California Outdoors Q&A

Question: My 11-year-old daughter recently passed her hunter education class. We are both really excited! We live just outside Yuba City and we are looking for opportunities to go duck hunting. I am an amateur and I don’t really know what I’m doing. We have the basics, even a dozen decoys, but I’m a little intimidated about taking her to the refuges...
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Question: My daughter and I have a huge interest in our local wildlife. We live in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. I have been interested in radio and emergency communications since my childhood. I was hoping you could educate us regarding what tracking collars are being used around my house and what frequencies the collars are using to transmit...
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Question: My question is in regard to hunting near an outhouse located by a paved parking lot at a trailhead within the Cleveland National Forest. This parking lot has a pit toilet building only. I am well aware of the law that says you cannot shoot a firearm within 150 yards of an occupied building, but this outhouse is an obvious...
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Question:What happens if a spearfishing diver spots a large fish and shoots and spears it without realizing until too late that it’s a giant (black) sea bass or another prohibited species? Then after the fish is speared and brought to the surface, the spearfisher realizes they have a fish they can’t take or possess, so they promptly return it to...
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Question: I am new to Southern California and have been hearing about javelina in the southeastern part of the state. Can I use a pig tag or can I even hunt them? (Jared O.) Answer: Although javelina (Pecari tajacu or Tayassu tajacu) resemble and are often mistaken for a rodent or type of wild pig (Sus scrofa), they are not rodents and...
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Question: The new California Mammal Hunting Regulations book that just came out describes a new law to deter poaching of trophy class wildlife. How is this supposed to work? (Ron, Alpine) Answer: Wildlife officers have two new tools to deter poaching and punish violators for serious poaching crimes. Under Fish and Game Code (FGC), section 12013.3, penalties have been significantly enhanced for any person convicted...
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