Display of Sport Fishing License is Not Required starting "today"

[fishinone]

I received this in an e-mail last week.


California Department of Fish and Game News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 24, 2010

Contacts: Scott Barrow, Fisheries Branch, 916-445-7600
DFG Office of Communications, 916-322-8911

New sport fishing regulations take effect March 1

The California Fish and Game Commission has adopted the following changes to sport fishing regulations. All take effect and will be enforced starting March 1, 2010.

Display of Sport Fishing License is Not Required Anglers will no longer have to display their sport fishing license on their outer clothing above the waist, but their sport fishing license must still be in their possession while fishing.

Sturgeon Fishing Closure on Upper Sacramento River There will a year-round closure to sturgeon fishing on the Sacramento River from the Keswick Dam (Shasta County, west of Redding) to the Hwy 162 Bridge (near Butte City). The use of wire leaders or any type of shrimp or lamprey bait is also prohibited in this area.

Spiny Lobster
Spiny lobster must be kept in a whole, measurable condition until it is being prepared for consumption. See Section 29.90(e).

Increased Bag and Possession Limits for Hatchery Trout and Steelhead The statewide bag and possession limits were raised to two fish per day and four fish in possession. These increased limits will be in place for all rivers and streams where the take of hatchery trout or steelhead is presently allowed except for the Feather, Klamath and Mokelumne rivers. Refer to the Section 7.50 of the regulations for each individual reach.

New Rules for the Smith River
Only barbless hooks will be allowed in all reaches of the Smith River. The Klamath-Trinity Salmon Report Card has been renamed North Coast Salmon Report Card and will now be required on the Smith River also. The annual bag limit for wild trout or steelhead was reduced to zero and no more than five wild Chinook may be kept per year.

Sunfish and Crappie Combined Bag Limit and Separate Tilapia Limit The daily bag limit for sunfish is reduced to 25 fish and incorporated into a combined bag limit of 25 sunfish and crappie of all species, except as noted in Section 5.82. Tilapia are moved out of the sunfish bag limit and continue to have no limit on take.

Splittail and Lamprey Changes
Sacramento splittail may be taken only by angling, with a bag limit of two fish. The bag limit for lamprey is reduced to five and the use of traps is no longer allowed.

There are other changes to the sturgeon and steelhead report cards and general district regulations, so please review all of the 2010 regulations pertaining to the species you intend to pursue. Regulations are available on the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/about/fishing.

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Note: This e-mail account is used to distribute information to the public. Do not reply to this e-mail. Direct questions or comments regarding the information contained in this e-mail to the Department staff listed as points of contact for this subject.

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[DarkShadow]

I can only keep 25 "sunfish" as a combined bag total?!?!

Total hippie move.

Glad to see I don't have to have my license out anymore though. It was soooo inconvenient to have it above my waist. I used to go home every evening from a long day of fishing, with my shoulders extremely sore and tired from having to lug around 1 ounce of lanyard and license around my neck.

[Cangler]

I can only keep 25 "sunfish" as a combined bag total?!?!

Total hippie move.

Glad to see I don't have to have my license out anymore though. It was soooo inconvenient to have it above my waist. I used to go home every evening from a long day of fishing, with my shoulders extremely sore and tired from having to lug around 1 ounce of lanyard and license around my neck.


I'll have nothing to wipe my nose on now ...

[DarkShadow]

I'll have nothing to wipe my nose on now ...

You wipe your nose with bluegill?

I admit, I've launched a snot rocket or two on a carp, and wiped my nose on some trout, but to wipe your nose with a bluegill not only takes guts, but also some skill, as I would not want those dorsals to get anywhere near my beak.

[sansou]

Dude. I am sooooo going to look waaay more ninja without having to have my license around my neck.

[fishinone]

You wipe your nose with bluegill?

I admit, I've launched a snot rocket or two on a carp, and wiped my nose on some trout, but to wipe your nose with a bluegill not only takes guts, but also some skill, as I would not want those dorsals to get anywhere near my beak.

Didn't you guys hear about the deckhand last year, who died trying to swallow a sardine? Play it safe! Use small Blugill.

I lost my license last year and couldn't find the receipt. I wound up buying another one. I had it on a lanyard somehow it came off of there.

Having it in my wallet seems more convienient, I always had to stick it in my shirt pocket to keep it from blowing around when I was driving.

I bought mine online with the stamps printed on it this year. I'm thinking that if I loose it again, I've got the receipt in the computer and so do they. Plus I should be able to get the stamps back too.

[fishinone]

Dude. I am sooooo going to look waaay more ninja without having to have my license around my neck.

:ROFL: That's too funny.

I think you were supposed to wear a glow stick too.

[DarkShadow]

Dude. I am sooooo going to look waaay more ninja without having to have my license around my neck.

'Your' 'write!'. Now ill have to get rid of my black lanyard and license holder that matches my ensemble.

At least it'll be easier to blend in with the other half of the anglers who don't even know what a fishing license is!

Talk about the greatest form of camouflage.

When does legislation pass so I can remove the license plates from my truck, because having those are so inconvenient. It takes away from people seeing the metal testicles I have hanging from my tow hitch, and the holes I have to drill on the front bumper takes away from the resale value.

[TroutOnly]

This is so lame and going to waste so much of the wardens time when they are checking for lincenes ,i bet the poachers are laughing there asses off and having a party, this is one of the worst decisions made ever,,its beyond retarded ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Cangler]

'Your' 'write!'. Now ill have to get rid of my black lanyard and license holder that matches my ensemble.

At least it'll be easier to blend in with the other half of the anglers who don't even know what a fishing license is!

Talk about the greatest form of camouflage.

When does legislation pass so I can remove the license plates from my truck, because having those are so inconvenient. It takes away from people seeing the metal testicles I have hanging from my tow hitch, and the holes I have to drill on the front bumper takes away from the resale value.


I think the point is , it will cut back on DFG's workload ...

[DarkShadow]

I think the point is , it will cut back on DFG's workload ...

I'm confused.

So, instead of being able to scan an entire shoreline that contains 20 fisherman in 20 seconds, it is less work load for a warden to walk to each individual and ask them for a license?

And let me play Satan's Advocate here...

Rich, is it possible that with this new law, some ACLU hippie can now argue that it would be a violation for them to do random checks on people without cause? The ole, "You checked for MY license only because I'm [insert race, color, creed, etc here], but yet you didn't ask for anybody elses!" argument?

Much like how cops can not simply stop you to check for a valid driver's license, can DFG now only ask for a license if you're only in commission of a DFG violation? Or are there already laws in the books which state that any person fishing in public waterways is automatically subject to search?

[breeze71]

Not openly showing the ID may actually benefit the DFG in the long run if they exercise there job correctly.

What are the chance of a poacher photocopying the fishing license and visibly displaying it. From a far the officer would not be able to distinguish a fake license from a real one and I am quite sure he will not ask to look at the license closely.

Now with the new rule, "you don't have to display the liscense openly although the license must be with you," the DFG officer is more likely to ask for the license in person and to tell if the license is fake or not. If the DFG were to do its job and ask to see the license in person the new rule may benefit more with less poachers and/or more revenue from tickets.

[Fire Ball]

Not openly showing the ID may actually benefit the DFG in the long run if they exercise there job correctly.

What are the chance of a poacher photocopying the fishing license and visibly displaying it. From a far the officer would not be able to distinguish a fake license from a real one and I am quite sure he will not ask to look at the license closely.

Now with the new rule, "you don't have to display the liscense openly although the license must be with you," the DFG officer is more likely to ask for the license in person and to tell if the license is fake or not. If the DFG were to do its job and ask to see the license in person the new rule may benefit more with less poachers and/or more revenue from tickets.

I definitely agree with you! Also, I won't be worried about losing my license either or having it blow around everywhere if it is windy.

[sansou]

Perhaps someone with some time on their hands can verify this, but it was always my understanding that F & G officers didn't need PC to ask for your license to begin with. Crim Pro in L-school for me was over a decade ago!

Darkness, you do pose an interesting hypothetical scenario re racial profiling, selective enforcement etc... I have no answer to that, other than to say my donation to the criminal defense attorney lobbyists fund was well spent! Yes!

Think about it. This is a great change to the regs. Think of all the chaffed necks that will now no longer be chaffed because they no longer have a lanyard around their fragile little necks when the wind is blowing.... This is a victory for all the self perceived great outdoorsmen that instantly whine when asked to put a license "above the waist".... ha ha!!

Think about it. These regs don't come about in the void. It was the result of bitchin' & whinin' from the vocal pansy fishing next to you. DFG is more than happy to concede on the small stuff like this, and remain stalwart on the big issues that really affect them and their self-serving political agenda....

[cutbait]

Breeze is right. Its meant to get their butts out of the truck and physically check anglers

[DarkShadow]

DFG is more than happy to concede on the small stuff like this, and remain stalwart on the big issues that really affect them and their self-serving political agenda....

Honestly, I'm less concerned about the changes in their licensing regs, and more concerned about their new Angler-monitoring devices.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9778/ears.jpg

[fishinone]

Aside from the Fred Hall Show I've only seen a Game Warden twice and it was the same guy both times. I know, it's possible that they saw me when I didn't see them.

I'm thinking that they will have to get out and talk to people.

If they handle that right, they could learn a lot from the anglers. Things like "I think that guy across the lake has ten undersized bass in his waders.".

If they handle it wrong, they will just cause everyone to hate them.

I grew up with two Game Wardens as Uncles and I knew many others. The cool ones got a lot of information from people. The others, "One in particular.", were hated.