A little history of the regulation -
The area below 1st ave bridge has long been a hot bed of snagging. In spite of some intense effort from the men in green it continues (sounds familar). For a number of years there has been pressure to close the whole area so that anyone "fishing" would be wrong.

After working the area for a number of years and talking with anglers the local wildlife agent proposed the current regulation rather than a closure. It went through the entire regulation change process. Elsewhere float and bait (either herring or eggs) is an effective method in estuaries and a darn poor method for snagging. It also gave the officers the tool they wanted for enforcement - no float you are wrong.

Sounds like we can look forward to a change to the other option given angler attitudes.

Tight lines
Smalma