Fishing Notebook / Dan Stanton : Museum Launches Its Whale-Watching Trips

The whales are coming.

Cabrillo Marine Museum will start its 16th year of whale-watching trips Saturday. Each trip will include a naturalist who will comment about the whales that travel from the Bering Sea to the warm waters of Baja California where they mate and bear their young, then return north.

All South Bay landings offer whale-watching trips: the Voyager from Redondo, First String from 22nd Street and Sport King from L. A. Harbor at Ports O’Call. The charge is $7-$10 for adults and $5-$9 for children and seniors, depending on the landing.

South Bay Catches: Paula Woods of Gardena, on a long-range trip aboard the Royal Polaris, landed a 36-pound yellowtail at Guadalupe Island.

Willis Blinchoff of West Los Angeles, fishing on the Spitfire in Santa Monica Bay, won the jackpot with a 22-pound halibut.

Carl Harris of Hermosa Beach, fishing on the Challenger at Santa Barbara Island, used a jig and caught the jackpot fish, a 16 1/2-pound cow cod.

Bill Powell of Long Beach, fishing aboard the Victory, used all his angling skill to bring to gaff a 9 1/2-pound bonito that ran in and out of the kelp.

Fish Report: The storm that passed through last week has put ocean fishing into its winter mode.

Return of calm seas and a plentiful supply of anchovies plus a good supply of squid have sparked consistent catches of rock cod, bass, bonito and halibut.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing, the Happy Man on the half-day trip scored with nine halibut plus 110 sand bass.

The rock cod special Betty O had a count of 221 fishing shallow water.

At Redondo Sportfishing, the Redondo Special, on its morning run Tuesday with live squid, had a count of 57 bass plus a near limit of big bonito.

The three-quarter day Sharpshooter, fishing Rocky Point with tanks of squid for bait, scored with 59 bass, 55 bonito and 9 sheepshead to seven pounds.

At 22nd Street Landing, the Freedom, fishing Santa Barbara, took 168 rock cod and 4 cow cod to 12 pounds.

At L. A. Sportfishing, the Outer Limits, fishing with live squid, chalked up 100 bull bass going to eight pounds.

The Shogun, making a trip to Santa Barbara Island, had a full limit for its anglers: 240 rock cod, 13 cow cod and 7 ling cod. Most were caught with squid.

The Matt Walsh, on its morning run, produced 105 bonito to six pounds, 15 bass and one legal halibut.

At Long Beach Sportfishing, the Victory with 20 anglers had 72 calico bass, 50 bonito, 8 sheepshead and one halibut.