Recreation

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Written by: Editor

Published: 14 December 2015

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A local swimmer traveled to the Bay Area earlier this month to take part in a three-day Junior Olympic level competition.

Charlie Adams, 14, representing the Lake County Channel Cat swim team, competed last weekend Friday, Dec. 4, through Sunday, Dec. 6, at Pacific Swimming’s 14 and under Winter Championships in Morgan Hill.

The competition was well attended by many of the top swimmers from teams in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California coast.

He swam nine events in boys 13 to 14 division, making finals in two, placing as high as seventh in the 500-yard freestyle, ninth in the 1,000-yard freestyle, 10th in the 1,650-yard freestyle and 13th in the 400 IM.

Charlie also swam the 200 backstroke, and achieved best times in the 200 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 50 freestyle and the 200 IM.

He is a freshman at Clear Lake High School and is looking forward to competing in high school swimming this spring.

The Lake County Channel Cats swim daily at the Quail Run Fitness Club outdoor pool and welcome new members interested in swimming for competition or fitness.

For more information on the Channel Cat swim team and practice schedule, contact Jen Hanson at 707-263-3131.

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Written by: Carrie Wilson

Published: 12 December 2015

Laser sights for bowfishing?

Question: When bowfishing for game fish, like carp, is it legal to have a green 5mW visible laser on your bowfishing bow or crossbow? I know that visible lasers on a bow or crossbow are prohibited for the use of hunting animals on land, but I’m just not sure about for fish in freshwater.

Having a laser helps compensate for light refraction in the water because aiming at a fish that is not where it looks like it is can be quite tricky.

Also, besides the regulations in section 1.23 and section 2.25, are there any special seasons or rules that I have to follow for using a crossbow? I ask because I heard that crossbows in California can only be used during rifle season for land game.

Using a crossbow to bowfish is only mentioned one time in the freshwater regulation booklet, most of the text says “bow and arrow fishing.”

I want to be prepared to explain to a park ranger or wildlife officer (given I am in an area designated for bowfishing) that I can use a crossbow. What code sections should I cite or what should I say? (Alexander A.)

Answer: Yes, it legal to have a green 5mW visible laser on your bowfishing bow or crossbow. When bowfishing in freshwater, you need only follow the regulations in sections 1.23 and 2.25. What you say about crossbows for hunting being legal only during rifle season is correct, but as long as you’re fishing and not hunting, this should not be an issue.

The main difference between fishing and hunting is that a crossbow is not considered archery equipment for hunting purposes but is considered legal bow and arrow equipment for those fish species that may be taken by bow and arrow.

In order to avoid unwanted attention from law enforcement, I discourage you from shining your laser on land.

Using rockfish for bait

Question: In a recent column you stated that "Any finfish that is legal to take or possess in California may be used as bait in your lobster hoop net."

I assume this rule applies equally to using rockfish as hook and line bait for lingcod, but on my last party boat trip I was prohibited from using a small gopher rockfish for bait by a crewman who insisted that this would be illegal.

Is it legal to use a whole rockfish (or a slab cut from a whole rockfish) for hook and line bait? I understand that the bait fish would count toward my limit. (Randy P.)

Answer: Yes, as long as the fish you’re using is legal to catch and keep, and as long as you count it toward your daily bag limit, you can legally use it as bait to attract larger predator fish, such as lingcod, to your hook. If the fish you’ll be using for bait has a size limit, you would need to be sure it was of legal size.

How to find a legitimate hunting guide?

Question: Can you direct me to a legitimate site to book a hunting trip? How can we hunt on government land? What are the costs? (Cheri W.)

Answer: You can find a list of guides licensed through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) at www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Guide (click on “Look up licensed hunting and fishing guides) but no recommendations in support of any particular guide or hunting service.

Hence, your best bet is to contact other hunters to ask about their experiences in order to help you decide which guide service to go with.

You can hunt on certain government-owned (public) lands in California. Public lands in California are primarily owned, operated and maintained by CDFW, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Department of Defense or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Each of these agencies has developed rules and regulations for the lands they administer. They provide details of which lands are open to public access for outdoor recreational activities (including hunting), and the time of year they are open.

Some of these lands are open year-round with no access fees, but some lands are open only certain times of the year with an access fee.

Moreover, some public lands are entirely closed to all public use, mostly for protection of certain plant and animal species.

Generally speaking, most big game mammal hunting occurs on CDFW, BLM, Military or Forest Service lands. Small mammal and varmint hunting occurs on BLM and Forest Service lands. Waterfowl and upland game bird hunting occurs on CDFW and USFWS lands.

For the regulations governing the use of CDFW lands, please go to www.wildlife.ca.gov/Lands .

For other land management agencies, please contact them directly for rules or regulations concerning their lands.

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: 04 December 2015

How many feet in the water to enter a legal hunt zone?

Question: While hunting during archery season in August, I ran into a situation that I could use your guidance on.

While at my campsite, a hunting partner of mine observed a buck feeding near the creek that we were camped near. I was hunting in D7.

Unfortunately for me, the buck was on the north side of Deer Creek, and therefore in X9A. I quickly got my bow while my hunting partner sat quietly at camp and watched.

I quietly moved into position and waited for the deer to cross the creek. He never did, so therefore I had to let him go, of course.

When a zone's boundary is defined by a creek, river or other body of water, when is the animal considered to be within your zone and therefore legal to take?

Can you take him when he's drinking and touching the water? Does he need to have two or four feet in the creek? Does he need to completely cross and be across the creek and completely in your zone? Or does he need to be clear of the creek bed all together? What is the law? (Kevin K.)

Answer: The deer would have had to be at least halfway across the creek to be into the correct zone.

Keep in mind that animals shot with bow and arrow or a rifle can travel a substantial distance, so it is wise not to hunt right on the border of a zone.

A non-lethal shot could easily take you immediately into the closed zone where your tag is not valid.

Ocean sunfish – you can take them, but then what?

Question: I saw some ocean sunfish laying around on the surface in waters off Sonoma County. Are they legal to take? Is there a website or a listing of which fish are illegal to catch? (Anonymous)

Answer: Yes, ocean sunfish (Mola mola) may be taken by licensed recreational fishermen. While some ocean species have fishing regulations that pertain only to them (e.g. rockfish and salmon), other species do not.

Species for which there are no specific regulations, such as ocean sunfish, are covered under section 27.60 on page 34 in the current Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet.

The daily bag limit for species covered under section 27.60(a) is: 10 fish of any one species, with a total daily bag limit of 20 fish. This means you can take up to 10 ocean sunfish plus 10 other fish per day, for a total of 20 fish. Fish that fall under this section do not have seasons (open year-round) or size limits.

Please be aware that ocean sunfish are not a species targeted by most recreational fishermen. This species is generally not considered to be good eating.

Keep in mind that it’s a violation to waste a fish after you have taken it (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 1.87), so you might want to research that a little more before finding yourself in possession of a large fish you don’t care to eat.

Carrying shotguns for ducks and doves at the same time

Question: You recently answered a question about having two shotguns in a duck blind. That made me wonder whether the two shotguns can be loaded with different ammo.

For example, if it’s dove season, can I have a 12 gauge shotgun for ducks and keep a 20 gauge loaded with lead shot for doves? (Allen S.)

Answer:  Yes, you can carry more than one gun, but while waterfowl hunting, you are required to possess only non-toxic shot regardless of the shot size. Both shotguns must be loaded with non-toxic shot.

In addition to non-toxic shot requirements for waterfowl hunting, nonlead ammunition is now required when hunting on all state wildlife areas and ecological reserves regardless of the species pursued. And when hunting during waterfowl season, hunters may only have 25 shells in the field, regardless of the difference of shot size.

This means hunters on state wildlife areas are limited to non-lead and only 25 shells total for doves and ducks, combined.

For more information on the phase-out of lead ammunition for hunting in California, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting/nonlead-ammunition .

Corn for carp bait?

Question: Can you point me in the right direction to see the regulation regarding the use of whole corn kernels as bait, specifically for carp, but in general as well?

Numerous people have told me corn is illegal to use in California, but I've looked through the regulations book at least four times and can't find anything saying it’s illegal. (Tony)

Answer: The general bait regulation for inland waters says that treated and processed foods may be used as bait, and there is no prohibition on the use of corn kernels (CCR Title 14, section 4.00).

This question comes up quite a bit because some states do not allow corn to be used as bait, but California does.

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. .