Spring Fever Strikes Surface Fish; Anglers Get Lots of Action at Catalina

Spring brings warmer ocean water and the return to surface game fishing action.

Catalina Island provided excellent fishing last week.

Casting with light tackle aboard the Outerlimits from L.A. Harbor Sportfishing, six anglers were catching calico bass with squid and anchovies when the action got frenzied.

A flurry of white sea bass came up slashing the bait and busting tackle.

Ron Smoten of West Los Angeles landed the first, which weighed 14 pounds.

Richard Chase of San Pedro had to bring his out of the kelp and landed a 12-pounder.

Ed Ingle of Long Beach went from the stern to the bow in a 20-minute fight to keep his fish off the anchor line. It weighed 16 pounds.

Jeff Carpenter of San Pedro caught two. He bounced a 12 1/4-pounder to the deck, rebaited in a hurry and brought to gaff a 17-pounder.

The catch of the sea bass trip was a whopping 22-pounder by Gardena angler Darty Cronin using a Mo Jo jig.

The 14th annual Marina del Rey Halibut Derby was a huge success. With 1,200 anglers bringing in 195 halibut, the largest was caught at Big Rock by Don Crisp of Lancaster. He won a trip for two to Australia with his 42 1/2-pounder. Ray Hansen of San Pedro won second place with a 25 1/4-pound halibut.

The barge Isle of Redondo is now operating daily and has been relocated on the sunken Sacramento Barge in Redondo Canyon.

Dan Armstrong of Redondo Sportfishing reports that salmon have been around the barge and a possible salmon run could be coming.

If you’re a grunion grabber and missed the first runs, a second four-night run ends Sunday. This is the last run until June.

South Bay Catches: John Van Stone of Santa Monica, fishing aboard his boat the Bold Affair off Sunset Beach, caught the whopper of the week when he lowered his net to bring aboard a 38-pound halibut.

Ron Lang of Long Beach, aboard the Southern Cal at Catalina Island, won the jackpot with a 29-pound lingcod.

Juba Wallace of Inglewood, aboard the Redondo Special at Twin Roads, won the jackpot with a 20-pound halibut.

Dennis Larson of Long Beach, fishing at the 150 Spot aboard the Hitless Miss, won the jackpot with his 18 3/4-pound cow cod.

Ed Martin of Hermosa Beach, fishing aboard the Redondo Special at Torrance Beach, caught an 18 1/2-pound halibut.

Tosh Okamoto of Long Beach, on the Southern Cal at Catalina, won the jackpot with his 18-pound lingcod.

Fish Reports

The water has warmed from a chilly 52 degrees to 58 and the calico and sand bass fishing has improved. Rock cod fishermen continue to catch limits.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Betty O fished the halibut derby and anglers caught 18 legal halibut and 18 sand bass.

The Spitfire derby anglers caught 17 halibut and 14 sand bass.

The Happyman on a half-day trip to Santa Monica Bay had a count of 10 halibut and five sand bass.

At Redondo Sportfishing: The Sea Spray, fishing at Twin Roads, chalked up 31 halibut, 65 rockfish and 14 sculpin.

The Redondo Special took a half-day trip to the Flats and anglers sacked 285 sculpin and 31 halibut.

The barge Isle of Redondo found the mackerel eager to grab the bait. Anglers caught 975 plus 265 rockfish.

At 22nd Street Landing: The Monte Carlo worked Horseshoe Kelp and anglers garnered 210 sculpin, 46 sand bass and 27 calico bass.

The Freedom fished San Nicholas Island and anglers returned with 195 rock cod.

At L.A. Harbor Sportfishing: The Matt Walsh on a half-day run to the Rockpile returned with 46 sculpin, 14 rock cod and one lingcod.

The Grande 85 worked Cherry Bank for 450 rock cod and 19 cow cod.

The Annie B barge had a variety catch: 770 mackerel, 501 queenfish, four sharks, two sculpin and one halibut went into the sacks.

At Long Beach Sportfishing: The Southern Cal fished Catalina’s rocky reefs and anglers caught 115 rock cod, 23 cows and 19 lingcod.