Santa Cruz 8/30

I've discovered the secret to catching rockfish: Fish for something else.

Today, I paddled out and joined the fleet near the mile buoy at about 7:45am, hoping to catch my first white seabass, or my first halibut. I put a squid on, dropped it to the bottom, and brought it up 5 or 6 cranks. On my other line, I was casting a swimbait.

I couldn't keep the rockfish off the squid. Every time I caught one, I paddled a ways before dropping the line down again. I also tried bringing it up higher off the bottom, but whatever I did, the rockfish found it.

On the swimbait, all I caught was a 21" ling (my speciality). I actually had that ling and a decent-sized rockfish on my other line at the same time. That was fairly chaotic.

I could've easily gotten a limit of rockfish, and it woulda been a good looking stringer (blues, browns, and even a vermillion). But I threw them all back, so I could continue to fish with 2 lines. Anyways, it was a lot of fun.

My experience is that I get more rockfish bites the closer I am to the Mile Buoy.  There must be more of a rock bottom in that last couple hundred yards.   If you start out a ways east, the current will drift you toward the buoy, so you have to keep resetting to the east.

That sounds a whole lot like my day .drifting and loading up on rockfish I did not want. through them all back until I got 1 through the eye and an octopus hook for the top of it head .there goes that question of ethics ,down to 1 pole.  nice day of chop to relax in though Uhhh.

Stick with it Jeremy, your hali/WSB is right around the corner.

Thanks for sharing.  It seems that quite a few people on here have mentioned "continuing to fish with two lines" as if they can keep what they caught with two lines or more out as long as they then switch to one line after keeping something that requires that.  Sorry to have to be the downer-guy who brings it, but the fact is, you cannot keep anything but WSB/halibut/other multi-line legal fish if you're fishing two lines or more - if you catch something else it's by-catch and must be carefully released.  Questions of ethics come up here when you have a known popular rockfish bait down on the bottom in a rockfish area, but you're 'targeting' other species.  Personally, I'd stick with one rod in that situation.

This is not correct. I called the DFG office in Monterey this morning and, according the helpful person I spoke with, you can use multiple rods to fish for, say, white seabass, until you possess a rockfish, at which point you need to go to a single rod. The only other issue is that your multiple lines all need to meet the rockfish requirements (e.g., no more than 2 hooks per line).

I think I'll to start a new thread on this topic, since I've seen this incorrect "ethical" information repeated here many times.

Stick with it Jeremy, your hali/WSB is right around the corner.

I am nothing if not persistent...

Again, sorry for being the guy with bad news for you, but you've got the rules wrong.

I think I explained it very clearly to the DFG official and I got a direct answer to my question. It seems the DFG people would have the correct answer on something like this---it's their job, after all. So, you'd have to give me a bit more than "you've got the rules wrong" to convince me that you're correct in this case...

It seems the DFG people would have the correct answer on something like this---it's their job, after all.

And we all know how state employees always do they job, right lol

Like flava flav once rapt, "cant truss it!!"  unless its a written opinion from the agency, it dont got a lot of get outta jail value (so to speak)

And thats so odd, cool to catch a canary outta cruz.  Never thought theyd be in that shallow. Pretty fish for sure

It seems the DFG people would have the correct answer on something like this---it's their job, after all.

And we all know how state employees always do they job, right lol

Like flava flav once rapt, "cant truss it!!"  unless its a written opinion from the agency, it dont got a lot of get outta jail value (so to speak)

As a long-time government employee, all I can say is... you've got a point. But, in this case, the person I talked to, supposedly spoke with the enforcement guy to verify. So, as long as the enforcers interpret it this way, it seems to me, that's what matters.

It seems the DFG people would have the correct answer on something like this---it's their job, after all.

And we all know how state employees always do they job, right lol

Like flava flav once rapt, "cant truss it!!"  unless its a written opinion from the agency, it dont got a lot of get outta jail value (so to speak)

As a long-time government employee, all I can say is... you've got a point. But, in this case, the person I talked to, supposedly spoke with the enforcement guy to verify. So, as long as the enforcers interpret it this way, it seems to me, that's what matters.
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Maybe we should pull out the ol DFG guidebook and take a peeky aye?

Thanks for sharing.  It seems that quite a few people on here have mentioned "continuing to fish with two lines" as if they can keep what they caught with two lines or more out as long as they then switch to one line after keeping something that requires that.

I could've easily gotten a limit of rockfish, and it woulda been a good looking stringer (blues, browns, and even a vermillion). But I threw them all back, so I could continue to fish with 2 lines. Anyways, it was a lot of fun.

This is not correct. I called the DFG office in Monterey this morning and, according the helpful person I spoke with, you can use multiple rods to fish for, say, white seabass, until you possess a rockfish, at which point you need to go to a single rod. The only other issue is that your multiple lines all need to meet the rockfish requirements (e.g., no more than 2 hooks per line).

I think I'll to start a new thread on this topic, since I've seen this incorrect "ethical" information repeated here many times.

Actually, thats the way I see it too JHBPhD.  If you didn't keep any rockfish and were fishing for halibut and WSB, then i'm not sure what the problem is using two lines. Not your fault that the wrong fish bit your line right?  I also got nothing but RF drifting around the mile buoy.  Head more east away from that buoy, but stay in the same depth and you will find some Hali's!!!    Be happy to take you out sometime if you like. 

Take me out Al. Hey Jer, at least you caught some fish. I did not catch anything all day yesterday.

Jedmo

I thought the question was....................... to be able to keep a specie that requires one rod only while fishing for something that doesnt. Then keeping that fish and moving down to one rod after that. Is that right? Thats against the law.

Ah, I didn't see it before since he said he was releasing all his fish.  But yes, to keep one caught in that way would be against the rules as far as I know.  Either way, seems mean to harp on someones fishing report, especially when the other thread has been locked.  Sorry for my part in that JHBPhD.