Between the two refuges -- Lower Klamath and Tule Lake there are nearly 90,000 acres of public land to hunt. Mallard and widgeon are the most common species here. Photo courtesy of Andy Martin.

On the entire West Coast, some of the best waterfowl hunting opportunities are found each fall and winter on California's national wildlife refuges, where more than a million birds spend time during their migration south. With abundant water, vast areas to hunt and plentiful ducks and geese, the refuges spread throughout the state are a waterfowler's dream.

These refuges also attract crowds of hunters. But the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake national wildlife refuges, located in the remote Klamath Basin in the northern reaches of the Golden State, yield excellent harvest averages and uncrowded conditions for hunters willing to drive north.

These two, known simply as the Klamath refuges, are also located in the high desert country at the base of the Cascade Mountains, with towering Mount Shasta nearby.

"We tend not to get as crowded as some of the refuges in the Central Valley," says Dave Mauser, a wildlife biologist for the Klamath refuges.

"Other than the opening weekend, we don't have a reservation system or a quota system."

The federally owned refuges in Siskiyou County also feature hunting seven days a week, something hunters in other parts of the state don't enjoy. Most of California's state and federal refuges allow hunting only on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.

"Most of our hunters come from quite a ways away," says Mauser. And this allows them to hunt at least half a day, every day."

ABUNDANT BIRDS
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 percent of migrating waterfowl will stop here in the fall, Mauser says. "Between the two refuges, we usually peak at a million and a half birds."

Aside from birds stopping to feed, the two refuges also have year-round populations of resident birds and -- when nearby ponds and lakes ice up --freezing weather pushes ducks in from throughout Northern California and southern Oregon.

Along with water from Tule Lake, the Klamath Marsh and refuge wetlands, the birds also seek the grain and other crops grown by farmers who lease part of the refuge lands.

"We have marshes that are flooded year 'round," according to Mauser, "and we have seasonal marshes that we start flooding in September." They start flooding grain fields around the middle of November.

THE REFUGES
The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge covers more than 39,000 acres of mostly open water and croplands. Farmers lease 17,000 acres to grow row crops. Leftover potatoes are a big food source for migrating waterfowl. Another 1,900 acres are used to grow grain and alfalfa, which draw geese later in the season.

The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1908 as the nation's first refuge, covers nearly 47,000 acres of open water, grassy uplands, shallow marshes and cropland.

Ducks are the main draw at the Lower Klamath refuge. Mallards are the most common species, followed by widgeons, gadwall, pintail and shovelers. Ducks are also the most commonly hunted birds at Tule Lake, although the refuge is also popular with goose hunters.

"In general, Lower Klamath tends to be a little more consistent, especially for ducks," Mauser says.

"You have more goose opportunity on Tule Lake."

TULE LAKE HOTSPOTS
The Tule Lake NWR features a large marsh unit accessible by boats, open free-roam hunting over harvested grain fields, and spaced-blind hunting in dry fields.

Boat hunting is most popular for ducks. At Tule Lake, Sump 1B is a favorite for many local hunters. "It's a new marsh and there is a lot of bulrush and open water," Mauser says.

"There is a lot of food for the birds in there."