Late Season Duck & Goose Hunting

[Vudhu]

Hello.

I am a failry new to duck/goose hunting. I am trying to gather information on waterfowl hunting in California. I have been goose/duck hunting a couple times out of the state, but not in state.

I have read a large amount of info about hunting on refuges, such as in Los Banos. I do not know how areas like this work, though. Is it a draw system, or first come first serve, does it have areas where you can freely walk and hunt or are you limited to a certain blind? Also, are there any decent spots on refuges or public land that would allow me to become attuned to this type of hunting in the state?

Any information addressing the mentioned questions would be greatly Appreciated.

[taperxz]

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/ols/

[taperxz]

The sticky at the top of the forum has all the links you need.

[lewdogg21]

Hello.

I am a failry new to duck/goose hunting. I am trying to gather information on waterfowl hunting in California. I have been goose/duck hunting a couple times out of the state, but not in state.

I have read a large amount of info about hunting on refuges, such as in Los Banos. I do not know how areas like this work, though. Is it a draw system, or first come first serve, Draw, but you can stand in line to get a slot in the "sweatline" after they call all draw/reservation #'s

does it have areas where you can freely walk and hunt or are you limited to a certain blind? Refuges that I know of have both established blinds and free roam areas

Also, are there any decent spots on refuges or public land that would allow me to become attuned to this type of hunting in the state? Of course. They can be dynamo

Any information addressing the mentioned questions would be greatly Appreciated.

See notes in bold.

[Vudhu]

Draw, but you can stand in line to get a slot in the "sweatline" after they call all draw/reservation #'s

Is this the type where you show up first thing in the morning and you get a number based on arrival, or something else?

Of course. They can be dynamo

Any that you are willing to recommend? Willing to drive 2hrs +/- from Cupertino.

[Vudhu]

The sticky at the top of the forum has all the links you need.

There is definitely great information on these pages. Any up front information, based on personal experience, you can give so I don't have to sort through so many pages to find certain answers?

[lewdogg21]

Is this the type where you show up first thing in the morning and you get a number based on arrival, or something else?

Yes. Most places you arrive the night before but some like Yolog wildlife area don't let you Camp or park overnight. I don't know what really happens though but that's the stated policy according to the website

Any that you are willing to recommend? Willing to drive 2hrs +/- from Cupertino.

Greylodge State refuge
Sacramento National Wild life refuge
Little Dry Creek
Howards Slough
Colusa NWR
Delevan NWR
Yolo Bypass Refuge


These are all above Yuba City and North. Don't know of ones in the grasslands which may be closer to you.

[Vudhu]

Yes. Most places you arrive the night before but some like Yolog wildlife area don't let you Camp or park overnight. I don't know what really happens though but that's the stated policy according to the website





Greylodge State refuge
Sacramento National Wild life refuge
Little Dry Creek
Howards Slough
Colusa NWR
Delevan NWR
Yolo Bypass Refuge


These are all above Yuba City and North. Don't know of ones in the grasslands which may be closer to you.

Excellent. Looks like I will make next weekend a designated trip up that way.

Looks like for most of them I need to arrive the previous night between 6 and 8:00pm to hopefully get a reservation.


Thanks for the info.

[Cougar125]

Excellent. Looks like I will make next weekend a designated trip up that way.

Looks like for most of them I need to arrive the previous night between 6 and 8:00pm to hopefully get a reservation.


Thanks for the info.

You arrive between 6 and 8 to get put in the lottery. After all the entrants are put in, they randomly draw numbers out of a hat and that is the order in which the lottery gets admitted to the refuge. Before lottery you have those with reservations. The only first come, first serve is with the "sweat" line (no resi, no lotto). I think you may be too late to get in on the reservations for this year since the resi's have already been drawn up to 1/18.

You might look for some Type C Wildlife Area's to try out as they are generally less populated. I've hunted a lot of Type A this year and done a lot of sweat line. I've gotten in on a couple reservations too. I just really depends on what you want to do.

Like said above, do a search of the forum and check the sticky at the top. Good luck!

Oh yeah...I hear lots of good thing about Yolo Bypass right now. It might be worth checking out.

[Vudhu]

You arrive between 6 and 8 to get put in the lottery. After all the entrants are put in, they randomly draw numbers out of a hat and that is the order in which the lottery gets admitted to the refuge. Before lottery you have those with reservations. The only first come, first serve is with the "sweat" line (no resi, no lotto). I think you may be too late to get in on the reservations for this year since the resi's have already been drawn up to 1/18.

You might look for some Type C Wildlife Area's to try out as they are generally less populated. I've hunted a lot of Type A this year and done a lot of sweat line. I've gotten in on a couple reservations too. I just really depends on what you want to do.

Like said above, do a search of the forum and check the sticky at the top. Good luck!

Oh yeah...I hear lots of good thing about Yolo Bypass right now. It might be worth checking out.

What are the chances of actually getting drawn in the lottery?

Also, if this is a fairly low chance of getting in, are there any specific Type C areas you would recommend which hold some waterfowl?


Thanks in advance.

[taperxz]

Since you are in Cupertino you might want to check out http://www.fws.gov/desfbay/basic.htm#Fishing

Don Edwards wildlife refuge. You can hunt the bay areas in these areas and its not bad in the late season. No sweat lines.

[taperxz]

http://www.fws.gov/desfbay/Hunt/Hunt_Information.htm

Much better link! sorry!

[dirtracer24]

Getting drawn in the lottery is a for sure thing. Get drawn for a reservation is not good odds I've put in probably 20 resi's and have never been drawn. If time allows I go draw numbers the night before and sleep in the truck.

Also new this year you need to have a waterfowl area entry pass prepurchased to get on a refuge. The first time I hunted a refuge this year I didn't know about this pass and showed up with cash ready to pay at the check station like I always have before. Anyhow it turned into a fiasco and I had to run into town buy a pass and come back hual *** out there set up decoys etc. There are always guys that did the same thing I did and weren't prepared.

[Vudhu]

Getting drawn in the lottery is a for sure thing. Get drawn for a reservation is not good odds I've put in probably 20 resi's and have never been drawn. If time allows I go draw numbers the night before and sleep in the truck.

If getting drawn in the lottery is a for sure thing, what makes reservations that much better? I'm assuming just the fact that you can get a better location?