Ep. 118 Season Recap: January Averages, Year-to-Year Swings & Pintail Puzzles

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard wrap the season with a clean, property-by-property breakdown—January numbers, year-over-year changes, species quirks, and the big themes (fog, late rains, road work, king tides) that moved the needle across CWA hunts. Expect straight talk on mallards and pintail, why Staten keeps trending up, and how Goose Lake quietly turned in one of its best mixed-bag years.

January by the numbers

• Staten Island: 4.4 birds/hunter; GWT + specks led.
• Goose Lake (Tulare Basin): 4.2; teal-heavy, strong mixed bags.
• Quimby Island (Delta): 3.4; GWT + mallard.
• Sanborn Slough (Butte Sink): 3.4; deeper water pushed hooded mergansers & ring-necks.
• Grizzly Ranch (Suisun): 2.6; GWT + spoonies, up from December.
• Butte Creek Island Ranch: 2.6; flood/high water effects.
• Potrero (Suisun): 1.7.
• Denverton (Suisun): 1.5.

Season takeaways

• Mallard softness: Big drop at Quimby (248 → 101 mallards) and a lighter mallard picture statewide.
• Goose gains where it counts: Staten goose harvest jumped (specks 231 vs. 146; snows 156 vs. 75).
• Species surprises: Goose Lake went from 0 → 33 redheads; Staten logged a long-tailed duck and Eurasian wigeon.
• Weather & work mattered: Long tule-fog stretches, night road work, king tides, and late rains reshuffled use patterns—good for some units, tough on others.
• Pintail reality check: A 3-bird limit didn’t blow the doors off harvest totals—availability and conditions were the limiter.

Quick stat stack (program-wide) 1600+ teal • 1040+ spoonies • 390+ mallards • 330+ specks.

If you hunted with us—thank you. Keep an eye on calwaterfowl.org for spring turkey, pig hunts, and next season’s applications.

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