California Fishing Laws

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources:

• Freshwater Regulations
• Ocean Regulations

California’s Bass Legal Size & Bag Limit

Area or Body of Water	Season	Size Limit (Total Length)	Bag Limit
Colorado River District: All waters (Bag and size limits conform with Arizona regulations.)	All Year.	13-inch minimum.	6
(2) Inyo Co.: all streams east of Highway 395 from the southern Inyo Co. line north to the junction of Highway 6 and east of Highway 6 to the Mono Co. line, except those listed by name in Section 7.50(b), Special Fishing Regulations.	All Year.	12-inch minimum.	5
The remaining streams of Inyo Co., except those waters listed in Section 7.50(b), Special Fishing Regulations.	Last Saturday in Apr. through Nov. 15. Closed to bass fishing from Nov. 16 through the Fri. preceding the last Sat. in Apr.	12-inch minimum.	5
All lakes, Big Pine Canal, Fish Spring Canal, and Millpond in Inyo Co.	All year.	12-inch minimum.	5
(3) Mono Co.: all streams, except for Fish Slough (see subsection (b)(10)) and those waters listed by name in Section 7.50(b), Special Fishing Regulations.	Last Saturday in Apr. through Nov. 15. Closed to bass fishing from Nov. 16 through the Fri. preceding the last Sat. in Apr.	No size limit.	5
(4) Plumas Co.: all waters.	All year.	No size limit.	5
(5) Barrett Lake (San Diego Co.). (Also see Section 2.08)	All year.	No black bass shall be possessed.	0
(6) Casitas Lake (Ventura Co.).	All year.	12-inch minimum. No more than one over 22 inches.	5
(7) Castaic Lake (Los Angeles Co.).	All year.	15-inch minimum.	5
(8) Cuyamaca Lake (San Diego Co.).	All year.	No size limit. No smallmouth bass shall be possessed.	5
(9) Eastman Lake (Madera and Mariposa cos.)	All year.	22-inch minimum.	1
(10) Fish Slough (Mono Co.), except the fenced portions of Fish Slough within the BLM Spring, which are closed to all fishing all year. See Section 7.50(b)(49), Special Fishing Regulations.	All year.	No size limit.	5
(11) Hensley Lake (Madera Co.).	All year.	15-inch minimum.	2
(12) Hodges Lake (San Diego Co.).	All year.	15-inch minimum.	5
(13) Isabella Lake (Kern Co.).	All year.	15-inch minimum.	2
(14) Kaweah Reservoir (Tulare Co.).	All year.	15-inch minimum.	2
(15) Lett’s Lake (Colusa Co.).	All year.	No size limit.	5
(16) Plaskett Meadows lakes, upper and lower (Glenn Co.).	All year.	No size limit.	5
(17) Shaver Lake (Fresno Co.).	All year.	No size limit.	5
(18) Success Reservoir (Tulare Co.).	All year.	15-inch minimum.	2
(19) Upper Otay Lake (San Diego Co.). (Also see Section 2.08)	All year.	No black bass shall be possessed	0

California Single & Treble Hook Laws

California Fishing Hours

(a) Day Defined: One hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. Remaining hours are night.
(b) All fish may be taken day or night, except as follows:
(1) WATERS WITH RESTRICTED FISHING HOURS FOR ALL SPECIES:
(A) American River between Business 80 and Nimbus Dam (Sacramento Co.): Night fishing prohibited
(B) Heenan Lake, (Alpine Co.): See Section 7.50(b)(56).
(C) Mono Co.: Night fishing is prohibited in all Mono Co. waters except Topaz Lake, where fishing is prohibited from two hours after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
(D) Tahoe Lake (Placer and El Dorado cos.): Fishing is prohibited from two hours after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
(2) WATERS WHERE NIGHT AND DAY FISHING IS ALLOWED, BUT NO TROUT OR SALMON MAY BE TAKEN AT NIGHT:
(A) North Coast District.
(B) North Central District, all waters except Berryessa Lake (Napa Co.) and Mendocino Lake (Mendocino Co.)
(C) South Central District, all waters except Coyote Lake (Santa Clara Co.)
(D) Valley District, north of Interstate 80, all waters except Camp Far West Lake (Nevada, Placer, and Yuba counties), Collins Lake (Yuba Co.), Oroville Lake (Butte Co.), and Wildwood Lake (Nevada Co.).
(E) Shasta, Siskiyou, Lassen and Tehama cos.

California Fishing Bait Laws

4.00 Bait-General
Legally acquired and possessed invertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, amphibians (except salamanders), fish eggs and treated and processed foods may be used for bait, except:
(a) No species specified as endangered, threatened, candidate, fully-protected, or otherwise protected under state and federal law may be used as bait.
(b) No salamander may be used as bait. See section 5.05 for other amphibians that may be used as bait.
(c) See Section 5.35 for restrictions on crayfish;
(d) See Section 7.50(b) (55) for restriction on bait collecting in Hat Creek;
(e) No trout may be maintained or possessed in a live condition in any container on or attached to any boat;
(f ) Except for restrictions listed under special regulations, dead ocean fish may be used as bait statewide. This section supersedes the provisions of sections 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 4.25 and 4.30.

4.05. BAIT FISH CAPTURE METHODS.
(a) Approved bait fish may be taken only by hand, with a dip net not exceeding 36 inches in greatest dimension, excluding handle, or with traps not over three feet in greatest dimension. Such bait fish may not be purchased, bartered, sold, transferred or traded; or transported alive from the location where taken. Any other species taken shall be returned to the water immediately. Traps need not be closely attended. Dip net use: A dip net must be hand held, and the motion of a dip net shall be caused only by the physical effort of the operator. A dip net may not be moved through the water by any mechanical force or motorized device.
(b) Within the area bounded by Highway 111 on the north and east and Highway 86 on the west and south, approved bait fish may be taken only with dip nets with diagonal mesh size one inch and greater, or by traps in water greater than four feet in depth. Traps may not exceed three feet in greatest dimension. Approved bait fish may not be taken by hand within this area.

4.10. BAIT FISH USE IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT.
Except as provided below, live or dead fin fish shall not be used or possessed for use as bait in the Southern District:
(a) Dead threadfin shad and live or dead longjaw mudsucker may be used in all Southern District waters.
(b) Live threadfin shad may be used only at the location where taken.
(c) Golden shiner and red shiner may be used in San Diego County.

4.15. BAIT FISH USE IN THE COLORADO RIVER DISTRICT.
Except as provided below, live or dead fin fish shall not be used or possessed for use as bait in the Colorado River District:
(a) Live or dead golden shiner, fathead minnow, red shiner, mosquitofish, longjaw mudsucker, threadfin shad, goldfish, sunfish, molly, and dead carp may be used in all Colorado River District waters.
(b) Live carp may be used only at the location where taken.
(c) Tilapia may be used in the Salton Sea, and may be taken for bait only within the area bounded by Highway 111 on the north and east and Highway 86 on the west and south (except as in subsection
(d) below).
(d) Tilapia may be taken and used for bait in the Colorado River and its associated backwaters only within the area bounded by Palo Verde Diversion Dam south to the Morelos Dam.

4.20. BAIT FISH USE IN THE VALLEY AND SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICTS.
Except as provided below, live or dead fin fish shall not be used or possessed for use as bait in the Valley or South Central District:
(a) Live or dead golden shiner, fathead minnow, mosquitofish, longjaw mudsucker, and staghorn sculpin, and dead threadfin shad, Mississippi silverside and lamprey may be used in all Valley and South Central District waters except those listed in subsection (f ) below.
(b) Red shiner may be used only in the Valley District north of Interstate 580 and Highway 132.
(c) Yellowfin gobies may be used in the Valley District only in those areas described in subsections
(d)(1)-(3) below.
(d) In addition, except for trout and salmon, fin fish lawfully taken in the following waters by angling or with bait fish methods approved in Section 4.05 may be used, only in the waters where taken:
(1) Carquinez Strait and Suisun Bay and their tributaries and saltwater tributaries.
(2) Sacramento River and tidewater of tributaries downstream from the Highway 32 bridge near Hamilton City, Feather River downstream from the Oroville Hatchery Fish Barrier Dam, and American River downstream from Nimbus Dam.
(3) San Joaquin River and tidewater of tributaries downstream from Interstate 5 bridge.
(e) Live threadfin shad, Mississippi silverside and lamprey may be used only at the location where taken.
(f ) Fin fish may not be used in Keller Lake (Glenn Co.), Letts Lake (Colusa Co.), Merced Lake (San Francisco Co.), Upper and Lower Plaskett Meadow Ponds (Glenn Co.), Whale Rock Reservoir (San Luis Obispo Co.).

4.25. BAIT FISH USE IN THE NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT.
Except as provided below, live or dead fin fish shall not be used or possessed for use as bait in the North Central District:
(a) Golden shiner, fathead minnow, red shiner, mosquitofish, longjaw mudsucker and staghorn sculpin may be used in Napa and Sonoma counties, in Marin County except for Stafford Lake, in Lake County except for the Eel River and its tributaries, and in Lake Mendocino (Mendocino Co.).
(b) Live threadfin shad, Mississippi silverside and lamprey may be used only at the location where taken.

4.30. BAIT FISH USE IN THE SIERRA AND
NORTH COAST DISTRICTS. Except as provided below, live or dead fin fish shall not be used or possessed for use as bait in the Sierra and North Coast Districts.
(a) In Donner, Fallen Leaf and Tahoe lakes Lahontan redside, tui chub, Tahoe sucker, Lahontan speckled dace, mountain sucker and Paiute sculpin may be used only in the same lake where taken.
(b) In Shasta Lake only golden shiner, red shiner, fathead minnows, mosquitofish and threadfin shad may be used or possessed for use as bait.
(c) Crayfish shall not be used for bait in the Pit River and all tributaries between Pit 3 Dam (Lake Britton) and the Fall River-Cassel Road Bridge at Fall River Mills, California (includes Hat Creek and Fall River and their tributaries).

Learn More About Fishing in California

FAQ

Is it legal to fish with corn in California?

Corn is legal to use in California in all freshwater where bait is allowed.