Artificial Only

Artificial or not,

GULP... Does it count as artificial baits in a artificial only lake, stream, or river. I am thinking it would be illegal but who am I... Anyone have a defined answer.

Ryan

I think that becomes up to the DFG officer at that point.  I could see a point for both sides.

there was a discusion here a couple of years ago brought up by mickfish, the russian river is no bait for most of the year(spring/summer) and he was using gulp or senkos for smallies and dfw said that they were an illegal bait because the had a scent on them, so if they were not impregnated with the scent then they would be legal, that was the gist of it but everyone had a different opinion on it, cameron

I don't have a copy of the regulations in front of me, but I think I recall reading somewhere in there that if it has any scent added to it, then it's a "bait" and not a "lure".  In which case, any scented plastic "baits" would be illegal to use in an "Artificial lures only" water/season.

I'd call any Gulp products a bait, as fish will literally try to eat that stuff.  Otherwise, where would one draw the line between a "bait" and a "lure"?  If stuff like Gulp and Power Eggs were called "lures" because it's not actual food, I could see people circumventing the whole "artificial lures only" rule by soaking little sponges in roe juice and using that as a "lure" even though the fish are going to inhale it like it was the real thing.

If I'm wrong, I hope I didn't just open Pandora's box by giving people the impression it's okay to use little sponges soaked in roe juice on an artificials-only river  .

The regs:

1.11. ARTIFICIAL LURE.
An artificial lure is a man-made lure or fly designed
to attract fish. This definition does not include
scented or flavored artificial baits.

Looks like a no-go to me.

It's a no-go here's the answer from Carrie Wilson
Are artificial lures with scent attractants applied still “artificial”?
Question: I have a question about using scented products on artificial lures fished in rivers where only artificial lures are allowed. The question came up recently while fishing for steelhead from my drift boat on the Mattole River in Humboldt County, where “only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used.” The only definition of an artificial lure I could find was “a man-made lure or fly designed to attract fish.” This definition does not include scented or flavored artificial baits.

Given this, is it legal to apply scented liquids or products to lures while fishing in rivers where only artificial lures may be used? This seems confusing. Does the law prohibit lures with scent impregnated in the lure from the factory, or lures with scent applied by the angler, or both? Any light you can shed on this issue would be greatly appreciated. (North Coast Angler)

Answer: The California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 1.11 states that an artificial lure “… does not include any scented or artificial baits.” This means that attractants may not be applied to the lure while fishing in waters restricted for artificial lure use.

In addition, some people spray WD-40 on their lures. This substance contains petroleum and is specifically prohibited by law to be deposited or introduced into the waters of the state (Fish and Game Code, section 5650).

Crash and sonoramike seem to have hit the nails in the coffin on this one.  Good work guys.

Cool, thanks guys

Great info!


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so most plastics that are used for bass fishing would be illegal?because not all bass plastics are scented,but all or most is impregnated with salt.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=23818.msg249841#msg249841

I think you are pretty safe with Salt that's more of a taste than a scent

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=23818.msg249841#msg249841

I think you are pretty safe with Salt that's more of a taste than a scent

Salt is considered an impregnated flavor and is also illegal on artificial only waters. That's why the Senko's mentioned above were also illegal.