Outdoor Notes / Earl Gustkey : State to Get $8.48 Million From U.S. Taxes for Fund

California will receive $8.48 million in sport fish and wildlife restoration fund money for 1986-87, its share of excise taxes collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on fishing equipment, sporting arms and ammunition, and archery equipment.

California’s share includes $5.52 million in Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration (Dingell-Johnson) Act money. The state’s share of Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Act funds is $2.96 million.

The Dingell-Johnson Act allocation for California is the same as that allocated Alaska and Texas. California ranked fourth in allocation of Pittman-Robertson funds behind, in order, Texas, Alaska and Pennsylvania. In both cases, the states’ shares of funds are calculated on a formula involving the number of fishing and hunting licenses sold, relative to population.

Dingell-Johnson funds have tripled since 1984, the result of motorboat fuel taxes and new taxes on such previously untaxed fishing equipment as tackle boxes, being brought into the program under the Wallop-Breaux amendment.

In anticipation of increased Dingell-Johnson funds, the Department of Fish and Game has already started a project it hopes will improve fishing at about 400 state reservoirs.

“We’re seeing increasing demands on the state’s reservoir fisheries,” said biologist Dennis Lee, who is in charge of the program. Initial emphasis, he said, will be focused on providing coordination between sportfishing groups and public agencies. Another goal is to deal with the problem of seasonally fluctuating water levels at most reservoirs, which often harm springtime spawning production.

Briefly Opening day for probably the toughest of all California deer hunting zones, D12, is Saturday. About 1,000 desert deer hunters are expected to take to the field for the 23-day season and, if past form holds up, only about 20 will bag bucks. The success rate for D12, which encompasses the Colorado Desert regions along the Lower Colorado River, is about 2%. The desert burro mule deer of the region are most often found in the Ironwood and Palo Verde washes running between the river and the Palo Verde and Chocolate mountains. The deer are found near the river during dry periods, but move westward, into the desert, after wet weather.

Biologists and game wardens are predicting a waterfowl season at least as productive as last year’s after last weekend’s opening of the 93-day Southern California season. Duck populations seemed to be as large as or slightly larger than last year’s opener at the DFG’s Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area in Imperial County, according to unit manager Cris Gonzales. He said that 1,341 ducks were bagged by 455 hunters on Saturday. The major species breakdown for Wister’s opening weekend: 758 green-winged teal, 233 pintail, 146 cinnamon teal. Hunters were less successful at the Perris State Recreation Area in Riverside County, where 30 hunters shot 46 waterfowl opening day.

Showtime: Don Bullock’s Big A Gun & Collectors’ Show & Sale, Nov. 1-2, Anaheim Stadium; San Francisco Boat Show, Cow Palace, Jan. 9-18. . . . The Inglewood Fly Fishermen will hold freshwater and saltwater fly tying classes on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., starting Nov. 12 at the Westchester Townhouse in Westchester. . . . Actor-fly fisherman William Conrad will be honored Dec. 4 at a fund raiser for the American Museum of Fly Fishing at the Los Angeles Music Center.