California Outdoors Q&A

Photo: 2022 trout opener at Convict Lake, Mono County

Eastern Sierra Trout Opener

Q: Is this year’s trout opener in the eastern Sierra Nevada likely to be impacted by weather, like it was last year?

A: CDFW is not expecting the same weather conditions that made the 2023 opener virtually impossible to experience. A year ago, it was a record snowpack that made many lakes and streams inaccessible.

Though the Sierra Nevada mountains still received plenty of snow in 2024, the snow isn’t nearly as dense, and temperatures in the valley have been warmer. Crowley Lake, which is known for excellent trout fishing at nearly 7,000 feet, never completely froze in 2024. That milder weather also allowed CDFW to reach and stock almost all our usual stocking locations this year.

By the way, the trout opener is always the last Saturday in April, which this year is April 27.

Wild Turkey Taste and Texture

Q: How different is the taste and texture of wild turkey compared to store-bought turkey?

A: This is an excellent time to explore this question, with the popular spring wild turkey hunts about to begin. One recent national survey showed wild turkey as the third most popular wild game species following deer and other small game.

It’s probably not surprising to learn that the taste and texture of a wild turkey compared to a domestic (store-bought) turkey is quite different. That’s due to wild turkeys having more developed muscles than turkeys raised on a farm where physical activity is limited. A wild turkey also has less fat and will end up drier after cooking. It’s important to prepare the wild turkey properly and understand when the cooking is finished.

Dan Skalos isn’t just a 10-year employee at CDFW who currently oversees the department’s upland game and waterfowl programs, which include turkey, he’s a serious cooking hobbyist who is happy to share his best tips for successful wild turkey preparation.

Because wild turkey can be tougher at the time of consumption, a good brine is necessary according to Skalos. Brine is a mixture of water and salt, which helps with flavoring and increasing moisture. Skalos suggests a brine treatment of at least two days, and a basic mixture that includes one gallon of water and a cup of salt. But his preferred recipe involves far more ingredients like brown sugar, vegetable stock and candied ginger just to name a few items. After all that, his final tip involves time and temperature. Because an overcooked wild turkey can become too dry if it reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit, Skalos said it’s important to have a meat thermometer in use, and to make sure the bird is removed from the oven promptly when it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

For wild turkey and other wild game recipes visit California’s Wild Kitchen.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities

Q: What role do wildlife rehabilitation facilities play in bringing care to injured animals?

A: Wildlife rehabilitation facilities serve an incredibly valuable role in the care of wildlife that are sick, injured or orphaned. Between 100 and 125 thousand animals are treated annually at facilities that are licensed by CDFW. There are more than 80 permitted facilities, and roughly 500 satellite facilities that are permitted under the primary permittee. Satellite facilities assist with neonate (less than four weeks of age) care for round the clock feeding or preparing an animal for release.

Birds are the most common form of wildlife to be seen by rehabbers in California, followed by mammals, and then reptiles and amphibians.

Rehabilitation facilities are a great help to CDFW when it comes to learning about disease outbreaks. They might see a large number of sick animals from a particular area, which can alert CDFW to a possible disease outbreak.

The CDFW website contains a county-by-county list of these wildlife rehabilitation facilities that includes information on which species they’re able to accept. If you come across a sick or injured animal do not drop it off at one of the locations, without notifying an employee and given directions on what to do.

It can be costly operating a wildlife rehabilitation facility. For a single large bear, food alone can reach costs of over $1,000 a month.

Information on how to make tax deductible donations is available at CDFW tax donation information

Butterflies in Education

Q: How would you suggest schools teach the life cycle of caterpillars becoming butterflies?

A: Monarch butterflies are the best known of California’s butterflies, however due to their population fluctuating dramatically in recent years, a scientific collecting permit from CDFW is needed to raise them for educational and other purposes.

Fortunately, there are other ways for teaching about metamorphosis. Instead of captive rearing, CDFW strongly suggests educators create habitat to teach children about butterflies and other pollinators such as bees and birds. This allows children to see these animals in a more natural environment while still providing the opportunity to view all stages of the butterfly lifecycle and a permit is not needed.

When creating habitat, it’s important to include appropriate host plants, like a native milkweed species for monarch butterflies, pipevine for pipevine swallowtail butterflies or fennel for the anise swallowtail butterflies. Another key component is making sure you have an abundance of plants that provide nectar. CDFW recommends using native plants because ornamental plants often are bred to be showy but not for their ability to produce the pollen and nectar pollinators need. Finally, pesticides should be avoided.

Advanced Hunting Clinics

Q: Does CDFW offer hunting instruction that goes beyond the basic certification level?

A: CDFW’s Advanced Hunter Education (AHE) program offers in-person clinics and virtual webinars that increase a hunter’s skill set. Since the reduction of COVID-19 restrictions, CDFW has been able to increase the number of clinics, which offer information on the type of firearm to use, ammunition, tracking, field dressing, shoot-don’t shoot scenarios, conservation and safety. CDFW aims to increase the number of in-person clinics scheduled throughout the state.

Clinics are offered throughout the state and nearly every month of the year. The classes are meant to focus on the techniques of hunting, as opposed to covering just the basics of safe and ethical hunting.

“Don’t let the word ‘advanced’ fool you. You do not have to be advanced to attend these clinics or webinars,” said CDFW Hunter Education Administrator Captain Shawn Olague. “The program is geared toward giving participants the knowledge and confidence to pursue  activities they are interested in. You will leave an event with a newfound understanding that will help you be more successful in the field.” 

Traditionally the most popular clinics cover wild pig, turkey and waterfowl hunting. Other topics include hunting backcountry big game, avoiding wilderness emergencies, hunting with air guns and even the art of sausage-making. The full 2024 list of topics, dates and locations is found at Advanced Hunter Education.

View past Advanced Hunter Education webinars via the recordings that are placed on the CDFW YouTube channel. The videos can also be found on the Advanced Hunting Clinics home page.

Salmon Making a Wrong Turn

Q: I remember a story late last year about salmon apparently getting lost on their way back to their natural spawning location. Why do fish sometimes get lost and choose the wrong stream or river?

A: In November, several salmon swimming upstream to spawn were found dying or dead in a small North Stockton (San Joaquin County) creek. The fish were likely trying to find their way to the Mokelumne River many miles to the north instead.

Usually, salmon raised in hatcheries find their way back to their native river for spawning season, but some take wrong turns along the way. There are several potential reasons for that. It’s believed fish raised in hatchery settings don’t have quite the same strong olfactory (smelling) skills that guide them to the river they were hatched. Also, many rivers in northern California are connected to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and it’s possible through changing tides and flows that water from one river is mixing with water from other rivers, and that can confuse salmon returning upstream.

“There’s a natural instinct of fish to follow flow,” said Jason Julienne, the senior environmental scientist who oversees CDFW’s Sacramento Valley anadromous fish hatcheries. “And where you have a mixing of flows from different tributaries, as is the case in the Delta, it can confuse adult Chinook salmon coming back to the Central Valley that are depending on sense of smell cues to get where they’re supposed to go.”

Other factors that can contribute to fish straying include the trucking of fish downstream to a release point, and water delivery operations such as diversions, pumping and dam releases.

CDFW can determine the origin of raised fish thanks to a coded wire tag that’s implanted in a portion of all hatchery-raised fish at about five months old. The tag is uniquely coded to the hatchery where it was raised, it contains information indicating the age of the fish and the location where it was released.

It's also possible (and fairly common) for fish to make it all the way back to a different hatchery than the facility where they were raised.

Artificial Habitats for Freshwater Fish

Q: Why does CDFW build artificial fish habitat in California lakes?

A: There are several reasons for CDFW to install artificial habitat in reservoirs around the state. Structures can be placed next to spawning areas to provide protective cover for juvenile fish. These constructions also attract larger fish, providing prime fishing opportunities for anglers.

Artificial fish habitat come in all shapes and sizes, whether orange trees, wood structures or other artificial man-made materials. Manzanita shrubs, Juniper trees and even used Christmas trees have been used for habitat purposes. Softwood like avocado trees are avoided because they deteriorate faster in the water.

Biologists might sink as many as 100 structures at different depths in just one reservoir. Crews also place different types of habitat structures along the shoreline when reservoir levels are low, providing a good area for fish habitat once the waters rise. About two dozen reservoirs contain artificial habitat, from Sutherland in San Diego County to Whiskeytown Lake in Shasta County.

One example is the use of large PVC piping in several Southern California lakes. CDFW places circular pipes, 12 inches in diameter and three feet long, in water hoping to attract catfish. Catfish are known as cavity-nesters and once the males have prepared the pipe for spawning by clearing out any debris, females follow and lay their eggs. The males then return to guard the nest and use their fins to fan the eggs to oxygenate them. Biologists will return to the spots where they’ve placed habitat structures to determine their effectiveness.

With two strong rainy seasons in California, many of the state’s reservoirs are filled to historic water levels, which lessens the need to install artificial habitat. Heavy rains raise reservoir water levels which in turn inundates natural habitat along the shoreline. Although this is beneficial for now, our biologists are planning future projects to continue to improve fisheries habitat in times of drought to ensure fish populations stay healthy.

Identifying Duck Species

Q: As a new waterfowl hunter, how do I learn the difference between duck species?

A: This is a common question among beginning waterfowl hunters mostly because they don’t want to run afoul of the law, but some hunters with good identification skills also select preferred duck species to harvest, or they may try to harvest primarily males vs. females.

California hosts 39 species or subspecies of waterfowl, so it can be challenging to learn to identify them. Experience is the best teacher and February is a great time in California to learn duck identification by direct observation.

Our recommendation is to visit any of CDFW’s wildlife areas or national wildlife refuges that are managed for waterfowl habitat, or perhaps wherever there is access to hunt waterfowl during the waterfowl season. Visit those places after the close of waterfowl season while the birds are still around. Bring a good pair of binoculars, a waterfowl identification book and maybe a knowledgeable friend who can help. Not only can you help learn to identify the birds from looking at them, but you’ll also begin to learn to distinguish the birds by their flight patterns and sounds they make.

Fun fact, most waterfowl don’t quack, they whistle or chirp in some form or another.

For more information, visit CDFW’s waterfowl program page. It includes links to resources specific to waterfowl identification.

To find more information on CDFW Lands and their operating hours, please visit the CDFW Lands webpage. Also be sure visit the Emergency Closures page before visiting a CDFW office, facility or property.

Hibernation Adjustments

Q: Do bears adjust their hibernation location when heavy weather conditions arrive?

A: Researchers throughout North America have reported that black bears can awaken and travel to new locations when disturbed and the same can be said for black bears that inhabit California. Sows with cubs can move the tiny young into an alternate den if the disturbance is at an unacceptable level or if there is some danger – like a flood or landslide.

Hibernation is an adaptation for some mammals and reptiles, which allows them to survive the winter season. In many areas, winter can be unforgiving. Food is hidden beneath the snow, water sources are frozen over and frigid temperatures can have deadly consequences. By hibernating, an animal’s body temperature, heart rate, breathing and other metabolic activities slow down significantly to conserve energy.

In areas with mild winters, such as in Southern California, most bears do not hibernate, because they have adequate resources and the ambient temperature is survivable. Biologists have found that only pregnant sows (female bears) den up for the entire winter.

Black bears are thought to hibernate for about four months in other parts of California. They can hibernate for many months because their body temperature reduces to approximately 88 degrees Fahrenheit, which is within 12 degrees Fahrenheit of normal. By contrast, the body temperature of smaller animals such as marmots, chipmunks and ground squirrels may drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Small mammals must awaken every few days and raise their body temperatures to normal levels so they can eat stored food, and pass waste. Bears can maintain their suspended state because their warm fur allows them to retain body heat.