Outdoor Notes / Pete Thomas : Summer Fishing for Marlin at Cabo Has Been Outstanding

Marlin fishing at Cabo San Lucas has traditionally been an autumn recreation but with the recent improvement of marinas to accommodate private boaters during the hurricane season, and with the evolution of sophisticated equipment, several anglers have found their summer stay there to be a worthwhile experience.

“This is the first year there will be year-round fishing down there,” said John Doughty, manager of Bisbee’s tackle shop in Newport Beach. “Of course they have to spend a (higher) premium on insurance (because of weather conditions prevalent during summer months), but the fishing so far has just been terrific.”

Doughty maintains radio contact with several private yachts fishing off the tip of the Baja peninsula. Some results:

--The Sea Mint, skippered by Jeff Eden, has been there since late June and so far has caught more than 25 marlin, the majority of them blues.

--The Cabo Fever II, skippered by Jim Donnelly of Costa Mesa, has done equally well in the same amount of time, boating more than 25 blues.

--The Xiphias (Greek for swordfish), has been there for just more than two weeks and has already landed 12 blue marlin.

Doughty said the fish caught so far, most of which have been males, have been averaging about 250 pounds.

“We’re learning that the females, which are generally bigger, begin to show up about this time of year,” Doughty said, adding that during the fall and winter months, it’s common to see fish weighing anywhere from 350 to 1,000 pounds.

The California Supreme Court has ordered a delay of the state’s plans to kill the white bass population and thousands of other fish in southern San Joaquin Valley waterways, but Fish and Game agency officials are trying to get the program back on schedule.

Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas signed the order Sept. 29, staying a ruling by the Fifth District Court of Appeals. The lower court’s ruling would have let state crews begin spraying chemicals in 150 miles of waterways to kill the predatory white bass.

Lucas’ statement said that rotenone or other chemicals toxic to fish life cannot be applied to Lake Kaweah or its downstream waterways until the court reviews Tulare County’s petition for appeal.

DFG officials and the state’s fishing industry have expressed concern that the white bass--which eat the juvenile fry of other game fish--could travel north into the bay and deplete the salmon population if the poisoning isn’t carried out soon.

DFG management plans to confer with the attorney general’s office as soon as possible on how to obtain a speedy hearing and resolution to the appeal.

In papers filed with the Supreme Court, Margaret Woodbury, deputy Tulare County counsel, said the program “will seriously damage the economic viability of many businesses in Tulare County dependent upon fishing and water recreation.”

The DFG warns those wishing to apply for a permit to hunt waterfowl at Baldwin Lake this season that the lack of significant rainfall at the shallow wetland area west of Big Bear Lake has resulted in the “temporary demise of Baldwin as a viable waterfowl hunting location.”

Briefly Waterfowl hunting regulation booklets for the 1987-88 season--which begins Oct. 17--are available at DFG offices and sporting goods dealers statewide. . . . A $1 daily user fee will go into effect later this month at four state wildlife areas--Gray Lodge north of Sacramento, Los Banos in the Central Valley, and Imperial and San Jacinto in Southern California, the DFG announced, adding that the areas are visited by about 129,000 outdoor enthusiasts each year. . . . The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the bay checkerspot butterfly, which is seen only at a few sites in the Bay area, has been listed as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. . . . Flycasting demonstrations and free instruction for all skill levels will be offered to the public by Wilderness Fly Fishers Oct. 24 at 9 a.m. at the Rancho Park pond in Cheviot Hills.