2023 California Duck Hunting Refuge Kill Reports
Duck Refuge Reports for
Grizzly Island, Delevan, Kern, Gray Lodge, Sacramento, Mendota, Los Banos, Colusa refuges
California Duck Hunting Clubs Goose Hunting, too
- PAY one fee get access to ALL 20 plus Duck Hunting Clubs
- Day use duck blind leases, or duck club memberships
Here is the Refuge Hunt results for the last week!
Good news! Local ducks
have made a come back …There was a three-year decline in California home grown mallards
and overall duck populations but the
CDFW survey has shown a increase this year.
Mallards increased to 52
percent and total ducks increased 32 percent over 2022. But, we are still around 30% below the long term average.
Keep in mind, most of California’s ducks are from breeding areas in Alaska and Canada..
There is, indeed, reason for
optimism for a decent duck season in California this year. Why? Good populations of resident
mallards and pintails despite a
long-term drought that has dried up many wetlands, leaving the ducks with exposed
nests and eggs hungry foxes, skunks and what have you…But a wet spring helped greatly. As a result,
duck numbers are in fact on the rise in the Pacific Flyway.
While national duck numbers continue to
decline, recent history has shown local waterfowl populations continue
to rise or remain stable. Mallards and pintail continue to nest in
increasing numbers at wildlife areas and refuges through- out the Golden State.
The fact remains that 70 to 90 percent of the mallards shot in this state are home-grown
birds, and there are lots of ducks on
state, federal and are in duck hunting areas
right now! MALLARDS are plentiful this
year in California, particularly in the
Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys where
production was rated fair to good. California Duck
Hunters can shoot 7 mallards a day, but only two can be a hen. Two Pintail, two canvasback, and two redheads a day.
California Wildlife Commission adopted the federal regulations so duck hunters can enjoy their sport starting Saturday, Oct.10 in northeastern zone. Oct. 24th is the opener for the
balance of the state.
Let's take a look at some of the best public duck huntings in the state.
First, the national wildlife refuges.
Brought to you by https://huntingleasescalifornia.com
They have 20 plus Duck Clubs, plus 30 private hunting ranches all affordable fee
A-B. Lower Klamath-Tule Lake
refuges, located in northeastern
Siskiyou County, east of Dorris.
The refuge reports there are lots of mallards, pintails and spoonies on the refuge. Best hunting is located on the flooded fields at Lower Klamath and in the marsh units at Tule Lake. Reservations
are not necessary, and hunting is
allowed seven days a week. Shooting
time ends at 1 p.m. daily. Refer to our Klamath Refuge Duck Hunting map
C. Modoc Refuge is
located a few miles south of Alturas in
Modoc County. lt lies at 4,300 feet in
elevation at the base of the Warner
Mountains. The refuge consists of 6,283
acres, of which 2,130 is open to
hunting. The area is open to hunters on
a first-come, first-served basis on
Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There are spaced blinds available, but
most hunters set out decoys along the
river. Duck hunting is fair, but Canada
goose hunting can be excellent in
December hunting Honey Lake until storms bring water which will attract birds.
1. Delevan Refuge 3,969-acre refuge is located 7 miles south of Willows. lt offers excellent
hunting for mallard, pintail, teal and
wigeon, as well as good whitefront and
snow geese hunting. www.freehuntfishmaps.com has decent refuge map for Delevan Refuge.
2. Gray Lodge Hunters will find 6,000 acres of ponds, fields and marshes open to duck hunting. Gray Lodge is located near Gridley in Butte County, and it offers some of the best duck hunting of any state-regulated wildlife area. Plan on shooting pintail and mallard here. You need a Type A reservation. Hunt days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Shooter capacity is 400. There are no blinds, but hunters who wear chest waders and set out decoys score well. There are approximately 200,000 to 300,000 ducks on the area and early- season prospects are excellent, but goose hunting is rated fair at Gray Lodge. . www.freehuntfishmaps.com has decent refuge map and refuge report for Gray Lodge Refuge.
3. Sutter Bypass Refuge This area is located in the Sacramento Valley near the town of Sutter. It’s mixed with farmlands and private lands that include Colusa Bypass, Butte Slough, Sutter Basin and Tisdale Weir. Hunting will be best in the second split of the season. . www.freehuntfishmaps.com has decent refuge map and refuge report for Sutter Refuge.
4. Spenceville: Spenceville and Oroville wildlife areas are located in Yuba and Butte counties. Both offer fair to good hunting along the Feather and Yuba rivers. The best hunting is done by floating the rivers, although some prefer to jump shoot. Spenceville offers the better duck hunting of the two. .
5. Napa Marshes There are 16,000 ducks in the Napa Marsh area. Boat to the most productive areas is a must, luanch off Skaggs Spring Road, or at Napa River Resort off Highway 12.
The San Joaquin Valley Los Banos Refuge Complex
Brought to you by https://huntingleasescalifornia.com
They have 20 plus Duck Clubs, plus 30 private hunting ranches all for one affordable fee
The San Joaquin Valley Los Banos Refuge Complex
LOS BANOS — Okay, duck season opens Oct. 24 in the balance of the state, so you’ve got to make some choices on where
you're going to hunt opening day. Obviously, you want to hunt an area
that has a lot of birds, plenty of water, lots of feed, good blinds and
a shot at bagging a four-bird limit. So where are you going to go?
Mendota? Sacramento? Gray Lodge? Those are all good choices, but
hunters who enjoy playing the law of averages should head to the Los
Banos Complex, which traditionally offers some of the highest hunter
success in the state on opening day.
The San Joaquin Valley Los Banos complex is
comprised of Los Banos Wildlife Area, Volta Wildlife Area, San Luis
National Wildlife Refuge, Merced National Wildlife Refuge and Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge. Volta generally offers the highest success rate
of any of those hunting areas and the brightest part of the duck hunting picture in California is
mallards. California produces anywhere from
60 to 75 percent of the mallards shot in the state, and that should
make for slightly better hunting this year.
One of the most
productive and popular areas to hunt mallards is the the Los Banos WA and the San Luis NWR are
generally the most productive areas for mallard hunters, but mallards are hunted on all five locations.
Do you like our blogs and maps? PLEASE support our sponsors:
California and Oregon Hunting Clubs and Hunting Ranches
Screened membership, 500,000 plus acres, available only when new properties acquired or by attrition to maintain quality.
Use any of them with monthly dues about same as family gym membership.
Los Banos Refuge WA: This area
is currently hosting a considerable: number of cinnamon, green~winged teal,
gadwall and Mallard. Green-winged teal tops the list of birds harvested on
Los Banos WA. In fact, it’s Numero Uno throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Last year at Los
Banos, green-winged teal made up 39 per cent of the harvest, mallard 28
percent.
Loss Banos has three hunting areas. There is a free-roam that
when fuly flooded will accommodate 80 to 100 duck hunter.Hunters can set up
their own blinds, and hunt anywhere they choose within the free-roam
area. In addition, there are two zones with assigned blinds. Zone 14
blinds, each one can hold up to three hunters. Zone 7 four blinds. This
zone is designed to provide junior only on a limited number of Saturdays, and each
hunter must accompanied by a junior licensed hunter. Los Banos has been
flooding their fields for ast couple of weeks and should be close to or
fully ed by opening day. You will need hip boots, but the doesn't get
much deeper than 16 inches. A dog is a real Hunting days are Saturday,
Sunday and Wednesday from one-hour before sunrise until sunset.
San Luis
Refuge NWR: Like Los Banos, this area is popular mallard hunters. San Luis
has a reputation for good mallard hunting. All of
the hunting is free roam. When fully flooded, San Luis will accommodate
up to 110 hunters and flooding began several weeks ago. At press time
there were cinnamon, green-winged teal, gadwall and mallard on the
refuge. Last year Green-winged teal made up the bulk of the harvest with 51
percent, mallard was next with 29 percent, and shovelers made up 8
percent. Chest waders or hip boots are recommended, and a dog will
make it easier to retrieve downed birds Hunting days are Saturday,
Sunday and Wednesday, from a half-hour before sunrise until sunset.
Volta Refuge WA: A free-roam area that when fully flooded will accommodate up
to 150 hunters It generally has one of the highest averages in the
state - particularly on opening day. Volta has a higher percentage of
pintail in the bag on opening weekend than the other areas. Opening weekend at Volta is usually excellent, often
times it hosts the best public shooting in the entire state. The
No. 1 bird harvested was green-winged teal with 46 percent, mallard
came in at 17 percent, and pintail made up the balance,
Kesterson Refuge NWR: Like Volta,
hunting at Kesterson is all free roam and when fully flooded, can
accommodate up to 66 hunters There are some blinds in the free-roam
area and they are filled on a firsticome, first-served basis. The area has
lots of water, and in the Big Lake portion it can get fairly deep.
Hip waders are a must, but chest waders are probably a better choice. A
dog is very helpful here. Kesterson is open every Saturday, Sunday and
Wednesday during hunting season, from a half-hour before sunrise
until sunset.
Merced NWR: Merced
offers the most limited hunting opportunity of the five areas. There are nine
barrel blinds available on a reservation basis, each will accommodate
two hunters. There are also two goose hunting blinds available which
can acco modate up to three hunters each. Hunters at Merced averaged
1.22 birds per gun, down from 2.17 in previous year. Green-winged teal made
up the bulk of the harvest, shoveler and mallards were next 0n the hit
list. Hunting on all five of these areas
is restricted to steel shot, and you are allowed only 25 shot shells in
the field. .
Reservations are. recommended for all five areas, particularly if you
are interested in hunting from an established blind. Reservations at
free-roam areas are also recommended since they guarantee you access
There
is hunting on a first-come, first-served basis - the sweat line -
which forms at the check in station prior to the hunting timer Hunters
are allowed in if there are spaces available or no-shows. In addition,
hunters are let in as people leave. The cost for adults is $20 per day,
California Big Game and Duck hunting clubs, hunting ranches, public and even private fishing
Brought to you by https://huntingleasescalifornia.com
They have 20 plus Duck Clubs, plus 30 private hunting ranches all for one affordable fee