SoCalHunt San Jacinto Hunting Report 11/28/12

Today SoCalHunt was present and accounted for at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for another afternoon refill hunt.

My hunting partner and I arrived at the check station about 9:45 am and checked in on the refill list to await a spot. Today it seemed like the majority of the morning hunters were sticking it out as only a few trucks trickled into the check station parking lot from the refuge. We were low on the refill list but it seemed to be taking a lot longer to get on today then it usually does.

As we waited the hunters that were checking in appeared to have low numbers and most complained that it had been foggy this morning, which hampered them at start time and for a while after.

A nice little highlight we were privileged to observe at the check station as the hunters were checking in was one hunter bringing in a nice Canada Goose to the check station. This was the first Canada bagged at San Jacinto this season.

About noon we were still waiting for one of our preferred blinds to be vacated and we were still about four down on the refill list so we decided to try a blind next to one of the blinds we had hoped to get. We headed out and were set up and hunting about 12:45.

A possibility of rain had been predicted, which we had hoped would help the hunting, but as we began our hunt the sky was almost totally clear, albeit hazy.

We awaited the first duck to approach our blind…and waited…and waited… There was absolutely no waterfowl flying and this was reflected by the total lack of calling and shots being fired throughout the refuge.

As the day progressed clouds finally started to gather, although they didn’t really foretell any rain in near future.

About 3:00 pm, as the clouds congregated over the hills, we began to see some ducks moving. For about a half hour we saw several birds trading back and forth through the refuge, and the adjacent duck clubs, although most were at high altitude. We finally had a pair of pintail circle a couple times and they appeared to start in towards our blind but, probably just 10 yards short of being in range, they turned away and never offered us a shot. They ended up landing a couple hundred yards down the pond out of range of any of the blinds in the area. Not long after that a trio of Shovelers swooped in and, as the pair of sprig had done, broke off just a few yards short of being in range also. The spoonys landed about a hundred yards out from our blind and swam around for a while then swam behind some bulrush and disappeared. While they were swimming around in our view a merganser swam up to them and then swam towards our blind. The bird got to within about 35 yards of the blind and we considered taking her but neither of us wanted to eat a “fish duck” so we passed. My partner stood up out of the blind to see what she would do but the only reaction she had was to swim away quickly.

That was about it for the “action” today but it was still nice to be out in the marsh seeing the wildlife and the scenery. With the clouds in the sky we also got to see another beautiful SJ sunset, as always, worth the price of admission, at least in my opinion.

As the sun set behind the hills we picked up our gear and decoys and headed for home. Hopefully, with the weather up north that’s hitting now, we’ll get an influx of migrant birds and hunting will improve. We’ll be back soon to give it another try.

San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s Annual Loma Linda Children’s Hospital Wagon Drive Has Begun

The staff at San Jacinto Wildlife Area has begun their Annual Wagon Drive to benefit Loma Linda Children’s Hospital! Tom Trakes, Wildlife Habitat Supervisor, at San Jacinto Wildlife Area advised SoCalHunt that they are once again collecting donations of Radio Flyer wagons for Loma Linda Children’s Hospital.

I would encourage any hunter (or hunters if some want to pitch in together) to donate a Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon (Model 2700). This is a chance to show the general public that hunters have a heart. There is a special need at Loma Linda for the Radio Flyer Pathfinder wagons. These wagons are helpful to the children in the hospital as they can be rolled around in them to the various areas of the hospital with their IV’s and other medication in tow. The wagons retail for around $80. Tom said that anyone, or any group of people that would like to pitch in together, can contact him to donate funds towards a wagon.

Also, donations of arts and crafts supplies (crayons, water colors, puzzles, etc.) are needed also.

In addition Loma Linda child life has a wish list on Amazon.com. You can go to:

http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/1ZONWGO6OHNAF/ref=cm_wl_search_1

and purchase an item on Loma Linda’s wish list for them.

Donations for Loma Linda will be accepted until December 23rd, with the San Jacinto Staff delivering them to Loma Linda on the 24th.

Please take this opportunity to donate to the San Jacinto Annual Wagon Drive and support this noble effort.

For further details and/or to make arrangements to donate a wagon to Loma Linda, please contact Tom at (951)-236-3040 or the San Jacinto Wildlife Area Office at (951)-928-0580. Items can be donated at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area Office at 17050 Davis Road, Lakeview, CA 92567.

Thank you for your support!

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 11/28/12

The average waterfowl take at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Wednesday stayed pretty close to Saturday’s average take. As always seems to be the case Shovelers were the top bird taken with Gadwalls being the number two bird taken on Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/28/12 were as follows:

113 adult and 1 junior hunter check in with 33 Northern Shovelers, 16 Wigeon, 7 Bufflehead, 3 Cinnamon Teal, 20 Gadwall, 2 Green Wing Teal, 4 Mallards, 4 Pintail, 6 Red Heads, 5 Ring Necks, 1 Scaup and 10 Ruddy Ducks. A lone Canada Goose was taken at San Jacinto on Wednesday. There were also 15 coots checked in on Wednesday. This averaged out to 1.11 waterfowl per hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 18 arrived on time to claim their spot.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Saturday – 11/24/12

The waterfowl average per hunter at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday rose slightly from Wednesday’s average. As seems to be the norm, Shovelers were the number one bird taken with Wigeon claiming the number two spot on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/24/12 were as follows:

137 adult and 5 junior hunters bagged 41 Northern Shovelers, 23 Wigeon, 1 Bufflehead, 3 Cinnamon Teal, 15 Gadwall, 11 Green Wing Teal, 4 Mallards, 1 Merganzer, 10 Pintail, 8 Redhead, 3 Ring Necks, and 5 Ruddy Ducks. There were zero geese taken at San Jacinto on Saturday. 2 coots were also bagged on Saturday. The per hunter waterfowl average worked out to 0.90 birds. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 25 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 11/21/12

The bird per gun average at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Wednesday took a nosedive from Saturday’s average. Shovelers, as usual, were the number one bird taken and Green Wing Teal took over the number two spot on Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/21/12 were as follows:

136 adult and 20 junior hunters bagged 14 Northern Shovelers, 8 Wigeon, 9 Bufflehead, 2 Canvasbacks, 6 Cinnamon Teal, 9 Gadwall, 11 Green Wing Teal, 6 Mallards, 5 Pintail, 6 Ring Necks, 2 Scaup and 7 Ruddy Ducks. Once again no geese were taken at San Jacinto on Wednesday. 18 coots were also bagged on Wednesday. The average waterfowl count per hunter came out to 0.66 birds. There was no information provided on how many reservation holders showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

SoCalHunt San Jacinto Hunting Report 11/21/12

SoCalHunt was back again at San Jacinto Wildlife Area, this time for our first morning hunt of the season. We had managed to pull a good low reservation number and hopes were high for a good morning. We got in line with the other reservation holders and awaited our turn with good old Tom at the check station desk to pick our spot.

Once we had our blind we headed out to the refuge to set up for start time. As we drove out we ran into some fairly thick fog that actually made driving out to the blinds an exercise in caution. Even though I know the roads at SJ like the back of my hand the turns would emerge out of the fog abruptly which meant our speed had to be kept down slightly, although we had plenty of time due to the low reservation number.

We humped our gear out to our blind, of course, utilizing the Ducks and Bucks decoy cart, which floats, to get our stuff out to our island blind. Once we arrived we set about setting a small decoy spread and getting our gear arranged in our blind. As we busied ourselves with this task the fog started to lift and reveal a nice clear, starry sky. It always amazes me how many more stars you can see in an area like San Jacinto by just being a few miles from the city lights.

Once we were set up we waited for starting time. As we did, and as the light started to gather, we saw a couple of flights of birds, by their whistling I identified them as wigeon, swooping down into our pond and landing at the far end. As start time approached a wall of fog suddenly rolled in and visibility went from hundreds of yards down to about 25 yards or so. No one on the refuge shot early today and as starting time rolled around several shots rang out, although not as many as I expected to hear, likely because of the visibility problem the fog produced. We didn’t see a bird within range for several minutes and when we did see a couple they were here and gone before we could even shoulder our shotguns. The fog hung in for over an hour until the sun was well over the horizon before it began to burn off.

As the fog began to lift some we had one large duck, although I couldn’t identify the species due to the fog, come within range but we couldn’t connect on that one. As we sat in the blind, waiting for more opportunities, we had teal buzz by at low altitude several times, however, we either weren’t quick enough to get a shot off when we saw them loom out of the lifting fog or they were already on their way out before we did see them, (looking right when we should have looked left and vice-versa).

Finally probably about 8:30 or so, (I didn’t look at my watch), the fog lifted and we were able to actually see across our pond.

About 9:15 a lone gadwall hen came in towards the blind and pulled up sharply when she saw us stand to shoot. I was able to hit this bird with my first shot and she landed like a rock in the water not 10 yards from the blind. A short time later the blind in the pond behind us opened up on something and a mallard hen wrapped around the tree behind our blind and crossed our pond. We both fired at her as she crossed our pond and I downed her a good distance from the blind with my second shot. After I collected the mallard we had a few ducks come close to being in range but not quite so we didn’t have any more opportunities to bag any more birds. About 11:30 we called it a day and picked up or gear and headed in. So two good birds is better then a sharp stick in the eye but I think the fog handicapped us during what should have been to prime time of the morning.

Anyway, hopefully we’ll be back for another try next Wednesday.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Saturday – 11/17/12

The per hunter bird average at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday dropped some again from Wednesday’s average. Shovelers, once again, took the top spot for number of birds taken with Gadwalls taking over the number two spot on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/17/12 were as follows:

146 adult and 6 junior hunters bagged 42 Northern Shovelers, 15 Wigeon, 2 Bufflehead, 9 Cinnamon Teal, 33 Gadwall, 21 Green Wing Teal, 15 Mallards, 11 Pintail, 2 Redhead, 3 Ring Necks, 1 Surf Scooter and 13 Ruddy Ducks. There were no geese bagged at San Jacinto on Saturday. 17 coots were included in the count on Saturday. The average waterfowl count per hunter came out to 1.21 birds. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 27 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 11/14/12

The average number of ducks taken per hunter Wednesday ticked up slightly from Saturday’s average at San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Shovelers, as usual, were the most numerous bird taken with Wigeon coming in second place Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/14/12 were as follows:

117 adult and 3 junior hunters checked in 55 Northern Shovelers, 26 Wigeon, 3 Blue Wing Teal, 8 Bufflehead, 19 Cinnamon Teal, 22 Gadwall, 22 Green Wing Teal, 9 Mallards, 15 Pintail, 4 Redhead, 7 Ring Necks, 2 Scaup and 17 Ruddy Ducks. No geese were harvested at San Jacinto on Wednesday. 17 coots were also checked in on Wednesday. The average bird take came out to 1.88 waterfowl per hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 24 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

SoCalHunt San Jacinto Hunting Report 11/14/12

SoCalHunt was once again in attendance at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for an afternoon refill hunt. My usual hunting partner was available today and we arrived at good old SJ just before 10 am. There seemed to be a few more trucks in then lot today vs. the last time I was there and this was confirmed when we signed up on the refill list and found we were down on the bottom of the second page.

We waited for a good blind to check in and as the hunting parties trickled in the hunters were checking in mostly from one to four birds, with a few hunters bagging near limits. Being down on the list most of the blinds that had scored well in the morning went to hunting parties above us on the list. About 11:30 we decided to give a blind adjacent to one of the blinds that had checked in good numbers of birds a try. We headed out and were set up and hunting at about 12:20.

It was another still day but with some nice clouds painting the sky. At one point there was a sort of double rainbow in the clouds above the Barrasconi Hills, making for an interesting sight.

A short while later a group of 4 wigeon and 3 pintail swooped in and landed in the pond between us and the adjacent blind, out of range of both blinds. The birds swam around in the pond for maybe 45 minutes and finally departed, giving us no shots when another blind in the area shot at another bird. We had more movement in the sky today as compared to last Wednesday as ducks flew over the pond, or at least in the general area, off and on. A short time later a mallard drake came out of the sky and headed in for a landing in the pond behind us. Our blind was about 20 yards from the dike dividing our pond from that one and my partner was able to drop the mallard in the adjacent pond. He retrieved the greenhead and waded back to the blind with the biggest mallard drake I’ve seen in a long time. This duck looked as big as a small goose!

A while later the adjacent blind got a nice sprig to decoy in and they dropped the bird, however the duck was only winged and began swimming quickly towards our blind. The bird found a clump of bulrush and hid so, having a great aversion to loosing any downed waterfowl, I went out to see if I could help the hunter retrieve the duck. When I reached the bulrush I heard a small splash behind me and turned to see the sprig swimming low in the water trying to slip out behind me. I let him get out a ways and then finished him off with a shot when the background was clear. The grateful hunter came over and collected his bird. He was a nice guy and offered to replace my expended shell but that wasn’t necessary as it was only one round.

About 3:10 a small flock of sprig swung in towards our blind at maximum range and I was able to scratch down one of the hens that came in the closest. She hit the water swimming strong and it was obvious that directly chasing her would be useless. She appeared to be heading towards the southeast corner of our pond so I opted to let her swim over to the corner and then try to cut her off from the dike. My partner and I kept an eye on the bird with our binoculars (another reason I always carry binos) and about 10 minutes after I dropped her she appeared to be in a position where I could sneak up on her for a finishing shot. I walked down the dike and found that the duck was just about to cross the dike in to the adjacent pond. She saw me and turned around and swam back into our pond. I let her get out far enough and, when the background was clear, I was able to finish her off, although it took four shots (they are tough to kill on the water some times). This was a relief to me as, in my humble opinion, winging a bird and loosing it is just about the worst thing that can happen during a duck hunt. I would much rather miss them clean then wound them and let them get away.

So after that we saw a few birds flying but none came into range and we finished with a nice pintail hen and a gorgeous, giant sized, greenhead mallard. Not too bad for an afternoon refill.

As shooting time ended we were treated to another outstanding San Jacinto sunset, in my humble opinion this one was even better then usual.

Anyway, another SJ hunt in the books for SoCalHunt and we have a reservation for next Wednesday so, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be back for our first morning hunt of the season Wednesday.

Annual Toy Drive is ON at San Jacinto Wildlife Area!

The staff at San Jacinto Wildlife Area has begun their Annual Toy Drive! Tom Trakes, Wildlife Habitat Supervisor, at San Jacinto Wildlife Area advised SoCalHunt that this year’s Toy Drive will once again benefit the Bryant Park Head Start Preschool.

I would encourage all hunters that show up to hunt at San Jacinto in the next few weeks to bring along a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the kids. This is a chance to show the general public that hunters have a heart. The toys for the Head Start Preschool are intended for 4 to 5 year old boys and girls.

Donations for the Bryant Park Head Start Program will be accepted until December 20th, with the San Jacinto Staff delivering them on the 21st.

Please take this opportunity to donate to the San Jacinto Annual Toy Drive and support this noble effort.

For further details please contact Tom at (951)-236-3040. Toys can be donated at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area Office at 17050 Davis Road, Lakeview, CA 92567.

Thank you for your support!

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 11/7/12

(sorry this one is out of order – we just got it from Fish & Game)
Hunters averaged slightly less ducks per gun at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this past Wednesday, dropping slightly from Saturday’s average. Shovelers, once again, were the number one bird taken and Wigeon and Cinnamon Teal tied for second place Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/7/12 were as follows:

128 adult and 1 junior hunter bagged 35 Northern Shovelers, 25 Wigeon, 1 Bufflehead, 2 Canvasback, 25 Cinnamon Teal, 18 Gadwall, 3 Green Wing Teal, 6 Mallards, 7 Pintail, 17 Redhead, 5 Ring Necks, 1 Scaup and 21 Ruddy Ducks. Again there were no geese harvested at San Jacinto on Wednesday. In addition 8 coots were bagged on Wednesday. The average per gun take came out to 1.35 waterfowl. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 29 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Saturday – 11/10/12

(Wednesday’s report – 11/7/12 – hasn’t been sent to me yet by San Jacinto’s Staff. As soon as I receive it I will post it.)

The average numbers at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday dropped slightly from last Saturday’s average. Shovelers again took the top spot for number of birds taken with Wigeon taking the second spot on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/10/12 were as follows:

137 adult and 17 junior hunters bagged 50 Northern Shovelers, 35 Wigeon, 3 Bufflehead, 1 Canvasback, 7 Cinnamon Teal, 25 Gadwall, 32 Green Wing Teal, 12 Mallards, 16 Pintail, 7 Redhead, 14 Ring Necks, 4 Scaup and 10 Ruddy Ducks. There were no geese taken on the refuge on Saturday. 8 coots were also bagged on Saturday. This worked out to 1.45 waterfowl average per hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 29 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge announces the 19th Annual Junior Waterfowl Hunt – 2/2/13

Tom Trakes from San Jacinto Wildlife Area advised that the 19th Annual Junior Waterfowl Hunt has been set for the refuge. The date for the hunt is February 2nd, 2013.

This is a great event and gives the junior hunters a crack at some quality hunting after the regular season closes. There is also a wonderful pancake breakfast provided by the San Jacinto Staff and volunteers prior to the hunt and a great lunch afterwards with lots of raffle prizes for the junior hunters.

Anyone who wants to donate prizes for the raffle or volunteer to assist at the breakfast, lunch should contact Tom Trakes at (951)-236-3020 or the San Jacinto office at (951)-928-0580.

SoCalHunt San Jacinto Hunting Report – 11/7/12

SoCalHunt headed out to San Jacinto Wildlife Area once again for an afternoon refill hunt. One of my usual hunting partners was available and I arranged to meet him at the check station for our hunt.

I arrived at the check station about 9:30 am and there appeared to be about 8 or 10 trucks waiting in the parking lot. I checked in and was pretty low on the refill list. Once my partner arrived we only had to wait about 45 minutes for a good blind to check in.

Once we were out at our blind it didn’t take long to set up as I wanted to experiment today with a very small spread of decoys and my experimental tip-up rig that I made last January just before the season ended. We settled in, hoping for some flights of birds, however the dead calm bluebird sky remained empty, at least in our area, for quite a while. We did hear occasional shots from the other blinds throughout our area however.

Finally, about 2:45 a pair of Wigeon circled the pond and looked interested. My partner started pulling the cord on the tip-up rig, making the Wigeon decoy attached to it appear to be feeding off the pond. The birds circled the pond three times and then committed with wings cupped and landing gear down, just like they’re supposed to. We opened up on them at about 25 yards and the hen dropped but the drake climbed for the sky and kept going. We honestly should have had both of them but that’s the way it goes some times.

Shortly after bagging the Wigeon hen my buddy had to pack up and leave as he’s heading out for a deer hunt in Nebraska tomorrow (lucky guy!). So for the last hour and a half of shoot time I would be in the blind alone. The only other opportunity that presented its self was when a blind to the north of me began calling and I turned to see if I could see what bird(s) they were calling at. While I was looking a teal (I think) just about knocked my hat off my head as he passed over me, giving me no time to shoulder my shotgun. So, one bird, but a good quality bird and another beautiful day at good old SJ.

As quitting time rolled around the standard San Jacinto sunset painted the hazy sky bringing an end to the day.

As I was packing up my truck one of SJ’s regulars came out of the hunting area with his gear to head for home. He had refilled at about the same time we did and I asked how he had made out today. He told me he’d bagged 4 nice birds and should have had 6. He was almost right next to us but obviously had more opportunities, so, just like real estate its location, location, location. We’ll be back at San Jacinto soon, hopefully next week for another hunt.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Saturday – 11/3/12

The per gun average waterfowl take at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday dropped slightly from Wednesday’s average. As usual Shovelers took the number one spot for number of birds taken with Gadwalls taking the second spot on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/3/12 were as follows:

125 adult and 9 junior hunters bagged 56 Northern Shovelers, 32 Wigeon, 1 Blue Wing Teal, 2 Bufflehead, 5 Canvasback, 11 Cinnamon Teal, 48 Gadwall, 3 Green Wing Teal, 10 Mallards, 7 Pintail, 18 Redhead, 26 Ring Necks, 1 Scaup and 12 Ruddy Ducks. No geese were bagged on the refuge on Saturday. 11 coots were also checked in on Saturday. The per hunter average worked out to 1.81 waterfowl per hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 26 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 10/31/12

The per hunter waterfowl average for San Jacinto Wildlife Area stayed about the same as for the previous Saturday. Shovelers again were the most numerous bird taken with Green Wing Teal taking the second spot on Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 10/31/12 were as follows:

88 adult hunters and 1 junior hunter bagged 40 Northern Shovelers, 23 Wigeon, 1 Blue Wing Teal, 5 Bufflehead, 3 Canvasback, 16 Cinnamon Teal, 20 Gadwall, 26 Green Wing Teal, 3 Mallards, 13 Pintail, 5 Redheads, 8 Ring Necks, 5 Scaup and 6 Ruddy Ducks. 1 Speckled Belly Goose was also bagged on Wednesday. 13 coots were also checked in on Wednesday. This resulted in an average of 2.11 waterfowl per gun. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 23 showed up on time.

San Jacinto is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays and Saturdays only. You can put in for reservations on-line through the DFG Automated License Data System (ALDS). Your reservation request has to be to the ALDS system 17 days in advance to get in on the drawing or you can get in on the daily “sweatline” drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweatline” drawing is done after that. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFG web site at the below link –

https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/

Don’t forget that all licenses and 1 day, 2 day or season passes must be purchased at a DFG Office or a license agent before your arrive at the refuge. These can be purchased on-line via the ALDS system also, however, you will have to wait for the DFG to mail you’re the actual licenses and passes which can take up to 15 days. If you purchase your license and passes in person at a DFG office or license agent you immediately get them without the wait for the mail. No licenses or passes will be sold at the check stations. You can also show up for an afternoon refill hunt but the last refill is at 2 PM. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580.

Antis Trying to Shut Down Hunting at State Ecological Reserve – Help Needed! Sign the Petition!!

I know that this is quite a ways away, about 500 miles, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area and the focus of this blog is really San Jacinto but when one area is attacked hunters need to stand together. If we let one area fall to the whims of the antis what hunting area is next? San Jacinto?

I will just quote the petition author’s plea from theoutdoorsforum.com, I can’t say it any better:

“Out where I live there is a very small postage-stamp of land called the Tomales Bay Ecological Reserve. It is all that is left of a once vast bay that was open to duck hunting. We are talking 483 acres here folks, most of it un-huntable due to access and tides, however, there are a few die0-hards who still hunt there. Most of these hunters (myself included) are carrying on an age-old tradition of hunting in the area. This part of the state was once home to some of the most desired duck and game clubs in the country.

Now, some transplanted local residents want it stopped. I know it is not exactly a “duck factory” or big WA, but it is all we out here have left, and I am asking for your help. The following link will take you to an online petition started by a local hunter to save waterfowl hunting on this area. Please sign it, it takes about 2 minutes and you will be helping us keep one more place open to hunting. BTW, the area is only open to waterfowl hunting during season and waterfowl is the only authorized species of take. It is not like these people have to live next to a firing range. On most days there is less than a dozen shots fired, as very few hunters will brave the tides and mud for a few buffleheads and such. But these bunny-huggers want it all to themselves, even though the duck hunters were here first.

Thank you for your help, and please pass this along to anyone you know not on this forum.”

The web site for the petition is:

http://www.change.org/petitions/california-department-of-fish-and-game-continue-to-allow-waterfowl-hunting-in-tomales-bay-ecological-reserve

Please go on-line and sign the petition. If this refuge falls are any of our hunting areas safe?

Thanks in advance!