Assa's epic flight!

[GadwallGetter530]

you rang? We talking about refuges?

[GadwallGetter530]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

[Bootlipkiller]

you rang? We talking about refuges?

Yes, that's exactly what we are talking about refuges. Jim wants to discuss the demise of pheasant populations with you.

[Glimmerjim]

4th generation Yuba City dweller

Right on! Do you hunt Sutter and Grey Lodge much? And do you ever see pheasants anymore? I am doing kind of an informal study to determine what happened to the pheasants. I have a lot of theories thrown at me but I want some definitive answers to try to fix it. We used to drive between Lincoln and Yuba City and see dozens of birds. You could pull over most anywhere up there awith a decent dog and get a bird or two. When I was younger on the opening weekend of pheasant season at Grey Lodge they would shoot 900 pheasants. Now it's 60! What the hell?

Gadwallgetter has an interesting theory, which I believe to be true. The stuff they are using to kill the mosquitoes is killing of the bugs that pheasant chicks eat, starving most of the population.

That's interesting d~n~b! Makes perfect sense. I know the young chicks need the insects. I've heard a lot of theories, and definitely the farming practicies are hard on them with no field rows or overgrown checks, but I still see so much potentially good land that SHOULD hold birds. As a young guy we used to drive 5 miles to Elverta or Elkhorn Rds towards Garden Highway, and just driving down the road you would see dozens of rooster heads poking up amongst the weeds and hay. Now, when I can find a spot to legally hunt (they stopped most hunting anywhere near the airport after 9/11) you can walk ALL day and not kick a bird. Hard on a dog!
By the way, when I talk of stopping the hunting around the airport, I used to have many great dove, pheasant and duck areas out there. Now, usually within 1/2 hour a cop will show up and make me leave. They are for the most part really cool and pretty apologetic about it, but make me leave, nonetheless.

If you are interested in his full esplanation, I pulled this quote from another thread.

...The pheasant population decline runs right along with the west Nile scare we had. The year they started aerial spraying for mosquitoes was the begging of the end. Populations dropped 30 to 40 percent every year since. I agree Avian flu could of taken some birds but the chickens they keep out in the marsh at Gray Lodge don't lie. They test their blood all summer for disease . They've found every thing from malaria to avian flu. But the numbers aren't even close enough to justify that being the cause of the die off. Also I have first hand knowledge by seeing it happen for myself on my property. The first years of the spraying we had adult birds but a major lack of chicks. The age of the birds got older and they started disappearing with out enough young birds to replace them. The spraying didn't just kill the targeted mosquito but also killed all the little bugs baby pheasant chicks need to survive on for the first couple of weeks of their life. The birds starved to death.

I really appreciate that d~n~b! I have got some research and possibly some publicity to do. Would love to see it how it once was for my kids and grandkids. The open land (some of it) is still there, and getting the population back would be great.

[Glimmerjim]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

You bet. Been hunting all the No Cal refuges for years, plus have a private club at Lambertville. The refuges were FAR better last year than the club. I like Colusa, Sac, Delevan, and Little Dry. Sutter sometimes, but last year sucked!

[GadwallGetter530]

you rang? We talking about refuges?

Yes, that's exactly what we are talking about refuges. Jim wants to discuss the demise of pheasant populations with you.

Well, where shall we start?

[GadwallGetter530]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

You bet. Been hunting all the No Cal refuges for years, plus have a private club at Lambertville. The refuges were FAR better last year than the club. I like Colusa, Sac, Delevan, and Little Dry. Sutter sometimes, but last year sucked!

[Glimmerjim]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

Yeah, GG. Been discussing the amazing decline in the pheasant pops for years with hunting partners. Everyone has different opinions. As I said before it used to be easy to shoot limits of birds on Grey Lodge, Sac, Little Dry, and all the property from Lincoln through Yuba City and Nicolaus etc. Hard to find a freakin' bird anymore! I walk with my lab for hours and never kick a bird. I hate to do that to her, so I end up going to the chicken ranches just to get some action. I was telling d~n~b that they used to shoot 900 pheasants opening weekend at Grey Lodge. Now it's 60 or 70! Sad, sad, sad!

[GadwallGetter530]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

Yeah, GG. Been discussing the amazing decline in the pheasant pops for years with hunting partners. Everyone has different opinions. As I said before it used to be easy to shoot limits of birds on Grey Lodge, Sac, Little Dry, and all the property from Lincoln through Yuba City and Nicolaus etc. Hard to find a freakin' bird anymore! I walk with my lab for hours and never kick a bird. I hate to do that to her, so I end up going to the chicken ranches just to get some action. I was telling d~n~b that they used to shoot 900 pheasants opening weekend at Grey Lodge. Now it's 60 or 70! Sad, sad, sad!

yup, opening weekend totals would be close to 2000 birds years ago. I almost feel bad shooting the few wild birds we have left. My family used to hit it hard back in the day. Nowadays I go out for the opener and maybe a few times after that. If it's a nice morning and mix in a dove hunt before 8 o'clock. Then go for a walk.

[AKPirate]

you rang? We talking about refuges?

Yes, that's exactly what we are talking about refuges. Jim wants to discuss the demise of pheasant populations with you.

Well, where shall we start?

So the Cali pheasants haven't learned gay sex doesn't reproduce either?

[GadwallGetter530]

you rang? We talking about refuges?

Yes, that's exactly what we are talking about refuges. Jim wants to discuss the demise of pheasant populations with you.

Well, where shall we start?

So the Cali pheasants haven't learned gay sex doesn't reproduce either?

Go fuck a polar bear.

[AKPirate]

you rang? We talking about refuges?

Yes, that's exactly what we are talking about refuges. Jim wants to discuss the demise of pheasant populations with you.

Well, where shall we start?

So the Cali pheasants haven't learned gay sex doesn't reproduce either?

Go fuck a polar bear.

[Glimmerjim]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

Yeah, GG. Been discussing the amazing decline in the pheasant pops for years with hunting partners. Everyone has different opinions. As I said before it used to be easy to shoot limits of birds on Grey Lodge, Sac, Little Dry, and all the property from Lincoln through Yuba City and Nicolaus etc. Hard to find a freakin' bird anymore! I walk with my lab for hours and never kick a bird. I hate to do that to her, so I end up going to the chicken ranches just to get some action. I was telling d~n~b that they used to shoot 900 pheasants opening weekend at Grey Lodge. Now it's 60 or 70! Sad, sad, sad!

yup, opening weekend totals would be close to 2000 birds years ago. I almost feel bad shooting the few wild birds we have left. My family used to hit it hard back in the day. Nowadays I go out for the opener and maybe a few times after that. If it's a nice morning and mix in a dove hunt before 8 o'clock. Then go for a walk.

Wow! I don't even remember the 2000 days! I probably paid absolutely no attention back then. That is crazy! What I would pay for a day on Grey Lodge that kicked up 1000 wild birds! They used to let the juniors hunt the closed zones for one day during the season too! Man, what a different sport it is these days. I wish they would put in 30 or so blinds at Grey Lodge. I really don't like the racing to a spot at my age anymore. I wonder if there is going to be any water for the refuges next year?

[GadwallGetter530]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

Yeah, GG. Been discussing the amazing decline in the pheasant pops for years with hunting partners. Everyone has different opinions. As I said before it used to be easy to shoot limits of birds on Grey Lodge, Sac, Little Dry, and all the property from Lincoln through Yuba City and Nicolaus etc. Hard to find a freakin' bird anymore! I walk with my lab for hours and never kick a bird. I hate to do that to her, so I end up going to the chicken ranches just to get some action. I was telling d~n~b that they used to shoot 900 pheasants opening weekend at Grey Lodge. Now it's 60 or 70! Sad, sad, sad!

yup, opening weekend totals would be close to 2000 birds years ago. I almost feel bad shooting the few wild birds we have left. My family used to hit it hard back in the day. Nowadays I go out for the opener and maybe a few times after that. If it's a nice morning and mix in a dove hunt before 8 o'clock. Then go for a walk.

Wow! I don't even remember the 2000 days! I probably paid absolutely no attention back then. That is crazy! What I would pay for a day on Grey Lodge that kicked up 1000 wild birds! They used to let the juniors hunt the closed zones for one day during the season too! Man, what a different sport it is these days. I wish they would put in 30 or so blinds at Grey Lodge. I really don't like the racing to a spot at my age anymore. I wonder if there is going to be any water for the refuges next year?

I'm sorry I was trying to say close to 2k for the opening weekend.

[GadwallGetter530]

I'm sure you'd used to hunt the tules out in the ponds after the opener. Crazy ass birds would be stacked sanding on tule clumps out in the middle of the ponds. That was some fun hunting.

[AKPirate]

[GadwallGetter530]

I miss that sound like you wouldn't believe.

[AKPirate]

I miss that sound like you wouldn't believe.

The first hunt I went on was a rooster hunt, love it too!

[Glimmerjim]

sounds like GlimmerJim's a Nor Cal boy.

Yeah, GG. Been discussing the amazing decline in the pheasant pops for years with hunting partners. Everyone has different opinions. As I said before it used to be easy to shoot limits of birds on Grey Lodge, Sac, Little Dry, and all the property from Lincoln through Yuba City and Nicolaus etc. Hard to find a freakin' bird anymore! I walk with my lab for hours and never kick a bird. I hate to do that to her, so I end up going to the chicken ranches just to get some action. I was telling d~n~b that they used to shoot 900 pheasants opening weekend at Grey Lodge. Now it's 60 or 70! Sad, sad, sad!

yup, opening weekend totals would be close to 2000 birds years ago. I almost feel bad shooting the few wild birds we have left. My family used to hit it hard back in the day. Nowadays I go out for the opener and maybe a few times after that. If it's a nice morning and mix in a dove hunt before 8 o'clock. Then go for a walk.

Wow! I don't even remember the 2000 days! I probably paid absolutely no attention back then. That is crazy! What I would pay for a day on Grey Lodge that kicked up 1000 wild birds! They used to let the juniors hunt the closed zones for one day during the season too! Man, what a different sport it is these days. I wish they would put in 30 or so blinds at Grey Lodge. I really don't like the racing to a spot at my age anymore. I wonder if there is going to be any water for the refuges next year?

I'm sorry I was trying to say close to 2k for the opening weekend.

Yeah. That's how I took it. Perhaps I muddied it up with my response. Still, mother of mercy that would be fun now!

[Glimmerjim]

I'm sure you'd used to hunt the tules out in the ponds after the opener. Crazy ass birds would be stacked sanding on tule clumps out in the middle of the ponds. That was some fun hunting.

Oh you bet!!! Nobody seemed to pay any attention to them. I had one bird get stuck trying to fly straight up out of the tules! Could hear this nasty thrashing as we walked up and when we got close it tried to just sit still. Unfortunately its head was poking out the top! The dog got that one! Another time I was walking across the road from parking lot #5 down the dirt road. Went into thewest side of the road when the cover thickened. If you know the area there is a big clump of brambles right on the southeast corner of that field. I was primed because we had kicked a few hens on the way to that brush.
I could hear something as I approached so I jumped back onto the road to see what I could see. There was a rooster, belly to the ground, trying to sneak away from the back of the brambles west on the other road. Pretty funny to see all squatted and creeping!
On the club at Lambertville last year I was walking out to the blind 15 minutes before shooting time. I walked past a patch of tules 2 foot to my right and a rooster kicked out. Scared the crap out o' me! Went back after light and there was no ground there, just tules and water. I guess they smash down enough tules to stand there.

[Glimmerjim]

I miss that sound like you wouldn't believe.

I was going to say about the same thing! It got my heart pounding just thinking about it cackling as it flushes. My last lab would "sort of" point pheasants. It was like she would get on them and freeze just waiting to see who's going to make the first move. She had one like that right under my feet behind GL #3 parking lot one day. I would say "get it" and she would dive. So I did. Big rooster comes up almost between my legs and flys straight up. 3 shots later and that bird went on banging hens for years!
Once off Elverta Rd my lab caught scent of a bird in a cut hay row. We were standing on the road watching and all you could see was a hump like a wave going down the row as the rooster ran with her right behind it. It finally kicked about 150 yds out.

[GadwallGetter530]

Yeah, the good old days. Funny thing. It wasn't all that long ago.

[aunt betty]

4th generation Yuba City dweller

Right on! Do you hunt Sutter and Grey Lodge much? And do you ever see pheasants anymore? I am doing kind of an informal study to determine what happened to the pheasants. I have a lot of theories thrown at me but I want some definitive answers to try to fix it. We used to drive between Lincoln and Yuba City and see dozens of birds. You could pull over most anywhere up there awith a decent dog and get a bird or two. When I was younger on the opening weekend of pheasant season at Grey Lodge they would shoot 900 pheasants. Now it's 60! What the hell?

Gadwallgetter has an interesting theory, which I believe to be true. The stuff they are using to kill the mosquitoes is killing of the bugs that pheasant chicks eat, starving most of the population.

Good theory.

[3legged_lab]

Is it true you get a bill for the services?

Its a flat bill.

Under what circumstances, though, 3legged? I asked first thing and they said it was taken care of by taxes. If they had tried to charge me I was already planning a defense. It wasn't me that called, I was still climbing and fully expected to make it, no problem!

I was just making fun of the hats that some of our members wear - flat bill. Terrible joke but seemed funny when I was half asleep last night.

[rebelp74]

Is it true you get a bill for the services?

Its a flat bill.

Under what circumstances, though, 3legged? I asked first thing and they said it was taken care of by taxes. If they had tried to charge me I was already planning a defense. It wasn't me that called, I was still climbing and fully expected to make it, no problem!

I was just making fun of the hats that some of our members wear - flat bill. Terrible joke but seemed funny when I was half asleep last night.

I chuckled at it.

[3legged_lab]

Is it true you get a bill for the services?

Its a flat bill.

Under what circumstances, though, 3legged? I asked first thing and they said it was taken care of by taxes. If they had tried to charge me I was already planning a defense. It wasn't me that called, I was still climbing and fully expected to make it, no problem!

I was just making fun of the hats that some of our members wear - flat bill. Terrible joke but seemed funny when I was half asleep last night.

I chuckled at it.

Thanks but you were high so it doesnt count.

[rebelp74]

[Glimmerjim]

Is it true you get a bill for the services?

Its a flat bill.

Under what circumstances, though, 3legged? I asked first thing and they said it was taken care of by taxes. If they had tried to charge me I was already planning a defense. It wasn't me that called, I was still climbing and fully expected to make it, no problem!

I was just making fun of the hats that some of our members wear - flat bill. Terrible joke but seemed funny when I was half asleep last night.

I'm pretty talented at making jokes that people don't get, too!

[waterfowlman]

Yeah, the good old days. Funny thing. It wasn't all that long ago.

Sounds like you need to get some good trappers in that area to thin out the predators. I'll bet when there were strong, healthy pheasant populations there were also professional trappers working that area keeping the bobcats, foxes, coons etc. thinned out.
Just a guess on my part but very possible.

[Bootlipkiller]

Yeah, the good old days. Funny thing. It wasn't all that long ago.

Sounds like you need to get some good trappers in that area to thin out the predators. I'll bet when there were strong, healthy pheasant populations there were also professional trappers working that area keeping the bobcats, foxes, coons etc. thinned out.
Just a guess on my part but very possible.

I think it's a combo with the mosquito abatement theory being a big part. Just in my life time I've seen farming practices change a lot. Farmers disk and spray all the vegetation around their fields and along gravel roads in the name of weed prevention. This is happening all over the valley and these areas that use to hold huntable numbers of pheasants no longer exist. More rice is also flooded now and what's not flooded is disked in the fall leaving no stubble for the birds. Less cover makes the birds more susceptible to predation. All these changes with the war on west Nile and we got problems.