Fishing licenses and rules

A regular resident or nonresident sport fishing license lasts 365 days from the day it is bought. A one-day license covers one specified day, not any day you choose later. Short-term and reduced-fee licenses have their own terms. Some fish and waters also need a report card or validation.

The license exception applies only in ocean or bay waters and only on a public pier that meets the state definition. It must be publicly owned, connect to shore above the mean high tide, allow free unrestricted public access, and be built or used mainly for fishing.

A publicly owned jetty or breakwater can count if it meets the shore and access rules and forms the most seaward protective edge of an ocean harbor. A dock or an inner harbor wall does not count just because people fish there. CDFW lists qualifying structures, but the owner can still close one for repairs or safety.

A report card can be required even when a fishing license is not. That can include a child under 16, a public-pier angler, or a person fishing on a free fishing day.

Current report-card species are steelhead, sturgeon, spiny lobster, abalone when that fishery is open, and salmon in the Klamath, Trinity, and Smith river systems. The card follows its own season and reporting date. It does not simply last 365 days with the license.

The usual inland baseline is one closely attended rod and line. A line may have no more than three hooks, or three artificial lures with no more than three hooks on each lure, unless a special water says otherwise. A Second-Rod Validation lets a licensed angler use two rods in many inland waters, but not where the rule requires artificial lures or barbless hooks. A child under 16 may also use two rods in most inland waters without buying that validation.

Ocean gear starts differently. On a public pier, the ordinary ceiling is two rods and lines, two hand lines, or two crab appliances. Away from public piers, San Francisco Bay generally allows one line with no more than three hooks. CDFW's pier rules allow two lines on qualifying public piers in San Francisco and San Pablo bays, subject to species limits.

When rockfish, lingcod, cabezon, greenlings, or scorpionfish are aboard or in possession, the ocean rule generally tightens to one line with no more than two hooks. Salmon also has species-specific gear rules. The general two-rod pier limit does not override those rules.

Ocean and freshwater fishing use separate rule sets. Seasons, limits, size, and gear can change by fish and place. CDFW may revise its rule books during the year, so a rule from the last trip may no longer fit this one.

A fish can be legal to keep and still have limits on how often it should be eaten. OEHHA advice can change with the water, the fish, and the person eating it. A statewide advisory may apply when no local advisory covers that water or fish.