Fish & Game answers your questions, Part 2

The state Department of Fish & Game's Q&As:

By Crane Wilson

Carrie Wilson is a marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. Her DFG-related question and answer column appears weekly at www.dfg.ca.gov/QandA. While she cannot personally answer everyones questions, she will select a few to answer each week. Please contact her at CalOutdoors@dfg.ca.gov.

*** View this column with images online at  www.dfg.ca.gov/QandA/2009/20090820.asp  ***

Question: I have a question regarding hunting pigs during eer archery season. I know that pigs are open all year. I also know that if you are hunting deer during archery season, you cannot have any firearms with your archery equipment while out in the field. If I am out hunting with my friends, but I am hunting pigs with my gun while they are archery hunting for deer, is it legal for me to carry my gun with me while my buddies are bow hunting, if we are in the same hunting area? Will a game warden cite us or be overly suspicious because we would have a mixture of hunting equipment in our possession during archery season, even though we have a non-deer hunter in our group? Any info from you will be most appreciated. Thanks. (Tim P.)

Answer: This is an age-old scenario that we hear often. According to Assistant Chief Mike Carion, while you are not prohibited from carrying a firearm (Section 354[h]) because you are not an "archer," you might still be cited for taking deer without a tag if you are observed with your buddies in the field while they are taking deer. Basically, if you are with archery deer hunters and you are carrying a firearm and doing anything defined as "hunt, pursue, catch capture or kill", you will most likely be subject to a citation for take of deer without a tag, or hunting with a firearm during an archery season. Even if you claim that you are taking pig, coyote, ground squirrel or something else, this does not in and of itself protect you from prosecution.

Question: Is it legal to spearfish at night? If so, what fish can be taken? This sounds intriguing to me since I enjoy night diving and it would give me another activity to enjoy while doing so, but I want to stay within the law. Thank you for your time. Just to be clear, I would be diving along the North Coast. (Anonymous)

Answer: Generally, Fish and Game laws allow fish to be taken at night in all ocean waters that are open to the take of fish during the day, and by all methods of take that are authorized for use during the day. If it's legal to take fish in a specific area during the day with a spear, it's legal to do so at night. Areas of the ocean in which spear fishing is prohibited include Marine Protected Areas and anywhere within 200 yards of the mouth of any stream. Taking fish with a spear is not allowed in the inland waters of the North Coast Fishing District at any time.

Question: At what age can kids first take the hunter safety course, go on their first hunt, and then what can they hunt for? (Bill A.)

Answer: Since the Department of Fish and Game is a state agency, it can not discriminate by age. According to Captain Roy Griffith of our Hunter Education Program, it is up to the discretion of the parent or guardian to decide when their child has the maturity and upper body strength to safely manipulate a firearm. A junior hunter needs to attend a Hunter Education class and take a written test. Once juniors have passed the test, they can obtain a hunting license and may hunt any legal species (except big game, if they are under the age of 12 Once they have turned 12 years old, they may then apply for big game tags and hunt big game with their Junior Hunting License and appropriate big game tag).

Question: If I have five trout on my stringer, can I continue to fish if I don't keep any more than the five fish bag limit? In other words, catch-and-release after I have my limit of five? Thanks. (Don B.)

Answer: Good question, but the answer is NO. The definition of "take" is to "hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, crustaceans or invertebrates or attempting to do so" (FGC Section 1.80). Therefore, catch-and-release fishing is not legal unless you're still under your maximum bag limit.