Definition of White Seabass in Possession

March 14, 2019

Question: A friend of mine was recently given a ticket for possession of an undersized white seabass. His boat was still in the water with the fish very much alive and swimming in the live well. A wildlife officer checked his catch, noticed the fish and then directed him to pull his boat out of the water without any explanation or without giving him the opportunity to measure and simply release the fish. My question is: What does the California Department of Fish and Wildlife define as “possession”? (Chris)

Answer: The fact that your friend did not immediately measure and then release the fish upon realizing it was undersized is the problem. When he brought that fish onboard his boat and put it into the live well, that fish was definitely “in possession” at that point. For fish like white seabass that have a minimum size limit, the angler is required to immediately measure the fish and then if undersized, immediately return it to the water. It’s not clear why the warden directed him to pull the boat out of the water, but it doesn’t matter regarding the undersized fish in possession issue. He was in violation the minute he put an undersized fish into his live well.

Suppose that I catch an undersized fish, take it home, and eat it. Am I then in possession of it?

Suppose that I catch an undersized fish, take it home, and eat it. Am I then in possession of it?

Only if you submit it for a world record catch.

Suppose that I catch an undersized fish, take it home, and eat it. Am I then in possession of it?

Yes, until the digestion process is complete.

But what about if a piece of the fish is stuck in your beard for a week?

A fishing partner and I caught a couple of nice Ling Cod last year. His measured exactly 22 inches. When we landed with our fish, a game warden approached us and asked if he could see our fish. The warden then realized he had no measuring device. He turned to me and asked if he could use my tape and of course I let him use mine. When he measured my partners fish it measured 21 3/4 inches.The warden said it was short and illegal. We tried to explain to the warden but it was useless.  Is the fish legal? We both learned a valuable lessen that day.

A fishing partner and I caught a couple of nice Ling Cod last year. His measured exactly 22 inches. When we landed with our fish, a game warden approached us and asked if he could see our fish. The warden then realized he had no measuring device. He turned to me and asked if he could use my tape and of course I let him use mine. When he measured my partners fish it measured 21 3/4 inches.The warden said it was short and illegal. We tried to explain to the warden but it was useless.  Is the fish legal? We both learned a valuable lessen that day.

This entire forum could learn this lesson.

See the thread in which everyone thinks I'm an idiot because I say to not let a warden use your own abalone iron to check your abs.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=70652.msg801041#msg801041

game warden approached us and asked if he could see our fish.

Warden if ur juss axing, bye felicia

Suppose that I catch an undersized fish, take it home, and eat it. Am I then in possession of it?

Only if you submit it for a world record catch.

You took my line 

I have nothing nice to say about this post .....

A fishing partner and I caught a couple of nice Ling Cod last year. His measured exactly 22 inches. When we landed with our fish, a game warden approached us and asked if he could see our fish. The warden then realized he had no measuring device. He turned to me and asked if he could use my tape and of course I let him use mine. When he measured my partners fish it measured 21 3/4 inches.The warden said it was short and illegal. We tried to explain to the warden but it was useless.  Is the fish legal? We both learned a valuable lessen that day.

22" ling is bait size.  It's not difficult to catch lings in the 24-28" range which would eliminate your problem.

Is the fish legal? We both learned a valuable lessen that day.

wenz a legal fish bekome illegal?  when boss hawg sez its illegal 

in the law, possession is 9/10ths of the game.
in the exorcist, its 10/10ths!

Is the fish legal? We both learned a valuable lessen that day.

wenz a legal fish bekome illegal?  when boss hawg sez its illegal 

in the law, possession is 9/10ths of the game.
in the exorcist, its 10/10ths!

so true.  Dont lend your tape to measure the poltergiest.