California fishing regulations by species

Saltwater regulations

California Department of Fish and Wildlife · Ocean Sport Fishing. Regulation year typically runs March 1 to last day of February. Verify the live source before keeping any fish.

Freshwater regulations

California Department of Fish and Wildlife · Inland Sport Fishing. Many waters have water-body-specific rules that override the general regulation. Always check the waters-of-special-regulation list for the body you fish.

License + report card requirements

• Anyone 16 or older needs a California sport fishing license. Annual, daily, short-term, and reduced-fee options at wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing.
• Ocean enhancement stamp required when fishing south of Pt Arguello for marine species.
• Steelhead report card required for steelhead fishing in anadromous waters.
• Lobster report card required for spiny lobster.
• Sturgeon report card required for sturgeon.
• North Coast salmon report card required north of Pt Arena.
• Two-rod stamp required to fish more than one rod simultaneously in inland waters.

How regulations work in the app

Every catch entry checks the logged species against the current CDFW regulation table. Undersized fish flag inline. Closed-season species cap the daily verdict at Nibbles, regardless of conditions. The bag-limit counter ticks down as you log keepers. The rule text is paraphrased for clarity, but the live CDFW source is always one tap away.