Wondering about "in your possession" rule

[billy b]

I always thought it was plain ... duh-mb English ... I can have up to 10 anywhere on me ... or in my car ... or back at the cabin-motel. And the daily limit is 5 per person ... in most of the usual places I"m talking. I've told some people that I'm headin to the Owens Valley this week and they would like some fish.

So I can only bring back 10 right? Anything else is subject to a ticket. I don't like to break rules if I know them and understand them.

Just wanted to make sure I'm on target ...

[Stumpknocker]

That's a great question, and I've wondered about that too...does the "in possession" rule stop at your car, the motel, or how about the striper fillets I am slowly working my way through in the freezer back home?

[City Dad]

you could bring home a few trout "prison style" if you really need the extra fillets

[DarkShadow]

you could bring home a few trout "prison style" if you really need the extra fillets

Can you smuggle a cell phone into county jail for me?

[shinbob]

The DFG regulations are somewhat vague, but the California Code of Resources goes a bit further:

"No more than one daily bag limit of each kind of fish, amphibian, reptile, mollusk or crustacean named in these regulations may be taken or possessed by any one person unless otherwise authorized; regardless of whether they are fresh, frozen, or otherwise preserved. "

(Exceptions cited allow for the 10 trout possession limits)

So it doesn't really matter where the fish are, or what state they're in, if you have more than 10 of them, you are in violation.

Of course, in reality the warden probably won't follow you home to check your freezer, unless you're caught with an egregious amount over the limit (like those guys with 50 abalone in their ice chest).

[TROUT MASTERS]

I always thought it was plain ... duh-mb English ... I can have up to 10 anywhere on me ... or in my car ... or back at the cabin-motel. And the daily limit is 5 per person ... in most of the usual places I"m talking. I've told some people that I'm headin to the Owens Valley this week and they would like some fish.

So I can only bring back 10 right? Anything else is subject to a ticket. I don't like to break rules if I know them and understand them.

Just wanted to make sure I'm on target ...

Keep 10 fish to be on a safe side and tell the guys if they want fish costco fot em all :LOL:

[BALLERONBUDGET]

kinda like you are over ur limit and u give ur trout caught to buddy next to u so he can limit??? .. most guys here say u are in violation!... or u are rock fishing on local boat and guy doesnt want his catch or pay for cleaning etc says hey u can have this... = technically ur overlimit and subject to fine??? wtf.... net on boat rule?? wat if u forgot to pack ur net that day??? is warden gonna be a weenie and ticket u for that also?????

[Viejo]

If you are going to the Owens Valley....good chance you will get checked. There has been a lot of over limit tickets written by the resident Warden to both locals and folks visiting. Quite a bit of talk about it in the local sporting goods stores. Also being very strict on the no barb rule in the Wild Trout section.. He will appear out of the willows and ask you to toss your fly/lure over and check for barbs with a cotton ball. If you are running more then one hook or the hook catches the cotton....your "on the hook" for a several hundred dollar fine plus costs.

[phishin phool]

Yup!! He was working hard last weekend. Saw him 3 out of the 4 days I fished the WTS. Good thing! Gotta keep the poachers out.
If you are going to the Owens Valley....good chance you will get checked. There has been a lot of over limit tickets written by the resident Warden to both locals and folks visiting. Quite a bit of talk about it in the local sporting goods stores. Also being very strict on the no barb rule in the Wild Trout section.. He will appear out of the willows and ask you to toss your fly/lure over and check for barbs with a cotton ball. If you are running more then one hook or the hook catches the cotton....your "on the hook" for a several hundred dollar fine plus costs.

[DarkShadow]

If you are going to the Owens Valley....good chance you will get checked. There has been a lot of over limit tickets written by the resident Warden to both locals and folks visiting. Quite a bit of talk about it in the local sporting goods stores. Also being very strict on the no barb rule in the Wild Trout section.. He will appear out of the willows and ask you to toss your fly/lure over and check for barbs with a cotton ball. If you are running more then one hook or the hook catches the cotton....your "on the hook" for a several hundred dollar fine plus costs.

Viejo, what is the boundary mark for the WTS downstream? I've heard "5 Bridges," and I've heard "The sign near Chalks Bluff." Haven't seen a sign anywhere near 5 Bridges, and I have no clue where "The sign" is on Chalks Bluff.

And are you saying that in the WTS, I can't run a double nymph rig?

•

And the 7 or so days I've fished the Owens, I never ran into a DFW warden. Weird. Perhaps they only patrol the WTS?

[DEVOREFLYER]

The sign is around half way between the PVR campground and Five Bridges. The sign is just like the signs on the Upper Owens river at Benton Crossing and the Monument. Yes you can run a double Nymph rig, if you are going to throw a lure remove the treble hook and replace it with a single barbless hook and you are legal.

[Viejo]

The sign is around half way between the PVR campground and Five Bridges. The sign is just like the signs on the Upper Owens river at Benton Crossing and the Monument. Yes you can run a double Nymph rig, if you are going to throw a lure remove the treble hook and replace it with a single barbless hook and you are legal.

What he said. The folks I've talked have seen the Warden from below Line Street all the way to the Gorge. They have made a number of possession busts in the past three weeks.

[DarkShadow]

What he said. The folks I've talked have seen the Warden from below Line Street all the way to the Gorge. They have made a number of possession busts in the past three weeks.

Possession busts?! But I have my medical weed card!

In any case, I always hear that "5 Bridges" is the line of demarcation of the WT area, and two weekends ago, I scoured the entire "5 Bridges" area for a sign, and didn't find anything but empty spools of mono and empty PowerBait™ containers, and more brown trout that you can shake a stick at. And now I read from the DFW website that the WT area spans "From footbridge at lower end of PV Campground east 3.3 miles along Chalks Bluff Road to the redwood sport fishing regulations sign."

I don't see 5 Bridges in this definition, yet everyone seems to use that as the "endpoint" of the WT area? By DFW's definition, I can chuck PowerBait™ upstream from 5 Bridges until I reach this "redwood sport fishing regulations sign," (that I've never found before.)

[Viejo]

I believe that the Wild Trout Section ends with a wooden sign just before the road climbs a small hill and just past one of the last gate pass thrus. It is well above five bridges. Yes you can chuck powerbait and use any hook you want from 5 bridges up stream to the sign. It's there. I've seen it.

[DarkShadow]

Yes you can chuck powerbait and use any hook you want from 5 bridges up stream to the sign. It's there. I've seen it.

Awesome.

You recommend any colors?

:-D

(I promise to release all my trout I catch with trebles in their gullet)

[fly addict]

DS,
Rainbow pb is the best for the big browns that are lurking there. Also you should use 1 ounce pyramid sinkers to get the pb to stay on the bottom. :Rolls Eyes:

[DarkShadow]

DS,
Rainbow pb is the best for the big browns that are lurking there. Also you should use 1 ounce pyramid sinkers to get the pb to stay on the bottom. :Rolls Eyes:

I think you have to 'match the hatch,' so instead of the pyramid sinker, I use a spark plug. Creates a more natural drift, especially in the areas outside the WT section.

[Skyler]

I think you have to 'match the hatch,' so instead of the pyramid sinker, I use a spark plug. Creates a more natural drift, especially in the areas outside the WT section.

It won't work unless you wind your line around a Bud Light bottle and use it as a rod/reel.

[DarkShadow]

It won't work unless you wind your line around a Bud Light bottle and use it as a rod/reel.

I prefer the softer action of a Miller Lite can. The can allows you to customize your presentation to those pressured fish of the Owens.

[enohserf]

billy b
I've experienced your exact scenario 24 years ago at the Owens River. My dad's office friends and I were going to fish 3 days. Day one they dumped fish right by us. We had caught our limits of 5 each and spent the night in a hotel a few miles away. 3 of us had stored our first days catch in an ice chest at the hotel, with the understanding that we could possess 10 total for a multiple days catch. Day 2 we returned to the same area and by mid-morning we each had about 3 each in direct possession. At this time the warden showed up and rounded all of my dad's coworkers up, maybe about 8 of us, and began to question everyone individually for licenses and limits. Some how after all that we ended up having to quit fishing and the 3 of us that stayed in the hotel were asked to drive back to the hotel so the warden could inspect our previous days catch. After the warden had seen that we each had 5 on ice (15 total) at the hotel and 3 for each person that were just caught, he ticketed all 3 of us and confiscated the second days catch with the understanding that we could only have 5 in possession period, even though we explained to him that we were to be there for 3 days and should be able to possess 10 for the 2 days that we were already there for. Needless to say we drove straight home in disgust. My dad and his friend insisted that we were correct so they decided to contest the tickets after being assigned a court date. I was just starting a new job at the time and could not make it. So they drove back to Owens Valley for their court appointment only to find out that they were assigned a new court date, so if they were to contest they would have to return at a later date. My dad and his friend were intent on proving themselves innocent so they returned for that second court appointment. The judge had ruled that they were correct, 5 per day 10 total for multi-day. I had to pay $165 for not showing up. The moral of the story is even though we tried to follow the rules some how it still worked against us. I haven't bothered to fish there ever since. Fish at your own risk.