 ringnecks, four wigeon, three ruddies, two bufflehead, and one wood duck. Kern is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, call (661) 725-2767 or the hunter's hotline at (661) 725-6504, which is normally updated after each hunt day.

At the SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES, BARRETT LAKE and SUTHERLAND RESERVOIR were both closed due to fires in the San Diego region. Barrett is open Wednesday and Saturday, while Sutherland is open Thursday and Sunday, but both waters will be closed through this weekend. Reservations are still available for Sutherland but Barrett is sold out. For information on the City Lakes waterfowl program, call (619) 668-2060.

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FIRE MANAGEMENT NEEDS TO CHANGE -- Jim Matthews column 29oct03

Like many Southern California residents this past weekend, I spent the days in my neighborhood helping friends and family evacuate as flames approached their houses. We stood at the back fence of my in-laws and watched flames leap 40 feet into the air, feeling the heat on our faces, with shovels in hand ready to douse hot embers on their property while firefighters knocked the flames back. My neighbor and I stood side-by-side at the back of our yards at 2 a.m. with binoculars marveling at the wind-whipped inferno 1/2-mile away burning across the mountainside, and we worried about neighbors' homes ahead of those flames, homes that would be burned to the ground the next morning.

Most of us had been through this before in 1980 when the Panorama Fire scorched some of these same neighborhoods, burned up to the same back fences, ripped across the same mountain sides, pushed by the same Santa Ana winds. The residents who'd lived through it before had learned from it. Shake roofs were replaced, yards became sparser with vegetation, wood fences were replaced with block or chain link, brush was keep down in the horse properties, barns and hay bales set well away from homes. They had learned, fearing, perhaps knowing, that it could and probably would happen again.

Those of us who've lived through it twice now are still unsure the state and federal agencies charged with managing the public lands that fuel these massive fires have learned anything. Fire breaks, controlled burns, and vegetation removal are still mostly hobby activities for the U.S. Forest Service. They are not being done to the extent and with the dedication and planning they need. Management, and the manipulation that the word "management" implies, is still an alien activity for agencies that need to manage the ground to help control fires while benefiting the wildlife and recreational users on the forest.

As this was written Wednesday this week, fires had consumed an area 3/4s of the size of Rhode Island, hundreds of homes had been burned, over a dozen lives lost. Santa Ana winds were decreasing, but fire fighting resources were thinly stretched from San Diego to Ventura counties. It looked like it was going to get worse before it got better. My own neighborhood was still choked with smoke.

The problem is easy to pinpoint: massive stands of dense brush and dead timber, and funds used for other things that should be directed to solving this problem. The solution is on-the-ground management that not only helps solve the fire threat but would be a massive benefit for all wildlife. I'm not sure what else the Forest Service should do if it can accomplish those two goals.

During the early stages of the fire burning near Lytle Creek, I was hoping the flames would run up the mountain through San Sevaine and down into the North Fork of Lytle Creek -- through what used to be some of the best deer and bighorn sheep country in the region. The fire would be a benefit. This area hadn't burned in decades and the wildlife was choked out. That happened because of Forest Service inaction in action. In all the tragedy, if there was a benefit to the Lytle Creek portion of the fire, it was simply that it burned sheep habitat that needed to be burned.

Since I first started following bighorn sheep management in 1970-something, our herd in the San Gabriel Mountains has plummeted from a conservative estimate of 700-plus animals to a generous 100-or-less estimate. Until one small burn last year, there has never been a controlled burn in sheep habitat, and most wildfires were hammered before they reached sheep country, tankers bombing ridges with fire retardant in wilderness while homes were threatened three miles away in foothills.

The U.S. Forest Service and state fire agencies need to get back to managing the forest resources with two things in mind, wildfire and wildlife. We need to prevent massive fires not fear them. Here in north San Bernardino, we have a clean slate for the Forest Service to work with on this south facing slope of the San Bernardino Mountains: the hills are bare and ashen.

We were promised after the Panorama Fire, that such an event would never happen again. But now it has. Will we have hollow promises again or action? Fire breaks insulating the residential areas from future catastrophic fires need to be mapped, created, and maintained. A grid of additional fire breaks and brush clearance can be bulldozed so controlled burns can be set annually to keep the chaparral in a healthy patchwork that is good for wildlife and would help to stop huge wildfires or suppress those fires when they do burn. A similar system is needed in forested areas on the top of our mountains where drought and bark beetles have killed more trees than should have been destroyed if we'd just been managing our forests intelligently. Management is better than a vast blackened landscape with hundreds of destroyed homes.

Investing in proactive management would do three things: First, it would make incredible economic sense. The cost of fighting huge fires is astronomical and just a small percentage of those costs could be diverted to maintain a healthy forest. Second, it would help protect the public safety, saving lives and billions of dollars in lost property. Lastly, it would be a boon to wildlife.

As one of my buddies said to me Monday morning. "This is horrible, but at least we're going to have good deer hunting for a few years."

If the ground were managed properly, we should always have good deer hunting and the fire danger would be far, far less.

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QUAIL-CHUKAR OPENER EXCELLENT -- matthews-ONS -- 23oct03

Quail and chukar opener was excellent thanks to good hatch

Hunter's reports from throughout Southern California point to an excellent quail and chukar season if the opening weekend is any indication of how things will go this fall. The Mojave Desert regions were particularly good.     

"It was great in some places and in others guys I checked didn't have a bird," said Andy Pauli, a Department of Fish and Game biologist who checked hunters in the Mojave National Preserve opening weekend. Pauli said that of the 70 hunters he contacted 36 had quail with an average of three birds per hunter.     

Pauli did say, however, that it was highly likely that hunters he checked early found more birds later in the day. For example, he ran into six hunters near Hole-In-The-Wall Campground at 8:30 a.m. who already had 32 birds between them and they were still hunting.     

"Three of us limited out in the Van Winkle area," said Bob Slamal of Riverside Ski and Sport, who hunted on the preserve opening weekend. "We saw six or seven coveys, a total of probably over 200 birds."     

Slamal, Scott Reed, and Kent Crozier, all Riverside, had 10 Gambel's quail each on opening day, but it took hard hunting to get limits of the little runners in the Mojave National Preserve.     

Slamal said most of the birds they bagged were young birds, and that jives with Pauli's counts of birds this year. Pauli classified over 400 Gambel's quail this year in 38 broods and the broods averaged 10 birds.     

Chukar hunting in the West Mojave and in the Red Mountain area in the El Paso and Rand mountain ranges was very good for those willing to buck the steep hills. Both Pauli and Sierra DFG biologist Rocky Thompson reported good broods for chukar in their counts earlier this year and that translated into good hunting, thanks to lots of young birds.     

Jim Monroe, a Lancaster hunter, took three hunting buddies into the El Paso's near a favorite guzzler, or small game and bird watering device, and they had an excellent hunt.     

Monroe lamented that he sprained his ankle early and only was able to get three birds, but first-time chukar hunter Rick Bae of Valencia managed four birds, while Dean Hill and Ronnie Wright, both Mira Loma, each had limits of six chukar.     

Dave Stuck of Simi Valley hunted near a guzzler in the Granite Mountains northeast of Apple Valley and managed to get four birds before fleeing the heat on Sunday.     

“I found the guzzler in the morning to be covered with fresh tracks, but it wasn't until later, hunting southeast in a jumble land of rocks, that I found the birds. One flock had 100 birds and a second flock had about 50. I ended up with four for the day. If I'd stayed longer I could have easily limited out,” said Stuck.     

"I think we're going to have a good season overall," said Pauli.     

[Hunters can e-mail Jim Matthews their reports and photos from the ongoing upland bird season at , or you can call Matthews at 909-887-3444.]    

SOCAL WATERFOWL OPENER -- ONS-Matthews -- 23oct03

Triple-digit waterfowl opener was still good for those braving the heat

A heat wave throughout Southern California on opening weekend of waterfowl season didn't seem to put a damper on hunting or the number of birds taken on public areas, and the Kern National Wildlife Refuge had the coolest temperatures and hottest shooting.     

"Hot! It was about 103 out here," said Tom Paulek, the manager of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area in western Riverside County. "But the hunt went very well at both Perris and San Jacinto. They shot a lot of cinnamon teal."     

Overall, San Jacinto had 109 hunters opening Saturday who shot 367 ducks for a 3.37 average. The bulk of the bag was cinnamon teal with 231 taken by hunters. At Lake Perris, which is open to boat hunters only with a limit of 10 blind sites, all the sites had hunters and the 20 waterfowlers bagged 42 ducks, including 15 mallards, for a 2.10 average.     

The Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area was even warmed, with afternoon temperatures peaking at 104, according to Adolfo Hernandez, the assistant manager at Wister.     

"I was surprised at the amount of people who showed up because it was so hot," said Hernandez. "And I was surprised by the amount of ducks."     

Wister had a 2.86 average with 356 hunters taking 1,013 ducks on Saturday, mostly cinnamon and greenwing teal. The Sunday hunt saw 141 hunters bag 192 ducks for a 1.36 average.     

Hernandez said that flooding was continuing at Wister and he said five more sites should be flooded up and available by this coming weekend. Paulek said San Jacinto would have one more site flooded up and available for this coming weekend, for a total of 36 sites available.     

The Kern National Wildlife Refuge had 102 hunters for opening Saturday and they shot 563 birds for a 5.52 average. The air temperature only reached 91 degrees at Kern, making it the coolest public hunting spot in the region. Unit 2 had the best action at Kern with 57 hunters taking 339 ducks for a 5.95 average, and a good number of hunters posted full seven-bird limits.      What follows is the area-by-area breakdown for public hunting areas opening weekend:     

At the SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA, there were 109 hunters last Saturday who shot 367 ducks for a 3.37 average. The bag consisted of 231 cinnamon teal, 61 greenwings, 38 wigeon, 16 shovelers, 10 gadwall, nine mallards, one scoter, and one illegally taken pintail. San Jacinto is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, contact the wildlife area at (909) 928-0580.     

At LAKE PERRIS STATE RECREATION AREA, there were 20 hunters Saturday who shot 42 ducks for a 2.10 average. The bag was made up of 15 mallards, 15 greenwings, seven gadwall, two wigeon, one cinnamon teal, one shoveler, and one bluewing teal. Hunting is allowed until noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Only hunters with boats and motors can hunt the area, and the check-in station is at parking lots 11 and 12 at the jet ski launch ramp. Perris is open on a first-come, first-serve basis each shoot day. For more information, contact the San Jacinto Wildlife Area at (909) 928-0580.     

At RAAHAUGE'S DUCK CLUB in PRADO BASIN, there were 63 hunters opening Saturday who shot 257 ducks for a 4.08 average. The bag was made up of 127 cinnamon teal, 52 greenwings, 36 mallards, 20 gadwall, 17 wigeon, two ringnecks, two shovelers, and one wood duck. On Sunday, there wee 51 hunters who shot 119 ducks for a 2.33 average. The bag consisted of 43 cinnamons, 28 mallards, 19 wigeon, 17 greenwings, 11 gadwall, and one wood duck. For more information, call the club at (909) 735-7981 or check the club's web site at www.raahauges.com .     

At the WISTER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the Salton Sea, there were 356 hunters Saturday who shot 1,013 ducks for a 2.86 average. The bag consisted of 379 greenwings, 375 cinnamons, 166 mallards, 50 shovelers, 21 gadwall, 12 wigeon, four coots, two ringnecks, two ruddies, one redhead, and one wood duck. On Sunday, there were 141 hunters who shot 192 ducks. The bag included 96 greenwings, 68 cinnamons, 17 mallards, four shovelers, two ringnecks, two coots, one gadwall, one wigeon, and one bluewing teal. Wister is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system and a daily drawing for sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact the unit at (760) 359-0577.     

At the SONNY BONO-SALTON SEA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE there were 41 hunters Saturday who shot 69 ducks for a 1.68 average. The bag included 24 greenwings, 21 cinnamons, 17 mallards, five shovelers, one ringneck, and one scaup. On Sunday, there were eight hunters who shot 12 ducks for a 1.50 average. The bag was made up of six cinnamons, three mallards, and three greenwings. The refuge is managed as part of  the Wister Unit. For more information, contact the Wister Unit at (760) 359-0577.     

At the FINNEY-RAMER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the Alamo River south of the Salton Sea, there were no reported hunters. Finney-Ramer is open to hunters seven days a week under a self-registration and self-reporting system. For more information, contact the Wister Unit at (760) 359-0577.     

At the KERN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, there were 102 hunters Saturday who shot 563 ducks for a 5.52 average. The bag was made up of 209 greenwing teal, 88 mallards, 80 pintail, 53 shovelers, 47 gadwall, 33 cinnamon teal, 16 redheads, 15 ringnecks, 10 bluewing teal, seven wigeon, three scaup, and two ruddies. Kern is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, call (661) 725-2767 or the hunter's hotline at (661) 725-6504, which is normally updated after each hunt day.     

At the SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES, BARRETT LAKE had 25 hunters Saturday who shot 60 ducks for a 2.40 average. The bag was made up of 33 mallards, 10 wigeon, seven ringnecks, four cinnamon teal, three gadwall, two ruddies, and one greenwing teal.

At SUTHERLAND RESERVOIR, there were 12 hunters who shot 18 ducks for a 1.50 average. The bag consisted of 15 wigeon, one ruddy, one greenwing, and one cinnamon. Barrett is open Wednesday and Saturday, while Sutherland is open Thursday and Sunday. Reservations are still available for Sutherland but Barrett is sold out. For information on the City Lakes waterfowl program, call (619) 668-2060.     

[Hunters can e-mail Jim Matthews their individual waterfowl reports and photos from the ongoing season at , or you can call Matthews at 909-887-3444.]   

DISEASED GAME PRECAUTIONS -- matthews column 23oct03

Hunters traveling out of state need to take disease precautions

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a brain disease that affects deer and elk, has become a serious problem outside California, and hunters traveling out of the state to hunt big game this fall need to take some precautions so the disease isn't introduced to California big game.   

The rare ailment belongs to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Other TSEs include scrapie of domestic sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) of cattle, and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD) of humans. There has been a lot of publicity of the so-called "new variant CJD" in humans in Great Britain because it is thought to have jumped to humans from cattle, linking it to the BSE agent. Since there is no known cure for TSEs and they are always fatal, this has raised concerns that other TSE could also make the leap from animals to humans. But there are no documented case of scrapie or CWD variants in humans. The Center of Disease Control has investigated any possible connection between CWD and the human forms of TSEs and stated, "the risk of infection with the CWD agent among hunters is extremely small, if it exists at all," and "it is extremely unlikely that CWD would be a food borne hazard." However, as a precaution, hunters should avoid eating the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen -- hardly normal fare in my wild game feeds.    

The biggest problem with CWD is for deer and elk, and the disease has been spreading rapidly in Western state. While little is known about how CWD is spread, there is concern that CWD may be moved to new areas by the transport of certain infected animal parts, especially those parts containing abundant nervous tissue (brain and spinal cord). To minimize this possibility, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted new regulations in April this year that prohibit anyone from transporting into California the skull or backbone from any deer or elk harvested elsewhere.     

It is especially important for hunters bringing deer or elk back from Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Saskatchewan be aware of the regulations restricting the transportation of carcasses of deer or elk harvested out-of-state.     

You can bring back meat that is cut and wrapped, boned-out meat in bulk, quarters of game with no part of the backbone attached, hides without the head, finished taxidermy, and upper canine teeth from elk (ivories). Antlers attached to the skull are problematic, and hunters need to make sure the antlers with skull cap or the skull half for European-style mounts are thoroughly cleaned of any tissue and then soaked in a strong bleach solution. This bleach-cleaning is also recommended for any saws or butchering equipment used in removing the head or antlers from game.     

The agent thought to be the cause of CWD is very resistant to disinfection, but strong household bleach works well in this process.      Since enforcement of these regulations will be difficult, it is really up to hunters travels back from other states to know the problems and not bring possibly infected portions of animals back into California.     

Andy Pauli, a DFG biologist in the Mojave, said that each year he finds places off Interstate 15 and 40 where hunters have dumped elk and deer hides and heads, obviously from other states, before getting home. This is a sure-fire way to infect our desert deer herds, and hunters need to be responsible and understand this problem. Local meat cutters who do get heads and complete deer from other states, should contact the DFG on proper disposal of the potentially infected game.     

For more information, the DFG has an information fact sheet with answers to frequently-asked questions on its website at www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/cwd_faq.html . Hunters or meat cutters and also call (916) 358-1462 or (916) 653-0991 for more information.   

Blythe-area junior pheasant hunts still have many openings unfilled     

BLYTHE -- There are still about 70 openings for junior hunters on the two junior pheasant hunts being held on Robinson Farms fields in the Blythe area, according to the Department of Fish and Game's Gerald Mulcahy.     

"These hunts probably have the most natural conditions of any of the planted pheasant hunting opportunities offered in the state," said Mulcahy. He said the hunts filled up almost instantly last season, but there were still a lot of openings for the Nov. 22 and Dec. 6 hunts. The deadline to apply is Oct. 31.     

Junior hunters who would like to apply need to send a postcard application that includes their name, address, date preferred, and junior hunting license number to Mulcahy at Department of Fish and Game Pheasant Hunt, P.O. Box 2160, Blythe, CA 92226. All junior hunters must be accompanied by an adult chaperone.     

Self-defense expert Paxton Quigley to speak at Oct. 25 San Pedro Friends of NRA Fundraiser   

SAN PEDRO -- Paxton Quigley, a nationally-known self-defense advocate, author, and trainer, will be the featured speaker during the Oct. 25 Friends of the NRA Fundraiser here. Tickets will not be available at the door for this presentation and fundraiser.     

The event will be held starting 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Elk's Lodge, 1748 Cumbre Dr., San Pedro. Dinner tickets are $35 per person and all proceeds will go to benefit local NRA programs, especially youth marksmanship and firearms safety education.      The event will feature NRA limited edition merchandise, firearms, entertainment, raffles, live auction, and silent auction.     

For more information, contact Brian Beck at (310) 512-7706 or via e-mail at 45-70@usa.net. Checks for dinner reservation should be made payable to FOF-FNRA and sent to Back at P.O. Box 543, Lomita, CA 90717.     

San Jacinto pheasant hunters need to have applications in by Saturday   

LAKEVIEW -- There will be a series of six Monday hunts for wild pheasants at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area this year, and hunters need to have their applications in the Department of Fish and Game's Sacramento office by Saturday to be eligible, according to Tom Paulek, the wildlife area manager.     

Applications for these hunts must be submitted on the Department of Fish and Game's regular waterfowl hunting application and received by this Saturday to be eligible for the opening hunt on Nov. 10. Other hunt dates are Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec 8, and Dec. 15. Hunters can apply once for each shoot day, and applications for each shoot day must be in the DFG's hands 17 days prior to the hunt date to be included in the drawing.     

Paulek said the pheasant population at San Jacinto was very good this year thanks to a very good hatch and he expected the hunt to be a very good one this year.      For more information, hunters can call the San Jacinto Wildlife Area at (909) 928-0580.

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SOCAL WATERFOWL ROUNDUP -- ONS-matthews 17oct03

Waterfowl season looks much better than last year

With the waterfowl season opener on Saturday for much of the region, refuge managers in the southern part of the state are working through limited budgets and water shortages to provide hunters on public areas as much habitat and opportunity as possible. With a forecast increase in duck numbers, both migrants and locally produced birds, and diligence of federal and state staff, hunters can expect to see a season that was better than last year.     

"They're getting water on Wister as we speak," said Ty Nay of Birds Incorporated, a guiding service in the Imperial Valley. "We have a tremendous amount of waterfowl in the valley right now. I'm out in the field nearly every day and I've seen really good numbers of pintail already."     

Guides, hunters, and refuge staff from throughout the region are saying similar things. The following is rundown of public areas in this region and the news that will be of interest to hunters for the Saturday opener:     

The WISTER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the southeast end of the Salton Sea remains the most popular destination for Southern California waterfowl hunters, and area manager Jim Chakarun said the area will not be flooding some places "due to budget considerations."     

"We're not going to flood lesser quality sites until later in the season, but we'll have 100 sites available for opening day," said Chakarun. He noted that S20 would not be flooded this season.     

Thanks to Safari Club International, Chakarun also noted that there is a new handicap hunting site (U10) available this year with both green feed and wetlands on opposite sides. The site had a concrete pit blind with a wheel-chair accessible ramp.     

Wister and the Hazard Unit of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge are open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system and a daily drawing for sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The state manages the waterfowl hunting program for the federal refuge. For more information, contact the unit at (760) 359-0577.     

The SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA, located in western Riverside County near Lake Perris, is perhaps the second most popular hunting area next to Wister for hunters in this region. The addition of the Walker Duck Club to the refuge two years ago added nine sites to the area, and area manager, Tom Paulek, said he expected a good season this year.     

While funding for water is a problem here, too, Paulek said they were flooding up the major hunting areas -- the A, B, C, and D ponds -- and that there would be from 30 to 35 sites available for opening weekend.     

Hunters need to remember that the only access to the area is from the south this year. Davis Road has been closed from the north, eliminating access off the 60 freeway. The best access is now off the 215 freeway at Ramona Expressway. Take Ramona Expressway east to Davis Road, and then take Davis north to the refuge headquarters.     

There is a concern that budgets may run out and that spring flooding will not be able to take place, and Paulek said this could impact local production on the spring wetlands.     

"We have to decide if we're going to spend all our money in the fall or try to save some for spring," said Paulek.     

San Jacinto is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, contact the wildlife area at (909) 928-0580.     

The LAKE PERRIS STATE RECREATION AREA, adjacent to San Jacinto and managed by the staff there, is a neglected spot for waterfowl hunters with boats, and there is some concern it will not be open this year, according to Paulek.     

"We still haven't confirmed funding for a seasonal aide position for Lake Perris," said Paulek, and he was entertaining the idea of getting a hunter-volunteer to run the hunt each Wednesday and Saturday. Anyone interested should call Paulek at San Jacinto at the number above.     

Perris has hunting until noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Only hunters with boats and motors can hunt the area, and the check-in station is at parking lots 11 and 12 at the jet ski launch ramp inside the state recreation area. There were 10 sites last year open on a first-come, first-serve basis each shoot day, and its blind site quota never filled last year, even on opening day.     

The KERN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE is also having water problems this year -- water availability problems. Jihadda Govan, the assistant refuge manager, said that water will not be available to flood up the two new areas -- units 5 and 6. The new units had generated much interest from hunters who were thrilled with the expansion work being done. And other areas may not get water this year. Govan said that Unit 1A would have water for sure for the opener, and a new dike in Unit 1 would allow for the eastern 1/3th of that unit to be flooded. She also said that units 2, 2a, and most of the blind sites should have water by the opener. There will be at least 50 spots available opening day, and perhaps quite a few more than that.     

While Kern is closer to many Southern California hunters than Wister, and it always carries some of the best bird-per-hunter averages in the state, it is less hunted than other waterfowl spots in this region.

Hunting at Kern is allowed on Wednesday and Saturdays through the state reservation system or a drawing for leftover sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. At least half of the sites available for opening day will be reserved for walk-ons. For more information, call (661) 725-2767 or the hunter's hotline at (661) 725-6504, which is normally updated after each hunt day.     

RAAHAUGE'S DUCK CLUB in PRADO BASIN is one of the few private clubs that offers a minimum of 15 blinds daily to public hunters. The 2003 fee for a two-person blind is $135 and reservations in advance are required. To encourage hunters to bring juniors, Mike Raahauge has a special on Sundays where an adult paying just $75 can bring up to two junior-licensed hunters free. Raahauge was giddy about the number of birds in the basin. "There are several thousand birds in the basin -- a little bit of everything," said Raahauge, who actually said there was -- with slight editing -- a manure load of ducks. Shoot days are all day Wednesday and Saturday and half-days on Sunday. For more information, call the club at (909) 735-7981 or check the club's web site at www.raahauges.com .     

At the SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES, hunting is allowed at BARRETT LAKE and SUTHERLAND RESERVOIR. Barrett is open Wednesday and Saturdays, while Sutherland is open Thursday and Sunday. There is a mail application deadline to apply for reservations each September and an in-person lottery in early October at San Vicente Reservoir. Hunters can reserve up to eight reservation dates for waterfowl hunting during this in-person lottery and all Barrett reservations are filled, but spots are still available for Sutherland. The city has an information packet it mails to hunters that explains all of the details of the program and includes application forms. Hunters can call the city lakes at (619) 668-2050 to request a packet.     

LAKE HENSHAW, when the water level is up, is one of the best places in the region to hunt, and it is a scull boater's dream. This San Diego County water holds a good number of geese each year and a wide variety of big ducks, especially wigeon. The lake traditionally opens to duck and goose hunting later in the fall, and the tentative time frame is mid-November after the first rains. Hunt days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. The fee has been upper to $40 per hunter per day this year. For more information, contact the lake at (760) 782-3501.     

LAKE CUYAMACA has a late, short waterfowl hunt. Usually opening around Dec. 1, there are 20 to 22 blind sites available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reservations for the 2003 season will be taken this month. Shoot days are Wednesdays and Sundays until noon. For more information on reservations, write Lake Cuyamaca Waterfowl Hunt, 15027 Highway 79, Julian, CA 92036, or contact Hugh Marx at (760) 765-0515. The website address is www.lakecuyamaca.org .

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UPLAND BIRD OPENER FORECAST -- 8oct03

Clean the shotgun, stock up on shells, cut back on the feed for that fat bird dog on the living room floor, and hit the exercise routine a little harder for the next couple of weeks, the quail and chukar opener Oct. 18 is looking to be one of the best in several years, according to Department of Fish and Game biologists and other reports from the field.

Spring rains have led to some pretty impressive production numbers for quail and chukar across most of Southern California. Desert biologists who have recently completed brood counts for this year in the Mojave Desert and southern Sierra Nevada have been impressed with how well quail and chukar have responded to the wet spring.

Andy Pauli, the DFG biologist for the Mojave, said his chukar counts in the West Mojave have been particularly encouraging. Pauli saw well over 500 birds at just a couple of locations but was able to classify only seven broods consisting of 106 total birds. Of those, Pauli said that 95 were young-of-the-year, indicating an average brood size of nearly 14 birds or a ratio of seven young to each adult.

In the East Mojave, Gambel's quail broods were nearly as good, with the average brood size just under 10 birds, and that is classifying over 400 birds across 38 broods.

"This is good but not exceptional production," said Pauli. Rocky Thompson, the DFG's southern Sierra biologist, tallied up his counts in the El Paso and Rand Mountains along with his totals in the southern Sierra Nevada and was elated with the results.

"The quail and chukar look real good in eastern Kern County," said Thompson. "Production is way up and we counted a lot of birds. It would have even been better had we had any good adult holdover, but it's been five years since we had any production to speak of." Thompson said his chukar broods averaged 16 young for a ratio of eight young per adult. Compared to last year's .2 (point two) young per adult, this is indeed a bumper crop. His mountain quail counts showed six young per adult, again very high, and his valley quail tallies were the best of the lot with brood sizes averaging 18 birds, or nine young for each adult bird. "We got some great productivity this year," said Thompson. "In fact, it's been 10 years since I've had numbers like this."

Tom Paulek, the manager of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, said the quail and pheasant production at the wildlife area was much better this year than last year. In fact, Paulek said the pheasant numbers were especially good and hunters should make sure they apply for one of the limited Monday hunts for the big roosters. You can call San Jacinto (909-928-0580) for application information.

On the Colorado River, hunters scouting the Blythe area are seeing very good numbers of quail. "In making their rounds, guys are saying they're seeing more birds than the last several years," said Wayne Pinkerton of B&B Bait in Blythe. "But there are far more birds on the Arizona side than California side." Pinkerton said the best hunting on this side of the river is always in the desert washes around the perimeter of the agriculture land from the mesa north of Blythe all the way south through the Palo Verde Valley.

"I doubt many guys will get a limit here, but they'll get some shooting this year," said Pinkerton.

Hunters who chase valley and mountain quail on one of the four national forests in Southern California need to make sure they check with local ranger offices about fire closures before taking to the field. At press time, there were few closures in affect, but that could change with a major fire or change in fire conditions. The San Bernardino National Forest, especially the north side of the San Bernardino Mountains from Rattlesnake Canyon to Silverwood Lake, had good quail production this year in burn areas and should be good.

The margins of last year's burns in San Diego County should also be very good. The DFG suggested that hunters in all areas should focus their hunting around water sources early in the season. Quail usually don't move much further than a mile or so from water, and while chukar can be found further away from water, young birds generally don't stray too far from a daily drink.

Diamond Valley Lake opener was a mixed bag for anglers

HEMET -- Opening weekend at Diamond Valley Lake was a mixed bag for anglers who have been waiting four years for this day. Many anglers, especially those on shore, found the fishing to be generally pretty slow, but for veteran bass anglers fishing from bass boats, the bite was exceptional, according to Mike Giusti, the Department of Fish and Game biologist who's been working at the lake since its inception.

"I think the public's expectations were higher than the lake could deliver," said Giusti. But he explained that bass anglers who knew what they were doing had 90 to 100 fish per boat. "The big issue was that the fish were in deep water -- 40 to 50 feet or more."

Giusti said that no trophy bass over 10 pounds were reported, but that there were "lots of seven and eight pounders."

The trout were also still in 50 to 80 feet of water, but a few anglers deep trolling or drifting bait in the west end of the lake managed to get rainbows from 3 1/2 to six pounds.

There were also some nice baskets of bluegill to nearly two pounds caught on nightcrawlers by anglers fishing the outside edge of the weedbeds.

Jeff Leatherman, site manager at the new marina and tackle shop, said the biggest fish so far since the lake opened last Friday was a 12.44-pound catfish landed by Henry Newman of Huntington Beach. The top bass so far was an 11-pound, 14-ounce fish that was found floating the weekend before the lake officially opened during a special fundraising event. That fish had a 2 1/2-pound redear sunfish stuck in its throat.

Reservations for boat launching were still available for this weekend (as of mid-day Wednesday), but all boat rentals and shore fishing slots are taken. Mid-week reservations were available all days next week. The toll-free reservations telephone line is 1-800-590-LAKE (5253). Telephone reservations are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reservations also can be made anytime on-line at www.dvmarina.com . Reservations can be made between 60 days and 72 hours prior to the selected date of arrival. For more information visit www.dvlake.com . For updated fishing info, you can call the marina at (909) 926-7201.

MATTHEWS OUTDOOR COLUMN -- quail calling basics -- 8oct03

Quail calling from A to Z

As with duck hunting, most hunters use their quail calls too much and at the wrong time. While quail can be called right up to you, especially in the spring, the quail call is mostly used to locate birds during hunting season.

During the hunting season, quail can be counted on to be heard calling first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening. Quail are late birds to come off their roost. Coveys that I hunt in the Cajon Pass often don't come out of their juniper tree roosts until the sun hits the tree, especially later in the season when it is cold. Males start their calling from the roost and then call once the birds are on the ground until his group is coveyed up and either moving or feeding together.

If undisturbed, the birds will usually feed toward water and try to get a drink by mid- to late-morning. There will be occasional calling during this feeding period, usually by males, so the birds know where the core group is located. Young birds that become separated from the main covey will sometimes give frantic calls and then scurry over to the covey when answered.

Males will answer calling readily throughout the morning period. They call to assure young birds in their group they are close by and to communicate with other groups of birds nearby. Frequently groups of birds will roost in different locations and feed toward each other once off the roost, joining up to form large coveys as they move toward water. If there are multiple water sources nearby, these groups may not always join up together, but they form an extended family and will regularly "talk" to each other in the mornings.

This is the best time of day for quail hunters to call. When you first arrive at an area in the morning, it is critical for you to be quiet for at least five or 10 minutes before you start calling. Nearby quail will certainly hear the vehicle and become alert. They are accustomed to hearing vehicles on dirt roads, but voices and slamming doors and dog whistles or barking animals are usually signs of danger and they shut up and beat feet. But if you pull up quietly and don't make lots of noise, the birds will quickly go back to their routine. Frequently, you will hear the calling of an occasional bird.

I usually call quietly first, just in case there are birds very near. I wait a minute or so and then call again, louder if there was no answer to my first, quiet call. If I do not get an answer within five minutes, three things have happened: 1) I've either spooked birds in the area, 2) there are none within earshot, or 3) the area has been heavily hunted and the birds are not answering calls any more.

If I know there are birds in the vicinity, I will probably still get the dogs out and begin hunting anyway. If I'm hunting new country or areas I'm not as familiar with, I will probably move on a few hundred yards or to the next canyon and repeat the process until I hear birds. Don't call more than five or six times and don't call constantly. Always pause a minute or two between calls unless the wild birds are calling more frequently, and then you can match their patterns.

Quail will frequently answer a call from more than 1/4-mile away, so my last calls when trying to locate birds will often be loud so the sound will reach those birds that might be well up a canyon.

Once the day warms up, quail call far less frequently. They have fed through the morning, have had a drink, and will often just loaf in the shade and do a little dusting. It's siesta time and calling during the middle of the day is likely to spook birds and will almost never get a response.

By late afternoon, they may again head for water and then feed their way back to their roost. Some groups of birds simply get up and fly100 or 400 yards or more between feeding, watering, or roosting locations, other groups will walk the whole distance. They begin calling again during this late afternoon period, and this is again a good time to locate coveys.

If we scatter a covey, the best thing to do is to move in the direction of where the bulk of the group flushed, and then stop when you get to where you think the nearest bird landed. Sit down and be quiet. Wait very quietly at least 10 to 15 minutes. Take a short nap, if you want. The young birds in the covey do not like being separated from the rest of the covey and will starting calling as soon as things are quiet again. This could happen quickly on birds that haven't been hunted much, or it could take as long as an hour on heavily hunted birds, and then calling will be very sparse.

Veteran callers know that there are two calls they will hear. First, there is the loud, dominant calling of the boss cock in the covey telling his family to rally to him. The second call is the quicker-cadenced, usually higher-pitched call of frantic young birds that are afraid of being alone.

If you can make the big, boss sounds, you can call birds right up to you once the covey starts calling again. Each time you hear a young, frantic call, give a fairly loud, confident rally call, and the youngsters will come running.

New callers should get a quail calling tape and practice at home or in the vehicle until they can mimic the tape of wild birds (or good callers) exactly. While pitch is less important than cadence, you still have to be in the ballpark, sound-wise, to get birds to answer. When hunting, it is always best to try to copy the calls you hear wild birds make because regional variations are so common.

I hunt valley quail all over Southern California, and each area seems to have a dialect of their own. Some have a slower, clipped call, while others always seem more frantic and melodic, but they all are variations of the basic "Chi-cag-go" or "Chi-qui-ta" call.

I have a buddy who learned to call by replaying a couple of scenes in an old John Wayne movie over and over. The quail were calling constantly in the background and he drove his wife nuts until he sounded just like those birds. Those must have been celebrity quail because the birds always answer his calling like they want to run over and meet him.

[An avid quail hunter, Jim Matthews can be reached at (909) 887-3444 or via e-mail at . He also publishes Western Birds, a wingshooter's newsletter that is a detailed scouting report for Southern California hunters and hand-makes a line of expensive, custom quail calls with unique sound chambers.]

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ONS-DEER SEASON FORECAST -- matthews-ONS -- 01oct03

Southern California deer seasons open Oct. 11, forecast is just fair.

Most Southern California deer zones open for the rifle season on Oct. 11, and the general forecast is a mixed one for hunters, with both good news and bad news. For hunters with tags for the D14 zone in the San Bernardino Mountains and the D19 zone in the San Jacinto Mountains, the U.S. Forest Service has pledged to keep the San Bernardino National Forest open to hunters, unlike last year, unless there is a major blaze ongoing and no access is allowed. These two zones, along with the D11 zone in the San Gabriel Mountains, D15 in the Santa Ana Mountains, and D16 which encompasses most of San Diego County, were all essentially closed last season due to fire concerns in the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests. Gene Zimmerman, the forest supervisor on the San Bernardino, pledged earlier this year to keep the San Bernardino National Forest open, except in the most extreme conditions. But hunters need to check with forest offices in all areas to make sure they will have access.

Jim Davis, the Department of Fish and Game's regional biologist, said that last year's closures are the one positive he sees in this fall's season. "We had almost no fawn production last year, so we're carrying over some young bucks from the previous year," said Davis. "Since there wasn't much of a hunting season last year, I don't expect them to be too wary and aware. The numbers aren't increasing that greatly so I don't forecast a tremendously large kill. We just don't have a large number of young animals out there" Davis said that young deer always make up the bulk of the harvest. He added that rains this spring and the monsoon moisture of the past few weeks has led to good forage production and that deer are widely scattered in all of the Southern California zones, which will make hunting a little more difficult. "So we're probably going to see a pretty typical year -- although we will have some stupid animals that will be walking around out there since we didn't have too many days of hunting last year," said Davis.

The D16 zone in San Diego County opens Oct. 25 and a spokesman for the Cleveland National Forest said that he would hunt the edges of one of the many burns that took place on this forest the past three or four years, especially near water. Production in those areas, where the chaparral has crown-sprouted and the forage is very good, has been better than other areas of the forest. He said this advice actually applies throughout the region. The D13 hunting area, in the Frazier Mountain region, received a ton of hunting pressure last year. It was the only major zone in this region that was not closed, thanks to a courageous move by Jeannine Derby, the Los Padres National Forest supervisor, who kept her forest open to recreational users. All hunters with D11 and D15 tags can also hunt D13, and it seemed that most of them did last year. While the DFG's harvest data was not complete for last year, the forest service and local businesses in Frazier Park reported a dramatic increase in hunters last fall.

This likely translated into a larger harvest than normal and with this year's poor production, according to Davis, things do not look all that good. Brian Tait, who owns 400 acres and the Tait Ranch Trout Ponds in Frazier Park, said they usually have a lot of deer on their ranch this time of year, moving into the property as a refuge to escape hunters, but that numbers are down this year. Don Geivet, the game manager on the nearby Tejon Ranch, is far more optimistic about the deer season, which opened Sept. 27 in the D10 zone. "This is our second year of the ranch-wide quality deer management program," said Geivet. "I think our outlook is good. Where else can you go and know that 60 percent of the hunters are going to shoot a quality buck?" Geivet said their program is designed to increase the harvest of older age class deer, with all young bucks off limits.

As more older age class deer enter the population, the number of trophy class deer also increases. "It's already working," said Geivet. "We had this program as a voluntary part of the deal for three years, and those lease members who've participated since day one are seeing more big bucks than they ever have." Southern California's two desert zones, D17 in the east Mojave, and D12 along the Colorado River, both look to be similar to last year. Water is always the limiting factor on these herds, and Cliff McDonald, a long-time Needles-based desert hunter who's been leading the battle to save water sources in the Mojave, said he had mixed feelings. "My son drove out and did some scouting the other day and saw a big forked horn and three point," said McDonald of his hunting area on the Mojave National Preserve.

"That's pretty good to see two bucks in one day out here. "The desert looks beautiful, but there's not going to be the numbers of deer taken because the deer aren't there because of the loss of cattle water. Ms. [Mary] Martin [the preserve superintendent] needs to understand they are killing animals out there when they remove this stock water." The D17 zone opens Oct. 12, like most other Southern California zones, but the D12 zone along the Colorado River kicks off Nov. 1 this year. The D16 zone in the San Jacinto Mountains opens Oct. 4, a week earlier than other zones. Hunters should make sure they know the seasons and contact local agencies about road and fire closures before they take to the field this year.

Kern National Wildlife Refuge open house set for Oct. 11     

DELANO -- The Kern National Wildlife Refuge will be hosting its fourth annual Waterfowl/Wetland Celebration and Open House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11. There will also be a refuge tour at 1 p.m.     

The annual free event has programs on a variety of outdoor recreational activities from wildlife observation, birding, wetland environmental education, and waterfowl hunting. There will be displays and demonstrations on waterfowl identification, retriever training, hunting techniques, habitat and water management, and hunting equipment.     

The event is being held in conjunction with National Wildlife Refuge Week, and there are activities at refuges across the country this year as the refuge system celebrates its 100th year. For more information on events throughout the country, you can visit http://refuges.fws.gov . For more on the Kern event, you can call the refuge at (661) 725-2767.

Condor chick hatched in the wild dies at Los Angeles Zoo     

LOS ANGELES -- A four-month-old condor chick hatched in the wild last May has died at the Los Angeles Zoo, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The chick was airlifted to the Los Angeles Zoo on September 11 suffering from respiratory distress and a blockage of the digestive track. Despite the concerted efforts of the LA Zoo Veterinary staff to save the chick it had to be euthanized during a surgical procedure to treat it last week.     

A team of biologists, a zookeeper and a veterinarian, had entered the nest cave in the Los Padres National Forest to administer the West Nile Virus Vaccine, affix tags and transmitters to its wings, and give the chick a physical examination. The examination revealed it to be underweight and undersize for its age and to have foreign objects lodged in its crop. It was decided to remove the chick from the nest and transport it to the Los Angeles Zoo for treatment.     

The preliminary necropsy report from the pathology department at the Zoological Society of San Diego confirmed extensive and severe respiratory tract disease and a small perforation of the gastrointestinal track, possibly due to the foreign objects found in the chick.      There are 220 condors in existence, with 41 condors living in the wild in California, 37 in Arizona and 5 in Baja, and 137 in captivity at the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho.     

The goal of the California Condor Recovery Plan is to establish two geographically separate populations, one in California and the other in Arizona, each with 150 birds and at least 15 breeding pairs. A pair of California condors in the Grand Canyon, Arizona have produced a chick for the first time. According to biologists it appears healthy and is expected to fledge later in October.

Forest Service offering rebate to deer hunters who shoot lead-safe ammo in condor range

     GOLETA -- The Los Padres National Forest will kick off a pilot program to encourage hunters to use "gutpile safe" ammunition while hunting deer in portions of forest in an effort to reduce the amount of lead condors pick up while foraging in the region.     

Under the "Help Get the Lead Out Rebate Program," all big-game hunters in deer hunting zone D-13 (Ojai and Mount Pinos Ranger Districts) who use solid copper Barnes X-Bullets loaded into some lines of Federal and PMC hunting ammunition or Winchester Fail Safe rifle ammunition will be eligible to apply for a $15 rebate on the purchase of the alternative ammunition.

The program is aimed at helping endangered species such as the California condor and other wildlife that are susceptible to lead poisoning from eating lead bullet particles in game remains, according to Maeton Freel, wildlife biologist for Los Padres National Forest. X-Bullets and Fail Safe bullets do not leave lead residue in gut piles or blood-shot meat hunters leave in the field. Freel said the Forest Service views the rebate program as a way to encourage hunters to try the lead free bullets. "We understand that non-lead ammunition performs every bit as well, if not better, than traditional rifle bullets, but it is more expensive," explained Freel. "We thought a rebate to cover the added cost might be a good incentive to try the lead-free bullets." Freel said the first 200 applicants in the "Help Get the Lead Out Rebate Program" will receive the $15 rebate. There is a limit of one rebate per hunter.

Rebate requests must be in writing and include the following documentation: 1) the original ammunition purchase receipt; 2) original or photocopy of the ammunition box end-flap showing the caliber, bullet type and manufacturer; 3) a photocopy of the applicant's 2003 D-13 hunting tag; 4) applicant's name and mailing address. Rebate requests should be mailed to: Help Get the Lead Out Rebate Program, Los Padres National Forest, 6755 Hollister Avenue, Suite 150, Goleta, CA 93117. They must be postmarked by November 15, 2003. For more information about the "Help Get the Lead Out Rebate Program" in Los Padres National Forest, call (805) 968-6640. Hunters who do not want to shoot X-Bullets or Fail Safes can still help condors or other scavenging birds by either burying the gut piles or placing them in areas where condors won't feed on them, such as in brush or steep canyons.

CONSERVATIONISTS PETITION INTERIOR FOR WATER-matthews-ONS 24sep03

Conservationists file petition to keep water flowing on federal lands

A group of 20 major conservation groups has sent a letter to the secretary of the Interior, asking that for an agency-wide policy -- including National Park lands -- to be adopted that would allow for the development, maintenance, and operation of man-made water sources used by wildlife.

The petition says, "Land managers of the various agencies that administer wilderness areas, national monuments and national preserves are frequently confused about their responsibilities with respect to wildlife that reside in these areas. They mistakenly assume that stewardship of the land is separate from and takes precedence over the wildlife that live on that land. Consequently, in an effort to restore the lands to a `wilderness' or `preserve' condition, they feel compelled to remove man-made developments upon which this wildlife relies."

The petition gives examples of where three federal land management agencies -- the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- have interpreted rules to not allow the construction or maintenance of man-made water facilities that benefits wildlife. In every case, the actions have caused significant loss of wildlife and forced conservation groups to fight further water removal or battle to get access to maintain existing water sources, wasting time and money for both these groups and the federal government -- both of which are supposed to have the same interests at heart.

Hunters and wildlife enthusiasts are familiar with the Mojave National Preserve's efforts to remove all developed water sources, originally made for cattle but heavily used by desert wildlife. Already the park service has caused dramatic losses of wildlife on the preserve in its zeal at returning the area to some amorphous "natural" state, ignoring its responsibility to also protect the wildlife.

An agency-wide policy is long overdue and it would prevent individual managers from completely destroying wildlife populations on a given refuge, preserve, or parcel of public land. Bravo to the heavy hitters in the conservation community who have shared in the drafting of this letter. It is long overdue.

SHARK TOOTH: Shark Tooth Reef, a unique 4,000-square foot exhibit featuring 15 full-size shark mounts, including a 16 1/2-foot great white, is making its debut at the Los Angeles County Fair ongoing through this weekend at the Pomona Fairplex, according to Steve Miller with Pathways to Adventure.

Shark Tooth Reef was designed by John Stone, one of Disney's top designers responsible for Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, Winnie the Pooh and other Disney rides. The exhibit features four different areas with the mounted sharks in natural ocean settings under black lights and special lighting that make you feel like you're underwater.

The best part? The $2.50 exhibit viewing fee goes to support the Pathways to Adventure program that exposes urban youths and families to a variety of outdoor experiences, getting them started in outdoor recreation.

FREE FISHING DAY: This Saturday is "Free Fishing Day" in California, meaning the requirement to have a fishing license has been waived for this one day. Timed to be held in conjunction with National Hunting and Fishing Day, the annual event is a great opportunity for anglers to bring along neighbors and family on fishing outings without them needing to purchase licenses.

PETA REBUFFED: Lamar Outdoor Advertising has told PETA, the animals rights group, that "there is no way we would ever work with you." PETA wanted to run a billboard campaign in California and was told to take a hike by the outdoor media giant. The extreme, vegan-bent animal rights group is whining about Lamar violating its freedom of speech rights, but PETA is more than willing to force its view of the world down our throats, trying to stifle our freedom of choice about what we eat. Thumbs up Lamar. Hopefully, other advertising companies will follow suit.

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CASTAIC CLOSURE SOLUTIONS AND MORE -- matthews column 17sep03

Simple solutions to keep Castaic open past Oct. 1

Castaic Lake is targeted for closure Oct. 1 because Los Angeles County Parks loses nearly $2.8 million a year operating the lake, and State Parks and Recreation doesn’t want the lake because they can’t afford to lose that kind of money either. Those of us on the outside looking in are in a state of utter disbelief that the county loses money on this facility. We can’t believe Castaic Lake doesn’t bankroll the rest of the parks system for Los Angeles County. This lake, according to the counties figures, attracts over 800,000 visitors each year, collects money from over 160,000 vehicles and 52,000 boats that use the lake.

How can it lose money? I’ll tell you how? There are 50 full-time county employees (and they don’t even provide security or water patrols). I’ve asked people in private enterprise who are familiar with the facilities at Castaic if they would need 50 people to staff and run that facility and they laugh out loud. Staffing is bloated beyond belief. The facility could be managed -- and well managed -- with half that number or less. An examination of where the money is spent shows where obvious cutbacks should be made. For example, the county spends just a snick under $2 million a year on lifeguards alone. For the 88,000 swimmers who use the lagoon, that works out to a little more than $22 per swimmer. Swimmers use the facility for $6 per car load. Easy solution: Fire the lifeguards, put up signs that either say “no swimming” or “swim at your own risk.” Not only would you save most of the money the county says it loses on the facility, but you’d save 100s of jobs in the community of Castaic by keeping the lake open and 800,000 people a year coming to town. This is a no brainer.

Next you fire the three or four management people at county parks who are in charge of this facility and so incompetent they can’t make money with the Castaic facility and -- poof! -- there’s no more deficit. Keep the gates open and hire someone who will turn the facility into a cash cow for parks -- something that could be done without even raising the basic fees charged to users. Better yet, turn the thing over -- on a lease agreement -- to private enterprise, save $4 million a year in expenses, and earn money on the lease. The county and state has had offers from a number of sources to take over management of the facility, but these government agencies would rather close the gates than let someone else pay -- pay! -- to run Castaic Lake. This is government at its worst.

DIAMOND VALLEY MTBE-FREE FUEL: With opening day at Diamond Valley Lake just a few days away, opening weekend sold out, and over 2,500 reservations sold so far, anglers are calling wanting to know where they can buy MTBE-free fuel for their boats. Metropolitan Water District is putting together a list of sources in and around the lake, but fishermen should know that all Union 76 gasoline is MTBE-free. MWD will be conducting checks to make sure boaters on the new reservoir are complying with that requirement, and a showing a receipt from a Union gas station will speed entrance into
the facility.

HUGE BULL ELK: Another huge bull elk has been taken on the Tejon Ranch in southern Kern County. On Sept. 10, Mike Evans shot a 9x11 point bull that gross-scored between 424 and 427 points on the Boone and Crockett scoring system, according to Don Geivet, the hunting program manager for the ranch. It was just three seasons ago, that a bull that scored in the top 15 of all elk ever taken was shot on the ranch. This new bull is just a snick smaller.

GUZZLER WORK PARTY: With quail and chukar hunting season opener about a month away, there’s a good opportunity this weekend to help improve bird habitat and learn a new hunting area by helping on a guzzler project near Big Bear Lake. Quail Unlimited volunteers and the Department of Fish and Game will be finishing up work on a guzzler Saturday. The volunteers will meet at 6:15 a.m. Saturday at the U.S. Forest Service Discovery Center in Fawnskin. For more information or directions, contact Davis at (909) 866-1549.

CIBOLA GOOSE HUNTING PERMITS: Hunters who want to participate in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge Farm Unit 2 goose hunts must have a postcard application in no later than Sept. 26 (next Friday). The application should be submitted on a standard 3x5 postcard and include the hunters name, address, Arizona hunting license number, and a listing of up to four, two-day hunts in priority order. Hunters can call the refuge at (928) 857-3253 for more information or go to the Cibola website at http://southwest.fwg.gov/refuges/arizona/cibola.html.

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DIAMOND VALLEY OPENER OCT 3 -- matthews-ONS 10sep03

Diamond Valley Lake is already a world class largemouth fishery

HEMET -- Diamond Valley Lake, set to open to the public on a limited basis starting Oct. 3, is already being touted as a world class largemouth fishery and maybe home to the new world record bass.

And for good reason.

Mike Giusti, the Department of Fish and Game biologist who's engineered and nurtured the fishery since the lake's inception, will tell you there are over 40,000 largemouth better than 12-inches long in the lake now. He suspects there's one fish that should be around 14 pounds. That was an eight-pound largemouth fish that was one of the original broodstock that was put into a rearing pond built in the bottom of the lake before it began filling. That was back in 1998.

That pond held 217 bass captured from Lake Hodges, including the eight-pounder, and Giusti figures there were about 5,000 offspring produced in the spring of 1999 from those original bass. It was later that year that rising water in Diamond Valley crested the top of the pond, freeing those original broodstock and their 5,000 young into sprawling and growing reservoir. With nearly an unlimited food supply, just three years later those 5,000 original Diamond Valley bass are all in the 4 1/2 to 5 1/2-pound range, growing to that size in a little over four years since they hatched, according to Giusti. The original Hodges fish, mostly from 2 1/2 to 4 pounds should all be seven to 10 pounders, and that eight-pounder could easily be 14 pounds or more.

Bass spawned last year are already 10 to 12 inches long and two-year old fish are 14 to 15 inches long and weigh over two pounds.

The bass have threadfin shad, silversides, sculpin, tule perch, along with green sunfish, bluegill, redear, and even rainbow trout to eat. The lake has been planted with 215,000 trout since the fall of 2000, and another 100,000-plus trout will be planted this winter-spring, part of an annual allotment. There are crawfish in the rocky rip rap of the dams (there are two of them at both ends of the Diamond and Domenigoni valleys) and aquatic insects are prolific. There's lots to eat.

Bass anglers just automatically assume the lake will produce a world record largemouth, a fish bigger than the 22-pound, four-ounce record that has stood since 1932.

"I'm not saying they'll be a world record fish, but if all the stars align, there could be one by the end of this decade," said Terry Foreman, a DFG senior biologist, Giusti's boss, and an avid bass angler.

"I just hope we see it," said Giusti. "That would be icing on the cake."

The pair has just returned from a final rod-and-reel, catch-and-release sampling on the lake Tuesday this week when asked about the potential for a world record. Foreman had caught a couple of bass in the four to five-pound class and a 9.1-pounder that whacked a big, purple swimbait a couple hundred yards from the outlet tower on the north side of the west dam. Everyone involved with the sampling that day caught and released at least one bass in the four-to-five-pound class.

When I slipped my big one, probably a four-plus, back into the lake, I wondered if it would be one that would grow up to be of world record proportions. After seeing Foreman's big bass, it was pretty easy to imagine.

DIAMOND VALLEY NOTES TROPHY TROUT ON TAP: Giusti said that deep-water trout trollers or bait anglers could get limits of fish off either dam or main lake points in 35 to 60 feet of water. "I bet there will be 20-pound five-fish limits caught opening day," said Giusti. While the bass get all the news, the rainbow trout fishery -- at least for now -- will be better than anything in Southern California, and maybe the Sierra, too. Anglers can expect rainbows topping five pounds.

BOAT ENGINE RESTRICTIONS: To maintain the cleanest water possible, only boats with either four-stroke engines or direct fuel-injection, two-stroke engines are allowed. Rules also allow engines that comply with the California Air Resources Control Board's 2001 or later model spark-ignition marine engine standard. Traditional carbureted or electronic fuel injected (EFI) two-stroke engines are prohibited, but EFI four-stroke engines are acceptable.

NO MTBE FUELS: Anglers who have boat reservations, and over 800 boats with engines have already have been OKed as meeting the requirements, are reminded that only MTBE-free fuels are allowed at the lake. Spot checks will be conducted and if MTBE levels rise in the lake because of non-compliance, the fishery could be shut down.

WATER CLARITY AND STRUCTURES: Giusti and his Metropolitan Water District and DFG assistants built literally thousands of structures for fish in the lake -- and, yes, he has GPS coordinates for everything. But the water is so clear that you'll be able to see many of them. Visibility at this time of year is 10 to 15 feet and it will be 25 to 30 feet in the winter and spring.

RESERVATIONS AVAILABLE: While all reservations are gone for opening weekend (Oct. 4-5), there are still spots available mid-week and for weekends later in the year. The toll-free reservation telephone line is 1-800-590-LAKE (5253). Telephone reservations can be made from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reservations also can be made any time on-line at http://www.dvmarina.com. Reservations can be made from 72 hours to 60 days prior to the selected date of arrival. A maximum of four reservations can be made per call, and a maximum of two reservations can be made on-line.

Each day, reservations are available for 250 spaces for vehicles with boats, and 50 parking spaces each for vehicles whose occupants will be renting boats and for people who will be fishing from the shoreline. For a total of 350 parking space reservations.

Reservations can be made with a Visa, MasterCard or Discover charge card for a $5 fee. There is a $7 entrance fee per vehicle and a $6 boat launch fee. When they arrive at the lake, they will pay a $3 per person fishing access fee, whether they are fishing from a boat or the shore.

People also can reserve a bass boat or a pontoon boat when making a reservation. They will pay the entrance, reservation and fishing access fees, and will be required to pay a $100 deposit (credit card only) at the time of use. The bass boats all have electric trolling motors and bass seats. Rates are $92 for a half day, $117 for a full day. Pontoon boat rates are $117 for a half day, $152 for all day.

SHORE FISHING: While much of the lake has steep-sided shorelines, shore fishing will be allowed along 1 1/2 miles of rocky beach in the east end of the lake, adjacent to the launch ramp and accessible by foot along a service road.

FISHING REGULATIONS: There will not any special fishing regulations on the lake initially. For bass, the statewide five-fish, 12-inch minimum size regulations will apply. The trout limit will also be five fish. Giusti said he hopes the Fish and Game Commission will approve five-fish, 15-inch minimum size regulation for the largemouth and a catch-and-release regulation for the smallmouths. If they do, the rule would not go into affect until March 1, 2004.

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DOVE OPENER EXCELLENT -- matthews-ONS 03sep03

Dove hunters find lots of birds for opener

From the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley to the deserts along the Colorado River, dove hunters generally found good to excellent hunting this year in spite of thunderstorms in the desert the week before the Sept. 1 opening day.

“It was surprisingly good,” said Leon Lesicka of Desert Wildlife Unlimited, an Imperial Valley wildlife group that worked with the Department of Fish and Game to plant 25 parcels of private land with dove feed and get hunter access. “If it had opened four days earlier I’d of had to move out of the state. Most of the doves had went out, but then we had three good hot days in a row so most of the hunters did good.”

Lesicka said that over 3,500 hunters used the fields at the south end of the Salton Sea on the northeast side of the Imperial Valley. Many of those shot 10-bird limits before 10 a.m. on Monday.

“Overall, people seemed to have a ball,” said Lesicka, noting that hunters came from all over the state to hunt the Imperial Valley -- the Bay Area, Bridgeport in the Eastern Sierra, and even Las Vegas. “I’ll tell you the other thing I was really proud of -- this is the cleanest bunch of hunters we’ve ever had. They picked up their empties and didn’t leave any trash, and I really appreciate that. The landowners we get this land from don’t like the trash, so the hunters are learning.”

Jesse James, who runs the popular hunting website “Jesse’s Hunting & Outdoors Webpage,” said he had his “first annual” dove hunt for regulars on the forum on his site with about 50 different hunters and family members attending and staying in Calipatria.

“It’s sure nice to see all those “Welcome Dove Hunters” signs,” said James of all the local businesses. He and his group hunted near the DFG-Desert Wildlife Unlimited fields, and James said they all shot limits and managed to avoid the bulk of the crowds that congregated on the special public fields.

“There was a car or truck parked every 40 yards and hunters with stools or chairs and cool drinks so we set up away from the main fields,” said James. “It was good.”

Along the Colorado River, early predictions that the Blythe area would be better than normal proved true. Wayne Pinkerton, of B&B Bait in Blythe, said that all of the fallowed fields in the north end of the valley provided excellent feed for the doves and that hunters who’d scouted out a good spot or two the day before had limits before 8 a.m.

Further south, in the Yuma, Ariz., region, which attracts a lot of hunters because of the huge number of doves, Jim Garner, a hunter from Azusa, said he and a hunting partner managed limits the first two days of the season hunting near the Cocopah Indian Reservation in Arizona but that he didn’t think their particular spot held as many birds as last year, although still plenty to shoot limits.

“Maybe all of the birds were on the Cocopah,” said Garner. “By the sound of all the shooting, there must have been plenty.

“But the Mojo Dove is the story of the dove opener,” said Garner of a new dove decoy with spinning wings, much like the spinning wing decoys that have proven so effective for duck hunting. “I bought one and I will tell you it is just spectacular to watch. The birds don’t just work in on the decoy, they want to land on the darn thing and hover there.”

John Massie, a former DFG-employee retired to Ramona, went to Hyder, Ariz., to hunt and had a “lifetime experience” by shooting his limit of 10 by 6 a.m., shooting just 13 rounds of shotgun ammunition. “Now that’s a career experience,” said Massie.

Andy McCormick, the promotions director for Turner’s Outdoorsman, said he took a group of 25 employees and people from the shooting industry to the Tejon Ranch in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and everyone had a limit by 10 a.m.

“It was awesome, we were along a canal with about 200 other hunters, and I swear everyone shot a limit,” said McCormick. That was the story of the 2003 dove opener just about everywhere.

DIAMOND VALLEY LAKE SELLS OUT FOR OPENER -- ONS 03sep03

Boating, fishing and parking reservations for opening day at Diamond Valley Lake sold out by 2 p.m. Wednesday, four hours after the Metropolitan Water District opened its reservations system.

By 4 p.m., the MWD had taken more than 2,000 reservations for the lake's first 30 days.

Diamond Valley is Southern California's largest freshwater lake, located near Hemet in southwest Riverside County, and it will open to the public Oct. 3.

"We knew Diamond Valley Lake was going to be a popular place for recreation, but even this exceeded our expectations," said Jill T. Wicke, Metropolitan's manager of water system operations.

Within the first hour the reservoir system was open, more than 1,000 reservations were placed, according to Marshall Pike, vice president of business development for Urban Park Concessionaires. Metropolitan contracted Urban Park to handle reservations and recreation-related activities at the lake.

"We want to thank the public for the very warm reception,'' said Pike. "Not only is opening day at Diamond Valley Lake sold out, but we expect the entire weekend to be sold out by the end of today."

Due to limited parking space in this first stage of Diamond Valley Lake's recreational development, reservations are required for fishing and boating. Each day offers 250 spaces for vehicles with boats, and 50 spaces each for vehicles whose occupants will be renting boats and for people who will be fishing from the shoreline.

The toll-free reservations telephone line is 1-800-590-LAKE (5253). Telephone reservations are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reservations also can be made on-line at http://www.dvmarina.com, around-the-clock, seven days a week.

Reservations can be made between 60 days and 72 hours prior to the selected date of arrival. A maximum of four reservations can be made per call; a maximum of two can be made on-line.

Pike acknowledged that Urban Park did receive a few calls from the public indicating some initial problems with the system, but they were able to quickly resolve the issues and make the requested reservations. To help clarify and simplify the system, some additions to the web site, including some definitions to the terms, will be made, he said.

If people can't get through on the telephone line, Pike noted that the Web site also offers an email contact at gofish@dvmarina.com.

"People should keep checking back in to see if their preferred days open up because there may be cancellations or extra spaces may be freed up," said Pike.

Reservations can be made with a Visa, MasterCard or Discover charge card for a $5 fee. There is a $7 entrance fee per vehicle and a $6 boat launch fee. When they arrive at the lake, they will pay a $3 per person fishing access fee, whether they are fishing from a boat or the shore.

People also can reserve a bass boat or a pontoon boat when making a reservation. They will pay the entrance, reservation and fishing access fees, and will be required to pay a $100 deposit (credit card only) at the time of use.

MOVING DECOYS -- matthews outdoor column -- ONS -- 03sep03

FGC shouldn’t ban moving duck decoys

Sometime in the late 1800s, a product of banning market hunting for waterfowl, we started determining -- and doing this with regulations -- what was "sporting" hunting. Instead of merely setting regulations that limited bag to what harvest populations could sustain, we started banning things as being "unsporting" or "unfair."

The first to go were large gauge shotguns. You can't hunt ducks with 6- and 8-gauge shotguns in this country, although they still have modest followings in Europe for hunters who want lethal pattern density at 50 and 60 yards for ducks and geese. We can't use 10-gauge shotguns on many refuges, even though they deliver the most effective payloads of steel, but equivalent 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge loads are legal. Why? Ostensibly, according to the moralists in our ranks, banning 10 gauges and larger bores cut down on sky busting. Anyone who's visited a public refuge knows that is hogwash. Mostly it was the good shooter who used and could afford the big bores. The skybusters shoot cheap loads out of 12 gauges.

There's a really fine line between "baiting" and planting "wildlife crops." I'm not so sure hunting over a harvested rice paddy or corn field is a whole lot different than simply spilling out a bunch or grain from a truck for the birds, like we did for years in the Imperial Valley legally at "feeding clubs." How is planting swamp timothy just for birds not baiting? Waterfowl leases are worth as much as the crops these days, so it makes sense for one to subsidize the other. But when is it baiting?

We banned live decoys because they were an "unfair advantage," and the use of recorded calls is verboten, but a good caller can imitate recorded sounds exactly, and a jerk-cord on a string of decoys can make them appear lifelike.

This whole process has been a slippery slope, and the recent calls on the California Fish and Game Commission to ban moving-wing and swimming decoys is the latest step in the process, and not everyone in waterfowl hunting believes any of these changes are right. Many hunters, and I count myself among those, have long been against any regulation that mandates "ethical" behavior. If a hunter adheres to the bag limits, why should be tell him how he can or can't hunt? The proposed bans on moving decoys is a huge injustice and wrong-headed.

There are two fundamental reason a ban would be wrong:

First, they make the sport increasingly more difficult or hunters less effective. As with the proposed ban on Moto-ducks and other moving decoys, the guise is always that they are harming the resource by increasing the bag. If they are improving hunter's success rates, that is a good thing, in my mind. We need to bring more people into this sport and increasing their opportunity for a little success is a good thing. For hunters on public hunting grounds, moving wing or swimming decoys are not the difference between shooting a limit in an hour as opposed to three hours, like it is on a duck club, it is the difference between getting one or two birds and maybe improving that score by a bird or two. On some days, moving decoys, might be the difference between getting skunked and pulling one flight of teal. For a new hunter on a public area, the moving decoys might be the difference between getting a new recruit to fight for wetlands and hunting and losing him to golf or video games.

Second, the ban is elitist. It's the old, "if you don't do it my way, you're wrong." It's not surprising to me that California Waterfowl Association members largely came out for a ban on the moving decoys. This is an organization that is mostly composed of private club hunters. If moving decoys improve hunter success, of course it will lead to a reduced bag, shorter seasons, or both. These are people who don't want that. They shoot far more ducks-per-hunter per season than unattached hunters, and they don't want to lose the opportunities they've invested heavily in having.

I understand that position, but I also spend enough time on public hunting areas like Wister and San Jacinto that I know how much a moving or spinning wing decoy can benefit these guys. At private clubs, you can have elaborate jerk rigs set up and get that water motion, you can work with your other members in adjacent blinds, control calling, and guys taking high shots. On public areas, the ability to quickly put out a moving decoys to ripple the water on a calm day, to give some wing flash so ducks turn to look, is a wonderful improvement and increases success. This same guy won't have time to set up a jerk rig or a spread of 150 decoys. Even if he's a good caller, he has to deal with the honking of people who call too much and too poorly. Why should this hunter be penalized because of an elitist view on what's sporting, a view that is more concerned about a narrow interest than the interests of all hunters? We need Moto-ducks, Robo-ducks, swimming decoys, and flappers. They're good for hunting and hunters.

Think about fishing. Outside of banning dynamite because it’s not selective, fishermen haven't gone to the same extreme as hunters in this mania. Live bait is legal. Sonar to find fish is standard. Scents are added to baits and lures to make them more appealing. You chum in the ocean to bring fish to you, but that would be "baiting" in the hunting world and you'd be cited. In fishing, just about everything is legal so long as the angler doesn't exceed the limit. Even in waters where catch and release is mandated to protect the resource for excessive fishing pressure, bait is only banned because it leads to greater mortality.

The hunting groups could learn from the angling regulations and dump this moronic idea to ban moving-wing decoys. If they increase hunter success, which is a good thing, the reduce the limit accordingly, but don't moralize about how we should and shouldn't hunt. It only gives the anti-hunters more ammunition to use against us, divide us, and conquer us.

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DOVE OPENER MONDAY -- matthews-ONS 27aug03

West Nile virus shouldn't deter Imperial Valley dove hunters

West Nile virus, a mosquito-born malady that can be deadly in some instances, has been discovered in Imperial County, and state health officials and the Department of Fish and Game have rushed to notify dove hunters who will be flocking to the area by the thousands for the Sept. 1 opener.

"We need to address the hysteria," said Chamois Andersen, a spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento. "The last thing we want is for this to deter hunters from going out in the field."

Anderson said that hunters should take precautions to avoid being exposed to mosquitoes that might be infected with the West Nile virus, which was discovered within the last two weeks in a sentinel chicken flock in Imperial County. This is the only area in the state when West Nile virus is known to have been detected.

"Before going into the field, cover up or use insect repellent with DEET to fend off mosquitoes," said John Carlson, the DFG's Wildlife Programs chief. "Just like people take precautions to avoid snake bite and tick bites, they should take precautions to avoid being infected by the West Nile virus."

This virus, primarily an animal epidemic, has led to questions from hunters about being exposed when dressing out harvested birds, and whether they should be concerned about eating the game they harvest. According to the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), some game bird species have tested positive for West Nile virus, however, there is no evidence of human infection by consumption of infected game.

The disease is primarily spread to humans through mosquito bites, but health agencies recommend that hunters wear rubber gloves when cleaning their birds just as precaution to avoid exposure to the blood.

Human illness from the virus is rare even in areas where the virus is common, and medical reports show that only about one percent of the people who are bitten by an infected mosquito ever become seriously ill, usually the very young or elderly. For more information, log on to the website http://www.westnile.ca.gov.

IMPERIAL VALLEY DOVE FIELDS: Thanks to the efforts of the DFG, a hunter-conservation group called Desert Wildlife Unlimited, and Imperial Valley farmers, this marks the third year in a row these groups have conspired to plant fallow farmland with dove feed. This season, there will be 25 private parcels open to hunters along with two planted fields at the Wister Unit and three plots at the Finney-Ramer Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area. Maps to these fields are widely available in the Imperial Valley and can be picked up at Wister. Literally thousands of hunters used these fields last year and found very good hunting. The same should be true this season.

BLYTHE FALLOWS 20 PERCENT: Farmers in Blythe have sold some 20 percent of their water rights for urban use and have fallowed about 20 percent of the farmland in the Palo Verde Valley this year. Most of this ground, which had been in wheat, was simply turned and left alone. The doves have been thick on these parcels.

"To today, it looks excellent," said Wayne Pinkerton of B&B Bait in Blythe on Wednesday. "It's going to better than it's been in a long while. Because of these fields, the guys around here in the know, are saying it's going to be one of those premium years that don't come along too often."

Pinkerton also said that all the thunderstorms around the valley haven't affected bird density too much. "The whitewings are still here in good numbers," said Pinkerton, and these doves are usually the first to pack their bags and head south when the weather changes. Maybe they're heard about the hurricane to the south.

CAMP CADY UPDATE: Camp Cady Wildlife Area, a neat little spot on the Mojave River east of Barstow, was expanded with some land acquisitions and it was hoped there would be some dove fields planted this year. While the crops didn't pan out, area manager Gary Weiss said there were a lot of doves still using the area for roosting and water.

"Prior to all these thunderstorms we had quite a few birds, and they're a little spread out now, but there's still a lot of birds," said Weiss.

SAN JACINTO NEWS: Tom Paulek, the area manager for the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, said the dove hunt at this western Riverside County location would probably be much better than last year. Paulek said there was a lot of safflower and wheat planted on private lands all around the wildlife area and that hunters should see fair action around the ponds and roost trees.

YUMA BIG BREAST CONTEST: Richard Sprague, owner of Sprague's Sports in Yuma, Ariz., said he expected the biggest crowd ever for his Big Breast XV, the 15th annual fun contest to see which hunter weighs in the heaviest dove breast. The event is held Sept 1 and 2 each year, and it has grown to the point where it is now garnering some major sponsors -- including Coors Light, Federal Cartridge Corporation, and Beretta USA. Everyone who enters a dove in the Big Breast Contest, which is free, is entered in a drawing for a new Beretta shotgun.

"The dove population looks to be typically Yuma excellent for this opener," said Sprague. Like many businesses in Yuma, Sprague's shop will be open until 11 p.m. Sunday so late-arriving hunters can buy their non-resident licenses for the morning hunt.

GENERAL INFO: Dove season opens on Monday, Sept. 1, and will continue through Monday, Sept. 15, giving hunters at least portions of three weekends to hunt the sporty gamebirds. The California bag limit is 10 per day with 20 in possession after the first day. A state hunting license with an Upland Bird stamp is required to hunt doves.

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CASTAIC LAKE CLOSING? -- matthews outdoor column 20aug03

Castaic Lake may close on September 1

Citing a loss of nearly $2.8 million a year, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation will hand the Castaic Lake Recreation Area back to the state on September 1 if additional funds to run the facility don't materialize.

The state has already said it doesn't have the money to run the facility.

So is closure the next step? Pyramid Enterprises, the company that runs the marina and marina store under a lease agreement, has been told to vacate the premises by September 15, and it looks like for all the world that one of the best fisheries in Southern California is indeed going to be behind locked gates starting Sept. 1.

This is the lake that produced a 22-pound largemouth bass, officially the second-largest of all time. The striped bass bite right now is the best action available for Southern California anglers (outside of the albacore action out of San Diego). Yet, county and state bureaucrats can't figure out how to keep the facility open.

There's a lot more to this story that will be coming out in coming weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for a miracle, and stay tuned for the fireworks.

DOVE OPENER SEPT. 1: The prospects for the dove hunting season opener Sept. 1 appear very bright thanks to the Department of Fish and Game, a volunteer group called Desert Wildlife Unlimited, and farmers in the Imperial Valley. For the third year in a row, private ground has been planted with DFG-bought seed by volunteer labor to give hunters a place to go during the season. This year, there are 25 private parcels in 13 blocks that will be open to hunters this year. That is in addition to five fields at the Imperial Wildlife Area's Wister and Finney-Ramer units.

Maps to these fields will be available throughout the Imperial Valley, at DFG offices, and all Turner's Outdoorsman locations next week. A map was also published in the weekly sportsman's newspaper, Western Outdoor News, this week.

The San Jacinto Wildlife Area, thanks to fields of wheat and safflower all around the valley, will have a much better dove hunt this year than last year, according to Tom Paulek, the area manager. He's predicting it will be as good as the season two years ago when limits were pretty common opening day.

Cliff McDonald, the Needles hunter who has led the charge to keep all water sources flowing on the Mojave National Preserve for desert wildlife, said the number of doves coming to springs and old stock water on the Preserve is excellent.

A wet spring has led to good dove production and the birds are scattered throughout the desert and farmland areas.

PHEASANT HUNT DEADLINE: The deadline to apply for the Department of Fish and Game's 31 family, 24 junior, or five women's pheasant hunts is September 1. The hunts are being held from September through December across eight counties in Southern California, and all of the hunts are free. For more information, contact Scott Sewell at (562) 590-5100.

CONDOR POACHER SENTENCED: Britton Cole Lewis, a 29-year-old from Tehachapi, was sentenced in a Fresno court last Friday for the shooting in March of AC-8, one of the last wild California condors. He received a paltry $20,000 fine, 200 hours of community service, and forfeited the firearm used in the poaching. He also will not be allowed to hunt for the duration of his five-year probation.

The sentence is a veritable slap on the wrist. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed a value of nearly $200,000 on the individual bird, and she was truly unique, being one of the last wild bred condors left in the recovery program. Lewis, who reportedly said he didn't know there were condors on the Tejon Ranch where he was hunting wild hogs, doesn't change the fact that he shouldn't have been shooting any large bird. Because the prosecution couldn't prove Lewis knew the bird was a condor, they couldn't prosecute him under the Endangered Species Act and seek higher penalties.

Too bad, this is a guy who needs to have been locked up.

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COASTAL DEER OPENER AND CONDOR-SAFE AMMO -- matthews 13aug03

Outreach on lead bullet poisoning of condors is working

An informal survey of deer hunters opening weekend on Sierra Madre Ridge in the Los Padres National Forest showed that most knew of the possible problems for endangered California condors that could occur if the big birds fed on gutpiles of hunter-killed game.

Paul Andreano, who's been coordinating the "Project Gutpile" website, and Nick Todd spent opening weekend on the ridge posting signs, tracking condors, and talking with hunters who participated in the A Zone opener this past weekend.

"It seemed that everyone was at least aware of the lead issue," wrote Andreano in his e-mail to me. "Some more skeptical than others."

"We talked to three hunters at Painted Rock who had just taken a buck. They had shot it with a .270... and buried the gutpile. These guys were extremely conservation minded and proud of it," wrote Andreano.

These hunters had obviously read the information the Department of Fish and Game sent out with deer tags, along with material like the stories I've written on the dangers of lead residue from bullets to condors. They were doing the right thing. But some are still unconvinced.

"Another group had taken two bucks near West Big Pine. They seemed to think burying a gutpile was a waste of time, since a bear or coyote could just dig it up later," wrote Andreano.

One of the biggest problems in getting the word out is that the vast majority of hunters Andreano encountered spoke Spanish, and it was bilingual hunters who suggested the flyers should be in both languages in the future.

"I must say [the DFG flyer] was a great move, and it seems to have had an impact. We met one fellow who had done a fair amount of research into the topic, prompted by the insert. That said, I feel like more thought could have increased the effectiveness of this important step. The insert should be multilingual, simple, graphic, and succinct.

"It should offer some locations for Zone A and D-13 hunters to purchase alternative ammo and addresses to write to for more detailed information. As one hunter told us as he held up the insert, "Its a start, but you guys have a LONG way to go," ' wrote Andreano. I agree with Paul that we need to continue to improve the education program, but the good news is the word is getting out and hunters are stepping up to the plate and helping California's great native vulture recover from the brink of extinction. It simply means we follow one of two simple rules when hunting in condor country: 1) use gutpile safe ammo, or 2) bury or otherwise place the gutpiles where they are unavailable to the big birds.

For hunters who want to read more about the probable lead poisoning problems in condors, the DFG-commission report by Dr. Michael Fry of UC Davis is available online at Andreano's site (www.projectgutpile.org), and the direct link is http://www.projectgutpile.org/archives/Fry_2003.pdf.

NEW DEER OPPORTUNITY: Brady Daniels of Cal-Quest Outfitters has a new deer hunting lease near Piru in zone D13. Cal-Quest will be guiding for deer and bear on the 6,800-acre Rancho Temescal. Daniels said they will probably book eight deer hunts for this year on the ranch, and they will run dog hunts for bears.

"There are already lots of bears, but the ranch is planting avocado trees by the hundreds. Avocados are to bears what giant barley fields are to pigs," said Daniels.

Cal-Quest also runs hog, deer and turkey hunts on Rancho San Julian on the Central Coast near Santa Maria. Daniels said opening weekend of the A-zone deer season produced four nice bucks for his clients.

"We saw three good bucks, all in the same area, and lots of small forkies. We tagged out for our four hunters by 5 p.m. Saturday, but at the meat locker where we take our deer we were apparently the only ones successful. I'd guess the public land hunting was tough," said Daniels, blaming the heat.

For information on Daniels' hunts, contact Cal-Quest Outfitters at (805) 560-6582 or e-mail trooper3@cox.net.

TEJON TOP HOG DOG: Don Geivet, the game manager at the Tejon Ranch, said the total harvest of wild hogs on the ranch will be on the order of 1,000 pigs by the end of the year. That will make it easily the No. 1 hog producing hunting ranch in the state.

"I know that last year from December to December we verified shooting 800 hogs, and we're on tract to shoot a heck of a lot more than that this year," said Geivet. "Look at the published pig numbers in the state [from 2002] and look at Kern County. More than 800 of those are ours."

The ranch has a variety of hog hunting opportunities, from complete guided hunts to five a non-guided weekend hunts, called Pig-O-Ramas, to be held next year.

While the ranch has held the price on the Pig-O-Ramas at $300 for one more year, all other hunt prices have gone up. Guided hunts are now $750 for one pig or $1,100 for two hogs. To add varmint hunting to a hog hunt, the fee is $100 additional. All guided hunts include food and lodging for the duration of the hunt. The ranch has five full-time and two part-time guides who serve hog hunters. Turner's Outdoorsman has also been running a series of weekend, non-guided hunt and the last one of the year concluded this past weekend, when seven hunters shot six hogs (including one hunter who bagged two). Andy McCormick, with Turner's, said these hunt averaged from 40 to 50 percent success.

McCormick said the slate of next year's 10 hunts has been set and the information is up on the website (or will be shortly), including reservation forms.

For more information on the Tejon's hunting program, contact Sandy Nickerson, Tejon Ranch Company, P.O. Box 1000, Lebec, CA 93243, or call (661) 663-4209. For information on the Turner's hunts, log on to their website at http://www.turners.com.

THE BEST QUAIL CALLS EVER: I've invented the best quail call ever. Really. Let me explain how this happened.

Paul Niedermann of JS Air-Cushion Stocks in Azusa recently gave me a couple of boxes of highly-figured walnut scraps. When I found out they'd been burning the scraps in their fireplaces, I shed real tears and apparently guilted them into giving them to me. For years, I have been making my own quail and chukar calls, and this was a windfall of giant proportions for two reasons. First, lovely wood like this shouldn't be wasted. Second, I now had a huge supply of really pretty wood to make calls.

The pieces are all those parts that don't look like a gunstock. They whittle these chunks off a blank when they put together one of their replacement stocks and fit it with their recoil reduction system. The boxes were filled with beautiful pieces of burl, fiddleback, and richly-grained walnut. I go out to the garage and just look at it sometimes, the stuff is so pretty.

By accident (OK, I admit this), I have come up with the most lovely-sounding quail call ever made. In an effort to preserve as much figured wood as possible on one call, I left it vastly oversized. To save weight, I hogged out a sound chamber behind the rubber band reed. Besides being lighter, it had more resonance and timber. Kind of like the difference between an unplugged electric guitar and an acoustic guitar. When I toot on one for a hunting buddy, they swoon. They think I'm a genius, the Stradivarius of quail calls, a shoe-in to win the National Quail Calling Championships. I don't tell them the accident part of the story.

I've been making so many calls, watching rough chunks of wood turn into radiant things of beauty after a little work, that my wife said I should sell some of them. I probably don't need 50 calls hanging around my neck on hunts this fall.

But I like them all. They each have their own character, their own sound.

This is sort of like the problem we had when my yellow Lab would have puppies. I'd get attached an want to keep all of them, worried they wouldn't go to a good home, worried they wouldn't be hunted. I sort of feel the same way about the calls. I watched them grow up, invested a lot of time in them. Would you pay $100 or more for one and promise to hunt with it? And would you promise not to make fun of me if I shed a tear when it left my hands?

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DIAMOND VALLEY UPDATE -- matthews column 06aug03

Diamond Valley Lake opens Oct. 3, boat inspections ongoing

Diamond Valley Lake, the new 4,500-acre reservoir near Hemet, is already being touted as the best fishery in California, and it hasn't even opened yet. The official opening date is October 3, and thankfully there will be a reservation system for opening weekend or there would already be a line forming to be one of the first to get in to fish this reservoir.

Mike Giusti, the Department of Fish and Game biologist headquartered at the new lake, simply giggles when you ask him how good the fishing will be. The largemouth bass are averaging from two to four pounds, the rainbows are four pounds-plus, and no one is even thinking about catfish and bluegill. One-pound bluegill have been found stuck in the mouths of four-pound bass, however. All the fish are football-shaped there is so much food for them.

That's pretty well known, but the details about what boats and fishing will be allowed have been widely unknown or misrepresented. The Metropolitan Water District has been clarifying things for the past two weeks, since the opening day was announced. Here are some of the details anglers will need to know:

-- Reservations will be required opening weekend and probably for some time after that. Anglers should visit the MWD website http://www.mwdh2o.com for news about when and where reservations will be sold. That had not been determined yet, but reservations will cost $3 to $5 over the cost of admission, fishing and boat launching fees.

-- Fees will be $7 per vehicle for entrance and $3 per angler for fishing (with that money dedicated to maintaining the lake's fishery). The boat launch fee is $6.

-- Shore fishing will be allowed along 1 1/2 miles of beach in the east end beginning Oct. 3. Reservations will still be required for shore anglers at least through opening weekend.

-- There will not any special fishing regulations on the lake initially. For bass, the statewide five-fish, 12-inch minimum size regulations will apply. The trout limit will also be five fish. Giusti said he hopes the Fish and Game Commission will approve five-fish, 15-inch minimum size regulation for the largemouth and a catch-and-release regulation for the smallmouths. If they do, it would not go into affect until March 1.

-- No body contact activities are allowed at Diamond Valley. No swimming, jet skiing, water skiing, or float tubing will be allowed.

-- To maintain the cleanest water possible, only the following types of engines will be allowed: Boats with either four-stroke or direct fuel-injection, two-stroke engines are allowed. Rules also allow engines that comply with the California Air Resources Control Board's 2001 or later model spark-ignition marine engine standard. Traditional carbureted or electronic fuel injected (EFI) two-stroke engines are prohibited, but EFI four-stroke engines are acceptable.

-- Boats must be at least 12 feet long and 42 inches wide and have 12-inches of freeboard at idle speed. Touring and recreational-style kayaks are required to be at least 10 feet long with seating for all passengers. Rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and catamarans or other multi-hulled boats with solid, fixed decking are allowed. Sit-on-top kayaks are not allowed.

-- All watercraft must be inspected and MWD decal displayed on the craft prior to being launched. The MWD has inspections from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily at Lake Skinner and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at the Diamond Valley Lake Visitor Center (Newport Road, just west of the State Street intersection in Hemet). In addition, the MWD will offer free inspections 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Los Angeles Valley College and Aug. 16 at the west parking lot of the South Coast Air Quality Management District office, both in Los Angeles. Inspections will also be offered at sites in San Diego County on Aug. 23, but locations and times had not been selected yet. Inspections usually take less than 15 minutes.

Anglers can sign up at the lake website http://www.dvlake.com to be placed on an electronic subscription list to get updated news on Diamond Valley and its operation. Anglers can also call the toll-free number at 800-211-9863.

It's going to be an amazing fishery.

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NPS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION PETITIONS FGC -- matthews 30jul03

Group petitions Fish & Game Commission to close some hunting in Mojave Preserve

The National Parks Conservation Association is asking for help from hunting groups to stop certain kinds of hunting within the Mojave National Preserve and close it to hunting entirely seven months of the year. They want hunting groups to sign on to a petition they intend to present to the California Fish and Game Commission to do this.

Yes, you read that right.

The group is trying to ban hunting in the preserve from Feb. 1 through August 31 under the guise of somehow protecting desert tortoises, and they want rabbit and varmint hunting completely curtailed. They want hunters to jump on this bandwagon as though there was some legitimate reason to ban hunting during this seven-month period or that varmints and rabbit hunting was somehow a danger to tortoises.

We've been through all of this before, pointing out how both the Mojave Preserve's General Management Plan and the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan recommend that rabbit and varmint hunting be curtailed when tortoises are above ground and active. These rocket scientists have somehow devined that hunters might shoot a tortoise even though there is not a single shred of evidence that a hunter has ever shot a tortoise. Oh, they have found tortoise shells with holes in them, but they don't have a clue if those holes were made postmortem or not. In fact, in most cases it could be proven the bullet holes were made after the tortoise was long dead. It's also ludicrous that licensed hunters are blamed for what is obviously vandalism.

This is just another anti-hunting move to shut down a portion of the preserve and try to enforce ill-conceived regulations. There's no reason not to hunt rabbits, and there's no reason varmint callers can't continue to hunt coyotes and bobcats for pelts on the preserve. It's not about tortoises.

But if the non-hunting, anti-hunting groups who plan to sign on to this petition are serious about wildlife, I have a compromise solution for them: I'd bet that if they supported all of the hunter conservation groups fighting to keep all of the historic cattle water, which has supported vast populations of wildlife and is being yanked out by the National Park Service in violation of its own management plan, that the hunting conservation groups might go for a limited hunting closure.

Here's my simple compromise proposal that will help tortoises and all Mojave Preserve wildlife:

-- Close the portions of the preserve with tortoises (about 1.6 million acres) to all human activity, including hunting, hiking, camping, OHVing, etc., from March 1 through June 30, the peak active season for tortoises. No reason to discriminate against just hunters here, so let's close all tortoise habitat to all users so vandals, people who eat tortoises, and other low lives aren't out there disturbing them.

-- In return for this closure, all of the groups who want hunting closures under the guise of protecting tortoises need to pledge support and help fund a bounty system for ravens, which are devastating predators on young tortoises. This would require petitions to the Fish and Game Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but there is more justification for this proposal than their hunting closure petition.

-- In addition, these groups would have to sign on to help the hunting conservation groups protect and restore all of the historic water sources on the preserve, including all water developed for cattle, and help make it compatible for wildlife use and safe for tortoises.

-- They also need to recognize that the hunting of coyotes, bobcats and small game like cottontails and jackrabbits is not a threat to tortoises and agree that these hunting activities can continue during the regular hunting seasons for these species, as set by the Fish and Game Commission each year. This, in fact, was mandated in the legislation that created the preserve, but some of these groups forget that. They can take heart in the fact that the hunting of coyotes and bobcats is likely to help tortoise populations because both of these predators will feed on young tortoises.

This compromise would force varmint hunters and jackrabbit hunters to give up hunting on the tortoise habitat in the preserve between March 1 and June 30 each year, but it would allow hunting for these species the rest of their seasons. This is a fair and balanced proposal that helps tortoises and all preserve wildlife.

Do you think they'll support such a compromise idea?

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HUNTERS ACCOMMODATED BY USFS -- matthews column 23jul03

USFS tries to accommodate deer hunters

The San Bernardino National Forest, after a near-complete fire closure last year that eliminated deer hunting on this block of public land, is tentatively planning to make some special accommodations for deer hunters this year, according to Gene Zimmerman, SBNF forest supervisor.

"It's clearly our intent that hunting be an exception on this," said Zimmerman. He said that during a series of public meetings, virtually all the different user groups agreed that fire restrictions most affected hunters. "To a person, they all said that you really ought to try to make special provisions for hunters, and our staff seemed very receptive to this. We may get shot at by some other users, but we're going to give it a try."

Zimmerman said all of the other users in their meetings recognized that they could use the forest at other times or live within the guidelines, but that hunters really had no other options because hunting seasons are set by the state Department of Fish and Game and only run during a brief period each fall. The nature of hunting also means that hunters can't stay near developed recreational sites.

The San Bernardino National Forest is finalizing a six-step fire danger alert system that corresponds with the Smoky the Bear signs that you see as you enter the forest alerting users to the fire danger. We've all seen the signs:

Fire Danger Today Is HIGH

In the past, what that meant was a little amorphous. How was "high" different from "very high"? What did "moderate" mean?

There are now criteria spelled out for each level of fire danger, telling users exactly what each level means and how its triggered. There are also increasing restrictions as the fire danger increases -- all clearly spelled out.

Only at the "Critical" level will the forest be completely closed -- the highest level that is called only in extreme circumstances (usually when a fire is ongoing). The only access under this category is for people traveling through the forest on designated state and county highways. It will only be at this level that Zimmerman said he expects hunter access to be denied completely.

At all other five levels, hunting will likely be accommodated under the forest orders that restrict access, including the "Extreme" level (level five) that was in place for much of the late summer and fall last year when hunters were locked out.

Zimmerman said the final plan was not complete yet because comments were still coming in that the staff was "puttering with it," but "I think it's going to be workable."

This is great news for deer hunters who have been reluctant to purchase D14 and D19 deer tags, the two deer zones which have the bulk of their huntable lands in the San Bernardino National Forest. Sales of all Southern California deer zones are well below last year's level as hunters wait to hear about fire closures.

Hunters should encourage the managers of the Angeles and Cleveland national forests (D11, D15 and D16 zones) to adopt similar plans so those zones are not closed a second year. The San Bernardino National Forest use guidelines should be available at USFS offices before the end of August, well before the start of October deer seasons in this region.

I'm sending off for my D14 tag today.

I think it would be appropriate for at least a few of us to give San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor Gene Zimmerman a phone call (909-382-2605) to say "thanks" for trying to do something for hunters. These guys hear a lot from us -- me especially -- when they screw up, but not nearly so often when they try to do the right thing.

DOVE, QUAIL, CHUKAR FORECAST -- 23jul03

The prognosis for this year's upland bird and dove seasons is the best hunting news of the year. Spring rains have led to some pretty impressive production numbers for quail and chukar across most of Southern California, and the dove population looks to be stable. Since there are so many dove, most hunters will not notice a difference in hunting for this prolific gamebird.

Desert biologists who have recently completed brood counts for this year in the Mojave Desert and southern Sierra Nevada have been impressed with how well quail and chukar have responded to the wet spring.

Andy Pauli, the DFG biologist for the Mojave, said his chukar counts in the West Mojave have been particularly encouraging. Pauli saw well over 500 birds at just a couple of locations but was able to classify only seven broods consisting of 106 total birds. Of those, Pauli said that 95 were young-of-the-year, indicating an average brood size of nearly 14 birds.

In the East Mojave, Gambel's quail broods were nearly as good, with the average brood size just under 10 birds, and that is classifying over 400 birds across 38 broods.

"This is good but not exceptional production," said Pauli, who wondered if predation was having an impact in the Mojave Preserve, now that trapping and predator hunting have been banned. Pauli said that young broods had more birds in them than older broods, indicating that something might have been getting the young chicks as they aged. This is something he had not seen before.

Rocky Thompson, the DFG's southern Sierra biologist, just finished up his counts in the Red Mountain area and the popular hunting areas south of Lake Isabella.

"The quail and chukar look real good in eastern Kern County," said Thompson. "Production is way up and we counted a lot of birds. It would have even been better had we had any good adult holdover, but it's been five years since we had any production to speak of."

Thompson had not tallied all of the numbers yet from his counts, but he was predicting a much better year for both quail and chukar in these popular hunting areas.

Jim Chakarun, manager of the Imperial Wildlife Area, which includes Wister and Finney-Ramer, said there were a lot of doves in the Imperial Valley this year, and he noted that the DFG and Desert Wildlife Unlimited have again planted a number of private fields in dove feed for this year -- fields that will be open to the public. Most are in the same locations as last year's fields, all of which provided excellent hunting for literally thousands of hunters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's annual report on the population status of mourning doves reports there has not been a significant change in the dove population in the Western Management Unit over the past 10 years, but there was a decrease in the number of birds heard on spring call survey routes in California this year. Hunters will not be able to discern a difference between this coming fall and the past four or five, however.

Overall, the dove and upland bird season prospects are very bright for the fall of 2003.

WILD HOGS -- matthews/ONS -- 23jul03

Wild hogs continue to be state’s most-available big game quarry

The boar was feeding on the lush green grass in the shade of a sprawling oak tree on the ridgeline. Four of us were watching the large wild hog with binoculars, while Dave Campbell, the editor of Shooting Illustrated published by the National Rifle Association in Virginia, crept into shooting position with his .45-90 single shot.

Veteran California hog hunter, Durwood Hollis of Rancho Cucamonga, a long-time hunting buddy of Campbell’s whispered that it was one of the biggest boars he’d ever seen. “I thought it was a black bear at first,” said Hollis. “That boar is huge.”

Those words didn’t help Campbell’s steadiness. When the gun roared, the grass was parted and dirt was kicked up from the big slug just below the boar, indicating a perfect hold, just a foot of so low. The boar was gone almost instantly. While Hollis continued to rave about the size of the departed boar, two other in the group scrambled for rangefinders to try to explain the miss. The shot was nearly 200 yards instead of the 80 to 100 yards most thought it was when Campbell was shooting. The size of the boar and the uphill angle made the pig seem deceptively close and both helped turn what should have been a perfect shot into a perfect miss.

Of course, everyone blamed Campbell for blowing the shot on what was immediately decided was surely the biggest boar on the Tejon Ranch.

The Tejon has become the No. 1 pig hunting operation in California, with very close to 1,000 hogs taken during the past year, according to Don Geivet, the ranch’s game manager.

“I know that last year -- December to December -- we verified over 800 hogs taken, and we’re on a track to shoot a heck of a lot more this year,” said Geivet. “If you look at the published county pig [kill] numbers for the state, more than 800 of those listed for Kern County are ours.”

The Tejon offers a whole range of hog hunting opportunities, from the non-guided Pig-O-Ramas that cost $300 per hunter to the fully-guided $750 option. There are five full-time guides on the ranch and two part-time guides. In addition, hunters can arrange “Ham Slams” where you can set up a group on your own, non-guided hunt from one of the Tejon’s hunting lodges. These cost about $600 per hunter, depending on duration and other options hunters want to include.

While the Tejon might be the biggest and closest operation for most Southern California hunters, there are hog hunting operations all over the state -- and a smattering of public land opportunities for the die-hard hunter.

If the truth were known, wild hogs are probably California's number one big game animal. They have become more popular than deer for many hunters. Why? It's because hog hunters generally see game and take home the bacon.

Guided hunts -- about the only way the average guy has access to property with wild hogs -- are relatively inexpensive. In today's world of sky-high gasoline prices, it is much cheaper to stay close to home and hunt wild hogs than to take that annual trip to Colorado or Wyoming for deer or pronghorn. For Southern California hunters, it might even be cheaper than heading to Northeast California or the Sierra, providing you could draw a deer tag for these areas.

With most guided hog hunts running from $500 to $850, depending on services provided by the guiding operation, you begin to realize that it’s a bargain.

The second reason is that most private land hunts for wild hogs are successful. Hunters might not always kill a hog, but they always have at least a couple of good opportunities, and bringing home the ham usually hinges on how well a hunter shoots and not on whether or not a guide can show him pigs. The biggest complaint most hunters have about guided hog hunts is that they're over too soon. It is common for a pair of hunters to leave a ranch house with a guide at 5 a.m., have to dead pigs on the ground by 6:30 a.m., and be heading home before noon.

The last thing that makes hogs so popular is they a delectable table fare. Repeat hunters might say they are looking for a big old boar, but when they see a herd of hogs feeding up a ridge, decide the big boar isn't any bigger than the one they shot a few years back, they move the crosshairs over to a big sow without piglets or a young boar and think of dinner. Wild hog is not like any pork you've ever bought in a store. Darker, lean, and richer in flavor, the first time you eat the loins off a young hog, you realize how pork is supposed to taste.

Wild hog numbers remain at generally high levels throughout the state. That is partially due to a terrific acorn crop in some areas this past year and good spring rains in most places this year. While most wild hog hunting takes place on private lands, more and more hogs are being reported on public lands adjacent to the private property. Top places on public lands to look for Southern California hunters include the west foothills of the Carizzo Plain, Garcia Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest (east of San Luis Obispo), Camp Roberts, and Fort Hunter Liggett. Hunter Liggett has not been as good as pig population numbers would suggest because of more training than normal the last two years, which has kept many of the best areas on the base closed.

The following is a comprehensive list of guides and outfitters for the whole state. It has been provided by California Hog Hunter, the Outdoor News Service’s no-advertising, quarterly newsletter that covers just hog hunting in the Golden State, featuring honest critiques of the different guide operations throughout the state. [Editor’s note: the newsletter is available at Turner’s Outdoorsman stores in Southern California or by $20 annual subscription by writing to California Hog Hunter, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007.]

Anderson Taxidermy & Guide Service, 13600 Old Morro Rd., Atascadero, CA 93442. Contact: Don Anderson. Telephone: (805) 466-3240. E-mail address: andersontaxidermy@thegrid.net.
Antelope Valley Hunting Club, 4165 LaGrande Road, Williams, CA 95987. Contact: John Alvernaz. Telephone: (530) 473-2790.
Arrow Five Outfitters, Star Route 1, Box 64A, Zenia, CA 95595. Contact: Jim or TinaMarie Schaafsma. Telephone: (707) 923-9633. E-mail: arrow5@cwnet.com.
B&B Outfitting and Guide Service, 813 Coastal Ct., Los Banos, CA 93635. Contact: Bill Marchese. Telephone: (209) 827-6193. E-Mail address: winchester@cell2000.net.
Jack Beghl's Guide Service, 403 N. Suey Road, Santa Maria, CA 93454. Contact: Jack Beghl. Telephone: (805) 928-5376.
Eldon Bergman, P.O. Box 1175, Templeton, CA 93465. Telephone: (805) 238-5504.
Mike Berry Guide Service, 2312 Castro Lane, Bakersfield, CA 93304. Contact: Mike Berry. Telephone: (661) 397-7008.
Big Country Outfitters, 1882 E. Larch St., Simi, CA 93065. Contact: Don Smith or Art Cane. Telephone: (805) 584-6283.
Bighorn Ranch, 38061 Kehl Canyon Road, Cherry Valley, CA 92223. Contact: Chuck or Jim Wagner. Telephone: (909) 845-2754.
Blue Ridge Guide Service, 46438 Blue Ridge Drive, Springville, CA 93265. Contact: Bill Sweetser. Telephone: (559) 539-5102. E-mail address: blueridge@jps.net.
Boar Busters Guide Service, P.O. Box 41, San Lucas, CA 93954. Contact: Teddy McCormack. Telephone: (831) 382-4837.
Boaring Experiences Unlimited, P.O. Box 398, Atascadero, CA 93423. Contact: Kyler Hamann. Telephone: (805) 461-0294. E-mail: khamann@boaring.com.
Boar's Breath Guide Service, 1176 Buchon, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Contact: Jeff Wolcott. Telephone: (805) 543-6046.
Burrows Ranch, 12250 Colyear Springs Road, Red Bluff, CA 96080. Contact: Bill Burrows. Telephone: (530) 529-1535.
Busby's Hog Service, 165 Old Stage Rd., Salinas, CA 93908. Contact: Wayne Busby. Telephone: (831) 443-5864.
California Wild Sports, 1807 6th Street, Lincoln, CA 95648. Contact: Pat Flaherty. Telephone: (916) 434-9555.
Call Mountain Guide Service, 1600 Old Airline Highway, Paicines, CA 95043. Contacts: Jack Clark or Steve Sweet. Telephone: (831) 389-4535 (Clark) or (831) 663-4346 (Sweet).
Cal-Quest Outfitters (Rancho San Julian), 1527 Kowalski Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Contact: Brady Daniels. Telephone: (805) 560-6582 or (805) 878-5958.
Camp 5 Outfitters, P. O. Box 121, Lockwood, CA 93922. Contact: Doug Roth or Craig Rossier. Telephones: (805) 237-1201 or (831) 386-0727.
Carnaza Hunting Adventures, 7373 Carnaza Road, Santa Margarita, CA 93453. Contact: Alex Kuhnle. Telephone: (805) 475-2341.
Cedar Canyon Outdoor Adventures, 3 Blackburn Ct., Paso Robles, CA 93446. Contact: Jim Davis. Telephone: (805) 238-6557.
Central Coast Outfitters, 1520 E. Donovan Road, Santa Maria, CA 93454. Contact: Alfred Luis. Telephone: (805) 922-7923.
Circle F Ranch, 23337 Fish Rock Road, Yorkville, CA 95494. Contact: Kevin FioRito. Telephone: (707) 895-3895.
Craig's Guide Service, P.O. Box 188, Kelseyville, CA 95451. Contact: Craig Van Housen. Telephone: (707) 279-0422.
Cross Country Outfitters, P.O. Box 3904, Paso Robles, CA 93447. Contact: Tom or August Harden. Telephone: (805) 467-3947. E-Mail address: kf6gnm@tcsn.net
Devil's Canyon Guide Service, 10945 Old Hernandez Road, Paicines, CA 95043. Contact: Mike or Heike Baumgartner. Telephone: (831) 385-6155. E-mail address: boarslayers_r_us@yahoo.com.
Duncan Guide Service, 3083 Brim Rd., Williams, CA 95987. Contact: Richard Duncan. Telephone: (530) 473-5047.
Easterbrook Ranch, 69621 Vineyard Canyon Road, San Miguel, CA 93451. Contact: Sheryl Easterbrook. Telephone: (805) 463-2476. E-mail address: easterbrook@bigplanet.com.
Golden Tusk Guide Service, 224 Panorama Drive, Paso Robles, CA 93446. Contacts: Tom or Steven Wells. Telephone: (805) 238-7272 (days) or (805) 238-2498 evenings.
Mike Hayes' Guide Service, 7763 Berta Road, Eureka, CA 95503. Contact: Mike Hayes. Telephone: (707) 442-2191.
Helicopter Fly-In Hunting Services, 327 Rossi Street, Salinas, CA 93907. Contact: Vic Massolo. Telephone: (831) 422-1521.
Hillside Hog Heaven, Skaggs Spring Road, Annapolis, CA 95412. Contact: Robert Larson. Telephone: (707) 847-3727.
Hog Heaven, 29568 Chualar Canyon Road, Chualar, CA 93925. Contact: Scott Wilkinson. Telephone: (831) 679-2854.
Hog Wild, Mark Williams' Hunting and Booking Service, P.O. Box 1496, King City, CA 93930. Contact: Mark Williams. Telephone (831) 385-6321.
Hogs Wild, P.O. Box 355, Coalinga, CA 93210. Contact: Larry Greve. Telephone: (559) 935-5788.
Don Ingalls, 53100 Pine Canyon Road, King City, CA 93930. Telephone: (831) 385-3754.
Jack Ranch Hunts, 77502 Hog Canyon Road, San Miguel, CA 93451. Contact: Bert Claassen. Telephone: (805) 467-3262.
King Connection, 2740 Reeves Lane, Lakeport, CA 95453. Contact: Terry Manthey. Telephone: (707) 263-8856.
Lassen Guns and Guides, P.O. Box 1483, Susanville, CA 96130. Contact: Mark Paul. Telephone: (530) 257-7454.
Las Viboras Wild Boar Hunts, 5420 Comstock Road, No. B, Hollister, CA 95023. Contact: Ed Sparling.Telephone: (831) 631-7770.
Lazy Arrow Outdoor Adventures, 9330 Camatta Creek Road, Santa Margarita, CA 93453. Contact: Mark Morrison. Telephone: (805) 238-7324.
Miller Brothers Expeditions, 70502 Vineyard Canyon Road, San Miguel, CA 93451. Contact: Roger or Harry Miller. Telephone: (805) 463-2475.
Miller Ranch Outfitters, P.O. Box 31, Laytonville, CA 95454. Contact: Richard Eriksen. Telephone: (707) 984-6092.
Mountain Bound, 5115 Todd Rd., Sebastapol, CA 95472. Contact: Mike Patt. Telephone: (707) 829-1117.
MP Guide Service, P.O. Box 73, Catheys Valley, CA 95306. Contact: Shari & Paul Morrison. Telephone: (209) 374-3404.
Multiple Use Managers, P.O. 669, Los Molinos, CA 96055. Contact: Gordon Long. Telephone: (800) 557-7087 or (530) 527-3588.
Murray Outfitters, P.O. Box 858, Pismo Beach, CA 93448. Contact: William Murray. Telephone: (805) 546-2801.
Mustang Guide Service, P.O. Box 2144, King City, CA 93930. Contact: Frank Morasci. Telephone: (831) 385-5628.
Panoche Valley Game Ranch, 7197 W. Carmellia, Dos Palos, CA 93620. Contact: Don Hennagan. Telephone: (209) 613-4630.
Pigs Galore, 90681 Turkey Flat Road, San Miguel, CA 93451-9773. Contact: Niles Van Boxtel. Telephone: (805) 463-2504.
Redfern Ranch, 4165 Canada Rd., Gilroy, CA 95020. Contact: Mark Klassen. Telephone: (831) 634-1866 or (408) 842-4602.
Redwood Empire Outdoor Adventures, P.O. Box 757, Miranda, CA 95553. Contact: Ken Bowman. Telephone: (707) 943-3083.
Rock Springs Ranch, 11000 Old Hernandez Road, Paicines, CA 95043. Contact: Ken or Nola Range. Telephone: (800) 209-5175 or (831) 385-5242.
Rocky Ridge Hunting Club, P.O. Box 8552, Red Bluff, CA 96080. Contact: Tom & Crystal Burrill. Telephone: (530) 200-1925 or (530) 200-1926.
S.Q. Guide Service, 5 Bitterwater Road, King City, CA 93930. Contact: Rick Eskue. Telephone: (831) 385-0154.
San Juan Hunting Adventures, 3013 Sun Ray Court, Bakersfield, CA 93308. Contact: Ty Bryson. Telephone: (661) 399-1419. E-Mail address: tybryso@zeus.kern.org.
Santa Lucia Outfitters, 100 Old Stage Rd., Salinas, CA 93908. Contact: Al and Rhena Agostini. Telephone: (831) 444-7100.
Pete Scardina, 189A Cachagua Road, Carmel Valley, CA 93924. Telephone (408) 659-4433.
Nessen Schmidt, Oasis Route, Box 105, King City, CA 93930. Telephone: (831) 385-1335.
Solitude Guiding Service, 3557 Piner Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. Contact: Scott Galloway. Telephone: (707) 545-7049.
Stag Peak Hunts, 166 Paradise Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Contact: Jim McKibbin. Telephone: (805) 967-5372.
T-Bone's Guide Service, 48460 Airline Highway, King City, CA 93930. Contact: Bryan Palmer or Gladys O'Connor. Telephone: (831) 385-5009.
Tejon Ranch Company, P.O. Box 1000, Lebec, CA 93243. Contact: Don Geivet. Telephone: (661) 663-4208.
Turk Station Lodge, P.O. Box 416, Coalinga, CA 93210. Contact: Ross Allen. Telephone: (559) 935-1902.
Twisselman Outfitters, 7685 Cattle Drive, Santa Margarita, CA 93453. Contact: Nolan or Stacey Twisselman. Telephone: (805) 475-2437.
West Coast Adventures, 1014 Hopper Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Contact: Scott Young. Telephone: (707) 579-3078.
Wild Kingdom Ranch, 2516 Horseshoe Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95405. Contact: John Galeazzi. Telephone: (707) 528-1817.
Wild Pig Hunting, Inc., P.O. Box 260, Yorkville, CA 95494. Contact: Ken Whittaker. Telephone: (707) 894-3280. E-mail address: adwhit@juno.com.
"Wild Thang" Hunting Adventures, P.O. Box 452, Shandon, CA 93461. Contact: Mark Sawdey. Telephone: (805) 239-9494. E-Mail address: mark@wildthanghunting.com.
Williamson Brothers Wild Hog Hunts, 288 Echo Valley Road, Salinas, CA 93907. Contact: Phillip or Dwight Williamson. Telephone: (831) 663-4980 or (831) 663-3568.
Tom Willoughby Outfitter, P.O. Box 1467, King City, CA 93930. Telephone: (831) 385-3003.
Work's Wildlife Management, 77502 Hog Canyon Road, San Miguel, CA 93451. Contact: Bert Claassen. Telephone: (805) 467-3262.

THE SOCAL WATERFOWL ROUNDUP -- matthews 23jul03

The forecast for this year's waterfowl season is better than the past couple of years thanks to improved nesting success in the Pacific Flyway. Things aren't so good, however, that hunters can expect to see the restrictive bag limits and seasons changed much for this fall.

For Southern California hunters, the difference in what they'll see in the skies this fall is not likely to be too significant. Hunters here don't get a lot of those birds anyway, with most of the early season shooting on early teal migrants and locally produced birds -- and production was up in the state this year.

The following is a list of organized public hunting opportunities in the southern part of the state. Less formal hunting for waterfowl is also available for the hunter who is willing to scout out areas throughout the eastern Sierra Nevada, along the Colorado River, and at the Salton Sea outside the boundaries of the refuges and state recreation area.

The WISTER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the southeast end of the Salton Sea is the crown jewell of Southern California waterfowl hunting. Area manager Jim Chakarun said he did not expect a lot of changes for this year, but a lot of things are up in the air with the budget crisis. Still, Chakarun didn't expect many changes. He said they would begin putting water on all of the traditional areas starting next month, and that the budget wouldn't affect that part of the program.

Wister and the Hazard Unit of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge are open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system and a daily drawing for sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The state manages the waterfowl hunting program for the federal refuge. For more information, contact the unit at (760) 359-0577.

The FINNEY-RAMER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the Alamo River south of the Salton Sea is open to hunters seven days per week under a self-registration system. For more information, contact the Wister Unit at (760) 359-0577.

The SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA, located in western Riverside County near Lake Perris, is perhaps the second most popular hunting area next to Wister for hunters in this region. The addition of the Walker Duck Club to the refuge two years ago added about 10 sites to the area.

Hunting was pretty dismal again last year, at less than a bird-per-hunter average, but hunting on the main pond areas during the peak of the season was actually much better than the averages show.

Hunters need to remember that the only access to the area is from the south this year. Davis Road has been closed from the north, eliminating access off the 60 freeway. The best access is now off the 215 freeway at Ramona Expressway. Take that east to Davis Road, and then take Davis north into the refuge.

San Jacinto is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, contact the wildlife area at (909) 928-0580.

The LAKE PERRIS STATE RECREATION AREA, adjacent to San Jacinto, is a neglected spot for waterfowl hunters, is a sleeper spot for hunters in western Riverside County. Hunters are allowed to hunt until noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Only hunters with boats and motors can hunt the area, and the check-in station is at parking lots 11 and 12 at the jet ski launch ramp inside the state recreation area.

Managed by the DFG, the area will again have just 10 sites this season. Two years ago, the number was 15, but it was reduced last year because of light use. This also helped spread out the hunters more and improve the quality of the hunt at Perris. It worked. Last year was better than the previous year.

Perris is open on a first-come, first-serve basis each shoot day and its blind site quota never filled last year, even on opening day. For more information, contact the San Jacinto Wildlife Area at (909) 928-0580.

The KERN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE is a popular destination for hunters who travel to the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. The had a major reworking two years, especially in Unit 1, where there was a massive cattail removal project. The space blind areas have also seen a lot of work, and it improved hunting conditions and the habitat for birds. Kern always has some of the best bird-per-hunter averages in the state.

Waterfowl hunting at Kern is allowed on Wednesday and Saturdays through the state reservation system or a drawing for leftover sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. At least half of the sites available for opening day will be reserved for walk-ons. For more information, call (661) 725-2767 or the hunter's hotline at (661) 725-6504, which is normally updated after each hunt day.

At RAAHAUGE'S DUCK CLUB in PRADO BASIN, there are a minimum of 15 blinds open daily to public hunters on this club. The 2002 fee was $135 for a two-person blind, but the prices for this year haven't been set yet. To encourage hunters to bring juniors, hunters with a junior hunting license can hunt free on these sites when accompanied by a paying adult, who has to shell out only $50, on Sundays.

Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. All reservations are already filled for opening weekend, but there are openings for all other dates. For more information, call the club at (909) 735-7981 or check the club's web site at http://www.raahauges.com.

]At the SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES, hunting is allowed at BARRETT LAKE and SUTHERLAND RESERVOIR. Barrett is open Wednesday and Saturdays, while Sutherland is open Thursday and Sunday. There is a mail application deadline to apply for reservations in September and an in-person lottery in early October at San Vicente Reservoir. Hunters can reserve up to eight reservation dates for waterfowl hunting during this in-person lottery. The city has an information packet it mails to hunters that explains all of the details of the program and includes application forms. Hunters can call the city lakes at (619) 668-2050 to request a packet.

LAKE HENSHAW, when the water level is up, is one of the best places in the region to hunt, and it is a scull boater's dream. This San Diego County water holds a good number of geese each year and a wide variety of big ducks, especially wigeon. The lake traditionally opens to duck and goose hunting later in the fall, usually around Dec. 1. Hunt days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. The fee has been upper to $40 per hunter per day this year. For more information, contact the lake at (760) 782-3501.

Also in San Diego County, LAKE CUYAMACA has a late, short waterfowl hunt. Usually opening around Dec. 1, there are 20 to 22 blind sites available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reservations for the 2003 season will be taken in October. Shoot days are Wednesdays and Sundays until noon. For more information on reservations, write Lake Cuyamaca Waterfowl Hunt, 15027 Highway 79, Julian, CA 92036, or contact Hugh Marx at (760) 765-0515. The website address is http://www.lakecuyamaca.org.

The COLORADO RIVER has three major national wildlife refuges, all open to hunting, and miles of Indian Reservation lands, also open to hunting with appropriate license. Two of the three refuges are also completing significant improvements for waterfowl, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) reservation between Blythe and Parker is beginning improvements in off-river wetlands. Here's a quick summary of the river refuges, from north to south.

The LAKE HAVASU NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE has daily hunting on portions of Topoc Marsh. There are three access points on the open marsh areas. The Topoc Gorge area from Castle Rock to Lake Havasu is also open to hunting daily. This is all a boat-hunting operation, but the area holds a good number of birds and can provide excellent shooting.

There is also a limited-entry, drawing hunt at Pintail Slough.

For more information on hunting the refuge, call (760) 326-3853 or you can log on to the refuge's web site at: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/arizona/havasu.html.

At the CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE on the Colorado River near Blythe, hunting is permitted from the farm field goose pits by reservation. There is also duck hunting on the open portions of the refuge, including the island unit which has been dramatically improved over past years with more ponds, cleaned backwaters and flooded fields.

At one point in time, the refuge hosted as many as 30,000 honkers during the winter, but numbers have dwindled steadily in recent years to around 5,000 to 7,000 birds. The farm field hunt was held seven days a week, but due to declining goose numbers, the hunt was cut down to just four days a week two years ago.

For information, call (520) 857-3253 or log on to the refuge's web site at: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/arizona/cibola.html.

The IMPERIAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE sits on the lower Colorado River just north of Yuma. It offers miles of untapped duck hunting in hundreds of backwater potholes and lakes and along the main river. Outside of a handful of hunters in Yuma who would prefer this secret not be let out, there is almost no hunting pressure on this stretch of the river. For more information, call (520) 783-3371 or log on to the refuge's web site at: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/arizona/imperial.html.

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DEET, FIRES, HUNTING BOOK, BIRD NUMBERS -- matthews column 16jul03

Organic bug repellent for outdoor types

There is a keen sense about knowing when the fishing is going to be good. Walking through a grassy Sierra meadow to a beaver pond, you can tell when the trout are going to be in a feeding mood by the number of mosquito bites you have before getting to the water's edge. The more bites, the better the fishing. Ditto for an evening fishing for bluegill at Lake Perris.

In my youth, I mostly ignored the mosquitoes, giving up my pint of blood for the good fishing. As I matured, I started using Off! in heavy doses to keep the blood suckers away. Catching fish was less important than not being annoyed while fishing, and I'm sure the scent of the bug juice repelled the fish away from my bait or flies as effectively as it did the insects. Besides, the evidence was coming in that the DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents that has a long, scientific name best shortened to four letters, might cause mild nerve damage, kill a few brain cells, and I think I remember reading that it could cause memory loss.

So its mosquito season again. At my age, there are not many brain cells to spare, and scientific testing was showing that a wide variety of natural oils were pretty darn effective in keeping bugs away, too. Plus these things smelled good and give you a sense of well-being. They might even attract trout as well as Crave Gravy. The aromatherapy crowd was working on me this year.

So tinkering around on Google, typing in things like "DEET toxicity," you can find a whole bunch of organic insect repellents. On these herbal sites, you learn that Catnip and Citronella are repulsive to mosquitoes, as much or more so than DEET, although you might have to apply them more frequently. I ended up on the phone talking to Barbara Glander at Bugrepel on the phone.

Glander basically moved to the edge of a New Jersey swamp and had neighbors who all had Lyme disease and feared West Nile Virus was next. Glander, an admitted aroma therapy student, began tinkering with herbal bug repellents so she wouldn't end up like the neighbors or brain damaged like me. That was eight years ago, and she now has a product that blends 16 different aromatic oils to repel most onerous insects -- and she's still Lyme disease free.

"I went crazy to keep the bugs away," she said. "It was a personal thing and then I started giving it away."

That led to the next step: selling the stuff. Now she has a whole line for humans and pets and old hippies. The product, because it's oil based and rubs into the skin, lasts as long as most DEET products. Those of us who used DEET for too long can't remember the web site where we got Glander's product (Editor's note: it's http://www.bugrepel.com).

CAMPFIRE BAN: It's starting. The first in a series of tumblers that will open the way for a complete ban on public access to the local National Forests fell this week. On Tuesday, campfires and charcoal barbecues were banned on the Mountaintop Ranger District of the San Bernardino National Forest. We're likely going to lose our deer hunting season again this year in Southern California thanks to closures. The good news is that fire danger is forcing trophy deer management on us. The Department of Fish and Game needs to come up with a plan for deer hunting in the future because fire closures are going to be a way of life for a long time in Southern California.

ALBACORE BITE: The limits of albacore were sacked and iced, but for 18 miles Bill Cavanaugh, skipper of the San Diego-based sportboat the Pacific Queen, marveled at the sight of breaking fish and a sonar that was clogged with the long-finned tuna. Skippers are saying this week they have never seen so many albacore in decades. The fish are as close as 50 miles from San Diego and moving closer, and the one-day boats are all getting limits of 18 to 25 pounders. It's better than even grandpa remembers, and you don't need mosquitoes to know this.

MCINTYRE BOOK: One of the finest hunting writers has a new book just out from The Lyons Press. Thomas McIntyre, a former Southern California chum who's relocated to Wyoming, has compiled some of his best work into "Seasons & Days." Big Mac can belabor some points way too much, but he's still better at his worst than most other hunting writers are at their best. Much of what he writes about, because of his California roots, is familiar -- wild hogs, bandtailed pigeons, sage grouse, cottontails. But it is never pedestrian. This is a hunting book you could give to a non-hunter to enjoy.

DOVE NUMBERS: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data on dove numbers came out recently. Good news: there's around 400 million of the most popular gamebird in America. The population is stable. This is a huge relief. There is a stock pond I like to stand next each year on the evening of September 1 and shoot a few doves for dinner the next evening. Now if there was just something I could do about the mosquitoes around that pond without having to resort to DEET.

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GM, JAPANESE CAR MAKERS WAKE UP -- matthews 09jul03

Wanted: SUVs with engines that get better mileage

Most of the outdoorsmen I know need four-wheel drives. We spend more hours each year with the vehicles locked in, creeping along dirt tracks in the outback than we do in fifth gear on an Interstate. Our wives need a cavernous SUVs to haul all the kids and gear to Little League and soccer games or for trips to discount stores to stock up the larder.

What we don't need is an eight-mile-per-gallon V8 to push those vehicles around.

With my 1987 Pathfinder now over 200,000 miles and mostly held together with duct tape and cable ties, I've been looking for a newish four-wheel drive. I've never been happy with the gas mileage the six-cylinder gave me (around 15 mpg), so I've been looking for a four-cylinder 20 to 25 mpg four-wheel drive, four-door, mid-size truck.

They don't exist.

What's up with that? A Suburban-sized vehicle with a correctly geared and carbureted four-cylinder would still be able to easily do 70 mph on the freeway and yet get 20 mpg or better. Lock it into low range and it would go anywhere I need it to go, tow any boat up any ramp anywhere. Am I the only one who finds something appealing in that?

Like a lot of us, I grew up driving Volkswagens and mini-trucks where you had to downshift to third gear to get over Cajon Pass or the Grapevine at 50 mph. Driving 80 mph with a V8 doesn't have much appeal, especially at today's gas prices and the looming gas shortage.

You'd think that GM and the Japanese car makers would be offering us something on order of a mid-sized SUV that got something like 25 miles per gallon. We don't buy these beasts because they suck gas, we buy them for their utility in hauling lots of people and gear and their perceived safety -- right or wrong. All that hulk and steel around you makes you feel more secure, crash and rollover tests don't factor into that intuitive feel of safety. Strap a kid into a car seat in the middle of the backseat of a behemoth SUV and you know that child is safe.

Nearly 15 years ago, I went to Chile to fish for 10 days and rode around for much of that time in a series of trucks that I had never seen before. Four-door, short-bed trucks, with small four-cylinder engines that had immense utility. Four burly fishermen could ride around in them in relative comfort with all our wet gear in the back. I fell in love.

When I got home I contacted manufacturers. I wanted one. Those vehicles were never imported into this country for nearly a decade, even though they had already become the number one selling truck in the rest of the world. We finally woke up to that trend, and now it's hard to find a two-door on a lot of new truck lots.

The price of fuel around the rest of the world has most people driving efficient-engined vehicles. Car makes need to wake up to the price of fuel here and recognize our needs and wants have changed in this country. Make a Hummer or Hemi that gets 30 mpg and the Baby Boomers will beat an even wider path to those SUV dealer's doors.

YOUTH OUTDOOR SAFARI DAY: The Youth Outdoor Safari Day, a free event designed to show kids 17 and under a world of outdoor activities, will be held beginning 8 a.m. Saturday, July 19, at Mike Raahauge's outdoor recreation facility in Prado Basin. The event is expect to attract some 3,000 youths to participate and learn about dozens of outdoor activities, so pre-registration is recommended.

The nature walk in Prado Basin and the trick shooting exhibition by John Cloherty are enough of a draw, but can also learn about duck, turkey, and quail calling, pilot a kayak on a pond, do some rock climbing in a safe, controlled environment, learn about falconry, dog training, paintball games, and bicycle biathlon. The BB-gun booth is always one of the highlights for kids of all ages, but they can also experience clay target shooting, and there are fishing and casting opportunities. And proof that there is no such thing, the kids also get a free lunch.

Registration forms are available at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores or Mike Raahauge's facility. Sponsored by Safari Club International, this event is now in its fifth year. Adults pay $10 per person or $15 per couple, which includes lunch, and they are encouraged to bring a car-full of kids. For more information, contact Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981.

SPECIAL DOVE AND QUAIL HUNTS: The Department of Fish and Game is hosting a series of dove and quail hunts throughout Southern California. These are limited-entry hunts at Rancho Jamul in San Diego County, Cuyama Valley in Santa Barbara County, a private pheasant club in Kern County, and on a state area in the Frazier Park area in Los Angeles County. Application deadline is Aug. 6, and hunters should contact Scott Sewell at (562) 590-5100 for more information.

HUNTER SAFETY CLASSES: As dove season nears, there are an increasing number of hunter safety classes being held for first-time hunters throughout Southern California. This weekend alone, there are classes in Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga, Torrance, Orange, Chula Vista, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Escondido. For a complete list of classes in Southern California with contact names, phone numbers and other information, go to the DFG's website at www.dfg.ca.gov/huntered/index.html. The DFG hunter education phone recording at (562) 590-5670 in incomplete, but you can call (562) 590-5126 if you don't have access to a computer.

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TORTOISES AND MORE -- matthews outdoor column 2jul03

$100 million on tortoises and what do you get?

The federal government has spent over $100 million on desert tortoises over the past 10 years and the critters are probably closer to extinction than they were before so much money was lavished on studying and managing these ancient creatures.

As far as I can tell, the only thing that has been done to help the tortoises was to close roads in the desert, harass cattle ranchers into pulling cattle off the ground to protect tortoises at certain times of year, and build miles of short fences to keep tortoises from getting on roads. The obvious question is why tortoise numbers haven't gotten better if these fixes were supposed to help? In fact, the numbers are worse.

Since there's little evidence that many tortoises are run over on dirt roads or that cattle are a problem, maybe it's the new fences that are hurting things. I've heard from desert regulars that ravens now fly these fences all spring, when the baby tortoises are first venturing out from the nest. The babies come to a fence and then follow it. It acts like a net, concentrating them. The ravens, bright birds, fly the fenceline and feast on the young. A booming raven population has already been identified as one of the major sources of tortoise decline, and the experts are concentrating the babies for these birds. You have to wonder if the people who come up with this kind of stuff could get a real job.

Has the $100 million been used to reduce the raven overpopulation, develop drugs for the respiratory problems tortoises contract, start a disease-free desert tortoise captive breeding population, or anything else that would actually help recover the species? Do we have tortoise population estimates that are viable? Do we have historical perspective on how today's population compares to 25, 50, 100 or 200 years ago so we know how bad or normal this current decline might be? Is it even a decline?

I may not have a doctorate in desert ecology, but I could guarantee you that if you gave me $10 million a year for the next 10 years, there'd be tortoises -- of a wide genetic diversity, disease free, with strong year classes of young -- all over our desert. This whole process is more about restricting people than recovering a species or we'd be spending the money differently.

RABBIT SEASON: The first hunting season of the new year opened Wednesday this week. The season on cottontail rabbits extends through the last Sunday in January. Spring rains have made for a prolific breeding season and there are scads of young bunnies. Each year, I get a bunch of phone calls from hunters asking if the rabbits are edible this time of year. Apparently, many people still believe that rabbits are wormy until the first hard frost (as if a freeze was going to kill internal parasites) and not fit to eat. I've been eating July bunnies for years, mostly young and tender ones, and have never found one that was wormy or unhealthy. In fact, it's sort of a July 4th tradition at my house to have fresh bunny on the barbecue, a celebration of hunting season opening, gun ownership, and a bountiful land.

YOUTH OUTDOOR SAFARI DAY: The Youth Outdoor Safari Day, a free event for kids 17 and under, will be held beginning 8 a.m. Saturday, July 19, at Mike Raahauge's outdoor recreation facility in Prado Basin. The event is expect to attract some 3,000 kids to participate in and learn about dozens of outdoor activities.

The BB-gun booth is always one of the highlights for kids of all ages, but they can also learn about duck, turkey, and quail calling, pilot a kayak on a pond, do some rock climbing in a safe, controlled environment, watch an incredible trick shooting exhibition, learn about falconry, dog training, paintball games, and bicycle biathlon. There are guided natural hikes in Prado Basin, clay target shooting, and fishing and casting opportunities. The kids also get a free lunch.

Sponsored by Safari Club International, this event is now in its fifth year. Adults pay $10 per person or $15 per couple, which includes lunch, and they are encouraged to bring a car-full of kids. For more information, contact Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981.

DUCK NUMBERS UP: After three years of declines, the breeding population of ducks in California has increased 36 percent over last year to just over 1/2 million birds, but it is still below the long-term average for the state. California also winters a significant proportion of the waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway, and the number of all waterfowl is expected to be up this year due to improved spring conditions and decades of good habitat work.

Thank goodness the same folks who are managing tortoises don't do ducks.

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