Welcome back. The calendar flipped hard this weekend. Valley quail opened yesterday in Zone Q2, the D-3 to D-5 deer zones came online the same morning, and next Saturday brings the first water of the year: the Northeastern Zone duck opener and a three-day early goose hunt in the valley. You also told us exactly what gets you out of bed for ducks (clouds and rain, no contest), and the state just declared an emergency over a winter that may deliver plenty of both. So this issue leans into the wet season ahead: a grilled quail recipe for the birds in your vest, a blind bag that keeps your gear organized and off the wet floor, and the dates you cannot miss. Let's get into it.

Today, Sunday September 27: B-4 general deer closes. Last day on B-4's early calendar (August 22 to September 27). The rest of B-zone (B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5) stays open through October 25, and B-6 runs to October 18.

Opened yesterday: D-3, D-4, and D-5 general deer. September 26 to November 1, one forked-horn buck or better per tag, and a D3-5 tag is good in all three zones. D-6 and D-7 have been open since September 19. If you hunt D-7, CWD sampling is mandatory within 10 days of harvest.

Opened yesterday: valley quail in Zone Q2. The all-quail season runs through January 31 with a daily bag of 10 in any combination and triple that in possession. Zone Q1 is open right now for mountain quail only (since September 12), and both Q1 and Q3 open for all quail October 17, along with chukar statewide. You need an Upland Game Bird Validation unless you hunt on a junior license.

Saturday, October 3: first water of the year. The Northeastern Zone duck season opens and runs to January 13. The same morning, Balance of State gets its early large Canada goose hunt, October 3 to 5, large Canadas only (closed in the North Coast Special Management Area). X-1 through X-7b drawn deer hunts also open October 3.

Saturday, October 24: Balance of State ducks, four weeks out. Seven ducks a day, no more than 2 hen mallards, 3 pintail, 2 canvasback, 2 redhead, and 2 scaup once scaup opens November 7. New this year: the speck (white-fronted goose) limit drops to 6 a day, and only 3 inside the Sacramento Valley Special Management Area. Get your Duck Validation, a Federal Duck Stamp signed across the face, and your free HIP validation squared away now.

Tagged a buck? Report it. Successful deer hunters must report within 30 days of harvest or by January 31, whichever comes first. Unsuccessful hunters report by January 31. Bear tags get reported immediately after take.

Non-lead, every hunt. Certified non-lead ammunition is required for all firearm hunting in California. On the water that means non-toxic shot and a shotgun plugged to three shells.

Quail are small, lean, and unforgiving of a long cook, which is exactly why this method works. Flatten the bird, brine it briefly, and put it over high heat for a few minutes a side. You get crisp skin, juicy meat, and dinner on the table about ten minutes after the grill is hot.

You will need: four quail, plucked with the skin on (plan two per person), kitchen shears, a brine of 4 cups cold water with 1/4 cup kosher salt and 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey, olive oil or melted butter, black pepper, a lemon, a couple of cloves of garlic, fresh thyme or rosemary, and an instant-read thermometer.

The method:

Doneness and safety note: unlike the duck breast in Issue #16 that we serve rosy, treat quail like any other game bird and cook it to 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. The brine keeps it juicy even fully done. Wear nitrile gloves when you clean birds, and do not let a vest full of quail ride around in a warm afternoon: get them cool fast (Issue #7) and into the cooler from Issue #15 before the drive home.

The Northeastern opener is Saturday, and the valley follows in four weeks. Before you head out, get the loose shell boxes, the call lanyard, the phone, and the sunglasses out of your jacket pockets and into one bag that keeps it all organized and off the wet blind floor.

Our pick is the Drake Waterfowl Large Blind Bag. It looks too small at first glance (about 18 by 11 by 10 inches and 3.6 pounds), but it swallows a full hunt's worth of gear. The main compartment and internal pockets have room for your calls, spare shells, gloves, a thermos, snacks, and a headlamp, while the outside handles the stuff you reach for most. Two external side pouches each hold a box of shells, a strap system on the lid carries a jacket, and a hard-sided external sunglasses case means no more scratched lenses by 9 a.m. The phone sleeve keeps water off your screen and still lets you use the touchscreen. The bottom is TPU, so it shrugs off a muddy pit floor or a wet boat deck, and it tucks into a corner of the blind without taking over. It runs around $85, so check current pricing.

The honest trade-off: this is an organizer with a tough, water-resistant bottom, not a submersible dry bag. If it goes over the side of the boat, fish it out fast. Pair it with the waders from Issue #16 and you are set for the opener.

Check out our running list of gear recommendations at norcalhunt.com/gearecs

Meet "Liberty" (M.O.A.'s Liberty on the Rocks, handled by Marv of M.O.A. Gundogs)

This black Lab just earned her AKC Senior Hunter title, and she did it in style. Marv and the M.O.A. crew set the bar high for this little rocket, and this past weekend she cleared it with a rock-solid run of hunt tests. She and Marv were locked in the whole way, working like a well-oiled machine, and it looks like Liberty is ready for the next level. Congratulations to Liberty, Marv, and the whole M.O.A. Gundogs team.

Want your dog featured? Hit reply, send us a clean photo of your hunting partner, and give us a quick 2 to 3 sentence blurb on what they hunt and where they earn their kibble. Pointers, flushers, retrievers, and the occasional very good mutt all qualify. Missed a week? Catch up on every dog we have featured on our past Dogs of the Week page at norcalhunt.com/dogoftheweek.

No new story this week, but the spot is warm and waiting for yours.

If you missed last week's, go back and read Laura Allen's piece on building a Sacramento Valley guide service that welcomes women into the blind. It is one of the best we have run. Catch up on it and the rest on our field stories page at norcalhunt.com/fieldstories.

Got a hunt that turned into a story? A first covey rise, an opening morning that went sideways, the reason you still get up at 3:30 a.m.? Hit reply and tell it the way you would at the tailgate, and we will clean it up. The best ones run right here.

This briefing gets sharper when we hear from you. Drop us a quick reply and tell us:

Last week's poll is in, and the winner was cloudy and rainy weather. No surprise to anyone who has watched birds drop out of a low gray sky and work the decoys all morning. Good news for this crowd: the forecasters are calling for a very wet winter (more on that in Conditions below).

This week's poll: what species do you hunt most?

Got a hunting partner in the foothills, the rice, or along the riverbanks? Forward this briefing and point them to norcalhunt.com. Word of mouth from real hunters is how we grow.

Quail season is open and the water is a week away, which means somebody within a short drive of you has non-toxic shot on the shelf, rain gear in your size, or a processor with room for that D-zone buck. We keep a running list of NorCal businesses that treat hunters right, all in one place. Check out our local services page on norcalhunt.com/services, and if you run a shop that belongs on it, hit reply and let us know.

The Lucas Fire is out. Crews reached full containment on September 20 at 4,128 acres, and every remaining evacuation order has been lifted. If your blacktail plans run into the Hunter Point area of the Mendocino National Forest, confirm with the forest before you go, since suppression repair work there kept some roads and trails closed.

Fire season is not over. This past week's heat pushed temperatures into the 90s with humidity in the 20s before a cooler, more seasonable pattern moved in. The grass is still cured, and any north wind event can bring back red flag conditions with a day's notice. Mind your exhaust and drag chains, keep the truck off dry grass, and check fire.ca.gov and your local forest before you head out.

El Niño is coming, and it looks big. The state declared an emergency on September 21 to get ahead of flooding, and federal forecasters now give better than 90 percent odds of a very strong El Niño this fall and winter. The wetter-than-normal signal is strongest for Southern California early on and spreads across the state by midwinter, so NorCal is not guaranteed a soaker. But if it delivers, that is flooded fields, low skies, and exactly the duck weather you just voted for.

Plan for wet access. A big rain year means muddy levee roads, rising creeks, and flooded low-water crossings. Pack a shovel and traction boards in the truck, and never drive into moving water.

Stay safe out there, get your gear cleaned, and we'll see you in the field.

The NorCal Hunt Team

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