The Summer issue of California Waterfowl will soon be landing in members' mailboxes, and we've got some great stories for our readers! Here are some of the highlights:

Ramsey Russell

If you've ever dreamed of hunting ducks in exotic locales, you won't want to miss this story by Ramsey Russell, owner of GetDucks.com, a sporting travel agency. It's not just because he writes about hunting ducks in places that aren't known for duck hunting (Mongolia, Azerbaijan); it's that his stories are relatable to anyone who's spent time in a blind.

And he's got a hell of a way with words.

"Turning to high-five, we saw nothing but the old-timer’s waders sticking straight up in the air between us," he writes of one hunt. "We wrestled him from the water before the bubbles ceased."

And he doesn't have a snooty bone in his body, which is clear from the outset:

"Ain’t gonna lie: I’m known to shoot shovelers. 'Mallard Purist' will likely never be chiseled in granite above my grave. After all of the years and miles, my favorite duck is the very next one that balls up over the decoys. Decoying birds make my heart skip beats."

How'd your season go?

Wait, don't tell us. If you hunted on wildlife areas or refuges with state-run check stations, we already know. Well, at least the big picture.

This issue features a look at the totals from those cards the check station staff fill out when you leave the refuge. The major upshot is that harvest increased over the previous year, but there are plenty of interesting little details you'll want to check out.

It's a lot of numbers. But you're duck hunters. You love numbers.

The will to hunt may have saved this man's life

Steve Ferrario has been hunting public land in the Sacramento Valley since the 1970s – one of those guys you'd call a die-hard.

And that turned out to be literally true: He was almost killed by a mosquito bite in 2016. He watched the winter of 2016-17 from a hospital bed. For a long time he couldn't stand, much less walk.

But he never gave up on recovery, because there was just no way he was going to miss another duck season.

Remembering a giant

This spring, the waterfowling community lost one of its biggest supporters: homebuilder and former Oakland A's owner Ken Hofmann. He was a huge supporter of waterfowl and wetlands, and especially youth.

He gave a lot, but not without conditions that vastly increased the value of his contributions: "Ken always wanted me to take his donation and use it to get others to donate as well,” CWA President John Carlson, Jr., says in the article. “He wanted people to step up and give to the extent they could. He never gave a gift without the assurance it would be used to get more donations."

We hope you'll take inspiration from the story of his life. We sure have.

Youth Hunt Scrapbook

Yup, we've got four pages of grinning kids from the Feb. 3-4 Youth Hunt Weekend!

Finally...

We're also welcoming new advertisers in this issue! We hope you'll check them out:

• Ameri-Cana Expeditions - an outfitter out of Alberta, Canada
• Final Descent Decoys - a new decoy manufacturer based in Fresno
• High Caliber Outdoors - an outfitter that is selling memberships to an Alberta, Canada, duck club
• Land X - a land-broker service for duck clubs, farms and ranches, outdoor recreation properties and mitigation banks
• Victor Super Premium Pet Food - a Texas pet food company