Forgot I had these in my truck

[salty-dog]

A few years ago I spent several months back in Georgia tending to some family stuff. During this time I managed to do a lot of kayak, motorboat and surf fishing. But, being as I was away for a while, I needed to renew my GA fishing license. A quick trip the DNR { Dept of Natural Resources} and I was all set.

Things have changed some. The license was still a pocket scorching $9.00 but that's OK. No special tags, stickers or permits, no hoops to jump through. The officer asked if I had a current regulation decal and I replied I had not. Then, he asked if I was fishing from a boat or shore. I told him about a boat I bought during the visit for use while I was there, but also intended to yak out into the shallows for some redfish and flounder gigging and some offshore spearfishing I had planned-- so basically any way one could think of to fish, I would be there.

He then handed me a bunch of regulation decals along with some measurement decals to place on the boat, the yak and keep a few in case someone else needed them. I did as I was told and I still had a few left over. Well, tonight as I was looking for something else, I ran across the reg decals.

"purty damned good idea" I thought to myself. I figured I would show y'all what they look like. I also think it would be a good idea for the DFO to copy as instead of looking in books for the info, it is at hand, in easy sight of anyone aboard a boat.

I still have the decals on my yak and this thing has fished not only the GA and FLA coastlines, but Atlantic Beach , NC, many areas along the Gulf coast, a number of spots along the Mississippi river and deep into the Mississippi Delta, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, as well as here in BC and many other places. Its probably one of only a handful of yaks that can lay claim to being slimed from coast to coast, north and south and in three countries. And the decals never tried to peel off. That defines the quality !!

Anyways, here is the decal. Do you think it would be of benefit to have something like this in BC?

 

[Pineapple Express]

Interesting idea, but it seems to me like BC has too many regions with too much variation in the limits for this to be useful.

Got any pictures from your fishing down in Georgia?

 

[ziggy]

You would need a big sticker for all the various areas, not to mention all the in season changes lol

 

[sly_karma]

What's a bushel?

 

[salty-dog]

I was thinking it would work if they either simplified the regs or had one for each region. But, the DFO has made things so complex it's a miracle anyone can figure out anything correctly-- water cops included.

As for photos, I may have a few. The computer I loaded most into took a yeehaw flying dump not long ago and few things were able to be lifted.

A bushel is a form of measurement originally derived from the size of a certain box. With products such as rye, wheat and corn, it is still a measurement of such. But, with things like oysters, it isn't volume, but weight. A bushel of oysters is between 45 and 60 pounds. If fitted within the confines of that certain box, it would slightly overflow rather than fit neatly inside. The number of oysters would depend upon size and species but it could be upwards of 200 or more. Seems like a lot, doesn't it? Keep in mind that the oysters down that way are slightly smaller than species found here and they have a salty flavor much stronger than those found here.

We also have what's called a "fat sack". This is about 80-90 pounds of oysters and they can be bought in those cloth woven bags. These are especially great for oyster roasts. This is when you invite some friends over for beer, music, and just general goofing off outside. You build a decent sized fire, throw a piece of roofing tin on top then lay oysters on the tin. Once this is done, you soak the sack with water and lay over the oysters and let 'em roast about 15-20 minutes, occasionally rewetting the sack. Once ready, remove the sack and everyone grabs oysters at will. If done with a low country boil, you have an outdoor meal that will not only stuff you to the gills, but also stick to your ribs. Everyone is well fed and many pack sleeping bags and crash out for the night in the bed of the pickup truck. No one drives drunk. Either pile up in the house or snooze outside. A fat sack costs around $45 and will easily feed 10 people.

 

[Theb55]

DFO Regs depend on the day, someone's mood, and the big Crystal ball. It's sad they pay fortune tellers more than scientists.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[salty-dog]

I found a couple pictures. I don't know how to do multiple photos in single post, so it'll take a few to do it.

In this first one, I was paddling the yak towards the Atlantic but the low tide presented a sandbar. The water surrounding it was too shallow to even yak through. I remember the shrimp jumping { probably a stingray after them} and many ending up in the marsh mud where they would eventually die. The only thing able to free itself from that mud is a gator with skills. I've seen a lot of gators stuck in it. Its so soft a human would sink to his waist in minutes and the tide ain't going to wait for you to escape.

A close look and you can see part of the measuring decal from the DNR just under the rod handle. All that is visible is a small section. The decal is 3ft long overall. The rod and reel is the setup I use most and still have.

 

[salty-dog]

After gaining some water, I was able to carry on. Once I go under these two bridges, the ocean is minutes away.

 

[salty-dog]

Outside Jekyll Island looking in along the south end { St Andrew's Beach area }

 

[salty-dog]

I'll have to see if I can locate the memory stick with more photos of down that way. But, I do have these next few.

After leaving GA, I headed north to Charlotte before heading back this way. In SC, just at Columbia is a little town that I think would be a perfect name for a girl:

 

[salty-dog]

I'll have to search for more. Missing are lots of fishing photos, photos of Savannah, Charlotte, and the cross country drive. During that drive, I left Charlotte on Tues morning and by Friday night, I was in Port Angeles. My trip got rerouted in St Louis by a massive snow storm, so I ended up going north of it.