Well, after 20 years fly fishing I finally did it. I screwed up and fished a closed river....the Calaveras. One morning in April I was headed to my usual river but noted the flows were too high so I headed the Calaveras for a quick fish trip below New Hogan Dam. Well after about 30 minutes I heard a noise in the bushes behind me and found the Fish and Game warden watching me. That is when I learned the river was closed. I forgot the river was closed in April thru the end of May. Honest screw up...my bad. Very nice warden. He said he expected to catch a bait caster not a fly fisherman (fly person if you live in Seattle). He said he understood it was a mistake on my part but had a zero tolerance policy. Well the ticket came in the mail for $425! Ouch. I won't make that mistake again. BTW, he did ask for my license and did checked my flies for barbs. I'm marking it down to stupid things I do sometimes and now check the website regulations before I fish. Still smarting from that fine!
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