Diver Down Flag

Hello, I am new to this forum and had a simple question about displaying a diver down flag. This weekend I plan to skin dive in a local lake here in northern West Virginia, and from my 16' boat. Can I place the diver down flag on my boat, at least 3' above the water, or does the flag need to be floating on its own in the water?? I have read the rules and regulations several times and am still unclear of the legality of attaching the flag to my boat while diving. Thanks for the help!!!

As long as you surface within 100' of your boat, you can display your diver down flag on the boat. I've been diving in WV since 1965 and that's always been the rule. You can find it in the WV fishing regs, if I'm not mistaken.

What lake are you going to? Have you tried Summersville? The visibiilty there is fantastic!

yeah, each state dictates the flag rules

here's a great site:

Dive Flag Law

here's the West Virginia entry:

The flag shall be displayed at all times and be affixed to a separate flotation device. No such flag shall be attached to any navigational device or placed so as to obstruct boat traffic. Divers must come up within 100 feet of flag.

I believe Paladin is correct that as long as you come up within 100 feet of the flag, the flag can be affixed to a boat.

here are the requirements for the flag:

"Diver down flag" shall be a red field of not less than 10 inches X 10 inches dimension with a white diagonal stripe not less than 1.5 inches wide running upper left to lower right.

My girlfriend and I will be fishing in the morning at Tygart and both have snorkel gear so i figured it would be a great way to beat the heat and explore the waters once the sun comes out and the fishing slows down. Thanks a lot for the help!!