Family Fishing Featured in New Fishing Rules

The new 2002-2003 fishing proclamation booklet emphasizes fishing fun for families and introduces a format aimed at easier use. The recently printed booklet has been shipped to license vendors and all Fish and Game offices. The entire contents are also available on the Internet at http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame. Anglers will notice no major changes in fisheries management direction in the new book but should find a number of improvements aimed at making it simpler and clearer for the user. An important addition is "family fishing waters"Ñfishing areas in each region where the emphasis is on family-oriented fishing opportunities and simplified rules. These waters are designated with numbers and color coding. Family fishing waters have been selected to provide settings for great fishing trips for families, kids and first-time anglers. These rules for these waters include year-round seasons; a general six fish limit for trout, bass, walleye and pike; no bag limits on other species; no length limits; and allow standard fishing gear. Regional exceptions to general fishing rules are shown in charts intended to be easier to read than they were in the past. Other improvements are meant as aids to anglers; for example, an illustrated section on public access to fishing waters and Idaho's trespass law on page 12. The new book contains text with color illustrations to help anglers identify Idaho's game fish species. These pages also tell whether each species is native or introduced and includes an index to waters with exceptions to general rules.