The per hunter average Waterfowl take at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area dropped a bit compared to Wednesday’s good average. Green Wing Teal held on to first place for most numerous bird bagged with Shovelers remaining in the second position. The Wister Staff reported that the results for Saturday, 1/11/20 were as follows:
161 adult hunters and 11 junior hunters bagged 95 Northern Shovelers, 7 Mallards, 28 Gadwall, 7 Widgeon, 52 Pintail, 121 Green Wing Teal, 25 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Ring Neck, 1 Scaup, 12 Bufflehead, and 4 Ruddy Ducks. There was 1 Canada Goose and 1 Snow Goose harvested at Wister on Saturday. Also, 3 Coots were downed at Wister on Saturday. This worked out to an average harvest of 2.05 ducks per person or, with the Geese and Coots included, 2.08 waterfowl per hunter. Out of 104 reservation cards issued 32 arrived on time to claim their hunting spot.
Wister is open for waterfowl hunting on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays only. You can put in for reservations online 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 the night before at 10:30 pm, with sign-up for the drawing between 7:30 and 10:30 pm. The ALDS can be accessed through the DFW website 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 arrival at the refuge. These can be purchased online 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 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 this season. 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 Wister Staff at 760-359-0577.
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