FISHING / DAN STANTON : Diving for Coins Led to More Than Nickel-and-Dime Career

Diving for coins as an 8-year-old in Honolulu started Tommy Wright of Wilmington on a career of sportfishing, spearfishing and commercial diving.

Wright arrived on the Wilmington scene 26 years ago and met diver Jim Smith of Palos Verdes, and he credits Smith with turning his hobby into a profitable career.

Fifteen years ago, Wright purchased a boat, the Iwalanii, and during the season he dives for abalone at San Nicholas Island.

On a recent trip there he jumped into a shallow rock crack, retrieved his take and discovered hundreds of small lobsters.

He said they could be large enough by next lobster season to be brought up from traps.

On a sportfishing trip last year, Wright worked Cortez Bank and, with deckhand Henry Church, brought aboard a 201-pound big-eye tuna after a 33-minute fight.

Returning from Cortez on a slow troll, he landed a stray albacore that weighed 33 1/2 pounds.

When diving in his native Hawaii, Wright would spear the ulua, a fish that resembles the local pompano but is larger and can weigh up to 95 pounds. But unlike the pompano caught off South Bay rocks and piers, the ulua feeds best at night.

Now 50, Wright said he no longer spearfishes with heavy tanks on his back and just dives shallow to check out reefs.

News note:

The Annie B barge inside the L.A. Harbor breakwater will play host Saturday to 75 wheelchair anglers, some of whom have never had the opportunity to fish the ocean.

South Bay Catches:

Bob Keever of San Pedro, fishing aboard the Melong J, caught the whopper of the week. Fishing in shallow water at Cherry Bank, he boated a 35-pound cow cod.

Norman Gotoko of Long Beach, at San Clemente Island aboard the Pacifica, won the jackpot with a 28-pound cow cod.

Pete Escala of Harbor City won the jackpot on the Sportking with a 23 1/2-pound white sea bass pulled out of the kelp.

Mike Ross of Long Beach, on the Topgun at Catalina Island, caught a limit of halibut, the largest weighing 15 pounds.

Lon Dittrich of West Los Angeles, fishing aboard the Hanky Panky of Torrance Beach, caught a 14-pound halibut.

Freshwater Notes:

Donald Campfield of Long Beach landed a tagged rainbow trout at Irvine Lake that won him $250.

Jade Ostoya of Venice, fishing Irvine lake, caught a 9 1/2-pound trout.

Jack Baker of Redondo Beach used green grubs and landed a 6 1/2-pound bass at Castaic Lake.