Recreation

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Written by: Editor

Published: 11 December 2012

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Saturday morning walks at the Rodman Preserve near Upper Lake will be closed for the last three Saturdays in December and resume on Jan. 5.

Because of a variety of other commitments during the holidays the Lake County Land Trust, owners of the preserve, decided to close the walks temporarily.

The walks will resume on Jan. 5 at the usual 9 a.m. start time leaving from the Nature Center at the Preserve which is located on Westlake Road near the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff.

The Land Trust presents the walks, a children’s nature education program, and educational programs at the center and the preserve.

The walks will remain open during the winter as long as the trails are passable. Excessive rains floods portions of the trails and requires walk closure, however the Land Trust remains committed to providing access to the preserve through its guided weekly walks.

For information about the Lake County Land Trust, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org or friend the Land Trust on Facebook.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 10 December 2012

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is proposing new regulations to support an increase in the number of hunter education instructors in the state.

Currently, there are not enough instructors to keep up with the public’s demand for mandatory hunter education classes. The regulations would create an incentive program to help recruit new instructors and to retain current ones.

The proposed regulations, which would be added to the California Code of Regulations Title 14, establish specific criteria to participate in the hunter education instructor incentive program.

These criteria include employment status, length of service, in-service training requirements, compliance with existing game laws and payment of an application fee.

The proposal also creates a drawing system to equitably distribute the incentive opportunities. These incentives include, but are not limited to, fully guided hunts, limited-entry big game tags and firearms.

Eligible instructors would be assigned a random number for the drawing. Those with the lowest numbers would receive the highest-rated opportunities.

The proposal also establishes a system to redistribute tags in the event any instructor is unable or unwilling to utilize the opportunity provided.

The proposal rewards long-term service as a hunter educator by providing additional entries per drawing.

For example, instructors must complete three years of service in order to participate in the incentive program and they will earn an additional entry for each additional 10 years of service.

The proposed regulations are available for comment period from Dec. 10 until Dec. 26, 2012.

The proposed regulations are available on the DFG Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/HunterEd/Instructor_Incentive .

All comments must be received by DFG no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2012. Comments can be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , mailed or hand-delivered to:

Roy Griffith
Captain / Hunter Education Program
Department of Fish and Game
1416 Ninth Street / Room 1342-6A
Sacramento, CA 95814

Comments received by the due date will be considered before the regulations are adopted.

Questions about the regulations should be directed to Capt. Roy Griffith, Hunter Education Program Administrator, at 916-653-9727 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Written by: Carrie Wilson

Published: 09 December 2012

Question: My son is 11 years old and a licensed hunter. We would like to duck hunt this year at state and federal Wildlife Areas. Does he need a one or two day pass? Does he need any paper work aside from his license?

I would hate for him to be turned away from the check station the morning of our hunt because we were not properly prepared. (Steve H.)

Answer: Persons hunting under the authority of a Junior Hunting License on state Wildlife Areas (or federal areas managed by Department of Fish and Game) where entry permits are required are exempt from the permit and pass requirements, except they must have a no-fee entry permit issued to them.

Holders of Junior Hunting Licenses are only eligible for entry permits when accompanied by an adult (18 years or older). One adult may accompany up to two holders of Junior Hunting Licenses. In addition, adults must accompany holders of Junior Hunting Licenses on Type A and Type B areas.

For additional information regarding hunters using Junior Hunting Licenses on state Wildlife Areas, please see sections 551 (f), (g), & (h) in the 2012-2013 Upland Game and Waterfowl Regulations / Regulations for Hunting on Public Lands booklet, available online at www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations/ .

Additional and specific information regarding entering and hunting on State Wildlife Areas is available for each Area online at www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/index.html .

Catching salmon while fishing for halibut?

Question: I have an ongoing debate with a friend and am hoping you can resolve it. Let’s say salmon season is open but I’m drifting for halibut and hook up on a legal-sized salmon on a halibut rig, what is the protocol? I was unable to find anything about this in the regulations booklet, but I did find where it says it is illegal to catch and waste fish.

Also, what is the protocol if trolling for salmon with regulation gear and hook up with an untargeted ling cod? If you can cite which code is correct for these situations, I can finally put this to bed. Your help will be greatly appreciated. (Tom C.)

Answer: First of all, salmon may only be taken on a barbless hook. Possession of salmon taken on any gear other than the gear described in regulations is illegal. Thus, unless your halibut rig is a barbless circle hook (doubtful!), you would have to immediately release any salmon you catch on it, regardless of the condition of the salmon (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 27.80).  

Hooking and keeping lingcod on your salmon rig is permitted as long as you are within the depth limit of the groundfish management area, and the groundfish season is open (CCR Title 14, sections 28.27 and 28.65).

How to avoid bear 'baiting' situations?

Question: The regulation booklet says no baiting for bear or no bear shall be taken within 400 yards from baited areas.

I'm confused, since the law says NO BAITING, but then it says no bears to be taken within 400 yards of a baited area. Is the law implying that baiting is allowed as long as the hunter shoots the bear from more than 400 yards away?

How can Fish and Game tell if a bear was taken from areas with or without baits? How can hunters tell if the area was baited or not? Also, what if I had just dressed a deer and the next day a bear came after the remains, and I shot the bear. Is that not legal as long as I have a bear tag? Please clarify. (Pao H.)

Answer: Regulations prohibit placing feed, bait or other materials capable of attracting a bear in any location for the purpose of taking a bear (CCR Title 14, section 365(e)). This portion of the regulation prohibits these acts and is not dependant on distance. It is illegal to place "bait" out for the purpose of taking a bear.

In addition, the regulation also prohibits taking a bear within 400 yards of a garbage dump or any place where bait has been placed even though you may not have put it there. It is your responsibility to carefully inspect the area you intend to hunt and determine it complies with the law.

Under this regulation the remains of a deer constitute feed or bait and it is illegal for you to dispose of them with the intention of attracting a bear to the site, and to take any bear within 400 yards of the remains.

Limit on number of sand crabs?

Question: I've been advised that there is a limit on the number of sand crabs a surf fishermen can possess. Is this true? (Drew B.)

Answer: Yes, there is a limit on the number of sand crabs (Emerita analoga) a fisherman may possess. The limit is 50 sand crabs (CCR Title 14, section 29.85(d)).

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