When Prohibited Species Are Accidentally Caught?

January 22, 2015

Question: I fly fish for calico bass using barbless hooks in the kelp beds off Catalina Island and the coast, and it’s all strictly catch and release. Garibaldi are abundant in this habitat and are very aggressive. When I can see them I can usually avoid catching them. However, rarely one will take my fly inadvertently. Since they are only lightly hooked through the lip, they survive the accidental catch and release. However, it is illegal to “take” garibaldi. Is this considered illegal if caught by accident and then released? How can one avoid catching them? (Rick B.)

Answer: No, it is not considered an illegal action to accidentally catch a prohibited species as long as it is immediately released back into the waters it came from. Intentionally targeting a prohibited species IS illegal, but you do not seem to be doing that.

As for how to avoid catching them, that’s a tricky question. About the only thing you can try would be to use a larger hook (that the garibaldi might have problems taking into their small mouths), but fly fishing generally doesn’t allow for use of larger hooks. You may need to employ a bit of ingenuity to figure out how to reduce the number of garibaldi you end up hooking.