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DUCK OPENER IS HIT & MISS
By: Ron Wilson
October 23, 2003....
Hunting Ducks and Geese in California may not be in the best interest of
your pocketbook. It may be cheaper and more productive to take a trip or
two to Canada to bag your waterfowl.
So far this year
several friends, who have traveled to Canada, have had a great time. All
came home with the intent on doing it again next year.
The waterfowl opener in Oregon wasn't all that great either and as you
moved south into California near the Alturas area, the reports I received
told of spotty success at best.
Some decent shoots could be found, but mostly poor hunting success was the
rule especially after opening day.
Locally the waterfowl reports were similar to those all over the west.
Saturday duck hunting was real good at the local refugees in the
grasslands and the surrounding duck clubs, but then success fell
significantly on Sunday.
Sunday I planned to go duck hunting with my son and grandson, my son,
Donald, had number 8 reservation at San Luis Refugee. He showed up at my
house at 3:30 a.m. to go bag a few birds.
A
quick check of his hunting license showed he did not have all the duck
stamps to be able to hunt so I went back to bed and he did the same.
They got up later and went to Auto Life in Modesto and picked up the
stamps needed and we got into the San Luis Refugee to hunt around noon and
managed to down a pair of mallards and another couple ducks before closing
of shoot time came that evening.
River hunters did not do that well as most of the birds are relating to
the wetlands. They will have to wait until migrating ducks come down from
up north before they start having any quality shoots.
With the near record heat wave we are having we might as well go fishing
until we get some storms into California to bring the migrating birds down
from the far north. |
