YOUTH HUNTS
RIVER DOG DUCK CLUB YOUTH WATERFOWL HUNT
Hunt dates: 2/1/25, 2/2/25
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: All hunters
Capacity: 1 hunter and one non shooting adult
Restrictions: none
Located on Van Sickle Island in the heart of California's Suisun Marsh, this beautiful 400-acre private duck club offers premier waterfowl and upland hunting. This club is strategically located right along Honker Bay to the west and borders Grizzly Island Wildlife Area to the north. Due to its location, River Dog Duck Club is known to offer great pintail and widgeon hunting under the right conditions. Offering both 2 & 3 man pit blinds and several Xfowler floating blinds. Hunters will be taken by ATV (provided) and walk about 200 yards to the blind. Decoys are provided. Mentors can be provided by club if needed.
BIRD HAVEN RANCH-YOUTH HUNT WEEKEND
Hunt dates: 2/1
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Sacramento Valley
For: All hunters
Capacity: 2 hunters (one adult non shooter and one youth shooters)
Description: This is one of the premier duck clubs in the country. At 2,200+ acres and located just west of and adjacent to the closed zones of Howard Slough and Little Dry Creek units of the Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area, this club is one of the most beautiful and productive marshes in the Pacific Flyway. In addition to lush watergrass and smartweed fields intermixed with willow trees and tules, Bird Haven Ranch also farms about 1,000 acres of rice and a considerable amount of corn and milo food plots. If you’re not chasing mallards and wood ducks in the oak trees along Butte Creek or in a flooded corn field, you’re sure to see plenty of ducks and geese using the manicured wetlands. Hunters will be driven out to large and comfortable stand up blinds for a morning shoot. Don’t miss this opportunity to spend some time at the one-of-kind Bird Haven Ranch. 3 groups will be drawn.
GOOSE LAKE YOUTH WATERFOWL HUNT
Hunt dates: 2/1/25
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Tulare Basin
For: All hunters
Capacity: 3 hunters
Restrictions: None
Description: CWA's Goose Lake property located just south of Lost Hills consists of 2,175 acres of total habitat. In 2014, we reconstructed 300-acres of wetlands on the Houchin Unit to improve water use efficiency and promote the growth of waterfowl food plants, such as swamp timothy and watergrass. Houchin will not be avialable for waterfowl this season.
The 926 acre Badger-Almond Unit has undergone separate restoration/reconstruction efforts since acquisition in 2014. In 2015 CWA restored the eastern 320 acres of fallow farmland into 300 acres of palustrine emergent wetlands and 20 acres of upland habitat. In 2018 through a project funded by NAWCA and WCB, CWA reconstructed 346 acres of previously developed ground by NRCS to allow for more efficient moist soil management practices. No all-season roads. Access will be closed with inclement weather.
THERE WILL BE NO PHEASANTS FOR THE 24-25 SEASON!
BUTTE CREEK ISLAND RANCH YOUTH WATERFOWL HUNT WEEKEND
Hunt dates: Feb. 1, 2025
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Sacramento Valley
For: Youth hunter, with non-hunting adult chaperone
Capacity: 2 youth hunters and 1 adult
Restrictions: none
Description: This 110-acre, CWA-owned property sits between Butte Creek and Howard Slough, across from the famed Little Dry Creek unit of the Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area. Hunts will take place in either stand-up or floating blinds located in two separate units. Mallards and wood ducks are commonly harvested in the area, as they come into the marsh after feeding on nearby rice. Decoys are provided.
Special thanks to Closed Zone Farms for providing mowing and discing services to CWA’s Butte Creek Island Ranch and Sanborn Slough properties.
Two groups of three will be drawn. Groups will draw for blinds before the morning hunt.
DENVERTON YOUTH WATERFOWL HUNT
Hunt dates: 2/1/2025
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: At least one hunter must be a youth hunter, and there must be an adult chaperone/hunter
Capacity: 2 youth hunters and 1 adult
Restrictions: none
Description: This is a California Waterfowl-owned property encompassing 762 acres in the Suisun Marsh off Highway 12. Five hunting groups will be allowed each hunt date, giving every group a great chance for a memorable hunt. The hunt area consists of three XFowler floating blinds and three Black Box pit blinds.
GRIZZLY RANCH WATERFOWL YOUTH HUNT WEEKEND
Hunt dates: 2/1/2025
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: Youth hunters, with non-shooting adult chaperone
Capacity: 2 youth hunters and 1 chaperone
Restrictions: none
Description: This is a California Waterfowl-owned property in the famed Suisun Marsh, bordering Grizzly Island State Wildlife Area. Grizzly Ranch is over 900 acres and the wetlands are managed by CWA biologists. Groups will draw for blinds before the morning hunt. Decoys and transportation to and from the blinds are provided.
SANBORN SLOUGH YOUTH WATERFOWL HUNT
Hunt dates: 2/1/25
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $6 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Sacramento Valley
For: Youth hunters with non-shooting adult chaperone
Capacity: 2 youth and 1 adult
Restrictions: none
Description: This 260-acre CWA property sits between Sanborn Slough and Cherokee Channel, across from the famed Little Dry Creek unit of the Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area. Hunts will take place in stand-up blinds scattered across the wetland unit. Hunters will boat to selected blinds.
Decoys and boats are provided. Four groups of three hunters will be drawn. Groups will draw for blinds the morning before the hunt.
Special thanks to Closed Zone Farms for providing mowing and discing services to CWA’s Butte Creek Island Ranch and Sanborn Slough properties.
MULBERRY YOUTH WATERFOWL HUNT
Hunt dates: 2/1/25
Application type: Lottery
Cost: $5 to apply, $25 to hunt (hunt fee waived for youth)
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: Youth
Capacity: One youth hunter and one non shooting chaperone
This 600-acre Suisun Marsh duck club is located adjacent to Highway 680 near the "Mothball Fleet." The club traditionally holds large numbers of pintail, as well as other ducks, in the 200-acre private sanctuary on the west side of the property. As with most clubs on the marsh, access to the blind is by boat (provided). With recent habitat improvements, this club will offer great teal and pintail hunting. Do not miss this opportunity to hunt a premier Suisun Marsh duck club.
Capacity: One junior and one non-shooting adult chaperone. One group will be drawn for this hunt.
