I got this off of a link from the fish and game website Q&A. I'm just posting for interpretation.
Capturing largemouth bass for a home aquarium?
Question: One of my friends has a large aquarium and is interested in putting some largemouth bass in it. I would like to know what the regulations are for catching a largemouth bass in a local lake and then transporting it live to his tank. It would never be released into a different body of water, and it would be taken legally. (Azure C.)
Answer: Transporting fish alive from the water where they are taken is prohibited (California Code of Regulations, section 1.63).
Laws allowing certain species of live fish to be maintained alive in closed-systems do not authorize possession in home aquariums. Your friend can legally buy bass for his or her aquarium from a licensed aquaculturalist, as long as he or she does not release it into the wild.
Also found this
Acquiring fish for a 200 gallon aquarium
Question: I dive and want to collect various marine species to place in a 200 gallon tank at the Boys and Girls Club building in Lompoc. This would be for educational purposes for the children’s after school programs. The fish and invertebrates would be supplied by local divers and fishermen and they would not be undersized. Most species would be released after a brief amount of time. What would the permit fee be? How difficult would it be to obtain? These species would not be for sale. (Rick)
Answer: Fish and Game regulations prohibit transporting live finfish from the water where taken, including the ocean. Shellfish are generally not covered by this regulation. However, returning or placing any live fish (including shellfish) into state waters (stocking) is illegal, especially if the fish is one that has been kept in a private aquarium. This prohibition does not prohibit catch-and-release fishing or the immediate return of undersize fish to the water.
One option, as long as this is truly for educational purposes, you may apply for a scientific collecting permit to be authorized to collect specific species yourself. Go to
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/research_permit/ to learn more and see if you qualify.
Otherwise, Fish and Wildlife law does provide for individuals who are licensed to collect live fish for the marine aquaria trade to take and sell certain species of marine organisms. This activity requires you to have a commercial fishing license, and if you use a boat it has to be registered. The total cost for this is approximately $1,000 per year. Information regarding the various license and fees is available online at
www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/commercial/commdescrip.html.
One more option you may find practical is to purchase fish from a pet store that has obtained fish from a licensed Marine Aquaria Collector. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) does not maintain a master list of such stores, but an online search or review of the phone book might help you find what you are looking for to place in the Boys and Girls Club tank.