***Fishing dropper rigs in VA Special Reg's. water illegal**
Question was asked of game warden, who was the speaker at out local T.U. chapter last night, as to just what constituted a "single hook use only in the Special Reg's. waters." He said that under current law as written he'd have to ticket you if you were fishing a dropper rig as that would be using two hooks. He further stated that he had no choice under the current law; but, it's possible that a judge may interpret it differently. Also, he was asked what if you bent the hook on an indicator fly so that a trout couldn't be hooked and he said as long as it has a barb it's still illegal. So, if you want to fish with a large fly as an indicator with a nymph/wet fly as a dropper in Special Reg. waters you'd better clip the indicator fly barb, probably to be safe, all the way back to the hook bend and tie the dropper to the indicator hook eye. Posted signs at Special Reg. waters used to say "single hooks only" ; but, that designation was removed from the most recent ones. However, it would be wise to read the regulations as stated in the booklet or online at the VADGIF site. Just a heads-up to any visitors and also state anglers. The code may be changed in the future; but, it would probably be another year or more at best before that could be acted on and made law. :shock:
"Artificial Lure" definition from state website
Sorry 'bout that. Should have posted this in the first post. As you can see it's a mite confusing and could be open to interpretation.
Artificial Lure Definition
Artificial lure shall include manufactured or handmade flies, spinners, plugs, spoons, and facsimilies of live animals, but shall not be construed to include artifically produced organic baits and fish eggs that are intended to be ingested. Artificial lure with single hook shall mean any single point lure (with no multiple point hooks).