2009/10 rockfish regulations are out. Read'em and weep

http://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/new/2008/27_20ntc.pdf
Tim

I don't like the shortened season but You get to start two weeks earlier and double your cabazone limit.

It just means I have to go out more often.

Or you can carry your kayak to the waters edge and fish from it while on dry land.

  I love the hearing if you want to complain is in Hunington Beach...total rockfish country!!! 

I don't understand the depth justification?  So we can fish 180ft in Sonoma but only 120 in Mendo?

So the way I see it is, we can start ealier up at Elk, and then drop back down to Sonoma for the later season. Not loosing much with that plan. Nov. usually starts getting too rough anyways. Also ling season's closed then, so we could do worse. The thing I'd like to see is a manitory decender device required. It would go a long way in getting some of the unwanted or undersized fish back down where they belong, instead of watching a seagull peck their eyes and gills out... Even if they died down there, at least they'd be feeding the fishery down there.

I don't understand the depth justification?  So we can fish 180ft in Sonoma but only 120 in Mendo?

I believe that is to avoid yelloweye where they are theoretically contacted more frequently.

Re: The thing I'd like to see is a manitory decender device required.

Jonesz,  

I fished Pt. Arena about two weeks ago.  We rigged up Shelton Fish Descenders with about nine ounces of weight.  I bought a plastic kite string reel that is easy to store and retrieve on the kayak.  With the Shelton device, it makes a perfect release tool.
We used the descenders mostly on small gopher and China rock fish with signs of barotrauma.  By the time I caught a Canary rock fish,  I had perfected my technique.  Descending and releasing the fish only takes about a minute.  The Canary was a juvenile, about 10" long.  It released without a problem.  I had never seen a juvenile Canary before.  


A DFG biologist checked our fish when we came in and asked all the normal questions about fishing and catching experience.  She asked how many Canaries we had caught.  Of course we were honest and we also told her we used the  fish descenders.  I was told that all released Canaries (even those descended) are counted in DFG stats as dead by-catch and those numbers are multiplied and applied to other fishermen who are not interviewed.  No good deed goes unpunished!

I wrote to DFG earlier this year and suggested that making fish descenders mandatory on party boats would save fish and educate the fishing population about using the devices voluntarily on personal boats.  Now that I have actually used the devices, I encourage everyone to carry and use one.

Doug

I love the hearing if you want to complain is in Hunington Beach...total rockfish country!!! 

I just recieved an e-mail from the FGC and it looks like there will be a meeting in Paifica on Oct 22nd. I will post the location on general talk