Anglers Say Rules Hit Above the Belt

Led by a Huntington Beach assemblyman, weekend fishermen are fighting to change an obscure state rule that requires them to wear their fishing licenses above the waist.

“Why don’t lawyers have to wear their license?” said Republican Assemblyman Tom Harman. “Drivers don’t have to have the license on the roof of their car. No one has to do this except fishermen.”

Harman, as many might guess, is a fisherman; his special love is fly-fishing for bass and trout. The rule hasn’t produced a significant increase in license revenues since it took effect in 1994, he says, and his line gets tangled in the darn thing when he’s fishing.

Taylor Truett, 17, who spearfishes off Laguna Beach, also thinks the rule is overkill.

“I never wear my license when I spearfish,” he said. “What are you supposed to do, take it in the water?”

Fish and Game adopted the rule after two studies showed that up to 40% of the state’s recreational fishermen were not licensed. The rule was aimed at raising the number of licenses sold, but at 2.2 million sold in 2000, the number has actually decreased over the last several years.

It certainly doesn’t exist for the game warden’s convenience, said Robert Traenor, executive director of the Fish and Game Commission.

“Even though they have something displayed, the warden still has to check” to see if it is valid, he said.

Fishing without a license--which costs about $30 a year--carries a mandatory fine of $680.

There is no mandated fine, however, for not displaying the license above the waist.

The state Fish and Game Commission is holding hearings on this and other issues in the coming weeks. If it does not rescind the rule, Harman said, he will introduce a bill to kill the rule--again.

Harman has already lost one round when a previous bill died in May.

An analysis estimated it would cost the state $400,000 in unsold licenses if the bill was approved.