TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

My favorite hunting time of the entire year begins with the second Saturday in November when almost all of our game birds are in season. Despite the possibility of Valley rains this weekend, hunters should still find excellent shooting available for most species.

Many years ago one of my friends coined the phrase "California Grand Slam" to point out that for a too-brief period of time, almost all of California's game bird species were in season. Over the years, we'd make daily hunt plans to include dove, quail, duck and pheasant shooting, and with just a little luck, goose, chukar and jacksnipe, too. Oh we'd have to hurry for sure on most days, but we often managed some fine outdoor hunting days where "if it flied, it died."

Well, that season opens tomorrow. The heavy rains that hit earlier in the year have caused a huge explosion of cover and feed in the nearby eastern and western foothills. turkey mullein, a particularly favorite seed food of doves and quail, now grows heavily across most of those regions, attracting thousands of birds to imbibe in nature's free food cafeteria.

Opening day dove hunters finding a heavy concentration of mullein can simply scout the patch for usage and then greet the birds when they decide to show up. Large bevies of valley quail will also be found nearby, usually in the nearest and heaviest cover.

The second half of dove season lasts through the day after Christmas (12-26-11), with the same limits as in the early season. A 10-bird daily limit (20-bird possession limit after opening day) remains in effect for mourning doves, but shooters can kill all the Eurasian collared doves they can hit, with no limit restrictions.

There are also plenty of birds on the valley floor, most feeding heavily in old grain or newly harvested corn fields. Large flocks of migratory and wintering doves have begun showing up and with just a little scouting, the forecast for a good opener seems reasonable.

Pheasant season also opens this Saturday for a 44-day run that ends Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the forecast for good local shooting remains dismal at best because of the lack of wild birds in our area, but hunters rolling up and into Northern California can expect some excellent gunning for the spectacular, cackling long-tails. Also, smart hunters will sign up for some of the special DFG sanctioned hunts that promise unparalleled action at a variety of locations this month, including the Kern River Valley and Taft areas.

Wild Turkey hunters should find some sizeable flocks of birds in the Sierra around the 3,000-foot elevations. The either-sex, one-bird-per-season hunt lasts through Nov. 27. Hunters with access to private property should find easy gunning on mostly naïve birds, but those nimrods chasing the great eating turkeys on open BLM or National Forest ground will have to work for their trophies.

Waterfowl hunters will really get a chance to play in the mud this rainy weekend when the second half of the Southern San Joaquin Valley Zone reopens after a two week hiatus. The Kern Refuge stands to be the best location to kill a seven-bird limit, but private club hunters will also share in a lot of birds willing to circle their decoys. Waterfowl season closes on the last Sunday in January, and reports indicate that millions of birds are slowly migrating their way into California to provide gunning for the rest of the season.

So here's how it stacks up for the weekend. Quail, chukar, pheasant, duck, dove, goose, jacksnipe, wild turkey and mountain quail will all be open and should provide at least good action for those willing to face a little wet weather. Toss in cottontail and tree squirrels, which also remain open, and shooters have the makings for some fine hunting and a freezer full of superb eating.

A current 2011-2012 California hunting license with an Upland game stamp validation is needed to hunt them, with the exception of waterfowl. Duck and goose hunters need the license, plus a California State duck stamp validation and a signed federal duck stamp in order to hunt.

Shooting hours for pheasants shall be from 8 a.m. until sundown and from one-half hour before sunrise until 4 p.m. for wild turkeys. All other game birds may be hunted from one-half hour before sunrise until sunset.