Fishing Notes / Dan Stanton : Carson Fishing Fanatic Missed the Boat--but Caught the Fish

Donald Cee of Carson missed the boat--but not the fish.

Cee, who calls himself a fishing fanatic, had planned to go on a half-day trip out of San Pedro but the party boat departed 10 minutes before he arrived.

Disappointed, he went home, got his jet ski and launched it at Cabrillo Beach.

Cee tried a different approach to fishing, attaching a 15-pound test line and feather jig to the ski, and circled out of Cabrillo Beach to Point Fermin. Going full speed, it flipped over and hurled Cee into the water.

He retrieved his jet ski and line, pulled tight and, with one hand on the handlebar, attempted to pull in the line, which now had a fish jumping and was slowing the ski.

He headed back to the beach; to his and other skiers’ amazement, a large bonito was hooked on the feather.

Cee was asked if this could start a new trend in shore fishing. His reply: “At this time I’m hesitant to say. When that fish hit my feather and tossed my bike over, what if it had been a shark and taken off with my bike?”

Cee said he will do his game fishing from a party boat and not from his jet ski.

Verda Sampson of Harbor City was advised not to use a chrome jig to fish for tuna aboard the American Angler. Sampson was reluctant to change her setup and hooked up with a big-eye tuna using her jig and 40-pound test line. The big eye weighed in at 75 pounds.

Fishing in the masters marlin tagging tournament, Don McAdam of Gardena aboard the Water Closet caught and tagged, then released, three marlin in 50 minutes.

Paul Friedman of Torrance hit the jackpot on a two-day trip aboard the Condor when he caught the four-fish limit, catching two each day, and won the jackpot with a 34-pound barn door (large halibut).

South Bay Catches:

Gabriel Espinosa of Long Beach, aboard the El Dorado on a two-day trip using live squid, took 22 minutes to bring to gaff a 39 1/2-pound bluefin tuna.

Frank Hall of San Pedro, fishing aboard the Diawa, used a live squid to coax a 32-pound yellowtail out of the kelp at Catalina Island.

Mike Sais of Harbor City aboard the Sportking fishing the rigs, tossed a squid into a kelp pattie and caught a 24 1/2-pound yellowtail.

Alan Kato of Long Beach, fishing at Catalina aboard the Reel Special, used a jig to bring aboard a 22-pound yellowtail.

Mike Kettle of Gardena, at Catalina aboard the Blackjack, used a live squid and caught a 19-pound yellowtail.

Fish Reports:

Fishing with live squid, party boats continue to put anglers into some of the best yellowtail bites of the year at Catalina.

Spanish jack from Rocky Point to the rigs have provided most of the action.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Happyman morning trip to the bay had a count of 45 bonito, 25 sand bass, 2 halibut and 1 sheepshead.

The Spitfire had a sculpin bite with 200 going into the sacks, plus 15 sand bass.

The rock cod special Betty O, fishing shallow rocks, chalked up 190, plus one large halibut.

At Redondo Sportfishing: The Blackjack at Catalina chalked up 29 yellowtail on live squid, 89 rock fish and 1 whitefish.

The Sea Spray tried Rocky Point and anglers caught 62 bonito, 37 sand bass, 23 sculpin and 16 rockfish.

The Redondo Special had a big count of 75 sculpin, 42 bonito to 8 pounds and 28 rock fish.

The Sharpshooter worked Rocky Point and Marineland and returned with 153 sculpin, 25 bonito, 24 sand bass and 21 rockfish.

The barge Isle of Redondo weekend catch was 1,250 mackerel, 1,130 Spanish jack, 475 bonito and 15 sculpin.

At 22nd Street Landing: The First String fished the oil rigs and the flats with live squid and anglers sacked 31 yellowtail, 71 bonito and 134 Spanish jack.

The Monte Carlo, with tanks of live squid, worked the rigs and 37 yellowtail, 47 bonito and 54 Spanish jack made up the catch on a half-day trip.

The Queen of the Sea tried the Horseshoe Kelp area and returned with 4 yellowtail, 21 calico bass and 113 bonito.

At L.A. Harbor Sportfishing: The Sportking chalked up a big yellowtail count of 38, plus 195 Spanish jack and 4 sheepshead.

The Matt Walsh on a half-day trip to the Rockpile area returned with 101 bonito and 3 yellowtail up to 15 pounds.

The Outerlimits fished Catalina and, using live squid, anglers caught 150 calico bass and 19 yellowtail.

The Annie B Barge had weekend counts of 1,337 queen fish, 1,115 herring, a shark and a big halibut.

At Long Beach Sportfishing: The Victory found a wide-open Spanish jack run at the Middle Grounds and 202 were decked, along with 110 bonito.

The Southern Cal, fishing the Horseshoe, returned with 61 calico bass, 37 Spanish jack and 21 sand bass.