Episode Details

With California’s balance-of-state opener right around the corner, Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down for a full preseason check-in with people who have been watching birds and habitat firsthand. The crew talks expectations for opening weekend, what they’re seeing on CWA properties, and why there’s real optimism heading into the season—with plenty of ducks already on the landscape and more birds still holding farther north.

Episode highlights

• There are birds around — Carson says nearly everyone he’s talked to is seeing ducks, and one CWA property was holding more birds than he’s seen there in ten seasons working for the organization.
• Could another push still be coming? — plenty of birds remain farther north, setting up the possibility of another migration push if colder weather finally forces them south.
• Weather could make or break it — after several seasons of flooding in the Butte Sink, Jeff and Carson talk about how concentrated storm systems and winter weather could reshape hunting again this year.
• Yolo Wildlife Area update — Wildlife Area Manager Garrett Spann joins the show to discuss current conditions, hunter access, property changes, habitat projects, and what visitors should know before heading out this season.
• A firsthand look at bird movement — CWA’s egg salvage coordinator and waterfowl biologist checks in after spending time trapping pintail on refuges and shares what the crew has been seeing across the Valley.
• Specks, snows, and one unusual goose — the conversation turns to goose numbers and a recently banded bird that appears to be some type of hybrid.
• Diver hunting preview — the final portion of the episode shifts toward divers, coastal hunting, specialized boats, and how flooded conditions can change when and where birds return to an area.
• The real cost of getting out there — rising fuel prices also enter the conversation, especially for hunters making long drives to rice blinds and refuges multiple times a week.

There’s always plenty of preseason speculation, but this episode brings together boots-on-the-ground observations, refuge updates, and firsthand bird reports to give California hunters a better idea of what they may find when legal shooting time finally arrives.