While the competition admires each other in their gear, commenting on how burnt sienna makes a striking statement when paired with olive drab – I’ll be leaning on a rusting tailgate pulling on last year’s patched and worn.
… and while the rest of the crowd glances furtively at the competition, waiting to see who’s going upstream – and which are headed down, I’ll pour myself a second cup of coffee from a battered thermos.
As the gleaming burgundy shafts with imbedded jungle cock are lovingly unsheathed – beginning a new round of show and tell, I’ll wedge my aged neoprene into ancient Wienbrenner’s and lace them up good and tight.
“The California Penal Code allows anglers to carry a gun while fishing and while hiking to and from their angling site. However, section 12025 of the Penal Code prohibits carrying concealed firearms in California. Section 12027, meanwhile, provides exemptions to this prohibition: “Licensed hunters or fishermen carrying pistols, revolvers or other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person while engaged in hunting or fishing, or transporting those firearms unloaded when going to or returning from the hunting or fishing expedition.”
– via Modesto Bee
… and as the crowd begins to break up and head in my direction, I’ll pull that 8” Smith from inside the vest, pop the cylinder out and give it a menacing whirl before snapping the assembly together with a quick turn of the wrist …
… and to no one in particular, “I think I’ll go upstream…”
At that distance no one will notice my hog leg is unloaded, they’ll be too busy pirouetting in favor of the downstream section – and the suddenly compelling fish it contains.
Giving me the opportunity to slide that monstrosity under the seat, as the thought of taking a header while adorned with that much iron brings the nervous sweats.
Tags: California Penal Code, fishing sidearm, heeled while fishing, solitude
Yeah, Pilgrim, but do ya have Clint’s gravely voice, or…the pause that the…Duke used to use? “Sometimes, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”.
As someone who lives in New England it’s surprising to me that California allows anything stronger than a Kiwi fruit to be used as a weapon while on the water. Of course, folks on the left coast probably feel the same way about their liberal brethren in New England until they find out that in Vermont you don’t need any sort of permit to carry a concealed weapon. All you need is a lack of malicious intent.
Yep. FYI Keith, the DFG publishes the Q&A weekly on their blog, http://californiaoutdoors.wordpress.com/
Still haven’t gotten a definitive answer on a trout that looked as if it had Whirling disease though – apparently they get tons of questions.
Works.
On the Frasier River in Colorado when especially perturbed about streamside crowding I once strapped on a sidearm (a puny 22-revolver).
It added approximately 200-yards of uncontested casting space in both directions. Coincidently that is about the distance at which one can spot a holster on one’s brother angler.