California offers some of the most diverse and exciting fishing opportunities in the country, from high Sierra trout streams to the deep blue Pacific. But with this incredible resource comes a set of important regulations designed to protect fish populations for generations to come. Navigating these rules can be complex, and a simple mistake can lead to a significant fine.
To help you stay compliant and enjoy a stress-free day on the water, we’ve compiled a list of 10 common fishing violations based on the official 2025 California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) regulations. Understanding these rules is the first step to protecting both the fish and your wallet.
1. Fishing Without a Valid License
This is the most fundamental rule of fishing in California. Anyone 16 years of age or older must have a valid sport fishing license in their immediate possession while taking any fish, mollusk, amphibian, or crustacean.
- Common Mistake: Forgetting your license at home or assuming you don’t need one. Even if you’ve purchased a license, you must have it on your person while fishing. The license may be kept in your boat if you are diving from a boat, or within 500 yards of shore if diving from the shore. The CDFW License App can be a convenient way to display your license electronically.
- Exception: A license is not required when angling from a public pier in ocean or bay waters. However, all other regulations, such as bag limits and size limits, still apply.
- Free Fishing Days: California offers two Free Fishing Days on July 5th and August 30th, 2025. On these days, no license is required, but all other regulations, including the need for any required report cards, remain in effect.
2. Failing to Carry or Return a Report Card
For certain prized species, a license alone is not enough. The CDFW requires anglers to carry and complete specific report cards to gather crucial harvest data.
- Species Requiring a Report Card: Anglers fishing for North Coast Salmon (in the Klamath, Trinity, and Smith Rivers), Steelhead, or Sturgeon must have the corresponding report card in their possession. This applies even to anglers under 16 and on Free Fishing Days.
- Violation: Not having the card with you, or failing to immediately record your catch (or release) in indelible ink is a violation.
- Mandatory Reporting: You must return or report your card information to the CDFW by the deadline, even if you never fished or caught anything. The deadline for salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon cards is January 31 of the following year. Failing to do so can result in a fee or being restricted from getting the same card the next year.
3. Ignoring Bag and Possession Limits
Bag limits regulate how many fish you can take in a single day, while possession limits dictate how many you can have in total (e.g., fresh, frozen). These are critical for preventing overfishing.
- Daily Bag Limit: In ocean waters, the general limit is 20 finfish per day, with no more than 10 of any one species, unless a specific rule states otherwise. For freshwater, the statewide trout limit is five per day.
- Possession Limit: For ocean salmon, you may not possess more than two daily bag limits on land. In freshwater, the trout possession limit is ten. Know the difference to avoid a “double limit” violation.
- Zero-Limit Waters: In waters designated as “catch-and-release only,” the bag limit is zero. Fish must be released unharmed and should not be removed from the water.
4. Keeping Undersized or Oversized Fish
Minimum and maximum size limits are in place to protect juvenile fish, allowing them to grow and reproduce, or to preserve large, prime breeding stock.
- How to Measure: Unless otherwise specified, total length is measured in a straight line from the tip of the head to the end of the longest lobe of the tail. Every angler taking invertebrates with a size limit must carry an accurate measuring device.
- Common Examples:
- Ocean Salmon: Must be at least 20 inches total length.
- Lingcod: Minimum size of 22 inches total length.
- California Halibut: Must be 22 inches total length.
- Immediate Release: Any fish that is under the minimum size or over a maximum size must be returned immediately to the water from which it was taken.
5. Using Illegal Gear or Tackle
The gear you use is just as regulated as the fish you keep. Using the wrong hook, weight, or number of rods can result in a citation.
- Barbless Hooks: Required when fishing for salmon in the ocean north of Point Conception and in many anadromous (migratory fish) inland waters. A barbless hook is one where the barb has been removed, bent completely closed, or was manufactured without one.
- Number of Rods/Lines: In general, anglers are limited to one rod. A Second-Rod Validation allows for the use of two rods in certain inland waters, but not where only artificial lures or barbless hooks may be used.
- Hook and Weight Restrictions: In many rivers and streams, it is unlawful to use a hook attached closer than 18 inches to a weight exceeding 1/2 ounce. For ocean salmon fishing, sinkers cannot exceed 4 lbs, with some exceptions for downrigger systems.
6. Fishing in a Closed Area or During a Closed Season
Many waters are closed to fishing year-round or have specific seasonal closures to protect spawning fish or sensitive habitats. Fishing in a closed area is a serious offense.
- Salmon Spawning Areas: Many rivers have designated salmon spawning areas that are closed to all fishing to protect vulnerable, spawning salmon.
- River Mouths: The mouths of the Smith, Klamath, and Eel rivers are closed to salmon fishing year-round or seasonally to protect migrating stocks.
- Groundfish Management Areas (Ocean): The California coast is divided into five management areas for groundfish (like rockfish and lingcod), each with its own seasons and depth restrictions. For example, all groundfish management areas are closed from January 1 through March 31. It is your responsibility to know which area you are in and its specific rules.
7. Illegally Possessing or Transporting Fish
How you handle your catch after it’s landed is also regulated.
- Filleting Fish: On a boat, it is illegal to fillet salmon. For other species like lingcod or California halibut, fillets must be a minimum size and have the entire skin attached so the species can be identified.
- Determining Species and Size: It’s unlawful to possess a fish in a condition where its size or species cannot be determined. This is why fillet rules and requirements to keep the head and tail on certain salmonids in inland waters are in place.
- Live Fish: Transporting live fin fish from the water where they were taken is generally prohibited, with exceptions for bait fish.
8. Mishandling of Protected or Wrongly Caught Species
It is illegal to retain certain protected species or fish for which the season is closed. These fish must be released immediately.
- Coho (Silver) Salmon: The retention of coho salmon is prohibited in all ocean and freshwater fisheries. If you catch one, it must be released immediately and unharmed.
- Green Sturgeon: May not be taken or possessed, must be released immediately, and may not be removed from the water.
- Wild Steelhead: In anadromous waters, all wild steelhead (those with an intact adipose fin) must be released unharmed. Only hatchery-marked steelhead (adipose fin-clipped) may be kept where allowed.
9. Failing to Exhibit Your License and Catch on Demand
If you are approached by a peace officer or an authorized CDFW employee, you are legally required to cooperate.
- Show Your License: You must exhibit your fishing license, tags, validations, and report cards on demand.
- Show Your Catch: You must also show all fish you have taken, as well as any device or gear capable of being used to take them.
- Prohibiting Inspection: It is unlawful to prevent a warden from inspecting any boat or receptacle where fish may be found.
10. Wasting Fish
The law requires that anglers properly care for their catch and not allow it to go to waste.
- “Wanton Waste”: It is illegal to cause or permit any deterioration or waste of any fish taken in California waters. This means properly cleaning and preserving your catch for consumption.
By familiarizing yourself with these common violations, you can ensure your fishing trips are both successful and legal. Always check California Fishing Regulations before heading out, as rules can change annually or even in-season. Happy (and lawful) fishing!
