Fishing / Dan Stanton : Determined Wilmington Fisherman Comes Up With One Whale of a Lobster Tale

Another unusual winter catch has been brought to the surface.

Wilmington fisherman Donald Christiansen was trying for lobster in 35 feet of water off Palos Verdes in his 25-foot boat. He attached his line to the boat’s drum winch in an attempt to retrieve his trap, but halfway up his power winch stopped operating.

He said his only choice was to hand-line it, as he was determined to find out what was in the trap.

After 15 minutes of pulling the line, the trap surfaced and in the cage was a lobster so large it had become entangled in the wire mesh.

Christiansen destroyed the trap, the only way to get the lobster out.

It weighed 18 1/2 pounds. According to the Department of Fish and Game, the state record is 25 pounds. Most local lobsters weigh up to six pounds. The daily limit is seven a day.

Alice Lenhardt of San Pedro was fishing on the Annie B barge Sunday and hooked a halibut.

The deckhand lowered the net so Lenhardt could reel in the fish, but her line parted as the fish entered the net. It weighed 12 pounds, 3 ounces, the largest halibut caught on the barge this year.

South Bay Catches: Norman Knipelberg of Long Beach, on a two-day trip to Tanner Bank, caught the whopper of the week, a 31 1/3-pound cow cod.

Stephan Gomez of Torrance won the jackpot fishing aboard the Blackjack at Santa Barbara Island with a 30-pound cow cod.

Roger Castle of Santa Monica, fishing aboard the Spitfire at Twin Roads, brought to gaff a 30-pound halibut.

Fish Reports

The Santa Monica Bay halibut bite slowed throughout the week.

The only words to describe deep and shallow rock cod fishing are quick limits on all trips for cows and lings.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Spitfire fished shallow rocks and had a wide-open sculpin catch with 365 going into the sacks, plus one halibut.

The Betty O rock cod trip resulted in 210 reds and two cow cod.

At Redondo Sportfishing: The Sea Spray worked Torrance Beach and anglers snared 116 sculpin, 19 sand bass, 17 halibut and four sole.

The Blackjack tried Santa Barbara Island and sacked 205 rock cod and five cows.

At 22nd Street Landing: The Freedom fished Catalina and found a wide-open perch bite with 100 blues, 10 rockfish and five calicos making up the catch.

At L.A. Harbor Sportfishing: The Grande, on a two-day trip to Tanner Bank, returned with limits as 800 rock cod, 12 cows and one lingcod went into the sacks.

The Matt Walsh fished Horseshoe Kelp on a half-day trip and recorded 64 sculpin, 22 rockfish, 11 sheepshead, six sand bass and three whitefish.

At Long Beach Sportfishing: The Pacifica worked Tanner Bank on a two-day trip and caught 301 rock cod, 18 cows and 19 lingcod.

The Southern Cal fished the 14-Mile Bank and returned with 288 rock cod and three cows.