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Jesse's Hunting > Jim Matthews > July 2003 - Dec. 2003
July 2003 - Dec. 2003
REVIVING
THE DFG -- ONS-Jim Matthews 31dec03
Our DFG needs major overhaul
Our new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has made a big deal over
auditing state government and eliminating the waste. Schwarzenegger has
shown the ability to work with a divided legislature -- or go around
them when necessary. It seems to me he's getting good advice on many
issues. How about the DFG and the state's resource problems?
The DFG could be a poster child for all of the problems with government
today: incompetence, fraud, and bloated bureaucracy. It could be argued
that the much of the DFG's budget is being spent inappropriately, if
not illegally. The diversion of funds from dedicated accounts -- mostly
from accounts that should fund game and fish programs -- is monumental.
License money and the federal excise taxes on sporting arms and
ammunition sent back to the states is largely diverted to non-game
environmental programs that do not benefit the payees of those "taxes,"
which is wrong in principal and practice.
The state's legislators have piled up more and more "mandates" on the
DFG over the years without providing the funding to accomplish those
tasks. So the money is stolen from other programs. Our programs.
We need to make sure the governor appoints a director who will first
and foremost restore sportsman's money to sportsmen's programs. When
the legislature whines about their pet DFG "green" project not being
done, the governor and his staff need to point out that they didn't
appropriate money to do this job and that sportsmen shouldn't have to
fund it. We need a strong conservationist/sportsman to head the agency,
one who won't become invisible like those of the last two decades.
I happen to believe that the governor can make a policy, without
legislative approval, that says that all money raised by fees on
sportsmen can only be spent on programs that benefit hunted or fished
species of wildlife. That was the intent of the laws that set license
fees and excise taxes, and this is just a way of putting that in
writing. Unfunded mandates and unfunded programs should be eliminated,
staffers in those areas should be fired, or transferred to vacant jobs,
but only if they truly qualify for the position. No more flower
biologists doing game surveys. A strong director can see to that.
The DFG has a lot of dedicated and hard-working staff, but there is
also a ton of dead wood that needs to be thinned out of the ranks
before the whole forest dies. We have way too many lawyers on the DFG
staff, way too many middle management staffers who don't do anything
except get in the way, and way too many field staff people who only
work two days a week (if you compare their output to someone in the
private sector). We could weed out a lot of high-paying jobs, eliminate
entire programs, and probably end up getting even more accomplished.
Game programs should again take priority within the DFG because they
are the only ones generating money for the state coffers, thanks to the
license fees and the excise taxes we pay.
Non-game programs should be eliminated or funded with a new state
excise tax on wild bird seed, hiking boots, backpacks, binoculars,
mountain bikes, and similar items. The legislature would pass this. A
strong director could champion this legislation with the support of the
environmental community and sportsmen.
Environmental review programs should be funded by a new developer fee
on each family housing unit built, each home or apartment, and/or each
new residential water connection made. No legislature would have the
courage to suggest this. Maybe the governor?
Does the new governor know what needs to be done in California with
regards to the DFG and the environment? He will if he gets enough calls
from sportsmen. Outside of developers, we are really the only ones with
a vested interest in what happens. Your letters, e-mails, and phone
calls are important. We need a director now, and we need some changes
made. We don't need continued bureaucracy and politics as usual.
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WHAT'S FOR DINNER: WILD
GAME -- matthews column-ONS 24dec03
Wild game: the best food on this earth
The connection between a person's attitudes and
their palate is difficult to sever. Attitudes develop and are honed
over time and contain a multitude of bias, and I don't necessarily mean
bias in a bad way here. Our cultural, familial, work place, and
educational biases shape our character.
They also can radically alter how we taste our food.
Straight, black brewed coffee without any flavor
enhancers might smell good, but it is a bitter tasting brew that we
learn to drink with gusto. Like with most alcoholic drinks, I suspect
we mostly tolerate the taste of coffee for the chemical affects, the
caffeine. There are whole fleet of vegetables that smell like aromas
escaping from an ajar outhouse door when they are cooking, which is
acutely recognized by children who haven't been cultured into eating
them. Eventually we learn, or are figuratively beaten into believing,
they smell and taste radically different when we actually get the
finished product under our noses and into our mouths. I like my cooked
vegetables smothered in butter or cheese sauces. Broccoli or
cauliflower raw are good for you. But if you are honest with your nose
and taste buds, they rank right up there with alfalfa, which is and
should be fed to cows and sheep. I've tasted alfalfa and it is sweeter
than the other two and would probably make a good soup base. Potatoes
are starchy and bland without loads of butter and sour cream. French
fries are popular because of the grease and salt on the outside, not
the bland stuff on the inside. A baked or barbecued potato skin is the
best-tasting part, but my kids tell me the skin tastes like dirt even
after I've scrubbed them clean before cooking. Maybe my system just
needs those minerals in the dirt, and sends that message to my brain to
convince me it tastes good. Yet, I've never met anyone who didn't love
the smell of cooking bacon or the taste of the finished product if they
were honest about it. (Admittedly, I mostly hang out with avowed
carnivores.) I come to ponder all of these things deeply at our annual
Christmas party.
We serve mostly wild game at this event and invite
our family and friends. In the old days, it was mostly hunting buddies
and close family members who hunted and fished with us throughout the
year. The idea was to get everyone together and eat chili made with
deer or elk or pronghorn. As Becky and I got older and our two boys got
involved in school and youth sports, our circle of friends grew beyond
those who shared my passion for hunting and fishing. Our recipes also
became far more elaborate, even though the idea of keeping things
simple and in one big pot is retained to this day. When you have 100 or
more people eating, being able to ladle spoonfuls on a plate or into a
bowl works best. Now there are four or five huge pots on burners and
crock pots sitting on counters.
Each year, now, there are a few folks who are leery
about the whole idea of wild game, as if feed lot cattle are some how
healthier or more sanitary. "What's this?" they ask, hovering over the
venison stew with wrinkled nose. So my brother-in-law, R.G., and I have
taken to lying to get them to give things an unbiased taste test. "Oh,
that's our beef stew. We always make a couple of dishes for people who
don't like wild game." Of course, we tell different people who ask that
question different things. Everything IS wild game. But sometimes we
say the ham hocks and black-eyed peas, the chili verde, the spicy
chili, or sausage and wild rice, are made with domestic critters to get
people to try them. They are white lies. Most are courageous enough to
try everything. Some are honest enough to let their taste buds tell
them what is good or not, and go back for seconds on the elk stew or
rabbit, dove, quail and chukar gumbo. Some find only the ones we've
lied about to be good and the others "gamey" or "ummm, not as good." We
always tell everyone the truth eventually. It's our little cultural
experiment and great sport in its own right.
The ones who have such a preconceived bias that they
have a gag response when we tell them the truth later, or refuse to try
something based on its contents, aren't likely to be invited back. Wild
game is too precious to us to waste on poeple like that. If they have a
gag response, quickly have a mouth-cleansing drink, or rush to the
bathroom with a hand clapped over their mouth after tasting something
they believe is a domestic product, R.G. and I huddle together. We
sample it again ourselves and wonder about the recipe. Were we letting
our own bias and love for the mild yet rich flavor of pronghorn, the
smokey hot flavor of chipotle chilis, and black beans go overboard on
this particular batch of chili con carne y frijoles?
We have always decided each time this happens, "Naw,
they just don't know what's good." Which is probably proof of our own
biases. Those are probably the years we have leftovers in one of the
big 22-quart pots.
Most years, however, we prove that well prepared
wild game can be universially savored and loved on its own merits. Pots
are scraped clean. There can be jostling in front of the stove to get
the last of a favorite dish. People ask for recipes. We have
non-hunting friends who come back each year more for the food than the
company.
But how can you not love all wild game? Well, salami
made from a salmon-eating bear is pretty awful, but we have some
hard-core hunter friends who swear it is delicious and bring it each
year to share. I personally think they are just clearing it out of the
freezer in a little sport of their own; but then, they might be
dedicated, fifth-generation merganser hunters, too.
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BIG BASS TIME -- matthews column 17dec03
Big bass on prowl for trout
It starts now. The major urban
reservoirs are being planted every couple of weeks with rainbow trout,
and while this is good for trout anglers, it is better for the
fishermen who like to catch large bass -- both largemouth and stripers.
It seems to take a few trout
plants before the bass recognize that the feeding trucks -- I mean
stocking trucks -- are arriving at their lakes on the regular basis.
When they finally figure it out, it's almost as though they can
differentiate between the sound of trout trucks and other vehicles
launching boats on the ramps. The big bass come up out of the depths
and eat a few rainbow trout.
Hatchery trout aren't oblivious to
the sight of their brethren being eaten, so they get skittish and look
for protected places after a few of their brothers and sisters have
disappeared down the cavernous mouths of the bigger fish. For the next
few days, the big bass then cruise around looking for the little pods
of spooky trout, and there are eruptions of the surface of lakes all
over the region that look like someone hurled a microwave into the
water. Those are just bass feeding on trout.
Smart anglers who like to catch
really big bass have caught on to this program and rig up with
nine-foot rods and reels loaded with 30-pound test line. They stop by
tackle shops and buy big nine- to 12-inch swimbaits that look like
rainbow trout and they go fishing right after trout plants to catch big
bass. It's not difficult fishing, but you have to be patient and
persistent. Keep an eye on the trout plant lists and make sure you have
warm clothes. Fish off the points near where the trout are planted. Now
is the time to go.
At Lake Perris on Monday this
week, Joe Sahagun of Rialto caught a 12.14-pound largemouth hurling an
Osprey. Not a bird, but a big trout-like lure. No surprise, trout were
planted Monday at Lake Perris.
On the Colorado River's Lake
Mohave, trout were planted at Cottonwood Cove last Friday. Ryan Webb of
Las Vegas landed six striped bass that weighed from 15 to 43 pounds,
also on an Osprey lure, the next day on Saturday.
My old friend Allan Cole of
Boulder City, Nev., caught a 48 1/2-pound striper, also in the
Cottonwood Cove area, on Dec. 9th hurling one of his own A.C. Plugs.
Trout had been planted just a couple of days earlier. Since trout are
slated to be planted at Willow Beach this week, I suspect Cole's name
will pop up in the fish report again next week. I know he'll be fishing
for big stripers this weekend or early next week.
Where ever there are largemouth or
stripers in waters that get trout plants, there will be really big
largemouth and stripers that will eat those trout. And it doesn't have
to be a big lake or place famous for big bass. I know a guy who caught
and released a bass well over 10 pounds from tiny little Mojave Narrows
Park Lake in Hesperia.
CRAVE BAIT SOLD TO EAGLE CLAW: Crave Bait Company, the makers of
Crave Nitro Dough, Gravy, and Nitro Grease, has been sold to Eagle
Claw, the world famous hook company that makes more fishing products
than just hooks. Phil Mackey, the inventor of the Crave scent formula,
will stay on with Eagle Claw as a consultant for the time being. Eagle
Claw says it will ramp up production of the Crave products and market
them worldwide.
Until Crave, Berkley's Power Bait
products dominated the fishing marketplace, especially the trout market
here in Southern California because they are inexpensive and very
effective. Mackey's Crave products, however, were even more effective
in repeatable scientific testing, and the Crave line was making inroads
into Berkley sales. With Eagle Claw purchasing Crave, the competition
between these two fishing company giants is just going to mean one
thing -- better and more effective baits for the angler.
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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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LICENSE FEE HIKE AND MORE -- matthews column
03dec03
DFG fees going up for 2004
When
hunters or fishermen would call me to whine about the cost of licenses,
tags and stamps, I would always tell them these fees to hunt and fish
in California were a bargain at twice the price. I still believe it --
even with the increases for next year announced by the Department of
Fish and Game this week.
An
annual fishing license at the 2004 price of $31.25 is a near-free pass
to fish some of the nation's best freshwater and ocean fisheries. It
breaks down to pennies a day and funds a wide range of research and
stocking programs, law enforcement, and habitat improvement. If you
catch just 10 trout a year, you've more than paid for the cost that
license if you were to simply go to the store and buy 10 rainbows for a
couple of dinners.
But
a large number of hunters and fishermen still think everything should
be free, and they whine with every license increase, every entrance
fee, every special stamp that funds their pet hunting or fishing
program. These are the same guys who leave hook wrappers, worm
containers, and empty shotgun shells shrewn about -- apparently
believing those paltry fees also pay for a janitor to follow them
around and clean up their trash. I like the license, stamp and tag fees
and I think they should be more. A lot more. Maybe we'd weed out the
people who don't truly appreciate our tremendous public land hunting
and fishing heritage.
The
2004 fee increases are too modest to do that. The annual fishing
license increase is just $2 ($29.25 to $31.25), and the annual hunting
license jumps only $1.50 from $29.75 to $31.25. Ocean-only licenses are
gone, but one- and two-day licenses are valid in the ocean or fresh
water. There are other modest fee increases, but the biggest jump came
with pig hunting tags. This year, you could buy a book of five tags for
$8.75. Starting July 1, 2004, they will cost $15 each, a theoretical
increase of nearly 900 percent.
If
the fishing license fee increased around nine times, to $275, would you
buy one? I've purchased non-resident hunting licenses for more than
that and didn't get to use them as long or with as much success as my
California fishing license. I'd buy one in a heartbeat, and dream of
what the DFG could do with the extra dough.
OF 27-POUND TROUT: The state record
for inland rainbow trout is a 26.08-pounder caught at Santa Ana River
Lakes in February, 2002, but that record would have been eclipsed at
Corona Lake this past Friday. "Would have" because the huge 27-pound
rainbow landed by Chuck Kemp of Compton was foul-hooked while he was
casting with a Roostertail. Between Corona Lake and Santa Ana River
Lakes, managed by fishing promoters Bill Andrews and Doug Elliott,
there were some 40 trout over 10 pounds caught over the Thanksgiving
weekend, including the 27-pounder. There is currently a trout swimming
in Santa Ana River Lakes that could weigh in the 30-pound range. This
fish would top the California state record for rainbow trout, including
ocean-going steelhead, which is 27-pounds, four-ounces.
All
of these monster trout were raised at Mt. Lassen Trout Farms in the
Northern California city of Red Bluff. Phil Mackey, or "the mad fish
scientist," as his wife Nancy likes to call him, says he will have
rainbow trout in excess of 30 pounds in his ponds on a regular basis
from now on.
Anglers
pay $18 a day to fish at Corona or Santa Ana River Lakes, where there
are these monster trout to hook, and sometimes land. We pay 8 1/2 cents
a day to fish public waters managed with our license dollar funds.
Whether or not you like the philosophy of these urban lakes, do you
think it's safe to say we get what we pay for in fishing and hunting?
OF RECORD BASS: The International
Angler, the newsletter of the International Game Fish Association,
reports that a 22 1/2-pound largemouth bass was caught and released
from tiny Spring Lake near Santa Rosa in late August.
Did
anyone hear about this? A world record class bass was caught and it
wasn't on front pages of every bass publication in the nation? Amazing.
The
IGFA says the fish was weighed on a hand scale and photographed before
being released. This would, could be a new world record for Leah Trew
of Santa Rosa, toppling George Perry's 1932 record catch of 22-pounds,
four-ounces. But there is something deja vu in all this. Spring Lake is
the same water where another Santa Rosa resident, Paul Duclos, caught a
24-poundish largemouth and released it after weighing it on a bathroom
scale. His record application was denied. The same fish was reportedly
caught by a fly-fisherman, photographed, and released before Duclos
caught it..
Will
someone at Spring Lake please keep that monster bass, conk it on the
head, and weigh it on a certified scale. We can then scratch George
Perry's name off the top of that list once and for all and have a world
record fish fry.
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MATTHEWS WHOLE OUTDOORS CATALOG -- matthews-ONS 26nov03
Christmas gift ideas for your outdoorsman
For
approaching 20 years, we have dedicated this space at Thanksgiving to
news about unique and innovative products from my family's long-time
outdoor mail-order catalog business to help you with ideas for your
Christmas shopping.
The
Matthews Whole Outdoors Catalog Company (MWOCC) is an institution in
the outdoor world and a leader in innovative, unique, and rugged
outdoor gear and nature-based products for the home. All items are
designed and tested by members of my outdoor family, as they have been
for over 100 years, and they are all made here in the United States.
Needless to say, you won't find any of these things in the local
Wal-Mart or Cabelas catalog.
Genuine Fermented Grizzly Bear Milk
Great
Uncle Mountain Matthews started drinking distilled and fermented
grizzly milk because, as he explained it, "It put hair on my chest." He
swears this natural elixir promotes the growth of a soft fur undercoat
in men. Uncle Mountain drank the concoction prior to and throughout the
winter when trapping in the Northwest Territories as a young man. He
said it allowed him to grow a dense fur coat to stave off the cold and
reduce the layers of clothing he needed to wear in that cold
environment. Uncle Mountain has written a book about how he procured
the grizzly milk that is being made into an action movie for release
next year. Today, actors use this product when playing werewolf parts.
Regular folks drink it before costume parties. But its major benefit,
in moderate daily doses, is that it prevents hair loss and completely
ends shyness. Also great for hangovers because everyone knows "hair of
the bear" is better than "hair of the dog."
Booze with a Bite (90 proof) $189
per fifth
Cousin Willis Matthews gives tours of the MWOCC's
grizzly dairy located just outside Yellowstone National Park. He says
that grizzly bear milkers are a dying breed.
Authentic Flatulence Scented Mood Candles
A
perfect off-season gift for the hunter who misses hunting camp or the
wife who misses her traveling husband. However, these
flatulence-scented candles were designed with the holidays in mind when
guests and old girlfriends overstay their welcome. They are perfect for
killing the mood. These wax-based, long-burning candles are available
in three flatulence scent/size combinations that can send your message
in varying degrees. A sound effects adapter is extra. Guaranteed not to
peel the paint.
Little Toot Candles (set of six) $8
Rip Snort Candles (per pair) $10
Seam Buster Candle (you only need one) $12
Finger-Pull Audio Adapter $22
World Record Whitetail Deer Cloned Stock
Direct
from the Matthews Whitetail Plantation in northern Missouri, Cousin
Willis Matthews' careful, selective breeding of the biggest whitetail
deer produced a new world record seven years ago. This buck was kept
secret until this year when the MWOCC could announce that using DNA
from
the antlers of this tremendous buck and "estrogen enhanced" (EE)
technology, we have been able to create a series of long-lived,
vigorous, clones that grow antlers identical to the original world
record, which is still alive at a secret location. Games ranches across
the nation are now clamoring for these clones for both their hunting
program and as breeding stock. Order in batches of 10, 50, and 100 for
reduced rates.
Record Horn-EE buck clone $42,000
each
Real Yellowstone Hot Water Geyser Construction Kits
The
federal government contracted with great, great uncle Werner Von
Matthews Sr. well over 100 years ago to create a series of natural and
varied geysers, mud pots, and hot springs to enhance the tourist appeal
of Yellowstone National Park. While this information was classified for
more than a century, the Bush Administration has decided to make the
charade public to show that drilling in National Parks and Refuges can
actually enhance the area for wildlife and the public. The Matthews
Whole Outdoor Catalog staff has maintained our original-designed geyser
system in Yellowstone in complete secrecy for all these years.
Virtually all of the "geothermal" activity in the park is run by a
series of pumps, pipelines, and a vast underground network of tunnels
for our workers. The whole geyser system is powered by electricity
generated at Yellowstone Falls. This limited power supply is why Old
Faithful only erupts about once an hour. Shooting it off more often
would blow fuses and shut down the whole system of bubbling pots, steam
vents, and mineral pools. Now that this information is declassified,
the MWOCC is free to offer this unique and patented equipment and
technology to the public. While our basic line is based on Old
Faithful, you can own exact replicas of any of the geysers in
Yellowstone, or we can custom design a geothermal event for your home
or yard. Replace that hot tub with a little piece of the Geyser Basin.
Use reclaimed sewage water for an authentic aroma.
Faux Faithfull (full size) $18,200
Faux Faithful (half-size) $12,600
Faux Faithfu (1/4-size) $9,150
Smoking Pot (bushel size) $480
For
your complete copy of our catalog, send an autographed copy of
President Billy Carter flyfishing along with a listing of your daily
medication to MWOCC, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007.
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OUTDOOR COLUMN: Wildlife Art Festival and more --
matthews-ONS 19nov03
Top federal duck
stamp art featured in Redlands show
The 21st Annual
Wildlife Art Festival returns to the San Bernardino County Museum this
Saturday and Sunday. As always, the centerpiece of the show is the top
100 entries in the annual federal duck stamp design competition,
including the painting that will grace next year's duck stamp.
This year, the
exhibit of the top entries will remain at the museum through Nov. 30,
along with a special exhibit, provided by Ducks Unlimited, of every
duck stamp ever printed, including the first stamp commission to Jay
"Ding" Darling in 1934.
The competition for
this next year's stamp design was won by wildlife artist and avid
waterfowl hunter Scot Storm from Sartell, Minnesota. Storm's acrylic
painting of a pair of redheads was chosen over 213 other entries
earlier this month. Storm's painting will become the 2004-2005 Federal
Duck Stamp, which goes on sale July 1, 2004.
His painting depicts a male and female redhead flying over a North
Dakota pond under a moody sky. Storm took a photo a few years ago at
Hay Bale Slough near York, North Dakota. Storm's family has been
hunting at a duck camp there for years. The background of his painting
came directly from this photograph made in hunting camp, and he made
several sketches of the duck positions before settling on the final
design.
In addition to Storm, who will be at the museum with his artwork this
weekend, there will be over 30 other prominent wildlife artists who
will have their work on display. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $6 for adults, $5 for
seniors, and $4 for kids with tots under 5 free. The museum is located
just north of Interstate 10 at the California Street offramp on Orange
Tree Lane. For more information, contact the museum at 909-307-2669 or
log on at www.sbcountymuseum.org.
NO FLATHEAD CATFISH STAMPS:
Earlier this month, Robert Brown of Banning hooked and wrestled from an
irrigation canal in the Palo Verde area of the Colorado River a
55-pound flathead catfish. Flatheads are incredibly ugly creatures that
have never been the subject of a conservation stamp, but they are
dearly loved by anglers.
A few years ago, Brown's fish would have been a state record for
flathead catfish, but in recent years, the record has toppled
repeatedly as more and more flatheads reach the age where they can hit
those record weights. The first plants of flathead catfish were made in
the Colorado River in 1962 by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and
biologists believe the offspring of those fish are just now reaching
the age where they can attain their maximum weights.
The current California record is listed as 72-pounds, 14-ounces and was
caught by Billy Potter of Blythe April 22nd this year from the Palo
Verde Lagoon on the California side of the Colorado. The Arizona record
is listed as 74 pounds and it was caught below Laguna Dam on the Lower
Colorado River near Yuma on May 11, 1998. The current world record for
rod and reel is a whopping 98 1/2 pounds caught in Texas in 1998, but
flatheads over 100 pounds have been caught commercially.
Wayne Pinkerton, who runs B&B Bait in Blythe, says that every
flathead angler on the river has a tale or two of 90- to 100-pound fish
they've hooked and lost.
DEER HUNTING RECORDS:
While I don't know if deer hunting is actually getting better in
Southern California, there have been a lot of success stories come my
way this year.
Two long-time hunters I know -- Gary Hatfield of Mentone and Cliff
McDonald of Needles -- have both taken a pair of D-zone public land
deer this year. Both hunters shot very good bucks in the D17 desert
zone on the Mojave National Preserve. Hatfield then bagged a D14 deer
the last weekend of the season after a portion of the San Bernardino
Mountains were reopened after the fires, while McDonald hunted D12,
another desert zone along the Colorado River, and bagged a second
quality buck.
Over a three-week period, photos popped over my e-mail of three mature
bucks taken at Catalina Island, including one massive, heavy-horned 6x6
buck taken by Jake Brand of Redondo Beach on his 60th birthday.
Then this week, Don Geivet, the game manager of the 270,000-acre Tejon
Ranch, sent me a photo of a tremendous buck taken on the ranch last
Friday by Justin Morgan of Simi Valley. The 26-inch wide, heavy 4x4
looks like something out of Colorado.
None of these great bucks would make the Boone & Crockett record
book -- as it's set up now. Why? Because these are all subspecies of
mule deer that are not as big in body or antler as mule deer from Utah
or Colorado or Montana. Just as Coues deer are recognized by B&C as
a minature, trophy whitetail, these California mule deer deserve
recognition by Boone & Crockett with some new categories. Such
designations would benefit these deer and their management, and it
would stimulate far more interest in hunting in Southern California, a
place that has some of the best hunting in the Western states. The
proof is in the photos.
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EXTENDING HUNTING CAMP -- matthews column 12nov03
Hunting camp has
enlarged
With all of the negative media and debate within the hunting community
over use of technology in the pursuit of game, I am almost reluctant to
admit that cell phones have enriched my hunting season the past two
years. Hunting camp is now always filled with my hunting buddies,
hurling barbs, offering advice, sharing knowledge, even when I'm the
only one at our cabin or walking the ridges on our deer lease.
They are just a phone call away. Hunting is as much about the social
activity and shared heritage as it is about the silently stalking game.
Huddling together under a tree waiting for a rain squall to pass,
glassing together from ridgelines, sitting by campfires in the evening
are the shared activities that weave together into the rich fabric of
the hunting experience. Even when we venture off on our own, hunting
across an oak flat by ourselves for the day, we gather later to share
what we've seen and learned. We heckle the young hunters and cook big
dinners. The cabin glows into the night as we tell stories, fire
flickering, candles burning. We never really want to leave hunting
camp, but wives and work probably would both disappear if we didn't
come home sometime.
With cells phones we can be transported there, and hunting buddies
where ever they are can be in camp together. I have sat in my office
and been with a hunting chum 120 miles away while he watched a buck
with a binocular and described it for me. With a few words giving me
location and weather, I am by his side watching the big two-by-three
buck following his nose after a doe. I feel the cool breeze out of the
San Joaquin Valley and see the clouds sticking to the mountain above
us. I can see the little forked-horn lurking off to the edge of the
activity and hear the redtail hawk call above us.
"He's a pretty good buck chasing those does in the little draw just
below the stock tank on Red Mountain where we got into those quail last
year," said my hunting buddy Lee Hoots over the phone, and I instantly
had a visual image of the place. I was next to him there in the oaks.
"Where you shot at the quail on the ground?" I asked, teasing.
"No, the ones you shot out of the trees," he shot back.
"Is the buck heavy?" I asked, back to the business at hand.
"He's got big bases and has a gray face. I think he's an old deer. I'm
going to sneak in closer. I'll call you in a bit."
I sat here in the office for a few minutes after hanging up the phone
thinking of how I had been instantly transported back to hunting camp.
It was a pleasant interruption to my busy day, and it took me a while
to get back -- mentally -- from hunting, but I was finally able to
refocus back on work. When the phone rang an hour later, it startled me
like a gunshot, but I instantly knew there would be a supply of venison
in Lee's freezer before I heard his voice.
"Hey, are you in the truck on your way up here to help me drag this
buck down to the road yet?" Those were his first words over the phone.
And, just as if I were there, I told him he was on his own. He laughed,
called me a name, and told me all about it. I was back at the ranch
again.
I've been out hunting more than normal thanks to cell phones. It's not
entirely the same, but it keeps me close, keeps my best friends close.
No apologies for that.
Fishing
tournament to visit six area park lake facilities
SAN BERNARDINO -- The Inland Empire Great Lakes Fishing Tour, a series
of six fishing derbies at San Bernardino and Riverside county park
facilities, will kick off this Saturday with its first event at Lake
Cahuilla, on the outskirts of La Quinta.
This Saturday's event will be followed by a Dec. 13 event at Glen Helen
Regional Park in San Bernardino, a Jan. 24 event at Lake Skinner in
Temecula, a Feb. 28 derby at Cucamonga-Guasti Park in Ontario, a March
13 event at Rancho Jurupa in Riverside, and the grand finale on April 3
at Yucaipa Regional Park.
There is a $10 derby fee at each event in additional to the park
entrance fees, but anglers will get tackle packs from event sponsors
valued at more than the derby fee. There will be prizes awarded for the
biggest fish in each event and then a grand prize drawing at the end of
the tournament series.
For more information, anglers can call San Bernardino County Regional
Parks at (909) 38-PARKS or the Riverside County Regional Parks and Open
Space District at (800) 234-PARK.
THE
FOLLOWING STORY IS AN EDITED DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME PRESS RELEASE:
California's rockfish
fisheries set to close Friday, Nov. 21, 2003
SACRAMENTO -- California's recreational and most commercial fisheries
for nearshore rockfishes, shelf rockfishes, California scorpionfish or
sculpin, and lingcod will close in all ocean waters Friday, Nov. 21. In
addition, the commercial California sheephead fishery in both state and
federal waters will also close on Nov. 21.
The move was made following federal action taken by the federal Pacific
Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and conforming action taken by the
California Department of Fish and Game.
The statewide
closures were adopted Nov. 5 by the PFMC and subsequently by the DFG
after review of projected fishery landings through October. Those
landings showed that harvest limits would have been met or exceeded by
the Nov. 21 closure date.
The PFMC's actions prohibit
recreational and commercial fishing for groundfish in most waters off
of California's coastline. For detailed information on the PFMC's
actions, anglers can log on to www.pcouncil.org. The closures come with more than six
weeks left of the current fishing season and will last for the
remainder of the year.
In addition, DFG will submit a
formal request to the California Fish and Game Commission to consider
an emergency action to close recreational fishing for ocean whitefish
and for other federal groundfish species not listed above. This action
would also be effective on Nov. 21, or as soon as administratively
possible, and will last through the end of the year.
Prior to the PFMC actions, the DFG
was closely tracking unanticipated high landings of nearshore
rockfishes, lingcod, and canary rockfish in California's recreational
fishery.
"In past years, anglers had more
opportunities to fish for rockfish in deeper waters. This year, fishing
for rockfish was limited to waters shallower than 120 feet which put
greater pressure on nearshore species," said Fred Wendell, DFG
nearshore fishery manager. "When we combined landings from northern
California, where fishing opened early in 2003, with later landings
from central and southern California, we found that we have filled or
exceeded annual limits faster than anticipated." High landings are also
believed to have resulted from salmon and albacore anglers switching to
rockfish due to poor fishing in the early part of the season.
While these actions close fishing
opportunities for a large number of species, there are still
recreational fishing opportunities for other species. Those fisheries
remaining open include kelp bass, sand bass, surfperches, halibut,
striped bass, sturgeon, white seabass, yellowtail, bonito, croaker,
corbina, opaleye, halfmoon, and others.
For a list and description of fishes included in the closures, refer to
DFG's Marine Region Web page at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/ or DFG's Fish Identification Guides,
available online at www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/fishid.html. Printed information concerning fishing
regulations is also available at local DFG offices.
Top
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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.
Top of Document
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.
Top of Document
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.
Top of Document
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 .
Top of Document
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 angl |
