The end of the 2020/2021 waterfowl season at the Kern National Wildlife Area revealed some interesting stats for the number of birds checked in and the per hunter average take.
2339 adult and 170 junior hunters (2509 hunters total) harvested a total of 2111 Northern Shovelers, 251 Mallards, 1192 Gadwall, 626 Widgeon, 441 Pintail, 901 Green Wing Teal, 605 Cinnamon Teal, 280 Redheads, 19 Canvasbacks, 99 Ring Necks, 4 Scaup, 180 Bufflehead, 2 Goldeneye, 3 Blue Wing Teal, 1 Eurasian Widgeon, 1 Wood Duck, 4 Mergansers, 1 Surf Scooter, and 92 Ruddy Ducks. There was also 1 duck listed as “other”. In addition, there were also 0 Canada Geese, 4 Ross’ Geese, 3 Snow Geese, and 46 White Fronted Geese taken at Kern this season. 37 Coots were also checked in for the 2020/2021 season at Kern. This figured out to a total of 6869 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, 6906 waterfowl taken for the season. The per hunter average take for 2020/2021 season came out to 2.74 Ducks and Geese per hunter or, with the Coots added in, 2.75 waterfowl per hunter.
In comparison to last season there were 36 fewer adult hunters this season over last and there were 53 more junior hunters for a total of 17 more hunters accommodated in 2020/2021 season compared to the 2019/2020 season. (This includes the Junior Hunters from the Junior Hunt and the Veteran/Active Duty Military personnel for the special military post-season hunt). As for the birds, I’ll list them with a plus by the number or a minus by the number to indicate how many more or less of each type of bird was bagged this season over last.
There were +313 Northern Shovelers, -47 Mallards, -35 Gadwall, -148 Widgeon, -42 Pintail, -648 Green Wing Teal, -198 Cinnamon Teal, -325 Redheads, +5 Canvasbacks, -9 Ring Necks, -2 Scaup, +19 Bufflehead, no change for the Goldeneye (2 this season and 2 last season), -5 Wood Ducks, -1 Blue Wing Teal, -1 Merganser, +1 Surf Scooter (0 last season), -1 Eurasian Widgeon, and +4 Ruddy Ducks. There were also no change on ducks listed as “other” (1 this season and 1 last season).
For the Geese numbers, there were -1 Canada Geese (0 this season), +3 Ross’ Goose, no change for Snow Geese (3 this season and 3 last season), and +32 White Front Goose.
There were also -38 Coots bagged this season. This was a total of -788 Ducks and Geese taken and, with the Coots included, -826 waterfowl taken this season compared to last season. The per hunter averages were -0.33 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, -0.35 waterfowl this season over last season.
So, there you have it, the year-long stats for the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. As compared to last season’s stats it appears that most of the species had fewer birds harvested. Overall Kern had fair averages most of the season but ended up with a slightly lower per hunter average than last season. Hopefully the breeding populations will do their thing up north and we’ll get the weather needed to drive the duck south early in the season and thing will improve next season.
The average bag of waterfowl at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt resulted in an outstanding average for our Military Heroes. Cinnamon Teal came in at the first position for number of ducks taken with Green Wing Teal taking the second spot. The Kern NWR Staff reported that the results for the Military Vet/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, 2/13/21 were as follows:
32 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters took home 22 Shovelers, 8 Mallards, 20 Gadwall, 17 Widgeon, 9 Pintail, 25 Green Wing Teal, 53 Cinnamon Teal, 6 Redheads, and 2 Bufflehead. No Geese or Coots were checked in by Vets/Active Duty Personnel at Kern on Saturday. This figured out to an average harvest of 5.06 ducks per Hunter or, of course, with no Geese or Coots to figure in to the total, 5.06 waterfowl for each Hunter. No info was given regarding the reservation cards issued or claimed.
So, there you have it, the final hunt of the 2020/2021 season for the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. Congratulations to all the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters who participated in the harvest.
Watch here for the Kern National Wildlife Refuge season long stats report soon.
The end of the 2020/2021 season at the Wister Unit revealed the following stats for the number of birds taken and the hunter averages.
5302 adult and 402 junior hunters (5704 hunters total) checked in a total of 2082 Northern Shovelers, 362 Mallards, 1260 Gadwall, 360 Widgeon, 1606 Pintail, 3305 Green Wing Teal, 2032 Cinnamon Teal, 111 Redheads, 27 Canvasbacks, 116 Ring Necks, 39 Scaup, 289 Bufflehead, 14 Goldeneyes, 31 Blue Wing Teal, 9 Wood Ducks, 5 Surf Scooters, 13 Mergansers, and 375 Ruddy Ducks. In addition, there were 2 Cackling Goose, 4 Canada Geese, 72 Ross’ Geese, 464 Snow Geese and 0 White Front Geese bagged at Wister this season. 233 Coots were checked in for the 2020/2021 season. This worked out to a total of 12587 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots added in, 12820 waterfowl. The per hunter average take for 2020/2021 figured out to 2.21 Ducks and Geese per hunter or, with the Coots included, 2.25 waterfowl per hunter.
In comparison to last season there were 1336 more adult hunters this season over last and there were 136 more junior hunters for a total of 1422 more hunters accommodated in 2020/2021 season compared to the 2019/2020 season. (This includes the Junior Hunters from the Junior Hunt weekend and the Veteran/Active Duty Military personnel for the special military post-season hunt). As for the birds, I’ll list them with a plus by the number or a minus by the number to indicate how many more or less of each type of bird was bagged this season over last.
There were +1204 Northern Shovelers, +8 Mallards, +322 Gadwall, -155 Widgeon, +431 Pintail, +898 Green Wing Teal, +1113 Cinnamon Teal, +10 Redheads, +17 Canvasbacks, +64 Ring Necks, +27 Scaup, +115 Bufflehead, +10 Goldeneyes, +9 Wood Ducks (0 last season), -32 Blue Wing Teal, +3 Mergansers, +5 Surf Scooters (0 last season), and +290 Ruddy Ducks.
As for the Geese numbers, there were +1 Cackling Goose, -2 Canada Geese, +68 Ross’ Geese, +290 Snow Geese, and -2 White Front Geese (0 this season).
There was also +17 Coots bagged this season. This was a total of +4569 Ducks and Geese taken and, with the Coots included, +4802 waterfowl taken this season compared to last season. The per hunter averages were +0.32 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, +0.30 waterfowl this season over last season.
As you can see this season shows an increase of almost all species of waterfowl taken, some very substantially, with only Widgeon, Blue Wing Teal, Canada Geese, and White Front Geese showing any decrease. Also, the stats show a very significant increase in hunters utilizing Wister this season compared to last. Bottom line is there were 35% more hunters this season taking 55% more waterfowl. Hopefully, we’ll get some weather up north early next season to drive the birds south. Hopefully we’ll have a large breeding population this year and more birds migrating down next season. Hope to see you out there next season.
The post season Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area resulted in a great average for the Hunters on Saturday. Green Wing Teal were the most numerous bird taken but only by one over Cinnamon Teal which took the second spot. The Wister Staff reported that the waterfowl take for the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, 2/13/21, were as follows:
61 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters came away with 41 Shovelers, 8 Mallards, 15 Gadwall, 21 Widgeon, 15 Pintail, 47 Green Wing Teal, 46 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Redhead, 2 Ring Necks, 11 Bufflehead, and 4 Ruddy Ducks. 9 Snow Geese were checked in by the Hunters on Saturday. The Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters also bagged 5 Coots on Saturday. This figured out to an average of 3.46 ducks per Hunter or, with the Geese and Coots included, 3.69 waterfowl per Hunter. Out of 100 reservations issued 31 arrived on time for their spot.
The average take of waterfowl for Sunday, the second day of the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt weekend, at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area produced a continued great average bag. Cinnamon Teal took the first spot for number of birds checked in with Shovelers showing up in the second position. The Wister Staff reported the waterfowl take for the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Sunday, 2/14/21 were as follows:
10 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters checked in with 10 Shovelers, 1 Pintail, 7 Green Wing Teal, and 16 Cinnamon Teal. There were no Geese or Coots brought into the check station by the Hunters on Sunday. This worked out to an average of 3.40 ducks per Hunter and, of course, with no Geese or Coots to include in the count, 3.40 waterfowl per Hunter. Out of 100 reservations issued 0 showed up to claim their spot.
With that, the 2020/2021 Waterfowl Season at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area is in the books. Watch for SoCalHunt’s Season-Long Stats report for Wister coming here soon.
The conclusion of the 2020/2021 waterfowl season at San Jacinto Wildlife Area showed some interesting stats for the number of birds harvested and the per hunter averages.
4802 adult and 382 junior hunters (5184 hunters total) harvested a total of 1548 Northern Shovelers, 463 Mallards, 917 Gadwall, 202 Widgeon, 385 Pintail, 1652 Green Wing Teal, 1311 Cinnamon Teal, 183 Redheads, 38 Canvasbacks, 160 Ring Necks, 25 Scaup, 301 Bufflehead, 10 Goldeneye, 11 Wood Ducks, 0 Blue Wing Teal, 9 Mergansers, and 495 Ruddy Ducks. In addition, there were also 2 Canada Geese, 0 Ross’ Geese, 12 Snow Geese, and 2 White Front Geese taken at San Jacinto this season. 756 Coots were also checked in for the 2020/2021 season at SJ. This figured out to a total of 7726 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, 8482 waterfowl taken for the season. The per gun average take for 2020/2021 season came out to 1.49 Ducks and Geese per hunter or, with the Coots added in, 1.64 waterfowl per hunter.
In comparison to last season there were 335 more adult hunters this season over last and there were 59 more junior hunters for a total of 394 more hunters accommodated in 2020/2021 season compared to the 2019/2020 season. (This includes the Junior Hunters from the Junior Hunt and the Veteran/Active Duty Military personnel for the special military post-season hunt). As for the birds, I’ll list them with a plus by the number or a minus by the number to indicate how many more or less of each type of bird was bagged this season over last.
There were +165 Northern Shovelers, -61 Mallards, -187 Gadwall, -90 Widgeon, +151 Pintail, +114 Green Wing Teal, -198 Cinnamon Teal, -10 Redheads, +19 Canvasbacks, -164 Ring Necks, -9 Scaup, +129 Bufflehead, -9 Goldeneye, -8 Wood Ducks, -15 Blue Wing Teal (0 this season), -14 Mergansers, -1 Whistling Duck (0 this season), -1 Surf Scooter (0 this season), and +165 Ruddy Ducks.
For the Geese numbers there were -2 Canada Geese, -6 Ross’ Geese (0 this season), +2 Snow Geese, and -2 White Front Geese.
There were also +396 Coots bagged this season. This was a total of -33 Ducks and Geese taken compared to last season and, with the Coots included, +363 waterfowl taken this season compared to last season. The per hunter averages were -0.13 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, -0.05 waterfowl this season over last season.
In contrast to last season, these numbers show a slight downward trend in general although some species take was up and other were down over last season. There were also more hunters this season than last and also more Junior Hunters which brought the per hunter bird average down a bit. Hopefully, we’ll get some good rains between now and the end of our rainy season to keep Mystic Lake filled and we’ll get some well-timed weather up north early next season to send the birds down to us. We can also optimistically hope there will be a great spring hatch up north and the numbers will rise for the 2021/2022 season.
San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, February 13th, resulted in a great average harvest for our Military Heroes in attendance. Cinnamon Teal were the number one bird checked in by the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters with Green Wing Teal in the second spot. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the waterfowl take for the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, 2/13/21, was as follows:
41 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters bagged 17 Northern Shovelers, 2 Mallards, 20 Gadwall, 6 Widgeon, 14 Pintail, 27 Green Wing Teal, 39 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Ring Neck, 12 Bufflehead, 1 Wood Duck, and 8 Ruddy Ducks. No Geese were checked in by the Hunters on Saturday. There were 12 Coots downed by the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters on Saturday. This worked out to an average take of 3.59 ducks per Hunter or, with the Coots added in, a 3.88 waterfowl average for each Hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservations issued 17 showed up on time for their spot.
So, that completes the 2020/2021 Waterfowl Season at San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Watch for SoCalHunt’s San Jacinto season long stats report here soon.
The average bag of waterfowl at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge Junior Hunt produced a great average take for the Junior Hunters’ efforts. Widgeon took first position for number of ducks harvested but only by one bird over Green Wing Teal which took the second spot. The Kern NWR Staff reported that the results for the Junior Hunt on Saturday, 2/6/21 were as follows:
39 junior hunters bagged 19 Shovelers, 1 Mallard, 6 Gadwall, 29 Widgeon, 12 Pintail, 28 Green Wing Teal, 21 Cinnamon Teal, and 1 Redhead. 4 White Front Geese were checked in by the Juniors at Kern on Saturday. No Coots were downed at Kern by the Juniors on Saturday. This came out to an average take of 3.00 ducks per Junior Hunter and, with the Geese figured in to the total, 3.10 waterfowl for each Junior. No info was given regarding the reservation cards issued or claimed.
If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you have one more chance this season. For the first time the DFW has authorized an after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt which will be held on Saturday, February 13th at Kern NWR. Hopefully our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at the Kern Hunter Check Station on the Refuge 2 ½ hours before local shoot time and the “sweat line” drawing is performed 2 hours before shoot time, the day of the hunt, also at the Refuge Hunter Check Station. And, of course, thanks for your service.
The Junior Waterfowl Hunt weekend hunt at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area produced a great average bag for the Junior Hunters in attendance on Saturday. Shovelers were number one for the most numerous bird checked in with Green Wing Teal showing up in the second spot. The Wister Staff reported that the waterfowl take for the Junior Hunt on Saturday, 2/6/21, was as follows:
69 Junior Hunters checked in with 53 Shovelers, 7 Mallards, 13 Gadwall, 16 Widgeon, 12 Pintail, 46 Green Wing Teal, 37 Cinnamon Teal, 2 Redheads, 1 Canvasback, 1 Ring Neck, 5 Bufflehead, and 7 Ruddy Ducks. There were no Geese downed by the Junior Hunters on Saturday. Also, the Junior Hunters knocked down 4 Coots on Saturday. This came out to an average take of 2.90 ducks per Junior Hunter and, with the Coots added to the total, 2.96 waterfowl per Junior Hunter. 69 reservations were issued to the Junior Hunters but there was no info given on how many of those claimed their hunting spot.
The average harvest of waterfowl for Sunday, the second day of the Junior Hunt weekend, at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area, dropped almost a bird and a half from Saturday’s great average. Cinnamon Teal took the first spot for most numerous bird bagged with Green Wing Teal found in the second spot. The Wister Staff reported the waterfowl harvest for the Junior Hunt on Sunday, 2/7/21 was as follows:
11 Junior Hunters checked in with 1 Gadwall, 1 Pintail, 4 Green Wing Teal, and 8 Cinnamon Teal. 1 Snow Goose was taken at the Junior Hunt on Sunday. No Coots were downed by the Juniors on Sunday. This came out to an average of 1.27 ducks per Junior Hunter or, with the Goose included in the total, 1.36 waterfowl per Junior Hunter. 5 reservations were issued to the Junior Hunters but there was no info given on how many of those claimed their hunting spot.
If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you also have two more chance this season. For the first time the DFW has authorized an after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 13th and 14th at Wister. Hopefully our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at at Wister to get in on the drawing by 10:30 PM the night before. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweat line” spots given out after that. For more information, contact the staff at Wister Staff at 760-359-0577. And, of course, thanks for your service.
San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s 27th Annual Junior Waterfowl Hunt on Saturday, February 6th, resulted in a fair average take for the Junior Hunters in attendance. Cinnamon Teal were the number one bird bagged by the Junior Hunters with Shovelers in the second spot. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the waterfowl take for the Junior Hunt on Saturday, 2/6/21, was as follows:
107 junior hunters checked in with 26 Northern Shovelers, 1 Mallard, 11 Gadwall, 1 Widgeon, 3 Pintail, 16 Green Wing Teal, 47 Cinnamon Teal, 6 Bufflehead, and 12 Ruddy Ducks. No Geese were downed at the Junior Hunt on Saturday. There were 6 Coots checked in at the Junior Hunt on Saturday. This worked out to an average take of 1.15 ducks per Junior Hunter or, with the Coots included in the total, a 1.21 waterfowl average for each Junior Hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservations issued 29 showed up on time for their spot.
Ok, that’s it for the Junior Hunters for the 2020/2021 season. If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you also have one more chance this season. For the first time the DFW has authorized an after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt which will be held on Saturday, February 13th at San Jacinto. Hopefully our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at SJ at 3 AM to get your name in on the sweatline drawing. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580. And, to all our Vets and Active Duty, thank you for your service.
I know. If you’ve followed SoCalHunt for any length of time I’m going to sound like a broken record here. (For any millennials that might be reading this, records were black vinyl disks that we bought our songs on if they got scratched they’d sometimes skip repeating part of the song over and over).
Yup, it’s that time of year again. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announces the 2021 edition of the Warden Stamp is now available. Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the desert somewhere or something for the last eight years, you’re probably aware that the Department of Fish and Game changed its name on January 1st, 2013 to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. With that change our good old Game Wardens were designated as “Wildlife Officers”, and it even says so on the Warden Stamps since 2014, but most hunters and fisherpersons still call them “Wardens” and the DFW is still calling this the “Warden Stamp”.
The new Warden Stamp, for 2021 is now available for purchase online via the CDFW online license services (ALDS). To purchase the new Warden Stamp, just follow the link below to purchase via the ALDS system.
Click on the below link to go to the Warden Stamp page and follow the instructions to buy it online:
The Game Warden Stamp isn’t really a “stamp” for your license, such as your federal duck stamp is, although the name might lead you to believe that, rather it’s a roughly 3” x 3” decal.
The 2021 version of the stamp is a dark green background and features the sesquicentennial CDFW wildlife officer badge and silhouettes of California conifer trees along with the CDFW bear that has been used on badges and department logo shields for decades. (see picture below)
The DFW still has their entire series of Warden Stamps available. If you like a prior year’s design better than this year’s or would like to collect the entire series, they are all still available, from the first one in 2010 up through this year’s stamps.
The 2010 version is a green shield with a Warden’s badge and an elk silhouette on it. The 2011 version is a light blue background with a Warden’s badge and a silhouette of a trout or salmon on it. The 2012 version has a dark brown background with a Warden’s badge and a silhouette of a California quail on it. The 2013 version has a gold background with a Warden’s badge and a silhouette of a duck landing on it. The 2014 version has a red background with a Warden’s badge and a silhouette of a lobster on it. The 2015 version of the stamp has a wood grain background with a Warden’s badge and the shadow of a bear on it. The 2016 version has a blue background with a Warden’s badge and the silhouettes of two bighorn sheep on it. The 2017 version of the stamp is a green background with a Warden’s badge and drawing of a sturgeon. The 2018 version of the stamp is an orange background with a Warden’s badge and a drawing of a Warden K9. The 2019 version of the stamp is a dark blue background with a Warden’s badge and a drawing of two snow geese flying. The 2020 version of the stamp is a deep blue background with a Warden’s badge and a drawing of a Dorado on it. (See pictures below). If you like them all you could buy one, or more, of each one if you want to.
The stamps are $5 each and the funds go into a special account. The money is used to provide our Game Wardens with additional equipment, training and new programs, such as new communications and surveillance devices, protective equipment, training in specialized areas, new law enforcement programs to assist them in their duties.
Due to State budget cuts, non-hunting / fishing politicians feel that the DFW is a “painless” way to cut back on the budget by giving the DFW less to do more with.
Quoting the DFW website on the Warden stamp:
” The Warden Stamp Program was initiated in 2010 to address the need for better equipment and training for the state’s wildlife officers and to provide funding for special law enforcement programs. All funds raised from the sales of the stamp go to purchase necessary equipment for wildlife officers and to support CDFW’s K-9 program.
“Those who purchase the Warden Stamp – hunters, anglers and non-consumptive users – appreciate and want to conserve our state’s amazing natural resources,” said David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of the Law Enforcement Division. “Purchase of the stamp demonstrates public support of wildlife officers and allows them to do their jobs more safely and efficiently.”
Approximately 465 wildlife officers patrol and protect 159,000 square miles of California’s natural habitat and 200 miles out to sea. Though their primary function is to enforce California’s Fish and Game Code, they may be called upon to enforce any of California’s laws.
Wildlife officers patrol on foot, on horseback, by plane, boats and in a variety of vehicles. They investigate reports of violations, collect and preserve evidence, write reports and testify in court.
Wildlife officers are also expected to promote and coordinate hunter education programs, collect and report information on the conditions of fish and wildlife and their habitat and represent CDFW at local schools, meetings of hunting and fishing clubs and other community events.”
Now – back to me…
As I’ve said every year that I’ve written about the Warden Stamp, the important point here, in my opinion, is getting the money to the “boots on the ground”. If your $5 (or more, if you can afford it) results in some equipment, training or what have you that helps catch a poacher in your area the payoff may be more game or more fish for you and yours to legally harvest. And, the bottom line is, that’s what’s important. As for the “stamp”, stick it on your truck, ammo box or tackle box, stick it in a drawer, throw it away if you want, do whatever you want with it. The important thing is to help give our Wardens the tools they need to protect our hunting and fishing heritage.
Now, as I have done every year since 2010, excuse me while I pull up the ALDS on my computer and order this year’s Warden Stamps. Oops, I don’t have to…I already did!
The waterfowl average take at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge for Saturday slipped just a hair as compared to Wednesday’s average. Shovelers held onto first place for most birds harvested with Cinnamon Teal taking over the second spot. The Kern NWR Staff reported that the results for Saturday, 1/30/21 were as follows:
98 adult and 10 junior hunters harvested 89 Shovelers, 1 Mallards, 29 Gadwall, 23 Widgeon, 7 Pintail, 40 Green Wing Teal, 81 Cinnamon Teal, 3 Redheads, 9 Bufflehead, and 2 Ruddy Ducks. 2 White Front Geese were bagged at Kern on Saturday. 3 Coots were also downed at Kern on Saturday. This came out to an average take of 2.64 ducks per hunter or, with the Geese and Coots included in the total, 2.69 waterfowl per gun. No info was given regarding the reservation cards issued or claimed.
Well, that’s it for the 2020/2021 regular waterfowl season. Junior hunters have one more chance at those elusive waterfowl, in a week on Saturday, February 6th. If you’re a junior hunter or you have a junior hunter in the family you can hunt Kern’s Junior Waterfowl hunt on Saturday, 2/6/21. Here’s hoping the Juniors have a great hunt! If your junior hunter doesn’t have a reservation for the Junior Hunt he or she can still get in on the drawing for the remaining blinds after the reservations are taken care of. Reservation spots are given out at the Hunter Check Station on the Refuge 2 ½ hours before local shoot time and the “sweat line” drawing is performed 2 hours before shoot time, the day of the hunt, also at the Refuge Hunter Check Station.
If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you also have one more chance this season. For the first time the DFW has authorized an after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt which will be held on Saturday, February 13th at Kern NWR. Hopefully our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at the Kern Hunter Check Station on the Refuge 2 ½ hours before local shoot time and the “sweat line” drawing is performed 2 hours before shoot time, the day of the hunt, also at the Refuge Hunter Check Station.
SoCalHunt 