California's public lands offer low or no cost recreation for hunters and anglers (continued)

Any given hunt day, you'll find a few like Harold who really don't know what they are doing. You have to consider that with the bird counts.

So when Sutter NWR came up with a 7-bird average on one Sunday shoot day, the feat gained some unusual attention for the area. Not only were the ducks acting stupid, decoying and responding well to calls, but there were thousands of geese, both snows and white fronted, that seemed to have taken stupid pills for the final weeks of the season. Specks would come over the hunt area in groups of three or four, looking for a place to land. They'd start out at 45 to 50 yards up and drop down slowly until some lucky group of hunters got some shooting.

This writer managed to spend a couple days during that shoot-fest, and yup, I could finally brag that my "club" shot limits just about every day.

In California, the Department of Fish and Game manages many different levels of recreation areas. Some are highly managed, with daily hunter quotas, while other areas will rarely see a DFG employee, and have no restrictions on hunter numbers, no sign in, and liberal seasons when hunters can use them.

Typically, these areas are categorized into A, B, or C areas. By general definition, the type A areas are more regulated, have hunter quota restrictions and other restrictions. You can purchase a one day, two day or season pass for type A areas. Fees are greater at Type A areas compared to the other areas. Type B areas are less regulated and require a season pass. Type C areas are generally not carefully regulated, have liberal species and season regs, and don't require a fee to enter, nor do they have hunter quotas.

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California DFG publication, "Hunting on state and federal areas, waterfowl and upland game booklet 07"