Blue-light special on white seabass off Catalina, San Clemente islands

White seabass are perhaps the most highly prized saltwater game fish to frequent Southland waters.

They are powerful, yet elusive. The bag limit is one, but one large seabass will produce enough fillets to feed a large family.

Their flesh is tender and white; with a light marinade these fillets are delectable. Some might argue that they have no rivals as table fare.

Thus, the Memorial Day weekend was one to be savored by those who got in on the weekend seabass bite at Catalina and San Clemente Islands.

Anglers aboard the Freedom out of 22nd St. Landing in San Pedro put 62 seabass and several yellowtail – another valued game fish – on the deck during a two-day trip.

Cliff Hughes of Los Angles claimed the jackpot with a 46-pounder.

Capt. Tom Lee reports that most of the fish were caught Saturday, as boat pressure sent the noise-sensitive fish into hiding for much of Sunday.

Saturday was special for private boaters too. Philip Friedman, the 976-tuna.com founder and a weekly contributor to this column, arrived at the island at 5 p.m. to find the bite going “full speed.”

“We wanted to beat the weekend crowd because we knew it’d be busy this weekend,” said Friedman, who was fishing with son Philip Jr., Luke Hardin of Torrance and Terrence Berg of La Mirada.

Berg landed a 60-pounder on a live squid on a Seeker rod and Avet SX reel spooled with 20-pound test monofilament. Anglers have been using 20- to 30-pound test.

Other landings logging seabass counts on Saturday or Sunday were Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach, L.A. Harbor Sportfishing, Long Beach Sportfishing, Newport Landing, Davey’s Locker Sportfishing, Dana Wharf Sportfishing, and . Two best bets

Courtesy of 976-tuna.com:

1) White seabass and yellowtail at Santa Catalina Island. Huge volume of seabass and more yellowtail by the day. Tremendous fishing broke loose Saturday afternoon, with fish topping 50 pounds. The Phantom out of Pierpoint added four 30-pound yellowtail to seabass haul.

But talk about boat pressure: An estimated 250 vessels converged on the seabass grounds with a predictable result: slow fishing for most of Sunday and today.

If history holds true, though, the bite will resume once the pressure subsides on Tuesday. Expect an explosive rebound.

2) Albacore and bluefin tuna. The Excel scored the first albacore and bluefin tuna of 2008 on Sunday and Monday while on an exploratory trip 180 miles from San Diego. Excel anglers decked 32 bluefin tuna and 26 albacore.

The albacore were 12 to 15 pounds and the bluefin 15 to 40 pounds. “There is a big area of albacore and bluefin tuna here and they are up and active,” said Excel skipper Justin Fleck. More noteworthy, the schools appeared headed toward San Diego “and there are a lot of them,” Fleck added.

A 976-Tuna two-day charter departs Friday night on the Islander. Cost is $350 and space is limited. Details: (310) 328-8426.

Local saltwater

There have been some white seabass and yellowtail showing around Rocky Point, which was the site of a strong calico bass bite.

Expect the barracuda schools to materialize again soon with settled weather returning.

Add local saltwater

Anglers aboard the New Del Mar out of Marina del Rey Sportfishing went searching for barracuda Saturday and Sunday, but settled for rockfish and sculpin.

Calico bass were active off most kelp areas, and sand bass are starting to bite off Orange County, which bodes well for the young twilight season.

Tony Troxel of San Clemente and Mark Bithel of Long Beach caught 28- and 24-pound halibut aboard the Sum Fun out of Dana Wharf.

Anglers off Point Loma and La Jolla have been catching a mixture of bonito, barracuda and calico bass, reports in San Diego.

A truly grand slam

Jordan McCullough, who during a recent trip to Cabo San Lucas battled a 180-pound striped marlin for 3 1/2 hours, became the youngest angler to have completed the Royal Billfish Slam.

The International Game Fish Assn. defines the slam as the catch of all nine species of billfish in a lifetime.

The large striper, caught aboard the Baha Anglers with Capt. Grant Hartman, was the capper for McCullough, 19, a Florida resident who weighs less than most of the billfish she has caught.

Her largest was a 750-pound Atlantic blue caught off Ghana, Africa.

McCullough, who caught her first billfish when she was 8, has also caught, and released, at least one Pacific blue marlin, Atlantic sailfish, Pacific sailfish, white marlin, black marlin, swordfish and spearfish.

Her next goal: “I want to release a grander,” she says in reference to a marlin weighing 1,000 pounds or more.

Southern Baja

Cabo San Lucas: Marlin and dorado fishing took a downturn during the recent full moon and windy period that followed. “Ugly is the term I have to use for our water conditions this past week,” reports Capt. George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing. A more favorable weather pattern is in the forecast and should help.

East Cape: The marlin bite rebounded Thursday and has been consistent since. Jack Nilsen, Ben Seacrest and the Accurate reels crew, aboard Luna Sea, released two stripers and had several others on the lines.

Dorado are spread throughout the region but particularly to the north, near Cerralvo Island, reports the Van Wormer Resorts.

Rancho Leonero Resort reports yellowfin tuna schooling under porpoise, which is a sure sign of summer.

Roosterfish remain fairly abundant close to shore.

San Jose del Cabo: Lots of variety but strong winds and high surf hampered fishing for much of the last week. Pargo, yellowtail, cabrilla, tuna, marlin, yellowtail, amberjacks and sierra mackerel were some of the species caught, reports Eric Brictson at Gordo Banks Pangas,

La Paz: Jeff Regnert of Anchorage pulled an enormous pargo lisa (mullet snapper) from the cavernous reefs during a trip with Tailhunter International in the Las Arenas area.

Strong winds kept anglers in protected areas, where pargo and cabrilla (seabass) were caught with fair success, though these fish love to dash to the rocks and are difficult to catch. Very large roosterfish are patrolling the coast.

Expect a big improvement offshore this week.

Spotlight: Eastern Sierra

It snowed throughout the holiday weekend in parts of the region, but anglers found rainbows – along with some brookies and browns – at the ends of their lines.

Solana Beach angler John Batzloff caught and released 20 trout in three hours using woolly buggers and Rapalas trolled near the surface at South Lake.

Laguna Niguel’s Jim Green hiked through snow to the rock slide area of South Lake and caught a 5-pound rainbow on a fly rod with an olive woolly bugger.

Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters reports improved fly-fishing at Crowley Lake, though catches of large fish are “few and far between.”

Loe suggests anglers try 10 feet or deeper and lists as hot flies, “Gillies and Crystal Eergers #18-20 during the hatch… Copper Tiger or Zebra Midge #18-20 as the lower before and after the emergence… and a #6 split-shot about 8 inches above the upper fly to get you down quicker and to keep some tension on your leader for a more efficient hook set under the strike indicator.”

Bridgeport Reservoir has been yielding numerous brown trout to fly and conventional anglers, thanks to the efforts of the Bridgeport Fisheries Enhancement program.

The June Lake Loop and Convict Lake are producing their typical occasional lunker.

DVL chimes in

Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet reports “wide-open” bass fishing, with double-digit catches common. Many are still on spawning beds. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and plastic worms are working. Lots of fish in the 5-pound class.

Lake regular Kevin Deemer caught a 6-pounder and 5-pounder on jerkbaits near floating Restroom No. 2.

Trout are active too, biting on Rapalas and Needdlefish trolled to about 30 feet. Some catfish.

San Vicente blues

A 58.31-pound blue catfish was hauled from San Vicente Reservoir in San Diego by Richard Camp of nearby Lakeside.

He was using a crankbait, apparently angling for bass, when he hooked the behemoth off Mussey Road.

This week’s trout plants

LOS ANGELES – Castaic Lagoon, Cuddy Creek Pond, Elizabeth Lake, Hansen Lake and Little Rock Reservoir.

SAN BERNARDINO – Santa Ana River and Santa Ana River South Fork.

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Lopez Lake and Santa Margarita Lake.

SANTA BARBARA – Cachuma Lake and Santa Ynez River.

INYO – Baker Creek, Big Pine Creek, Bishop Creek Intake 2, Bishop Creek Lower, Bishop Creek (Middle & South Forks), Cottonwood Creek, Diaz Lake, Georges Creek, Goodale Creek, Independence Creek, Lone Pine Creek, Owens River (Below Tinnemaha), Pine Creek, Sheperds Creek, Taboose Creek, Tinnemaha Creek and Tuttle Creek.

MONO – Bridgeport Reservoir, Buckeye Creek, Convict Creek, Convict Lake, Deadman Creek, Glass Creek, Grant Lake, Gull Lake, June Lake, Lee Vining Creek, Little Walker River, Lundy Lake, Mammoth Creek, McGee Creek, Owens River (Section 3), Robinson Creek, Rock Creek (Sections 1 & 2), Rush Creek, Sherwin Creek, Silver Lake, Twin Lakes Bridgeport (Lower & Upper), West Walker River (Sections 2 & 3), Virginia Creek and Virginia Lake (Lower & Upper).

VENTURA – Casitas Lake, Piru Lake, Reyes Creek and Rose Valley Lakes.

 pete.thomas@latimes.com