That makes total sense. I am just going on what I've been told.None of the refuges I go to are open other than Wednesday. The state opens Kesterson up the first Monday for pheasant hunting but they aren't open the first weekend for pheasant. I think that one is more of a special hunt.
Saw my first Calif. rooster in a year
- Thread starter calamari
- Start date
That makes total sense. I am just going on what I've been told.None of the refuges I go to are open other than Wednesday. The state opens Kesterson up the first Monday for pheasant hunting but they aren't open the first weekend for pheasant. I think that one is more of a special hunt.
I was in the same boat with my Lab a couple of years ago. She gained more experience in two weeks of chasing after pheasants and grouse in North Dakota then two entire seasons in California. The cover on the Grassland refuges has been dry, dusty and miserable for the last two years and we were lucky to flush one rooster in range for an entire day of hunting for both years. I remember having two dogs chase after a bird that just circled and circled through thick dry tules at Salt Slough. After fifteen minutes of the dogs crashing around in the tules and following criss-crossing trails, the bird finally snuck out of the end of the tules about 90 yards away - a rooster with a very long tail.
Chasing roosters in the thick dry cover of the Grasslands refuges can be very discouraging for young dogs that are just learning the ropes. My trips to North Dakota are essential to keep the dog interested and patterned on the whole process. Crashing through dry star thistle without a trail or flush is a bummer for both the dog and this hunter.
I am headed to Wyoming next weekend, on my way to North Dakota. The Wyoming stop will be at an old sage grouse camp where my some ashes of my friend are scattered. I will stop to scatter some of my old dog's ashes there too and expose my young Lab to sage grouse hunting. They are stinky and slow runners, so it will be exciting for her. It may be a my last sage grouse hunt, given that the EPA is leaning toward listing them this year, so all in all, quite an emotional and educational hunt.
quail hound
Moderator
The ruling not to list the sage grouse today and numbers are up substantially throughout most of the range this year.:cheers:
If we don't get rain b4 opener. Those roosters will be runners
If we don't get rain before the opener, I am not sure my dog will even be able to find a bird. Every sniff will fill her nose with dust instead of scent!
I didn't dove hunt earlier this month, so I have no idea if there are even any roosters left at the Grasslands refuges. I would imagine the hatch was pretty bad this year, so it is likely that most of the birds are a year old. Which means they are already prone to running.
Only one way to find out - boots on the ground! I know I am idiot for going, but I just can't help myself.
Actually I was browsing someone's abbreviated notes from the recent Grasslands refuge hunting meeting that was sponsored by CDFW. Looks like reduced quotas for hunters allowed in during October and November because of reduced water. I am not sure how that will translate to getting in somewhere in the late morning like I usually do. I guess all I can hope for is terrible duck hunting so that hardly anyone will be there. Then it will be me, the dog and acres of dusty vegetation. And possibly one of you guys from this forum.
Do you have a link to the ruling? That is great news, at least for me and dog! So it looks like I have at least two more seasons of hunting them.
I love chasing after sage grouse, mainly because of the terrain and setting. They are pretty easy to find with scent and wind if you can get within a quarter mile of them and they die pretty easy, certainly when compared to a pheasant. But you do have to find them in a sea of sage, which can be challenging at times and the act of walking forever in an unbroken sea of sage is the best part. That and all the other stuff you see out there while walking around.
Hey Enzinn,
It was actually drier last winter. I went out to the refuge and expected the worst last year. I ended up seeing about thirty pheasants the first day and two of us could have had our limit of six birds by 1:00PM. I missed a rooster that flushed right at my feet. I got a second rooster. I dropped another rooster but it ran on me and couldn't get it. The guy I was hunting with got one rooster and lost two. You never know. There are always birds in the refuge here but the numbers vary. Before the state starting locking up the refuges, I used to visit them year around with my dog. You would be surprised how many birds there are around you never see the first day.
I was going to post a message as the season draws near inviting anyone to join me. I am not taking my dog this year. She is getting too old. Last year she barely made it back to my pickup. I need a new dog.
I must have just been unlucky last season. Most of the birds we picked up just ran and ran. My old lab died at the end of October and my young dog was inexperienced, so that could explain a lot too. It won't stop me from going though. If the refuges are open, I will be prowling around for pheasants if I can get on.
We should meet up at least once - I will have a Lab, albeit a relatively inexperienced one, for us to follow. I like it when multiple people hunt over my young Lab - I simply can't keep up with her and I have to constantly whistle her to sit if she gets on hot scent, because I can't outrun roosters or Labrador Retrievers. Having tag-team hunters means we can keep up and play the angles as the bird and dog zig-zag all over the place.
I'll post up too once I am back in California and the season is on.
I will definately keep in touch as time gets closer. I am often hunting by myself or just with one other person. I do expect the number of hunters allowed in will be decreased but knock on wood it hasn't been an issue so far. It was a good sign last year when I could hear a rooster cackling in front of me before I could even load the gun. The year before was tougher but at least I still got a rooster.
quail hound
Moderator
Here is a link talking about the decision. I need to get out to Wyoming some day for a hunt.
http://blog.trcp.org/2015/09/22/endangered-species-act-protection-is-not-warranted-for-sage-grouse/
When you say the first day, you don't mean "the first day" do you?
Season opener 2014
Originally Posted by NewmanCA
I ended up seeing about thirty pheasants the first day and two of us could have had our limit of six birds by 1:00PM. I missed a rooster that flushed right at my feet. I got a second rooster. I dropped another rooster but it ran on me and couldn't get it.
Look closer at the regulations. You can't shoot three birds in one day until Monday. If you'd both gotten six birds you'd be subject to a citation. It's been this way since they went to three birds decades ago.
Daily Bag Limit 2015
Pheasant General / Statewide
Nov 14 - Dec 27 2 males per day for first two days of the season;
3 males per day after the first two days of the season.
I ended up seeing about thirty pheasants the first day and two of us could have had our limit of six birds by 1:00PM. I missed a rooster that flushed right at my feet. I got a second rooster. I dropped another rooster but it ran on me and couldn't get it.
Look closer at the regulations. You can't shoot three birds in one day until Monday. If you'd both gotten six birds you'd be subject to a citation. It's been this way since they went to three birds decades ago.
Daily Bag Limit 2015
Pheasant General / Statewide
Nov 14 - Dec 27 2 males per day for first two days of the season;
3 males per day after the first two days of the season.
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True. I misspoke. We only got two for the both of us
quail hound
Moderator
There were definitely birds to be had last season in the LB area refuges. I have a friend who lives out near there that said he has seen some hens with broods on the edges of the road and I saw a hen with at least two (maybe more in the cover) partridge sized chicks about a month and a half ago near Mud Slough on the side of 152.
Always birds around. It is such a large area for bird habitat. I believe the refuge system in Western Merced county is the largest continuous refuge system in the United States. You have LB, Salt Slough, and San Luis all bordering each other. Then there is all the grassland area that isn't even open to hunting. Add all the private duck hunting land nearby and can't think of a better place for habitat.
quail hound
Moderator
Yep, I think a bird could find his way through decent habitat from Merced NWR all the way to Los Banos and maybe even up the the SJR NWR.