Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 11/27/13

The average waterfowl take at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Wednesday rose slightly from Saturday’s average take. As always seems to be the case Shovelers were the top bird taken with Widgeon being the number two bird taken on Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/27/13 were as follows:

145 adult and 9 junior hunter check in with 120 Northern Shovelers, 7 Mallard, 38 Gadwall, 45 Widgeon, 7 Pintail, 10 Green Wing Teal, 21 Cinnamon Teal, 4 Redhead, 9 Ring Necks, 6 Scaup, 10 Bufflehead, and 10 Ruddy Ducks.  No geese were taken at San Jacinto on Wednesday.  There were also 10 coots checked in on Wednesday.  This averaged out to 1.92 waterfowl per hunter. Tom advised that out of 52 reservation cards 27 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 11/27/13

Today SoCalHunt was present and accounted for at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for what turned out to be another afternoon refill hunt.

Today I had a little advantage.  My usual hunting partner had arrived at the check station for the non-reservation drawing, with hopes of getting a good blind out of the sweatline draw.  “Plan A” was that he’d get a good blind out of the bucket and I would join him in the blind when I arrived in the morning.  “Plan B” was that if my partner didn’t get a good blind out of the bucket he’d get us on the refill list, hopefully near the top, and we’d score a good blind for the afternoon.  Well, as luck, and the sweatline draw, would have it; we had to go with “Plan B”.  When I arrived I found that we were low on the refill list and went out to the parking lot to join up with my hunting partner. I found him sacked out in his truck and let him sleep for about an hour more until the first morning hunters appeared at the check station to surrender their blind.

We actually didn’t have to wait too long this morning for a good blind to check in and we were off to our spot just before 10 AM.  We were set up and hunting by about 10:30.  It was fairly cloudy in the morning and the wind was blowing at pretty good, which usually helps things at SJ.

Not too long after we were set up a group of 5 shovelers swooped in low over our blind and we managed to send them away towards the next blind down the pond by blowing a few holes in the sky in their general vicinity (AKA: we missed).  A short time later another pair of spooneys came in over the decoys and I was able to nail the trailing drake.  So we had one in the bag and still plenty of time for more.

During the next couple of hours we had a couple more opportunities but weren’t able to connect.  Around 2 PM a lone shoveler hen came in to the decoys on my partner’s side, landing gear down, just like its supposed to happen, and my partner connected, splashing her about 25 yards out.  She was swimming and my partner tried to finish her on the water but she kept going and made it to a small clump of vegetation nearby.  My partner quickly waded out and found her tangled in the vegetation and administered the coup de gras.  As the day progressed the cloudy conditions gradually changed to a clear sky with just a cloud or two here and there.

After a couple more missed opportunities about an hour before quitting time we had a lone shoveler drake come in to the decoys, feet down, right in the middle of our shooting zones.  My partner fired first and smacked the drake good and I fired a split second later, although my shot wasn’t needed. Just a case of both of us pulling the trigger at almost the same time.  My partner retrieved his bird and we now had three birds in the bag.

We had another pair of spooneys start to work the decoys, and they were in range, but behind us, where it would have forced us to shoot in an awkward position if we had taken the shot at that point.  They circled out real wide, right over a neighboring blind and the hunters in that blind were able to drop one of the pair.

We had one more bird in range but it was a teal that had streaked in behind us with the wind and it was so quickly there and gone we didn’t even have a chance to shoulder our shotguns.

As the end of legal shooting time approached San Jacinto showed us another nice sunset under skies that were now almost completely clear.

At the end of the day we had three nice shovelers between the two of us and we had also been given ample opportunity to at least double that count if we’d been shooting a little better today.  Today, at least in the area our blind was in, was a spoony day.  With the exception of the one teal that snuck in behind us we only saw and shot at shovelers today.

Well, a pretty successful hunt for an afternoon refill.  We will be back soon to try again and you’ll see the results here on SoCalHunt when we do.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Saturday – 11/23/13

The waterfowl average per hunter at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday dropped back down more then half a bird from Wednesday’s average. As seems to be the norm, Shovelers were the number one bird taken with Widgeon claiming the number two spot on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/23/13 were as follows:

152 adult and 14 junior hunters bagged 82 Northern Shovelers, 11 Mallards, 26 Gadwall, 33 Widgeon, 5 Pintail, 18 Green Wing Teal, 20 Cinnamon Teal, 3 Redheads, 12 Ring Necks, 6 Scaup, 6 Bufflehead, 1 Wood Duck and 8 Ruddy Ducks.  There were zero geese taken at San Jacinto on Saturday.  10 coots were also bagged on Saturday.  The waterfowl per hunter average worked out to 1.45 birds. Tom advised that out of 52 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 11/20/13

Well, I said that I would report every time I hunted at San Jacinto, good or bad, so here’s a real short report for today.

SoCalHunt yet again ventured out to San Jacinto Wildlife Area for a solo afternoon refill hunt. Today I decided to leave a little earlier then usual to hopefully secure a lower spot on the refill list.  When I pulled in to the lot I was pleased to see fewer trucks there then on my last two trips.  I figured that would leave me in a better position on the refill list for a good blind.  When I signed in I was only part way down the second page.  Much better then the last two times.

Since I was so low on the list, and since I was by myself, I figured I’d try to stick things out and attempt to get one of about a half dozen of my favorite blinds.  This was a calculated risk as there were a few hunters ahead of me on the list and I could be shut out if luck was not with me. 

As the morning wore on the hunters from the morning trickled in.  Many of them appeared to be carrying pretty good straps of birds and there were even a few limits checked in.  There were also a couple of hunters that came in with only their yellow card, but that’s how it goes sometimes, as I well know. As hunters on the refill list took over the blinds the list dwindled down.  A few of the blinds that I was targeting went out to hunters ahead of me on the list and several blinds that I might have usually taken were filled, mostly by hunters behind me on the list, but I figured sticking it out would reward me with a primo blind. 

Well, to make a long story short, as 2 pm rolled around (the cutoff time for refills) I was still standing at the check station.  To be fair there were a few blinds I could have refilled into but they were not on my list of favorites.  This is a good illustration of another reason why a season pass is a good investment most of the time.  Due to my work situation this year I didn’t buy a season pass as I usually do because I wasn’t sure (and I’m still not sure) if I would be able to hunt enough to make it worth it.  So I am buying my passes two at a time, which translates in to $16.61 for each hunt.  If I’d had a season pass it would have cost me nothing to hunt today and I would have probably gone out anyway. But, since I would have had to burn a pass, and there was only 2 hours and 46 minutes of shooting time left, of which I would have had to take about 45 minutes driving out to the blind and setting up, I decided to head for home instead of going out.  In effect I had gambled and lost at Duck Blind Roulette.

Oh well, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained and at least I don’t have any mud to clean up or shotgun to clean.  Totally my fault, like I said, I could have gone out but I was holding out for one of my favorites. 

So, there you have it, this week’s non-hunting hunting report.  I guess we can only go up from here.  If things go as planned I should be out next week with my usual hunting partner to hopefully bag a few birds.  And, like I said, good or bad, you’ll see the results of our foray here on SoCalHunt.

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Wednesday – 11/20/13

The bird per gun average at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Wednesday turned back up about a half bird from Saturday’s average under cloudy skies threatening rain. Shovelers were the number one bird taken just barely beating out Widgeon for first place with Green Wing Teal only one bird behind Widgeon for third spot on Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/20/13 were as follows:

138 adult and 1 junior hunters bagged 53 Northern Shovelers, 50 Widgeon, 12 Bufflehead, 1 Canvasback, 31 Cinnamon Teal, 30 Gadwall, 49 Green Wing Teal, 5 Mallard, 16 Pintail, 4 Redheads, 19 Ring Necks, 1 Scaup, 1 Goldeneye and 6 Ruddy Ducks.  Once again no geese were taken at San Jacinto on Wednesday.  6 coots were also bagged on Wednesday.  The average waterfowl count per hunter came out to 2.04 birds. Tom advised that out of 52 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 – 11/16/13

The per hunter bird average at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday dropped substantially from Wednesday’s average, plummeting more then a bird per hunter. Shovelers, once again, took the top spot for number of birds taken but had to share the number one spot with Widgeon on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/16/13 were as follows:

143 adult and 12 junior hunters bagged 41 Northern Shovelers, 12 Mallards, 29 Gadwall, 41 Widgeon, 24 Pintail, 6 Green Wing Teal, 29 Cinnamon Teal, 2 Redheads, 1 Canvasback, 25 Ring Necks, 5 Scaup, 14 Bufflehead, 1 Goldeneye, and 8 Ruddy Ducks.  There was a lone Ross’ Goose bagged at San Jacinto on Saturday.  10 coots were included in the count on Saturday.  The average waterfowl count per hunter came out to 1.61 birds. Tom advised that out of 52 reservation cards 28 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 DFW 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 – 11/13/13

The average number of ducks taken per hunter Wednesday increased nearly half a bird from Saturday’s average at San Jacinto Wildlife Area.  Shovelers, as usual, were the most numerous bird taken with Widgeon coming in second place Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/13/13 were as follows:

123 adult and 4 junior hunters checked in 89 Northern Shovelers, 7 Mallards, 27 Gadwall, 59 Widgeon, 16 Pintail, 32 Green Wing Teal, 35 Cinnamon Teal, 3 Redhead, 19 Ring Necks, 8 Scaup, 13 Bufflehead, 4 Wood Ducks and 28 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 2.81 waterfowl per hunter. Tom advised that out of 52 reservation cards 33 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 – 11/9/13

The average numbers at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this Saturday dropped just slightly from Wednesday’s average. Shovelers again took the top spot for number of birds taken with Widgeon taking the second spot on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/9/13 were as follows:

124 adult and 13 junior hunters bagged 109 Northern Shovelers, 13 Mallards, 27 Gadwall, 53 Widgeon, 11 Pintail, 17 Green Wing Teal, 29 Cinnamon Teal, 4 Redheads, 14 Ring Necks, 4 Scaup, 10 Bufflehead, 1 Wood Duck, and 7 Ruddy Ducks.  There were 2 additional ducks listed as “other” on the results sheet. There were no geese taken on the refuge on Saturday.  18 coots were also bagged on Saturday.  This worked out to 2.33 waterfowl average per hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 30 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 – 11/6/13

Birds per Hunter averages rose again at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for this past Wednesday, climbing about a half bird from Saturday’s average, helped out by windy conditions.  Shovelers, once again, were the number one bird taken with Cinnamon Teal regaining second place Wednesday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Wednesday, 11/6/13 were as follows:

136 adult and 3 junior hunters bagged 116 Northern Shovelers, 4 Mallards, 22 Gadwalls, 44 Widgeon, 21 Pintail, 14 Green Wing Teal, 54 Cinnamon Teal, 7 Redheads, 3 Canvasbacks, 17 Ring Necks, 11 Scaup, 24 Bufflehead, 1 Wood Duck and 9 Ruddy Ducks.  Again there were no geese harvested at San Jacinto on Wednesday. In addition 19 coots were bagged on Wednesday.  The average per gun take came out to 2.63 waterfowl. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 31 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 11/6/13

SoCalHunt was once again in attendance at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for a solo Wednesday afternoon refill hunt.

Once again I headed out early in hopes of getting a better spot on the refill list then I did 2 weeks ago. When I arrived at the parking lot there was fewer trucks then the last time I refilled, but there was still quite a few of them for a Wednesday.  When I signed in on the refill list, it was better then last time, but I was still on the third page of the refill list.

The wind was blowing pretty good, and this usually bodes well for the hunters at San Jacinto as it keeps the birds moving through the area.  This seemed to be born out as the morning hunters filtered into the check station as most had near limits with several full limits included for some.

About 10:30 a pretty good blind came in that no one else wanted so I grabbed it, figuring it was the best I was going to do from the third page of the refill list.  I figured the wind would be a help in any case.

The blind I chose was a natural cover island blind and my Ducks and Bucks cart was a big help in getting all the gear out to the island in one trip.  I had hunted this blind before but it looked completely different then it had in the past as there was a large amount of tules that had grown around almost half of the island.  This effectively limited my possible shooting area to an approximately 200 degrees out of the 360 degree circle around the blind.  I was set up and hunting at about 11:15 am.

About a half hour later a spoony hen swung into the pond and circled the blind.  The only problem was that the half of the circle that put her in range of my blind put her right over the reeds and I didn’t shoot as she would have been unrecoverable in the reeds.  She decided to land on the other side of the reeds and I thought I might get a chance at her if a neighboring blind might spook her in my direction shooting at another bird, but I never did see that bird again.

The day was clear and the wind was blowing making for clear views in contrast to the foggy and hazy conditions the last time I hunted.

While I waited for some waterfowl to show a few other winged creatures visited the pond.  There were the usual coots, a few ruddy ducks, herons, egrets, marsh hawks and quite a few ibises flying in the area.  I even had a butterfly visit my blind.

In contrast to the morning shoot, which was good, if judged by the birds the morning hunters were bringing in, the afternoon was s-l-o-w.  An occasional shot was heard in the area but it seemed like nothing in the waterfowl category was flying in the area I was in.  Quitting time rolled around and I hadn’t pulled the trigger on my shotgun.  Kind of disappointing but that’s how it is some times, especially early in the season.  Sometimes San Jacinto is a morning shoot only.  The consolation was another beautiful sunset, which is another thing San Jacinto provides over and over.

So, I’ll be back.  Of course.  I still wouldn’t miss it, any time I have the opportunity.  Keep your eyes on SoCalHunt for the next hunt report (hopefully it will include some birds next time, LOL).

 

Hunt Results for San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Saturday – 11/2/13

Hunters averaged slightly more ducks per gun at San Jacinto Wildlife Area for Saturday, ticking up slightly from Wednesday’s average.  Shovelers reclaimed   the number one spot for number of birds taken and Wigeon took over second place on Saturday. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the results for Saturday, 11/3/13 were as follows:

143 adult and 11 junior hunters bagged 143 Northern Shovelers, 16 Mallards, 11 Gadwall, 39 Widgeon, 13 Pintail, 10 Green Wing Teal, 31 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Canvasback, 18 Ring Necks, 3 Scaup, 2 Buffleheads and 15 Ruddy Ducks.  There were no geese harvested at San Jacinto on Saturday. In addition 29 coots were bagged on Saturday.  The average per gun take came out to 2.15 waterfowl. Tom advised that out of 50 reservation cards 35 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.