If you have 20K in spare change and happen to be at one of the 5 auctions and have the highest bid....it's yours! The season ends Dec. 31 this year. Usually the season starts about the middle of July. The CA Deer Assoc. auctions off 2 or 3 of them every year. Last year they were auctioned off at the Chico, San Jose and Salinas banquets.
The one I had in mind allows one to hunt any open zone until the individual season has been closed. Do they auction them off at the Ca. Deer Assoc. dinners? And are you sure they all went for 20k I heard it was more like 7.
That would be an Open Zone tag. They auction off 4 or 5 of these every year and they usually run between 7 and 10K. Ofcourse if you purchase one, the best place to hunt is the Gooddale area in early Decenmber. Yes, the CDA will be participating in the auction process. If you need more specific info I can get it for you. Good luck.