NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Advanced Hunter Education Program is offering a turkey hunting clinic on March 1 at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area near Gridley.

Prospective hunters must register by 5 p.m. Friday, February 14.

Experienced instructors will instruct this exciting clinic on how to successfully hunt wild turkey. Topics to be covered are concepts of decoy placement, blind design, ballistics, calling, equipment, game care and cleaning, cooking tips and safety.

The clinic is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 1 and costs $45. Space is limited and registration is required so hunters are encouraged to apply early. Youths 16 years and younger are free but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

CDFW’s Advanced Hunter Education Program will provide all necessary class equipment.

Registration forms are available online at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/huntered/advanced/index.aspx . After registering, participants will receive an e-mail with a map to the facility and a list of items to bring.

Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is located approximately 60 miles north of Sacramento.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 09 February 2014

The California Fish and Game Commission has adopted emergency regulations to close some waters to angling as recommended by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) last week.

Specifically, the commission adopted the following emergency regulations:

• Closure of the American River from Nimbus Dam to the SMUD power line crossing at the southwest boundary of Ancil Hoffman Park until April 30.
• Closure of the Russian River main stem below the confluence of the East Branch of the Russian River until April 30.
• Extension of the low flow restrictions angling closures for the north coast and central coast areas (above San Francisco Bay) until April 30.
• In the South Coast District (i.e., San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties), close all portions of any coastal stream west of any Highway 1 bridge until April 30.

The above regulatory actions will become effective upon approval by the state Office of Administrative Law (OAL). At the earliest, these emergency regulations will become effective in mid to late February.

“We can’t make it rain, but we can take action to relieve our beleaguered salmon and steelhead populations from any additional stress,” said Commission President Michael Sutton. “I’m proud that the fishing community supports this action as essential for the conservation of our precious fishery resources.”

CDFW previously closed some waters to fishing in order to protect native salmon and steelhead from low water flows in California streams and rivers that have been significantly impacted by drought.

CDFW has the authority under Title 14, Article 4, Section 8.00(c) to close south central coast streams to fishing from December 1 through March 7 when it determines that stream flows are inadequate to provide fish passage for migrating steelhead trout and salmon.

As a result, the following waters are closed to angling until March 7 or until stream flows are sufficient to allow fish passage for returning adult steelhead and salmon (to determine whether or not these waters are open to fishing, please call the south central coast closure hotline at 831-649-2886:

• Pescadero Creek and all anadromous reaches of San Mateo County coastal streams normally open for fishing, from Elliot Creek through Milagro Creek.
• The San Lorenzo River and all its tributaries, as well as all anadromous reaches of coastal streams normally open for fishing in Santa Cruz County from the San Lorenzo River on North through Waddell Creek.
• Aptos and Soquel Creeks (Santa Cruz County).
• The Pajaro River and Uvas, Llagas and Corralitos Creeks (Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties).
• The Carmel River and those sections of San Jose, Gibson, Malpaso and Soberanes creeks west of Highway 1.
• The Big Sur River and those Big Sur area streams from Granite Creek to Salmon Creek west of Highway 1.
• The main stem of the Salinas River below its confluence with the Arroyo Seco River and the Arroyo Seco River (Monterey County).

In addition, CDFW has the authority under Title 14, Article 4, Section 8.00(a) to close north coast streams to fishing when it determines that the flow at any of the designated gauging stations is less than minimum flows stated in regulation through January 31.

The commission decided to extend the end date of that authority to April 30. As a result, the following north coast streams will be subject to angling closures until April 30 upon OAL approval (to determine whether or not these waters are open to fishing, please call the north coast closure hotline at 707-822-3164:

• The main stem Eel River from the paved junction of Fulmor Road with the Eel River to the South Fork Eel River.
• The South Fork of the Eel River downstream from Rattlesnake Creek and the Middle Fork Eel River downstream from the Bar Creek.
• The main stem Van Duzen River from its junction with the Eel River to the end of Golden Gate Drive near Bridgeville.
• The main stem Mad River from the Hammond Trail Railroad Trestle to Cowan Creek.
• The main stem of the Mattole River from the mouth to Honeydew Creek.
• The main stem of Redwood Creek from the mouth to its confluence with Bond Creek.
• The main stem Smith River from the mouth of Rowdy Creek to the mouth of Patrick Creek (tributary of the Middle Fork Smith River); the South Fork Smith River from the mouth upstream approximately 1,000 feet to the County Road (George Tyron) bridge and Craig’s Creek to its confluence with Jones Creek; and the North Fork Smith River from the mouth to its confluence with Stony Creek.

Under Title 14, Article 4, Section 8.00(b) the following central coast streams, which are currently subject to angling closures through April 1, upon approval by OAL will now be subject to angling closures until April 30 (to determine whether or not these waters are open to fishing, please call the central coast closure hotline at 707-944-5533):

• Sonoma Creek (Sonoma County), and all streams tributary to the Pacific Ocean (and its bay) in Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties, except the Russian River.
• Napa River (Napa County) between Trancas Avenue in Napa and Oakville Cross Bridge near Yountville.

“This is about keeping as many adult spawning salmon and steelhead in the rivers as possible,” said CDFW Fisheries Branch Chief Stafford Lehr. “We are fully aware of the impacts these closures will have on anglers and related businesses. However, anglers have overwhelmingly supported the decision to close fisheries because they are the original conservationists. They understand the severity of this drought.”

These closures affect recreational fishing only as there are no commercial fisheries in California’s inland rivers. This is the first time the Department and Commission have taken this type of emergency action due to drought.

The closures listed above represent only about five percent of the fishable rivers in the state. There are still plenty of opportunities for California anglers to catch fish in the state’s rivers and streams. Additionally, California’s coast offers substantial ocean fishing. Both are subject to current regulations already in place. For more on fishing in California, please visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/ .

Current low stream flow conditions will prevent the movement of migrating anadromous fish. Stream flows in many systems are inadequate to allow passage of spawning adults, increasing their vulnerability to mortality from predation, physiological stress and angling.

Furthermore, survival of eggs and juvenile fish in these systems over the coming months is likely to be extremely low if the current drought conditions continue.

These angling closures on selected streams will increase survival of adult wild steelhead and salmon.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 09 February 2014

Donating fish to charity for a tax deduction?

Question: In a recent column you said it is legal to donate excess fish from a multi-day fishing trip to a church or non-profit shelter as long as no compensation is received.

What about a tax deduction? This way the guys with too many fish donate to the churches, the churches feed the hungry and the fisherman gets a deduction and doesn’t have to worry about dead fish to clean. Everyone wins!

What do you think? (Dick L.)

Answer: Sorry, but while this might sound like a great idea, donated fish cannot be claimed as a tax deduction because you cannot assign a value to sport-caught fish.

The best thing for anglers to do is to catch and keep only what they know they will actually use so that they don’t end up with excess fish to clean and donate!

Night fishing

Question: We love to fish for crappie and are wondering if it is legal to fish for them at night. I am not aware of any California lakes that allow night fishing using lights off of your boat.

Is this legal, and if so, what bodies of water allow this type of fishing?

Thanks for all of your weekly information (W. Yamamoto).

Answer: Night fishing for crappie is permitted by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFW) as long as the lake where you plan to fish permits fishing at night (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 2.15).

Some lakes prohibit night fishing for purposes of access control, safety or security reasons. You will need to contact the agency or concessionaire managing the lake to inquire about their policy.

Fishing from my private dock?

Question: I live right on the river and can fish from my backyard off my private dock. Do I need a fishing license? I heard if it is private property you do not need a license. (Eric)

Answer: What you heard is not correct. You do need a fishing license because it’s not a matter of where you’re standing, it’s a matter of the waters you’re fishing in.

All rivers of the state are public waters, and all fish contained in those waters are public fish. Even if a stream or river runs through private property, all of the fish within those waters belong to the people of California, and thus a fishing license is required.

The only places where you would not need a fishing license would be if you were fishing in a pond on private property that has no stream or creek water flowing into it or out of it. The water must be completely self-contained so that no fish from outside of the property can swim into it or swim out of it.

The only other place where you can fish without a fishing license is on a public pier in the ocean (CCR Title 14, section 1.88).

Hunter ed reciprocity between states?

Question: I took a hunter education class in Missouri and have a hunter’s safety card issued from there but recently moved to California and would like to hunt here.

Do I have to complete another hunter education course in California or can I just purchase a hunting license using my old card? (Steve H.)

Answer: No, California accepts hunter education certificates from other states as proof you have completed an approved course in the past. You can also present a previous hunting license from another state as proof to buy a California hunting license.

But despite the fact you may not need to take a California hunter education class, you still may want to consider one.

It’s a good idea for everyone to periodically update their knowledge with a refresher course and a review of the 10 commandments of handling a firearm. Our hunter education program is always improving and most people do benefit from a refresher.

For a calendar list of more than 200 hunter education classes offered throughout the state, please go to www.dfg.ca.gov/huntered/classes.aspx .

Casting for squid?

Question: Is it legal to use a standard cast net to catch squid in the ocean or are only dip nets allowed? (Hai L.)

Answer: Hawaiian type throw nets or cast nets are legal to use to take squid if used north of Point Conception. In waters south of Point Conception, only handheld dip nets are allowed (CCR Title 14, section 28.80).

Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Written by: Carrie Wilson

Published: 07 February 2014