NorCal Kayak Anglers
General => CA Regulations => Topic started by: Hojoman on March 26, 2015, 03:45:42 PM
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March 26, 2015
Question: While out sturgeon fishing, we noticed a smaller boat with a legal sturgeon in tow. The rope was double hitched and wrapped around the fish just behind the gills. As ropes and snares are now illegal, where does this technique fall into the rules? (Bill A.)
Answer: If the “double hitch” you saw was a flexible loop made from any material that can be tightened like a noose around any part of the fish, then what you saw was not legal (CCR Title 14, section 5.80(d) and 5.81(a)). The no-snare regulation is to reduce harm to sturgeon. Oversized white sturgeon and all green sturgeon may not be removed from the water and shall be released immediately (CCR Title 14, section 5.80(c) and (e) and 5.81(b)). Legal-sized white sturgeon that anglers choose to release must be released immediately without taking them out of the water
If the person in possession of the fish you saw had not recorded the fish on a Sturgeon Fishing Report Card, it was also illegal under CCR Title 14, section 5.80(f). The tagging requirement is to prevent waste of white sturgeon through “high grading” (releasing a smaller fish when a larger one is caught) as well as to enforce the daily and annual bag limits.
If you see something like this again, I recommend calling the 24-hour Californians Turn in Poachers and Polluters (CalTIP) hotline at (888) 334-2258 FREE. Tipsters also can text anonymous information, including photographs, to CalTIP via “tip411” (numerically, 847411). Wildlife officers can respond directly, resulting in an anonymous two-way conversation. Users must start the text message with the word “Caltip”. Phone number line, type: 847411, message line, type: Caltip (followed by the message/tip).
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Tipsters also can text anonymous information, including photographs, to CalTIP via “tip411” (numerically, 847411). Wildlife officers can respond directly, resulting in an anonymous two-way conversation. Users must start the text message with the word “Caltip”. Phone number line, type: 847411, message line, type: Caltip (followed by the message/tip).
Wow I hadn't even heard that one before. That sounds like a really useful way to contact DFG surreptitiously.