Dave Parks
Well-known member
Anyone know anything about Ryer's Island in the Sac. Delta area? Where exactly is it, what is it like and how is it for hunting/fishing?
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks,
Dave
Derek, Kevin or any other Calif. Sac Delta boys.
- Thread starter Dave Parks
- Start date
Ryer Island is just a bit up from Rio Vista on the delta, it is a dry island in the delta - obviusly prone to going under one day. It is mostly ag property, lots of corn, tomatoes and some grapes. The area is well known for great phesant and dove shooting, ok waterfowl hunting and an ok access point to some supurb flooded islands, sloughs and zones inthe delta. Gets close to the tial end of the bypass flood up thus being near the last drain and some unreal hunting at flood. I beleve it falls in Solano county and is smack between Cache Slough and the Sacramento river. The road out can be dangerous at least, lots of fog and crazy drivers, lots of deaths on that two lane river road.
If you need any more info, let me know. I know most of the "upper delta" pretty well.
Derek
I think there are a few properties for sale on ther right now.
If you need any more info, let me know. I know most of the "upper delta" pretty well.
Derek
I think there are a few properties for sale on ther right now.
Dave Parks
Well-known member
Thanks Derek,
One of my local hunting buddies called to tell me he just bought some property on the island for hunting. I don't have all the details yet, but will in a day or two. All he said was that it is good pheasant hunting and good salmon and sturgeon fishing nearby. This is teh same friend who I helped build the big log cabin home for a couple years ago. He also bought some property in Loreto, Baja and is having a hose built down there.
Thanks and I'll probably be asking you more when I find out exactly what it was he bought on Ryer's Island last week.
Dave
One of my local hunting buddies called to tell me he just bought some property on the island for hunting. I don't have all the details yet, but will in a day or two. All he said was that it is good pheasant hunting and good salmon and sturgeon fishing nearby. This is teh same friend who I helped build the big log cabin home for a couple years ago. He also bought some property in Loreto, Baja and is having a hose built down there.
Thanks and I'll probably be asking you more when I find out exactly what it was he bought on Ryer's Island last week.
Dave
Kevin Layne
Active member
Dave, I don't know much about the place. But, sounds like Derek knows it fairly well. Being a good friend, I'd be happy to hook up with Derek and go hunt the place a few times for you and your buddy and let you guys know if it's worth the trip down here. Just send us a permission slip and a map and we'll help you out. That's what friends are for, right???
I concur with Kevin. There is a LAW in California that requires two Califrnia resident hunters to break in all new property. You must be a cerified registered CA hunter and the last i heard ther were only two with that title: Kevin and I.
Actually: the area is good, if he bought on Ryers, i will likely know what. If he got the 200+ acre ranch that was for sale a few months ago it might be half way decent on geese. Some of the best goose hunts i have ever been on in the valley were on Ryers and Liberty Islands. The bass fishing (stripers/black and multi-strain) is great all year and the holes can be great for salmon when the run is hot.
Actually: the area is good, if he bought on Ryers, i will likely know what. If he got the 200+ acre ranch that was for sale a few months ago it might be half way decent on geese. Some of the best goose hunts i have ever been on in the valley were on Ryers and Liberty Islands. The bass fishing (stripers/black and multi-strain) is great all year and the holes can be great for salmon when the run is hot.
Hey Dave,
When I was born my folks lived over in Courtland/Walnut Grove area which is east of ryer island a bit. So I am very familiar with the area. When I was in high school back in the 60's and 70's I used to hunt a place just west of Ryer Island when there was enough rain to flood the bypass. We used to call it Suicide as it was the place where the honkers used to commit suicide. I had a lot of great adventures out there in those days but have not hunted there since before I moved to alaska back in 1976. I've seen rafts of ducks and geese on flooded areas near there that were several miles long. Those flocks were th most ducks I have ever seen. And if you got out there in a storm late in the year the flights were unbelievable. Pass shooting like I've never seen before or since. But that was back when there were a gazillion pintail wintering in california. I'd like to think it is still like that but it probably isn't. I've heard that nowadays the farmers all flood the rice fields instead of buring the stubble so the birds have a lot more water to use and it doesn't take them long to figure out which fields are closed to hunting and which aren't.
What I have heard is that in general california pheasant hunting is no where near as good as it used to be because of modern ag practices that do not leave enough cover to protect the nests and the young birds. One of the best areas I remember was a strip of land between the ship channel and the lower end of the yolo bypass. After pheasant season opened a lot of birds got pushed over the ship channel and holed up in the tule strip on the far side. It was great hunting.
Anyway, I've also heard that the striper fishing is in the tank too. Used to be great striper fishing down there as well.
Somewhere I've got a picture of me trapping muskrat down in that area.
Anyway thats a little about the area.
Take care MPD
When I was born my folks lived over in Courtland/Walnut Grove area which is east of ryer island a bit. So I am very familiar with the area. When I was in high school back in the 60's and 70's I used to hunt a place just west of Ryer Island when there was enough rain to flood the bypass. We used to call it Suicide as it was the place where the honkers used to commit suicide. I had a lot of great adventures out there in those days but have not hunted there since before I moved to alaska back in 1976. I've seen rafts of ducks and geese on flooded areas near there that were several miles long. Those flocks were th most ducks I have ever seen. And if you got out there in a storm late in the year the flights were unbelievable. Pass shooting like I've never seen before or since. But that was back when there were a gazillion pintail wintering in california. I'd like to think it is still like that but it probably isn't. I've heard that nowadays the farmers all flood the rice fields instead of buring the stubble so the birds have a lot more water to use and it doesn't take them long to figure out which fields are closed to hunting and which aren't.
What I have heard is that in general california pheasant hunting is no where near as good as it used to be because of modern ag practices that do not leave enough cover to protect the nests and the young birds. One of the best areas I remember was a strip of land between the ship channel and the lower end of the yolo bypass. After pheasant season opened a lot of birds got pushed over the ship channel and holed up in the tule strip on the far side. It was great hunting.
Anyway, I've also heard that the striper fishing is in the tank too. Used to be great striper fishing down there as well.
Somewhere I've got a picture of me trapping muskrat down in that area.
Anyway thats a little about the area.
Take care MPD
Matt
I know the place near the ship channel. My dad would walk it late in the season back in the late 70's, when i was to young to carry a gun (saw my first phesant shot there). Another old favorite was the railroad trussel spanning the bypass. The bypass still floods and those pintail still come back, the numbers the last two years are unreal. While the pintail populations are having problems, our portion of the flyways is not. The phesant populations have dwindled quite bit, i have been hunitng going on my 25th year and have witnessed it first hand. The area around courtland and walnut grove has developed a lot, some new residential developments and trendy farming are prevelent ther now. Bogle winery has a big operation in the area.
Striper fishing is still great both in the delta and the suisumn bay. Bass fishing is spectacular in the sloughs and the rumor has it the next world record will come from there. There was a unofficial world caught south of stockton in the San Jouquin delta portion 3 years ago. Salmon fishing is getting hard, runs are down and the traditional holes and spots dont seem to put up the numbers as in years past - same for steelhead.
I know the place near the ship channel. My dad would walk it late in the season back in the late 70's, when i was to young to carry a gun (saw my first phesant shot there). Another old favorite was the railroad trussel spanning the bypass. The bypass still floods and those pintail still come back, the numbers the last two years are unreal. While the pintail populations are having problems, our portion of the flyways is not. The phesant populations have dwindled quite bit, i have been hunitng going on my 25th year and have witnessed it first hand. The area around courtland and walnut grove has developed a lot, some new residential developments and trendy farming are prevelent ther now. Bogle winery has a big operation in the area.
Striper fishing is still great both in the delta and the suisumn bay. Bass fishing is spectacular in the sloughs and the rumor has it the next world record will come from there. There was a unofficial world caught south of stockton in the San Jouquin delta portion 3 years ago. Salmon fishing is getting hard, runs are down and the traditional holes and spots dont seem to put up the numbers as in years past - same for steelhead.
Dave Parks
Well-known member
I just called my buddy and had a talk with him. When he said he got us a place to hunt on Reyr's Island I asummed he'd bought a place. Now I have the story. He went down there to look at a 35 foot 5th wheel trailer that a farmer on the Island had for sale. As it turned out it was not really what he wanted, but after talking to the farmer who was a friend that we both hunt with (and the guy who built my ponds) My buddy bought the trailer, leased some property next to the farmer to put the trailer on (with hook-ups) and also made a deal with the farmer to moor my buddies 26 foot cabin cruiser at the farmers dock. The farmer place is about 7 miles (to the left) from where the ferry lands on the island. The farmer grows corn and has a ton of pheasants on his farm........which the hunting of was included in the leave my buddy made.
Next year my buddy said we'd go down there for a week and shoot pheasant opener. That sounds good to me if I ain't in Montana at that time.
This is the same buddy that wanted me to find him a single shot .50 BMG rifle (which I did and he has ordered one for next years elk hunt!)
Photo of it .
Thanks for all the info.
Dave
Next year my buddy said we'd go down there for a week and shoot pheasant opener. That sounds good to me if I ain't in Montana at that time.
This is the same buddy that wanted me to find him a single shot .50 BMG rifle (which I did and he has ordered one for next years elk hunt!)
Photo of it .
Thanks for all the info.
Dave
Thanks for the update Derek, I am a little surprised to hear that the bass fishing has gotten that good. We used to do that too, and we caught plenty of smallish fish in the one to two pound range I never heard of anything much over 6-8 pounds. Now there are potential world records. I wonder what the deal is there.
Glad to hear that the birds are still in there like they used to be.
How many people try to hunt the bypass when it floods nowadays? In those days hardly anyone did, but it could get real dangerous in places with all the snags and strong currents. I remember somebody drowning out there almost every year. Which just made us more eager to hunt out there then. But of course we were teenagers then. We used to row an inflatable raft across the ship channel and drag it across the strip of land to between the ship channel and the bypass, then row across the little drain channel out into the bypass. All in waders with shotguns and ammo etc. Then come back all soaking wet with a pile of birds instead of the ammo. No floatation device or nothing. After one particularly scarey trip I finally got a pair of those waders with the CO2 inflatable deal in them.
Glad to hear there are still some stripers to be caught too....every once in awhile I think it would be nice to have a house boat or something down there to spend the winter and spring on.
Take care,
MPD
Glad to hear that the birds are still in there like they used to be.
How many people try to hunt the bypass when it floods nowadays? In those days hardly anyone did, but it could get real dangerous in places with all the snags and strong currents. I remember somebody drowning out there almost every year. Which just made us more eager to hunt out there then. But of course we were teenagers then. We used to row an inflatable raft across the ship channel and drag it across the strip of land to between the ship channel and the bypass, then row across the little drain channel out into the bypass. All in waders with shotguns and ammo etc. Then come back all soaking wet with a pile of birds instead of the ammo. No floatation device or nothing. After one particularly scarey trip I finally got a pair of those waders with the CO2 inflatable deal in them.
Glad to hear there are still some stripers to be caught too....every once in awhile I think it would be nice to have a house boat or something down there to spend the winter and spring on.
Take care,
MPD
Matt-
More people hunt the bypass and the numbers grow every year. The hunting can be great but it takes a wise person to do it right. At full flood it is by far the largest inland floodplain on the west coast, with literally thousands of acres under water. The navigable water issues are coming up every year, so it will be intersting to see if some dumb hunter blows it for all of us.
The bypass is not for everyone and people are still dying out there, I agree with one a year. We had a drowing last year and two the year before last up near Butte creek. I cringe when some of the idiots out ther in small boats on windy days. At full flood that place has a dynamic current and the main channels are chocked with snags and floating debris. I have found many many deeks over the years from all the guys who fail to pull thier blocks at flood stage. A guy in colusa might have his deeks in the delta if he isnt quick enough.
More people hunt the bypass and the numbers grow every year. The hunting can be great but it takes a wise person to do it right. At full flood it is by far the largest inland floodplain on the west coast, with literally thousands of acres under water. The navigable water issues are coming up every year, so it will be intersting to see if some dumb hunter blows it for all of us.
The bypass is not for everyone and people are still dying out there, I agree with one a year. We had a drowing last year and two the year before last up near Butte creek. I cringe when some of the idiots out ther in small boats on windy days. At full flood that place has a dynamic current and the main channels are chocked with snags and floating debris. I have found many many deeks over the years from all the guys who fail to pull thier blocks at flood stage. A guy in colusa might have his deeks in the delta if he isnt quick enough.
Yeah that is how i got most of my decoys back then. I'd go out there in the spring after a rainy year and find them in the trees and stuff. A cool place and it really brings back memories. I remember one old guy with a scull boat who I would see out there from time to time. I'm sure he must be gone now cause he was in his seventies then. He had some great stories about hunting cans on san pablo bay back in the 20's and 30's. According to him they were "like bees" back then
In the fog or on those really nice bluebird days they get down there sometime, he used to take all day to scull down on those big rafts just to get in the middle of them. He said it was too cool to be sitting right in the center of a raft of a hundred thousand ducks. Then jump up and say "surprise!" he always carried two silvered out old model twelves in the boat. He had an old handmade scull boat and aways hunted alone...but he must have known what he was doing to survive a lifetime of hunting san pablo bay and bypass. He was the first spiritual duck hunter I met. My kind of guy.
I don't see how they could keep everyone off that place even if they wanted to. I mean it is so big it would seem like there woould always some other way to get in there if a guy wanted too. But it has changed a lot since then so maybe they would just pluck you off the water with a helicopter or something.
In the fog or on those really nice bluebird days they get down there sometime, he used to take all day to scull down on those big rafts just to get in the middle of them. He said it was too cool to be sitting right in the center of a raft of a hundred thousand ducks. Then jump up and say "surprise!" he always carried two silvered out old model twelves in the boat. He had an old handmade scull boat and aways hunted alone...but he must have known what he was doing to survive a lifetime of hunting san pablo bay and bypass. He was the first spiritual duck hunter I met. My kind of guy.
I don't see how they could keep everyone off that place even if they wanted to. I mean it is so big it would seem like there woould always some other way to get in there if a guy wanted too. But it has changed a lot since then so maybe they would just pluck you off the water with a helicopter or something.
My dad talks about a guy with an airboat in the yolo side he would hear. On really foggy days he would hear the motor of the boat running along ful throttle and it would quickly cut out - followed by a burst of gunfire, some splashing around and the boat would restart and run up the fog. A few minutes later he would hear another boat - obviously from a game warden. He was evidently meat hunting will still existed as a "cottage industry" back then. This happened in early to mid sixties.
I think you are right about some market hunting going on. I heard stories about how they would hanging the ducks and geese in the basement of Al the Whop's in Locke to age. I think that was in the 50's or thereabouts. supposedly they let them get quite "tender" and if you ordered duck they sent the cook downstairs to strip the breasts out right then. I think I would have liked it back then.
My aunt and uncle and dad and mom moved down there after the war was over. They were teachers at courtland high school. My Dad was the football coach back then.
My aunt and uncle and dad and mom moved down there after the war was over. They were teachers at courtland high school. My Dad was the football coach back then.