Wait! I went to that site you posted, the FAQ's on getting a CA fishing license.
What if Scott had gone out into SF Bay, but had wanted to possibly go beyond the Bay, and keep going, out into the ocean? I mean, maybe he was trying to be prepared for that eventuality.
Not that that boat would be safe to do that in, but then, that boat wasn't really all that safe for what he DID do, was it?
Working from memory here, the Ocean Enhancement Stamp is only called for from Pt. Arguello south. Pt Arguello is about 250 miles south of the Golden Gate. It's not required just outside the GG.
But if the decision of what stamp was required was made by the clerk who issued the license, I'm sure an Ocean Enhancement Stamp seemed reasonable if somebody said they wanted to fish in the ocean. We're talking Big 5 here, probably not well versed on the fishing laws. Evidently our extreme outdoorsman wasn't up to snuff on them either.
I just read your explanation of when the Ocean Enhancement has to be purchased. Cancel my question regarding, if Scott went through the Bay and continued out into the ocean! I see that the Ocean Enhancement applies to an area 250 miles away!
Hey, wait a minute! Now we've seen that the Dec. 23--24 fishing license has the year of 2003 on it, when it was supposedly issued in 2002, and we're speculating that the clerk just made a mistake.....what if that license really WAS bought in 2003? Perhaps... to back up an alibi that "I was out fishing when she disappeared, honest"? And back dated for Dec. 23-24? When did Scott first show this fishing license to the police?