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Recreation
- Details
- Written by: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The weekend of Sept. 22 to 23 is designated as Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days in this zone only.
Additional youth waterfowl hunting opportunities will follow in the other zones around the state Feb. 2 and 3.
The majority of hunters will take to the blinds Oct. 20 in most zones. Specific opening and closing dates vary by zone.
Detailed information about daily bag and possession limits can be found on the Fish and Game Commission Web site.
Most season dates and bag limits remain similar to last year with the exception of pintail, which has increased to two birds per day.
In addition, the Klamath Basin Special Management Area was created to maintain all goose hunting days during the general season while the Northeastern Zone has an extended late season for white and white-fronted geese.
Quality public hunting access can be found on more than two dozen national wildlife refuges and wildlife areas and ecological reserves managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Please note that nonlead ammunition is now required when hunting all species on CDFW wildlife areas and ecological reserves. For more information, please see the CDFW nonlead ammunition webpage.
It is also common for waterfowl hunting areas to close periodically throughout the season due to safety concerns caused by flooding. Areas that most commonly experience flood closures include Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, Delevan National Wildlife Refuge, Little Dry Creek and Howard Slough.
Hunt dates and applications for Sutter National Wildlife Refuge have not yet been finalized due to uncertainty of water availability. Please call 530-934-2801 for up-to-date information.
Hunters should keep informed about current reservation and quota numbers, which are expected to fluctuate frequently.
Reservations for state-operated wildlife areas that are closed due to flooding will not be accepted at other hunting areas, and refunds will not be issued for applications submitted to areas that are closed or where reservations are not available.
Hunters can follow the Twitter tag #cawildlifeareaclosures for updates on state-operated wildlife area closures.
A valid California hunting license, appropriate validations and a signed federal waterfowl conservation stamp or an electronic federal waterfowl conservation stamp must be obtained before entering the field. In addition, a wildlife area pass is required to hunt on many state-operated wildlife areas. Licenses, validations and passes are not sold at wildlife areas, so hunters must purchase these items in advance.
California hunters are required to complete a hunter education training course before purchasing a hunting license for the first time in California. Approximately 30,000 students complete this requirement annually.
- Details
- Written by: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
California Department of Fish and Wildlife hatchery workers will open the gates in the ladder about 8 a.m. and will take more than 3 million spring-run eggs and 12 million fall-run eggs over the next two months in order to produce Chinook salmon for release next spring.
The hatchery is open from sunrise to sunset. Visitors can observe the salmon through the viewing windows and from the observation deck located at the base of the fish barrier dam.
At the main side of the hatchery, visitors can observe CDFW technicians performing the spawning process.
Thousands of schoolchildren tour the Feather River Hatchery each year. For more information about spawning schedules and educational opportunities at the Feather River Hatchery, please call 530-538-2222 or visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/fishing/hatcheries/feather-river .
For information about hatchery tours, please call 530-534-2306.
For more information about California’s fish hatcheries, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/fishing/hatcheries.
- Details
- Written by: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to remind deer hunters to check for wildfire-related closures before heading to their favorite hunting spots for the general deer season, which is set to open in many parts of the state Saturday, Sept. 15.
Deer season is already underway in California's A and B4 zones along the coast and many coastal deer hunters have had to improvise and find new spots this season as a result of wildfire-related closures that upended hunting plans.
Please visit CDFW's forest fire related closure page for information and resources.
The majority of California's general deer hunting zones - B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, D6 and D7 - open Saturday, Sept. 15, along with premium hunting zones X9a and X9b in Mono and Inyo counties along the eastern Sierra. Several other general deer hunting zones - D3, D4, D5, D8, D9 and D10 open the following week, on Saturday, Sept. 22, as does premium hunting zone X8 in Alpine County.
"California has experienced several very large wildfires this summer, many of which are in popular deer hunting zones," said David Casady, an environmental scientist with CDFW's Deer Program. "Hunting will be challenging this year - particularly in the B zones and the northern parts of the A zone – but the range should respond positively and hunting should be productive in the next three to five years."
California's deer population is generally stable with small year-to-year fluctuations. Current estimates put the population at approximately 533,000 deer statewide. California hunters harvested 29,394 deer in 2017 with an overall hunter success rate of 16 percent.
Hunters are reminded that deer tag reporting is now mandatory - even for hunters who are unsuccessful or those who did not have a chance to hunt at all. CDFW has produced a video on how to properly complete, attach and report your deer tag.
California is phasing-in the use of nonlead ammunition for hunting which will be required for all wildlife harvest beginning July 1, 2019.
While nonlead ammunition is currently not required for hunting deer in California in 2018 outside of the California condor range, if you will be hunting on a CDFW wildlife area or ecological reserve, nonlead ammunition is required. For more information, please see CDFW's nonlead ammunition page.
Additional deer hunting information, including hunt zone descriptions, maps and special hunts, is available at CDFWs deer hunting page.
- Details
- Written by: BoatUS
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The autumn boating season has arrived, and with it comes cooler water temperatures.
A fall overboard can get serious quickly, and wearing a life jacket could give you extra time to survive.
While many boaters have traditional floatation-filled life jackets, an increasing number have switched to more modern inflatable life jackets, which require a little preparation each year. If you haven’t inspected your inflatable life jacket and it’s gone through a summer’s worth of hard boating, now is a good time to take a close look at it.
Here’s a quick four-step prep for your inflatable life jacket from the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water:
– Open it up and look. Gently open the life jacket, usually by pulling apart any hook-and-loop tape covers or flaps and then unfolding. Pay close attention because repacking it is essentially the reverse of this process. Inside you will find a thin-walled bladder, which is what keeps your head above water when inflated, so take your time looking for any tears or abrasions. Are the waist strap and all buckles in working condition?
– Remove the cartridge. Unscrew the CO2 cartridge and ensure it hasn’t been discharged, sometimes indicated by a small puncture in the center of the threaded end. Some inflators will have a green ready-to-go indicator. Check the cartridge and inflation mechanism for corrosion. Some inflator mechanisms have a little “pill” or “bobbin” that dissolves in water allowing for automatic inflation. It should be in good shape. If not, purchase a rearming kit.
– Test for leaks. Using your mouth, blow up the life jacket using the manual-inflation tube found on the upper left front of the life jacket. This tube may also be used as a back up to fill the jacket with air in an emergency, so familiarize yourself with how it works. Leave the fully inflated life jacket alone for 24 hours to test for leaks.
– Repack. If, after the time is up and the life jacket still holds air, deflate it and repack according to the instructions, which usually can be found on an inside flap. Now you’re ready for fall boating season!
For more information on the care of life jackets, go to www.BoatUS.org/Life-Jackets/Care.