Bait: Crabbing, ling parts, fishing for ling, plus RF as bait for ling

I'd like to get some clarity around some bait questions for both crabbing and ocean fishing (Mendocino County, if that’s important).

Situation 1:

I went out last week with three hoop nets, using cut-up lingcod carcasses/parts I brought along (from a previous trip) for bait. After dropping the hoops I went to a rockier area and fished for lingcod and caught my limit of two on the day. I checked my hoops about every 1.5 hours. At various points I would have had, technically, more than two lingcod on board, as when I pulled up a hoop there were lingcod parts being used as bait.

So that was illegal, right? Can’t use fish parts for bait if the combination of those fish parts plus any new fish go over a given limit?

Situation 2:

I went out with a friend who catches 10”-12” rockfish (preferably blacks and blues) to use as live bait to target lingcod. He uses a dedicated RF bait-fishing rod with a smallish diamond jig, catches a RF bait-fish and transfers it to his treble/single-hook/8-ounce-ball-weight/bottom-fishing setup on another rod.  Not sure how many RF baitfish he went through on the day, but I’m going to say it was a lot (more than 10). At the end of the day the only RF he came home with were two big vermillion.

Legal?

Thanks!

Situation 2:

I went out with a friend who catches 10”-12” rockfish (preferably blacks and blues) to use as live bait to target lingcod. He uses a dedicated RF bait-fishing rod with a smallish diamond jig, catches a RF bait-fish and transfers it to his treble/single-hook/8-ounce-ball-weight/bottom-fishing setup on another rod.  Not sure how many RF baitfish he went through on the day, but I’m going to say it was a lot (more than 10). At the end of the day the only RF he came home with were two big vermillion.

Legal?

Any rockfish you use as live bait are supposed to count toward your limit. 

https://www.noozhawk.com/030510_outdoors_qa_baiting_crab_traps_with_rockfish_carcasses/

I seem to be alone in believing that we need to follow certain rules about using fish as crab bait, and now I am very eager to clear this up once and for all, with your help. (Cat C., North Fork)

A: Generally, portions of the fish that are normally discarded after cleaning don’t count toward a possession limit. For example, let’s say you catch 10 rockfish. When you clean them, you end up with 20 fillets and 10 boney carcasses in your possession. Most people would discard the 10 carcasses, minus the fillets, and keep the 20 fillets to eat. The 20 fillets are your possession limit of 10 rockfish. You can keep the 10 carcasses for crab bait, and those carcasses would not count as part of your rockfish possession limit.

According to Department of Fish and Game Lt. Dennis McKiver, to eliminate any questions or confusion when you go out crabbing and fishing for rockfish, set your crab traps baited with rockfish carcasses first. Then, at the end of the day when you’re returning with limits of rockfish, you can pull your crab traps and discard the used rockfish carcasses before returning to port. Otherwise, it may look as though you went out and caught a limit of rockfish to use as crab bait and then continued to catch another limit of rockfish to take home. People have been caught and cited for doing that.

Number two is best answered by reading these two definitions carefully:

1.80. TAKE. Hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, crustaceans
or invertebrates or attempting to do so.

1.17. BAG AND POSSESSION LIMIT. No more than one daily bag limit of each kind of fish,
amphibian, reptile, mollusk or crustacean named in these regulations may be taken or possessed by
any one person unless otherwise authorized; regardless of whether they are fresh, frozen, or otherwise
preserved. Exceptions: See Sections 7.00, 7.50(a), 27.60(c), and 195, Title 14, CCR

According to Department of Fish and Game Lt. Dennis McKiver

Dennis! Turns out I know this guy -- was at his house a couple of weeks ago in Fort Bragg for a rhododendron matter (the guy is a Rhodie growing and hybridizing master), not knowing until later that he's a retired CDFW guy. After I heard about his background at CDFW, it totally fit. Super solid guy. He would have rained hell on any abalone poachers, that's for sure.