California Outdoors Q&A

Question: My buddies and I do a fair amount of striper fishing and seem to always debate this question. Am I allowed to keep fishing after keeping a limit of stripers as long as I am fishing for largemouth/smallmouth bass instead? The techniques are similar, so I’m wondering if we could be cited. (Brett M.) Answer: After catching your limit of striped bass,...
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Question: Later this year I am planning a trip to fish in the state of Washington. The limits and retention are different. What is the best way to bring fish home from the trip? Is there some paperwork trail that must be kept or some type of certification? (Ross B.) Answer: Yes. To import fish into California, you are required to...
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Question: When fishing from a boat in San Francisco Bay, can some anglers target striped bass with barbed hooks while others target sturgeon using barbless hooks? If one angler who is fishing from a boat with a barbless hook legally lands and retains a sturgeon, can all anglers on the boat switch over to target striped bass and continue to use...
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Question: I have a fly fishing question on rigging flies for nymphing. There is a very popular technique called “Bounce Nymphing,” which involves using three nymphs on short droppers off of a long leader with a weight attached to the bottom of the leader. The idea is to bounce the shot off of the stream bottom in order to keep...
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Question: From your column, I’ve learned that roadkill is illegal to recover (so that I don’t hunt with my truck). Here’s my question: In our hilly neighborhood the turkeys often fly into the power lines, causing a power outage right around breakfast time. On my way to work I see the roasted turkey near the road. Since PG&E killed it while...
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Question: I wish to target large Pacific halibut from my kayak. I’ve researched several different methods for safely landing a large Pacific halibut from a kayak and have settled on a wireman’s gaff. A wireman’s gaff is a large 18/0 shark hook at the end of a 15-20 foot section of rope. The fish is gaffed with the shark hook and...
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