DFG Encounters for 2014

Honestly, I can only remember being checked once in the past 20 or so years here in CA.  And that was this last winter on the Russian.  She came up on us in a kayak right as I was fighting a fish from shore.  She quickly jumped in as I was beaching it.  I was like "whoa lady", then I saw the badge.  She was checking for barbs.  IMO, she should have waited.  The fish was still not entirely secured, and she just got in the way.  We were trying to get a quick release on him.  As we were chatting she said good thing we released that coho.  It was so obviously a steelhead buck.

-Allen

I've fished close to 60 days this year so far, haven't been checked once. All freshwater, from Tahoe to the Delta.

I haven't been checked by a warden in a while, and only a couple times that I can think of in the last 10 years, both at shelter cove.  I get stopped by the biologists all the time.

I have had several times in the last three years where the warden is present checking other people but doesn't stop me.  Profiling story checks out.

I've been checked by the DFG six times this year. Three times OTW and the rest on land. There was one encounter where the warden came out of the bush. This is the most I've been checked in my life but I don't mind.

All the encounters have been pretty chill so far. It's just a pain to reel up over 200 feet of line to see if I'm using barbless circle hooks! There are two guys who patrol Monterey Bay on a Zodiac are funny guys. They always give me up to date intel haha

I get checked about 5x per year...sometimes more, depending on how many times I fish each year. I'm always glad to see wardens patroling the areas I call home. And only had a few unfriendly encounters in the last 20yrs.

I've been checked once OTW this year:



I've made multiple other contacts with DFW on shore this year, and I now have the Shelter Cove warden's number in my phone.

Tickets for silvers have been numerous at the Cove recently, and I'm in full support of those guys doing their job.

That said, it is NOT cool for them to do or request things that make us unstable or to cause us to drift way off course.

IMO, they should just lay low in their boat among the fleet and scope people - swoop in if they see odd or illegal behavior.  And, geez, check licenses on shore...

I have been checked 3 times so far at pigeon point. Is this racial profiling? lol
I even encountered a bust on may 1st north of pigeon pnt. 2 yakers decided to go out at BH. the rangers were behind bushes as usual.
Question 1. at one time they told me that my measuring instrument was not regulation. I put a bunch of notches on my gaf.?Does anyone know the regs on measuring tools?
question2. Do i need a net for rf.? I have never needed a net for rf. and the net always gets in my way.
And especially for beach launches, too much stuff on deck is always a recipe for disaster.

It's a law that you need at least an 18" diameter net when fishing (for ANYTHING) in the ocean from a boat.

yet I cant get the guys here in Central valley to go to the lakes and stop the pilaging by the shore anglers. They take the whole family and take every fish, carried away in 5 gal buckets. The lakes have a one fish over 22" or 2 fish over 15" rules, yet they take em all.

That's BS!
I've seen that on the Russian river too, right after they release all the baby steelhead

it's just as bad as the families picnic bbq and keeping and boiling all the undersized crabs even dungies at paradise beach and doran.

I have been checked 3 times so far at pigeon point. I even encountered a bust on may 1st north of pigeon pnt. 2 yakers decided to go out at BH. the rangers were behind bushes as usual.
Question 1. at one time they told me that my measuring instrument was not regulation. I put a bunch of notches on my gaf.? What is there a rule about this.
question2. Do i need a net for rf.? I have never needed a net for rf. and the net always gets in my way.
 

I thought we discussed this after she checked your catch? I guess you do not trust me.

According to page 44 of the Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=77722&inline=true:

Gear Restrictions
28.65.(d) No person shall take finfish from any boat or other floating device in ocean waters without having a landing net in possession or available for immediate use to assist in landing undersize fish of species having minimum size limits; the opening of any such landing net shall be not less than eighteen inches in diameter.

I am not sure about the measuring device.

Might have to start carrying my crappy old net. I also think they add unneeded clutter to the yak and for big fish a gaff is usually better for a low profile kayak. On a boat deck the angle of the net dipping toward a salmon makes it more effective than on a yak.

It's a law that you need at least an 18" diameter net when fishing (for ANYTHING) in the ocean from a boat.

thanks Eric.

Tim. My bad sorry bro.

My most memorable DFG encounter was about 8 years ago at the Farallone Islands.  I was on board the New Capt Pete out of HMB.  We were about 27 miles from port experiencing FAC calm, T Shirt kind of a day.

A small zodiac that launched from a mothership was coming towards us.  Capt told us to get ready.  2 DFG cops boarded the party boat.  First they checked the boats paper work then checked our licences.  They didn't bother checking our catches.  Everything was good so they got back on their zodiac and started motoring off.  They were about 20 feet away and this idiot next to me smoking a cigarette threw the butt in front of them.  So they can back at us the gave the idiot a lecture.  A fish or bird could eat the cigarette butt and can't digest then end up dying.  He also said the "The ocean is not a trash can".

Then they took off, we never saw the mothership.

I was stopped last Saturday at Van Damme. I had just quit trolling, had a salmon in the rear well and was switching over for rock cod. I handed them my license and asked them if they wanted to see what was under the burlap. Only the tail was sticking out. They said, "No. We can see that it is a legal King." They didn't check hooks or any of my other wells/hatches. They were good guys. Some aren't.