The San Francisco call., 1910-12-18
WHERE, 0 WHERE'S
The FESTIVE DUCK?
He's Not on the Marshes So
the Hunters Can Notice
Him

Duck hunters who were present at
the Sunday and Wednesday powder
burning functions on the Suisun marsh
last week found sport uniformly poor,
the broad bills being conspicuous by
their absence from most of the baited
ponds that had been yielding good
dividends to skillful marksmen for sew
eral weeks. Even the volante club
members. who usually have plenty of
game on their Joyce island preserve
when there is little or nothing doing
in other parts of the marsh, reported
a marked falling off in the supply of
ducks, and the reports were verified
by the comparatively slim bags that
were forwarded to the city on shoot
ing days.
Shooters at Gustine and other re-
sorts in the San Joaquin valley found
water and ducks plentiful on all of
the preserves In that region and some
fair sport was had during the week on
favored parts of the Alvarado marsh
area. Canvasbacks furnished some
sport for hunters on the west side of
San Pablo early in the week, but it did
not last long, cold north wind driv-
ing the birds out to the open stretches
of the bay just when hunters were be-
ginning to think that they were COM
ing in for some good shooting.
Henry KlevesahI of the Lincoln club.
| which shoots near Reclamation. who is
interested with Captain John Seymour
in the preserve named for the latter
sportsman on the Suisun marsh, claims
to have more right to find fault with
weather conditions and the habits of
wild ducks than any other hunter has
earned thus for this season KIeve-
sahl says that he has not enjoyed any
thing like a good shoot since the sea-
son opened. He was at the Lincoln club
| lodge almost continuously for more
than month, but only on rare oc-
casions did he get crack at bird.
The inaction finally tired him and he
decided TO spend last Sunday at. the
preserve on the Suisun marsh, of which
he is part owner. There was not
feather flying on the Seymour ponds,
he said, while his fellow members of
the Lincoln club had their first fair
shoot for the season. He will remain
on the Lincoln grounds until there is
decided Improvement in conditions up
Suisun way, he says.
Pete Ashcroft, Edgar Forster and
four other members of the Lincoln out
fit were up at Reclamation Sunday and
the seXtet made Joint kill of so
cans" the bag being the best the
shooters have gathered since the sea-
son opened. All along the Novato line
the shooting was better than 1t had
been for weeks, but limit bags were
none too plentiful. The Mission gun
club members had a good shoot on
| their place between Black point and
| Ignacio, and A. Decortieux got his
| limit at Blind bay between the point
and Burdells
The usual big crowd of smooth bore
enthusiasts went up to Ignacio, Recla-
nation and to other places in that
vicinity. and in many instances returns
Were much nearer to being satisfactory
| than they had been. Things continued
bad for shooters at Sears point, and
shooting also was poor around San Ra
fael. Jim Casey was up to the Vincen-
sion grounds near San Rafael with q
few others, and the birds were so scarce
that none of the party were paved for
their trouble or for the expense the
trip entailed.
Several shooters were UP at Recama
tion and vicinity on Wednesday, hoping
for repetition of the Sunday doings
on the Lincoln grounds, but they were
disappointed, the hocks having been
driven out to join the myriads of ducks
loafng on the open stretches of San
Pablo bay
Ed Convey H A. Walsh and Bunk
Bowling had an excellent shoot over
! the Pacific club ponds on the Alvarado
marsh last Sunday, and several good
| bags were picked up near Mount Eden
and around Alviso. Edward Hoag,
George F. Lyon and L. Dwyer are
shooting near Alvarado today, having
recently acquired a shooting lodge near
there. Dick Ivers of Honolulu, who
was host to Ed Schultz and Pete McRae
at shooting party in the islands last
year, is learning what good duck shoot
ing is down at the West Side club in
the San Joaquin valley. Jim Maynard,
Frank Long and Ed Schultz are with
| him.
Rain interfered somewhat with
shooting on the Empire club grounds
in Monterey county last Sunday, but
some good bags were obtained never
theless. The season on the whole has
been a good one for the Empire shoot
ers. At the opening there was an
abundance of home bred sprig on the
grounds and they were soon followed
by the full plumaged northern birds.
The Salinas gun club and the Gabillan
outfit are also having excellent sport.
The Gabillan members shoot on the
Espinosa lakes east of Salinas
There is a good supply of quail re-
naming in Marin and Sonoma coun-
ties, where hunters have been thick
for several weeks. f. w. Richards and
Fred Butler came in from Marshalls
with limit strings last week and sew
eraI good bags were obtained on the
Point Reyes and Country club grounds.
Fred Wilt, Walter Wood and r. Sher-
wood left for Fresno on the Owl train
last night in response to telegram
from friends promising them fine
do snort with valley mail