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Topic: Halibut fishing Out of Tomales Bay During a Groundfish Closure  (Read 2398 times)

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Hojoman

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January 5, 2016

Question: I want to fish for California halibut from a boat out of Tomales Bay near Bird Rock or Elephant Rock or go out of the Gate. I used to fish for them whenever herring, squid or anchovy would come in to spawn during the winter or spring. The halibut would lay in wait as the forage fish came through, usually from January through April or May.

I haven’t done this kind of fishing for a long time (years in fact) because no one wants to go out there in the wintertime when no one else is fishing and we are absolutely alone at sea. My fishing buddy wants to go but is worried that we would be cited for targeting lingcod or rockfish. I told him that as long as we were not keeping anything except the halibut, we would not be cited. We wouldn’t be doing anything wrong. But he repeated that he was worried that we would have no protection against being cited because we were out there during the closed groundfish season.

Can we be cited for targeting groundfish as long we do not keep any incidentally caught groundfish? Or, how about steelhead or Pacific halibut or canary cod or anything else that you are not allowed to keep? (Jerry Z.)

Answer: Warmer ocean water temperatures have made some interesting adjustments to the ocean and fish distribution in recent years. During the summer months when the water warms, more halibut move into Tomales Bay. You know that the sandy bottoms are where the halibut hang out. You indicated fishing the Bird and Elephant Rock areas, so keep in mind there are a lot of underwater rock croppings there. That’s where the rockfish and lingcod hang out.

According to local California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Lt. Jim Jones, incidental catch is not a violation. However, once you do catch a species that is prohibited, it’s recommended that you leave that area. If you continue to fish and catch fish you are not targeting, you could be cited.

If you are fishing during a closure (such as now) and start catching lingcod and rockfish, even if you are fishing catch and release, you could receive a citation for targeting those fish, depending on the situation.


Lost_Anchovy

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I'm sure somewhere in the regulations it says something about "Possession". As long as you are not in "Possession" of a fish that is closed you are not breaking the law. I suppose they can cite you and it is their right to but
i don't know if it would stand in court. Either way, i wouldn't waste my time wanting to fight a citation, even if i was right. I would just leave the area per the wardens request.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2018, 07:25:57 AM by Lost_Anchovy »
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Love how this gets looked at in the same state with the same regulations differently by the anglers from different ends of the state.

The answer they gave is horrible and shows the lack of knowledge of species in the ocean and there habitat.

 


Clayman

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It's a 'warden's discretion' call.  If you're fishing over sand and happen to incidentally catch a rockfish or two, then the sensible call would be to not issue a citation.  But if you're continuously hauling in rockfish after rockfish and refuse to either change your gear or your spot, then you shouldn't be surprised if you get a citation since it would appear as if you're targeting the out-of-season species.

The guy who asked the question on halibut should be fine if he demonstrates to the warden that he's giving a good-faith effort to avoid and minimize his rockfish by-catch.  I've heard tales of commercial guys tapping into CA halibut outside the Golden Gate in winter.  Apparently they have specific "wintering grounds" out there where you can mop them up if you know where to look.
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Imagine if you accidentally caught & released a rockfish, but it died to to being gut-hooked and floated on the surface. Now you've 'taken' a rockfish/closed species. Doesn't matter if it was on accident, you'd be in violation. Hopefully most wardens would use appropriate discretion depending on the situation.
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Love how this gets looked at in the same state with the same regulations differently by the anglers from different ends of the state.

The answer they gave is horrible and shows the lack of knowledge of species in the ocean and there habitat.


I'm with you Ryan. Tons of people fish winter halibut, yellowtail etc etc in socal and yes even with a squid over the rocks and it is fine. Why can't the same be done up here where we have Better/more rockfish in the first place?

I would loved to find the winter halibut grounds or even som nice rock sole and it's lame to think you are risking a ticket to do it.

-Eliot


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I would loved to find the winter halibut grounds ...

Any ideas where those might be?
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Otter

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I would loved to find the winter halibut grounds ...

Any ideas where those might be?

No unfortunately... I've heard rumors though that the drag boats do well in winter in the deeper zones. They've got to be somewhere.

Maybe some of our socal brethren could give us some clues on where they catch them in the winter. Not sure if it's a bounce balling in the deep kind of thing or more of an incidental while fishing for home guard yellowtail with bait kind of thing.

-Eliot


Clayman

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Imagine if you accidentally caught & released a rockfish, but it died to to being gut-hooked and floated on the surface. Now you've 'taken' a rockfish/closed species. Doesn't matter if it was on accident, you'd be in violation. Hopefully most wardens would use appropriate discretion depending on the situation.
I think “intent” plays the bigger role in this situation.  Incidental take is something recognized by fisheries managers and accepted as unavoidable in many situations.  Incidental mortality is accounted for in fishery management decisions.  For example, look at the CA ocean salmon fishery.  Coho salmon can often be an unavoidable by-catch while anglers target Chinook.  Being relatively fragile creatures, there is bound to be some amount of incidental mortality of coho resulting from anglers targeting Chinook.  The mortality could occur from hooks in the gills, poor handling, or whatever.  But it’s incidental take, which isn’t the same as consciously pursuing coho.  The ESA includes language on incidental take to protect well-meaning and law-abiding people who may incidentally kill a federally listed species.

The example above refers to a federally listed species, which receives far greater protections than an un-listed one like most of our near-shore rockfish.  A sensible warden would never attempt to cite someone who happened to gill-hook a coho while targeting Chinook.  I believe they would be even less inclined to cite a halibut angler who happened to kill a couple black rockfish out of season.  But if the warden watched the Chinook angler haul in a dozen coho and still refuse to either vacate the area or change their tactics, or watched the halibut angler do the same to a dozen rockfish, then the angler will have a more difficult time defending themselves in front of a judge when asked if they were intending to target these protected/out-of-season species.
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Good to know . Especially since I am considering fishing at Bodega from my boat at crabfest. I do have the cell number to my local DFW officer. I call him when I have a question on a regulation. Great guy !
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