Newbie City Slickers Start Hunt Club - Fresno. Have questions on licenses, insurance etc

[DurtenTyler]

My friend's family owns a 10,000 acre ranch on the Fresno River. He took it for granted growing up because its all leased out to farmers and cattle ranchers. Turns out retained all the hunting rights. Talk about jackpot! We're complete beginners, we quit our corporate world city jobs and moved to the ranch to set up a hunting club. We're living off our credit cards.

There are tons of hogs, doves and quail and maybe more game as well. We have a small guest house here we can let hunters stay.

We are getting our hunting licenses later this month. We want to get guide licenses too. We have tons of questions...

Do we need guide licenses to let hunters go on "unguided" hunts?
Do we need to get people's hunting license #s, and verify tags somehow, etc?
Specifically what kind of insurance do we need? What is it called?
Do people need to sign waivers?
Could the two of us make a living off this place?


Any general advice/guidance will be greatly appreciated. We want to do things "by the book" and set a foundation for a successful business!

 

[spectr17]

We'll let this slide Durten but once you get your club up and running you won't be able to solicit on here unless you're a sponsor. Thanks. Good luck with your guide business. The first thing I would do is line up a lawyer and accountant to guide you on how to operate.

 

[DurtenTyler]

We'll let this slide Durten but once you get your club up and running you won't be able to solicit on here unless you're a sponsor. Thanks. Good luck with your guide business. The first thing I would do is line up a lawyer and accountant to guide you on how to operate.

Thanks for the advice. I dont even have a hunting license or a guide license yet and I'm still a ways away from actually booking any hunters or being up and running. Actually, I wasn't even planning on divulging the details about the ranch. I was just planning on getting general guidance/insight, but that makes sense about the advertising policy. I'll be mindful of that. Thanks for cutting me the slack.

I found out from someone today that the landowner doesn't need a "commercial hunt club license" to guide hunters on their property. Is that the case? I see that the DFG has a commercial hunt club license application, but I'm not sure if its necessary. Of course I plan to go to the DFG directly and ask, but I figure folks on the forum could share their experiences and point out any speedbumps I might encounter along the way!

 

[hunterdoug]

durten follow specs advise then when you're ready to go do as he says advertise/ become a sponsor here and other hunting sites and I'm sure if you do it for the fun and love of the sport, not just the money, you'll get lots of takers. follow the laws, don't BS people and work for guest's to return, that's how good business' stay in business. word of mouth goes a long way, good and bad.

 

[huntingbret]

Hmmm...I'm from Fresno and never heard of Fresno River. FYI, I'm from Fresno too so if you need an extra pair of eyes or shooter, let me know. I would be more than happy to assist in a kill or two.

 

[jackrabbit]

Bret -- Fresno River runs down from the Coarsegold-Raymond area to Lake Hensley and under the 99 freeway in Madera (dry). The Raymond area is known to have pigs on private property -- maybe even the legal hunting area of Lake Hensley? I don't know about pigs at the lake, but they do have quail and rabbits.

 

[huntingbret]

Yep, Hensley Lake does have quails, rabbits, turkeys and deer. I've seen numerous does with fawns and a huge buck. Only bad thing about the area is that it's in an area for only archery or shotgun....no rifles.

 

[Hikingwithguns]

Bret -- Fresno River runs down from the Coarsegold-Raymond area to Lake Hensley and under the 99 freeway in Madera (dry). The Raymond area is known to have pigs on private property -- maybe even the legal hunting area of Lake Hensley? I don't know about pigs at the lake, but they do have quail and rabbits.

There are pigs, deer, turkey, quail, dove, and waterfowl in that area, just mostly on private property. Took my first hog out there a while back.

We're complete beginners, we quit our corporate world city jobs and moved to the ranch to set up a hunting club. We're living off our credit cards.

See if you can get your day job back and then start this hunt club on the side on weekends. You are going to need time to figure out all the ins and outs of your business, not to mention get familiar with the ranch, where the game is etc.

 

[huntingbret]

Yeah, too bad everything back there is private.

 

[7mallards]

I too am from Fresno and the Fresno River is dry most of the years unless we get rains like we had a few years ago and then it was full and out of control for many months.

The first thing you should do is go straight to the DFG office on 6th street and ask your questions directly to them. These forums are not a good place for these types of legal questions as many "think" they know but you need to get it directly from the source that will be issuing you citations if they are wrong. In no way am I being disrespectful just stating that knowing for sure and taking someones word on it is not the best option.

Most here are providing you information based on good intentions but the law is the law and good intentions are not going to save you from getting a citation. Insurance is going to be a huge factor in your decision and not sure how much money one will make on dove hunts and pig hunts as there are plenty of space to hunt both around the area.

Good luck

 

[DurtenTyler]

The first thing you should do is go straight to the DFG office on 6th street and ask your questions directly to them. These forums are not a good place for these types of legal questions as many "think" they know but you need to get it directly from the source that will be issuing you citations if they are wrong. In no way am I being disrespectful just stating that knowing for sure and taking someones word on it is not the best option.

I went to the DFG on 6th a few days ago. They said they deal with hunters, not hunting clubs, and told me to call someone at their office in Sacramento to get all the regulations and application(s). I called requesting information, no reply yet. I've already learned a ridiculous amount from this forum. Don't worry, I'm not expecting top notch certified legal advice, but just finding out general information and opinions is wildly useful. Reading some "commercial hunt club" pdf file doesn't give me much info.

...not sure how much money one will make on dove hunts and pig hunts as there are plenty of space to hunt both around the area.

From all the websites I've seen, guided hog hunts go for $500/hog. Is there good public land near Fresno to hunt hogs for free? Specifically what space is there to hunt hogs and dove? Does it require knowing someone?

 

[DFG_Bear]

Look here for answers to your question: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=35186&inline=true. When you're done reading this, call the number on the bottom of the first page during normal business hours and ask to be directed to the current requirements for what you are proposing.

If you have a hard time contacting somebody within the next week, you can email me by navigating to the DFG Pig Management Webpage and clicking on the link titled: Email the Wild Pig Management Program.

Hope this helps,
Marc