Moral and Spiritual kayak fishing quandry

[pescadore]

I'm a guy that just finished installing a brand new fish finder on his boat and can not wait until June, or whenever the season opens, to use it.  I go out and admire it and run its practice program on a nightly basis.  So here's my question:  Would I be a bad guy if went out and caught and released a few Lings, so long as I came back emty handed?  Would I be legal?  Am I fixating on my ff?  Should I see a shrink?  My wife brought up the last question.

[jmairey]

go freshwater trout fishing in northern california. almost zero ethical quandries. even less than killing
a ling in season.

[Seabreeze]

This has been asked before.  Based upon these two DFG definitions, it looks to me like the answer is, don't do it.

1.38. Closed Season. That period during which the taking of fi sh, amphibians, reptiles,
mollusks or crustaceans is prohibited.

1.80. Take. Hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill fi sh, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks,
crustaceans or invertebrates or attempting to do so.

[Bill]

Head over to Oneil Forebay and troll right along the channel edge, great use for a fish finder and you will probably catch fish as well.

[Tote]

Hit a lake if you really want to test your FF. Most lakes have a pretty boring bottom, but by cruising around you will go over occasional boulders and stumps and such. This structure will really stick out if your FF is doing it's job. You will also get an idea of what is NOT kelp. This will help you distinguish hard solid structure from what is not when you do hit the ocean.

[alantani]

you can target halibut with halibut gear, in areas that hold halibut.  incidental catch must be safely released.  if you work a rock pile, you might get cited with the arguement that you were clearly targeting rockfish.  stay over sand and snag a rogue lingcod, and it might fly.  still, drop a line anywhere off the san mateo county coast and a warden might cite you because of his belief that there are no halibut to be had.  guilty until proven innocent. 

[pescadore]

It's a good idea to drill a couple of holes in the side of the ff so that it'll drain better

I knew I was going to get a strike from Bluekayak with that setup.    Blue, I'm going to paddle a redwood log from now on to attone for my electronic sin.

Anyone ever drifted for steelhead in a kayak?  I'd like to try that if the rivers geen up soon.

[MolBasser]

I'm a guy that just finished installing a brand new fish finder on his boat and can not wait until June, or whenever the season opens, to use it.  I go out and admire it and run its practice program on a nightly basis.  So here's my question:  Would I be a bad guy if went out and caught and released a few Lings, so long as I came back emty handed?  Would I be legal?  Am I fixating on my ff?  Should I see a shrink?  My wife brought up the last question.

Dude, there is this thing called fresh water, you know, the stuff in lakes......

Try structure fishing for largemouth.

MolBasser

[Seabreeze]

Yeah.  A redwood yak, hand carved and rubbed, perfectly cut hull........clean tracking.  What a beauty.........and it would be a snap to mount the fishfinder........

[pescadore]

Dude, there is this thing called fresh water, you know, the stuff in lakes......

Try structure fishing for largemouth.

MolBasser

Mol, I'd love to have a lake around here, but other than a little farm pond in MacKerricker park there aren't any that I know of.  The nearest lake to me is Lake mendo, 1.5 hours from here (and its all muddy now).  I live four blocks from an ocean kayak putin spot, which makes me pretty much of a marine dude.  Actually, I'm trying to get a crew together to drift for steelhead this saturday on Big River.....won't need my ff though.  Will post results if we get it together and actually catch something.  Rumor has it that folks are scoring on Navarro and Garcia.

On the redwood log front, I'm thinking about building a deckboat sea kayak set up for fishing based upon a Glen L design.  I have access to some old, oldgrowth redwood.  If I get it together, it'll have a mount for a ff.  After being out with Scawfish on lake mendo and watching him turn what would have been (for my son and I) a scenic paddle on the lake into an amazingly fun fishing experience, I'm sold on ffs.   Sorry BlueKayak, but boys just wanna have fun.

About the catch and release ling idea:  you guys are right, two thumbs down on that one.  I'll give em a break till june.

BTW, why is it that kayak fishing has gone so firmly in the direction of SOTs?  I plan on doing a whole lot more salmon fishing this season.  For those long paddles nothing beats a sea kayak.  anyone know of any deckboats being rigged for fishing?

[Paddle and flies]

.  I bought a touring kayak for the sake of paddling efficiency, and here’s what I discovered.
1. If it isn’t leashed don’t set it down on the decks of a sea kayak, because it will slide right off.
2. As far as turning around to get something on the deck behind you, due to the small cockpit of a touring yak, your maneuverability is very limited.
3. You'll need to learn some skills just to get in and out of a sea kayak like the roll.
4.I don’t do the Eskimo roll but I’ve learned how to get back in a sit on top kayak if I capsize.

[Seabreeze]

Isn't that interesting................

Just yesterdy I was thinking that it would be lots easier for me to do the long salmon chasing if I was in my old Necky Tesla........regular fiberglass ocean kayak.  It is the boat that I began fishing from.  I made a saddle for a rod holder and tool stand that was held to the deck in front of me.  The Tesla was wonderfully stable but I was only confident about managing rockfish from it.  How to carry a good sized ling was beyond my reckoning.

As I began fishing more the day that I would need to get back in on my own got closer ("when" not "if" is my guiding principle) and doing that in a closed deck was not a happy thought.  So, the Tesla is in a new home and I now paddle two SOT's.  With such a warm day tomorrow I look forward to getting the little one out and perch hunting from behind the breakers.........and just plain having a good time...........

Pat

[pescadore]

Isn't that interesting................

Just yesterdy I was thinking that it would be lots easier for me to do the long salmon chasing if I was in my old Necky Tesla........regular fiberglass ocean kayak.  It is the boat that I began fishing from.  I made a saddle for a rod holder and tool stand that was held to the deck in front of me.  The Tesla was wonderfully stable but I was only confident about managing rockfish from it.  How to carry a good sized ling was beyond my reckoning.

As I began fishing more the day that I would need to get back in on my own got closer ("when" not "if" is my guiding principle) and doing that in a closed deck was not a happy thought.  So, the Tesla is in a new home and I now paddle two SOT's.  With such a warm day tomorrow I look forward to getting the little one out and perch hunting from behind the breakers.........and just plain having a good time...........

Pat

Pat, If you were offered a good deal on a deal on a touring boat (like this newish Seda this guy's got), would you consider rigging it up exclusively for salmon?  Or are you saying that it's not worth it.  i'm thinking about rigging up a fish bag like Sean sells on his site to hold the fish.  Strap it to the deck. 

I'm wondering if Paddles and Flies still uses his touring boat.

[Seabreeze]

I've become accustomed to all the room between my legs for managing stuff that I have with my current boats.  But, the kicker is re-entry.  Because of the re-entry issue, I am not currently willing to fish from a closed deck.

Pat

[Paddle and flies]

Hey Guys, I'm one of those people that loves paddling as much as fishing. I use a Greenland paddle. If I could I'd use a Greenland Style kayak as well, for all my paddling and fishing needs. ( actually I haven't given up on that thought) However having to deal with re-entry in touring verses the comfort of a sit-on-top, I'm still paddling and casting from sit-on-tops. I'm mainly a flyfishermen. In a sit-on-top if I hook a big one or if I need to gain back my balance I simply straddle my yak, instant outriggers. What inspire me to start fishing from a yak was an article in Outdoor Magazine back in the early 80'S about a gentlemen out Florida way who was fishing from a touring yak called a Kanok and he was catching marlings then. I've been looking for the perfect fishing yak ever since. My gosh I just realized that was over twenty years ago. I have a collection I have to keep thinning out. I actually have a fiberglass SOT made by Heritage Kayaks talk about fast. I actually tried out the Kanok and eventualy a Ws Chesapeake I sold it a year after I had it.