Can you still fish an area during a closure?

[YakN'Surf]

Im trying to read DFG's regs as closely as possible but i still have some questions. All Groundfish are closed on the 15th for the central coast, so I read that means there is a zero bag limit. Am i legally still allowed to fish for shallow water ling cod on my kayak as catch and release only. It reads ok to me but does anyone know of any section in the Reg booklet that says otherwise? Thanks for any help.

[bsp]

Nope. You cannot target a species that's under a closure because the DFG has no way of knowing if you are CPRing. It's like with steelhead in Southern California. They're under a closure now, so even if you CPR you cannot target them.

A closure means you cannot try to catch or keep that fish. If it happens accidentally when you are targetting legal fish, like catching a black seabass when you're fishing for calico bass, then you have to let it go ASAP. You can't try that loophole though because ALL Groundfish are closed, so no matter what you say you are targetting it would be illegal.

I know it sucks, but you have to obey the regs or face a hefty fine if you are caught. The fine's not worth the fun of a few lingcod.

[klocked]

I thought I had read in the regs that Ling season closes November 30th...? If so, you have a few days left.

[YakN'Surf]

I thought I had read in the regs that Ling season closes November 30th...? If so, you have a few days left.

Yeah, down here. But im talkin north of pt. conception.