One last weekend

quail hound

Moderator
Well this is it for hunting wild birds on the waterfowl areas in California. Who's going to get out one more time? I'll be out either tomorrow or Sunday weather permitting at either Mendota or Los Banos WA. With any luck hopefully will have a shot at one last rooster.:cheers:
 
It's hard to believe the season passes so quickly, good luck and be safe!
 
I'm done with the wild ones. I went to Gray Lodge last weekend and managed to get drenched, but I never saw a pheasant of either gender. Everything up here is extremely wet, with more rain coming throughout the weekend. The duck guys should have fun.

I've got a long drive tomorrow to get back to my homeland (the Owens Valley) for Christmas. We'll have to go around the Sierras rather than over them due to the snow, so that means driving all the way to Bakersfield and then back to the north. My brothers and I are going to Lone Pine Pheasant Club on Sunday, but I'll let them do all the shooting – I'll just handle the dogs and take some photos.

I fired at two wild roosters this year and bagged both of them. I don't think I've ever had a perfect shooting percentage for a whole season before.

Next year I'll go back to starting my season in northeastern Montana in October (had to forego that trip this year). My shooting percentage won't be perfect, but I'll almost assuredly end up with more than two birds for the year.

I'm off work all next week and I'm going to pound the Oroville Wildlife Area for quail after I get back on Wednesday, and I might even make a trip up to Tehama.
 
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I went to Little Dry Creek with a friend last Wed. Everybody and his brother was hunting pheasants it seemed. I saw a hen and my friend missed a rooster.
Met a guy in the field who said he uses his scent to hold birds by letting it waft over the field. Don't ask if he smelled especially bad because we stayed out of his draft. I've had it for the year with guys like that out there.
Sutter closes on Sunday again and I bet Upper Butte Basin areas shortly after but not until after pheasant season closes.
 
I have to say this has been a pretty good season for me for wild birds, I haven't been out once on public land and not had at least one opportunity on a rooster. I have bagged at least one wild bird at Gray Lodge, Salt Slough, Los Banos and Mendota. None of them came easy but each bird was a trophy worth the effort put in to get him. Best day happened in Mendota 2 weekends ago when my brother and I put up 18 birds and had 2 roosters come up in range. We didn't shoot at either of them but still an awesome day on California's heavily pressured public land.:cheers:
 
I'll be there John we've been moving a lot of birds.
 
Well I probably jinxed us by saying I haven't been out without an opportunity at a rooster but that's what happened today. It was a nice day anyways and I got the chance to meet John aka SpingerChaser and his two beautiful dogs. We didn't see many birds and didn't get any shots but it was still a great day to be in the field with new friends and good dogs.:cheers:
 
It was nice hunting with you guys, I was very impressed with your dogs. You can tell they have a ton of experiance. Nice quiet whistling in handling your dogs. Maybe some of us Field Trialers need to learn that. Hope too hunt together again.
 
Thank you John, I take that's as a great complement coming from you. I maintain that our dogs are that good in spite of their trainers/ handlers short comings.:thumbsup: I look forward to hunting again with you someday and learning a thing or two from you and your wonderful dogs. If nothing else I'll be there to watch the trials in February.:cheers:
 
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