DUCK HUNTING SEASON SET FOR MID-OCTOBER.

Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer

Southern California and Colorado River duck hunters again will have one long season, while most of the state is again divided into two seasons.

The Southern California season opens Oct. 18, a day after the Colorado River opener. The final hunting date for the state will be Jan. 25, meaning 100 days for the Southern California season and 101 for the Colorado River.

The Northeast section has 15 days; the remainder of the state has 99 days.

``Most duck populations were up over last year, and this year's wet spring is expected to result in better-than-average production of young ducks,'' Department of Fish and Game waterfowl program coordinator Dan Yparraguirre said.

There again will be a spinning-wing decoy date and pintail and canvasback harvest dates.

After the Fish and Game Commission could not come to agreement on the use of decoys, the rules reverted to the 2002 season: spinning decoys can't be used until Dec. 1.

Shooting at pintails and canvasbacks is banned until Nov. 27, a 60-day season in Southern California and Colorado River zones. The bag limit is seven ducks a day, of which there can be not more than two hens, one pintail and one canvasback.

The goose season will be the same as the Southern California and Colorado River duck seasons. The Colorado River limit is six per day, of which three can be white geese. The Southern California limit is five a day, of which two can be dark geese and one can be a small Canadian goose.

--$500,000 catch: David Dudley, the leading money winner on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, increased his lead by winning the Tour's Championship at James River, near Richmond, Va.

Dudley earned $500,000 of the $1.36 million purse, the richest in bass fishing. He defeated Harmon Davis in the final round by 2 pounds, 9 ounces. Davis defeated California's lone entrant in the event, Castaic's Aaron Martens, in the opening round.

--New president: Marie Schock, a 32-year marine industry veteran, has been named president of the Southern California Marine Association.

Schock is the first woman to hold the office in the SCMA's 48-year history. She has served as a board member and treasurer.

The SCMA promotes boating in Southern California. Schock and her husband, Scott, operate Schock Boats in Newport Beach.

--DFG award: The Department of Fish and Game has presented California Trout's Brett Matzke with a Director's Achievement Award for his dedication to the preservation of native trout and their habitat.

Matzke is the Southern Sierra Nevada manager for the statewide conservation organization. He has worked to help improve grazing practices in the Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo national forests and has helped the DFG with its strategic plan for trout management.

Keith Lair, [phone]

keith.lair(at)sgvn.com