Washington Fishing License...Any Cliff Notes?

[Sarge]

Before others fall out of their chairs either laughing or in utter disbelief, I want to make it perfectly clear that I know NOTHING about fishing. Nothing, zippo, null, zero...

I grew up in a ghetto of San Francisco and fishing, skiing, hunting, golf, etc. might as well have been activities on Mars. They weren't part of my life.

Fast forward to today. I'm waiting for my CD25 and my 5 year old son says he wants to go fishing. Fine. It's never too late to learn, so I pack my son up and the two of us head to GI Joes. Turns out they're having all kinds of sales on fishing equipment. I asked one of the salesguys if they have a book similar to "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fishing." He doesn't laugh, which was a great first step. He then guided me to an inexpensive pole, reel and fishing lures. My son chose a Superman fishing pole.

Then I remember I need a fishing license, which they sell on site. After the general data collection (DL and SS#) the woman asks me, "Are you going to fish for halibut?" What? I tell her, "I wouldn't know a halibut if it jumped in my boat and bit me in the ass!" Then she asks me about some other types of fish...ok, I know what a angel fish looks like and I can recognize a shark. I even know that a killer whale is NOT a fish, but unless a fish looked like Charlie the Tuna, I'm not picking any fish out of a line up. Turns out that there are all kinds of different fish that a person fishing should know in order to not violate the law.

The rule book is something like 135 pages long. Since I can't recognize a tuna from a sardine, I don't plan on keeping anything that I catch (it would literally have to run into my hook). Are there some basic rules that I should know to keep me out of trouble? I started reading the rule book and had my wife create cue cards with photos of the different marine fish to quiz me before bedtime, but I'm looking for a shortcut. I only plan on fishing in saltwater, because my boat is moored in Edmonds and I didn't buy a trailer.

Thanks in advance.

-Sarge

[chromer]

Sarge,

I am sure they gave you a pile of papers for a fishing license too. I've lived here 30 years and do all types of fishing. That book is the most complex thing around. AND its not the final word. You now also must visit their website for emergency closures/openings not listed in the reg book. https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/index.jsp

I hope they sold you a 2007-2008 license that is valid starting April 1, 2007.

One thing, in the salt around here - crimp all barbs. They do check

[Sarge]

Thanks Chromer.

On a serious note, if I use barbless, single hooks and don't pull a fish that even looks close to a salmon out of the water while I remove the hook I should be ok...right?

What is a game fish that can be caught year round? What kind of lure/bait do you use for it? If I stick to something like that I shouldn't have a problem if I get asked, "Were you fishing for blankety-blank type of fish?" Right now I'm afraid I'd have the wrong equipment on my boat even though I don't want to catch any type of fish.

Thanks,

-Sarge

[rogerbum]

Sarge,

Before you spend anymore money on gear that you might not need or be happy with in the long run:

1) Let me take you and your son out fishing. Then you'll see a variety of gear, and have a couple of hours to discuss the license, fish species, varying techniques etc.

2) I'd wait until the end of the month and buy next year's license. Licenses in Wa go from April 1 to March 31 the following year.

3) The license and rules can be quite complicated - on the license, the easiest thing to do is to get the "combo license". It's around $40 and let's you fish for everything (inlcuding crab and other shellfish when they are in season). For the kid, you just want a salmon punch card. That's free for the boy and no license is required for him.

4) Given that the boat will be in Edmonds, you'll most likely be fishing in salt water. Many of the fish you larger fish you will catch can't easily be handled on a superman rod but bait fishing can be a lot of fun for a little guy plus it generates a useful "product" -bait. For bait fishing, the best thing to get is a herrring jig set-up. In brief, this is a light 6' leader with 5-6 little hooks on it each of which has a little white wing on it. The little hook are on smaller leaders (6-12" long) and are tied onto the bigger leader every foot or so. You hook one to the main line and put a small weight on the bottom. This gets sent down into (hopefully) a school of herring or other baitfish and once one fish gets on, you leave it down for 30-60 sec and usually it gets loaded up with 4-6 fish.

5) You should pick up a book on the various species of salt water fish in this region and read it. There's a lot of different little critters down there and identification/knowledge is important for two reasons -a) keeping the wrong thing can cost you a lot of $'s b) a few things have stingers, somewhat poisonous spine or sharp edges in certain places and mishandling them can hurt you. Here's a few hints in that regard -
a) Never try to "lip" a saltwater fish unless you know for sure there aren't sharp teeth in there. By lipping, I mean reaching over and grabbing the fish by it's mouth like all those bass fishermen do on TV. There's not too many salt water fish for which that's a good idea.
b) One of the more common species of good sized fish in the Puget Sound is the spiny dogfish shark. They're typically 2'-4' long and often bite on bait near the bottom, herring trolled for salmon or occasionally on other gear. Most people don't eat these fish but rather release them. However, they do have two slightly poisoness spines and a strong desire to stick you with the one near the end of the tail (which they whip around like crazy when you try to dehook them). They need to be handled with care. However, they're great fun for a little guy to catch - strong fighters , abundant, fairly easy to find and every little boy likes catching a shark! They have cool green eyes and they're the easiest big fish to catch in the local area.
c) Sting rays are rare in the local area but are sometimes caught. They don't call 'em sting rays for nothing.
d) When in doubt about your ability/willingness to handle a given fish, cut the leader close to the hook and let the fish go.

Send me a PM - I'd be happy to arrange a fishing date out of Edmonds for you and the boy.

[Pat Anderson]

Sarge - I am NOT the guy to answer your questions, I share the same apprehensions you do. And I am not sure about fishing, but what little of it I have done, I have sure enjoyed the catching! About the WDFW agents: in my observations of WDFW agents, mostly on the beach at Birch Bay checking people coming in from crabbing, many of them are not nice, not polite, not concerned with educating people, and are mostly personality types that should not be allowed to carry sidearms. But enough of that. The concept of fishing "for" something eludes me as well. I too would like to know what you can catch and keep year round, I think perch is one. I guess that fishing "for" some kind of fish, mostly salmon, is a matter of where you are, what species is running, how deep you fish and maybe what kind of tackle you use - but I will leave that to the fishing-addicted types. I can also verify that mastering that incredibly confusing regulation book is not enough, now you have to be computer literate in order to fish. What bothers me is that it seems nearly impossible for the ordinary person to know when, where and how you can legally fish any more.

[Pat Anderson]

Or go out with Roger! That seems like a dandy idea! Hey, Roger - I want to go out some time too!

[Sarge]

Roger,

Thank you! I think that is exactly what my son, Dominic, and I need. It would be fantastic to learn what to do and don't do to be both safe and legal.

BTW, they sold me next year's marine license. If I like the idea of crabbing I'll purchase the additional license. Certainly sounds like fun and something my son would like.

My son is constantly talking about building things and going fishing. I was born with 10 thumbs and it's obvious that I don't know how to fish. As a dad, I think it is natural to want my sons (I have a 2 year old also) to experience things that I never did. I guess that's a long way to say that I really do appreciate your offer.

I'll follow this up with a PM to arrange a date.

Also, I'd be very open to having Pat join. Meeting more C-Brats would be a good thing.

Thanks again,

-Sarge

[Sea Wolf]

[Doryman]