Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
North Sacto Valley 01-16-2012 16:49
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Well……I guess it’s now or never! The 1st of several back-to-back-to back storms will hit northern CA starting this Wednesday. The weather models are calling for rain from Wed to season end on the 29th. Hopefully we can go out in a bang after enduring such a dismal season. The birds are stacked in the Valley and the storms should relocate them.
Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
North Sacto Valley 01-09-2012 15:31
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
Sad! Not much more to say. Killed 3 ducks over the weekend on 3 hunts in 2 different areas. The refuges are packed w/ birds….Llano Seco and the Audubon…you can’t see the water for all the greenheads at the Audubon. Feed all nite in the rice under clear skies and a full moon and sleep all day in the safety zones. Not cold enough to need to feed in the daytime. Nothing is going to change this pattern until we get some weather if we ever get some weather before the season closes in less than 3 weeks. For many north valley hunters this is the poorest season in memory.
Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
North Sacto Valley 01-02-2012 13:33
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Happy New Year everyone! Well…..what can I say? Hunting has been poor for the most part. The December long hi-pressure ridge continues on w/ no end in-sight and now the temps will warm to the mid to lo 60’s this week……unbelieveable! Tremendous number of birds in the north valley, hunkered down during the daytime in their safety zones and only leaving to feed at night. Did have a decent day last Friday w/ the 20 mph SSE wind and low ceiling…..teal balls, sprig and widgeon w/ a few mallard thrown in. In order to somewhat salvage the season, going to need a series of storms soon to shake-up the birds and get them out of their now well developed pattern.
Posted By:
thadp
Web Member
Grasslands 12-12-2011 09:46
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Full moon slowed everything down this weekend. Ducks in the air and working on Saturday but they disappeared by Sunday. Must have been out feeding all night and didn’t need us during the day. According to F&G the Merced Refuge is covered up with teal and they were the flavor of the day with all the blinds bring in a couple of teal.
Geese numbers are really light and we are not seeing the Specks, Darks or White’s in the numbers we have seen the last couple of years.
Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
North Sacto Valley 11-28-2011 17:09
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At last…..our fields are stomped and flooded. The stompers were going 24/7 like an army of Sherman tanks across the rice fields.
The duck hunting remains the same as my post below from last week and the big change is the huge and I mean huge influx of snow geese. They’ve taken over en masse some of the best non-hunting duck properties and keeping the ducks scattered. Once some of them move on should be a big influx of ducks in the holding areas.
Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
North Sacto Valley 11-21-2011 17:55
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 40-45 Degrees
Finally-finally the season has started at least for me. Hunted a friends property at the north edge of the Sink while my club north of there is still waiting for the stompers to stomp. Sunday AM hunt w/ limits by 9:00am. Mallards, sprig, widgeon and gaddys…all nice fat and healthy birds. Birds were flying from shoot time until we left. Lots of GWT, many more than the norm for this early in the season. Surprising absence of geese….wherever they are they weren’t moving. Except for the GWT and gadwalls don’t think there has been any major migration of northern birds. Both the Audubon and Lano Seco refuges were empty for the most part.
[Edited By John Cunningham on 2011-11-21 17:58]
Posted By:
sprigkiller55
Web Member
11-05-2011 22:42
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hey thanks for the good report!!
Posted By:
jjmwtf
Web Member
Glenburn, Fall River Valley, Ca 11-05-2011 11:07
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
On Nov. 2, clear blue bird day, at 1400, the Mallards never stopped flying. In groups of 10 to 20, they came from all directions. I stopped at 1700 and just watched, until dark. Most have been the coming storm, of today.
Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
Late-late rice harvest 11-04-2011 12:24
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This year’s harvest is far later than expected. Harvest itself is still underway on many properties and those harvested so far won’t be ready for 1-2 weeks or longer w/ the chopping, discing, burning, whatever.
Loads of specs reported in the north Sacto Valley. No reports yet on duck numbers.
Posted By:
John Cunningham
Field Editor
Late rice harvest 10-26-2011 15:32
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The club I hunt along w/ many rice properties in the north Sacto Valley are having a late harvest. The harvest itself is underway right now but w/ subsequent chopping, discing, burning or stomping looks like the majority of fields won’t flood-up till the 2nd-3rd week of November.
Reports this week from the Butte Sink indicate a roaring start to the season. Many mallards, pins and full straps.
