Section 5 AAC 29.120 - Gear specifications and operations(a) Salmon may be taken by hand troll gear and power troll gear only in the Southeastern Alaska-Yakutat Area.(b) The maximum number of trolling lines that may be operated from a salmon troll vessel is as follows: (1) from a power troll vessel: (A) no more than six lines may be operated in the exclusive economic zone north of the latitude of the southernmost tip of Cape Spencer;(B) except as provided in (A) of this paragraph, no more than four lines;(C) from each power troll gurdy: only one line to which multiple leaders and hooks may be attached; a person may not use hand troll gurdies or fishing rods to take salmon commercially on board a registered power troll vessel;(2) from a hand troll vessel: (A) from each hand troll gurdy: only one line to which multiple leaders and hooks may be attached;(B) from each fishing rod: only one line with no more than one leader and one lure or two baited hooks per leader; a downrigger may not be used in conjunction with a fishing rod;(C) an aggregate of no more than four fishing rods or an aggregate of no more than two hand troll gurdies may be operated from a hand troll vessel, except that following the closure of the initial summer fishery king salmon retention period and before the opening of the winter troll fishery under 5 AAC 29.070(b), (i) an aggregate of no more than four hand troll gurdies may be on board a hand troll vessel; and(ii) in the waters of the exclusive economic zone north of the latitude of the southernmost tip of Cape Spencer, no more than four hand troll gurdies may be operated from a hand troll vessel.(c) A salmon troll vessel may have a fishing rod equipped exclusively for taking bait or a gillnet for taking bait of a mesh size of no more than two and one-half inches and made of no greater than number 20 gillnet thread.(d) No more than six troll gurdies may be mounted on board any salmon power troll vessel.(f) A person may not use a salmon power troll vessel to take salmon with hand troll gear once that vessel has been registered and marked as specified in 5 AAC 29.115 and 5 AAC 39.119, unless that registration has been changed under 5 AAC 29.115(b) and the vessel is marked as specified in 5 AAC 29.125.(g) For purposes of this section, (1) a troll gurdy is a spool-type device that is designed to deploy and retrieve troll lines, weights, and lures; the term "troll gurdy" (A) includes a downrigger; and(B) does not include a reel attached to a fishing rod;(2) a hand troll gurdy is a troll gurdy powered by hand or hand crank that is not mounted on or used in conjunction with a fishing rod and is not considered power troll gear;(3) a fishing rod is a tapering, often jointed, rod equipped with a hand grip and line guides, upon which is mounted a handpowered reel used to deploy and retrieve the trolling line;(4) a downrigger is a device designed to be used with a fishing rod to deploy a troll line to a selected depth and retrieve the downrigger line and weight.(i) Notwithstanding 5 AAC 39.240, a CFEC permit holder or interim-use permit holder may use a registered salmon fishing vessel, when it has fishing gear on board, to tow another registered salmon troll vessel with fishing gear on board if the permit holder for the vessel being towed is on board one of the vessels.(j) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, during the winter season, the following hand troll specifications apply: (1) a downrigger may not be used with a troll gurdy;(2) a hand troll gurdy or downrigger powered by hand or hand crank may be used in conjunction with a fishing rod, and is not considered power troll gear;(3) an electric, hydraulic, or power assisted downrigger is considered a power troll gurdy and may not be used in conjunction with a fishing rod;(4) an aggregate of two rods with the fishing lines extending from the rods and connected to two downriggers or hand troll gurdies using a quick release device designated to release the fishing rod line from the downrigger line may be used;(5) no more than two troll gurdies, and four rigged fishing rods capable of taking fish, may be on board a salmon hand troll vessel; additional fishing rods may be on board the vessel but may not be rigged for taking fish.(k) Notwithstanding 5 AAC 39.240(a), a vessel may have on board at the same time hand troll gear or power troll gear as described in this section and drift gillnet gear or purse seine gear as described in 5 AAC 33.331 and 5 AAC 33.332. One or more persons on board the vessel must possess a CFEC permit or interim use permit for Southeastern drift gillnet or purse seine gear and either a hand troll or power troll gear permit. Both gear permits must be in possession on board the vessel and available for inspection by a local representative of the department or a peace officer of the state. Each permit holder on board the vessel must ensure that (1) fish harvested by one gear type are offloaded, landed, and documented on a fish ticket before operating any other gear type;(2) any gillnet gear is bagged and stowed below deck before and during operation of troll gear and when troll-caught fish are on board the vessel;(3) any purse seine gear is removed from the vessel or stored below deck before and during operation of troll gear and when troll-caught fish are on board the vessel;(4) cannon balls and other troll weights on board the vessel are removed from trolling wires and stored below deck before and during operation of gillnet or seine gear and when fish caught with gillnet or seine gear are on board the vessel.Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147; am 6/14/2000, Register 154; am 5/26/2006, Register 178; add'l am 5/26/2006, Register 178; am 5/31/2009, Register 190; am 7/13/2012, Register 203; am 7/1/2015, Register 214, July 2015Before Register 147, Oct. 1998, the substance of 5 AAC 29.120 was contained in former 5 AAC 30.330, 5 AAC 33.330, and 5 AAC 39.270(a), (b), (e), (f), (h) and (i). The history note for 5 AAC 29.120 does not reflect the history of the provision before Register 147, Oct. 1998.