Great Day on the Water
Headed out with a fishing buddy from my church for the west end of Catalina. He got a new saltwater trolling motor for his boat and was anxious to try it out. Not for trolling but for holding the boat in place so you don't have to anchor up. The motor worked great as we hovered over some spots off of West Cove in about 200 feet of water. We ended up with some really nice rock cod and a big whitefish, plus two sheepshead going 12 & 14ils. We ended the day at on the front side catching and releasing around 50 calicos.
The only bummer was that the day ended on a bad note. In case you didn't know (and we didn't) you are not supposed to clean sheepshead until you reach the shore. We cleaned up all our fish at the island when fish and game showed up. They asked if we had any fish and we proudly said yes. They asked to see them and we showed them to them (cleaned of course) when one of the officers said "you know you are not supposed to clean your sheepshead" which of course we responded "no". So they proceeded to confiscate the filets and write us a ticket. They said they wouldn't take our rods or the boat (gee thanks) and that the ticket would be like a parking ticket. Well if it will be like a parking ticket then give us a parking ticket. :(
Well it was a nice day until then. At least we have photos.
Yes I know they were just doi0ng their job, it is just that the California regulations seem the really complicate things. we left all the skins on the fish so they could be identified and measured. Just wish they had settled for a warning and taking the fish if they needed to.
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