THE OUTDOORS : Outdoor Notes / Pete Thomas : As a Guide, ‘El Pescador’ Certainly Lived Up to His Name

Not getting the results they expected in the normally bountiful waters off Baja California’s Bahia de los Angeles, Brian Wallace and Matt Gerns were fortunate to be befriended by a townsman named Rafael, known around town as el pescador, the fisherman.

With his help, they became the talk of the town.

After volunteering to serve as a guide, Rafael climbed aboard Gerns’ 16-foot boat at dawn on May 1 and directed the pair to an area 22 miles offshore, a few hundred yards off Isla Angel de la Guarda, the biggest of the Midriff chain.

Using landmarks to find the spot he had boasted about the night before, he instructed Gerns to stop. The pair rigged 150-pound-test monofilament leaders--attached to 60-pound-test line--with cuts of mackerel, which they dropped 260 feet to the bottom.

Giant sea bass, Rafael said, would be there for the taking. A bold statement considering that giant sea bass are about as hard to find as they are to catch.

But the pair hooked up almost immediately.

“(Rafael) told us to pull real hard and to reel as fast and as hard as we can for as long as we can before giving the fish a little line,” said Wallace.

That worked, and after a 25-minute struggle, Wallace, of Calabasas, had brought to the surface a 190-pound giant sea bass, something most saltwater fishermen never see in a lifetime. Shortly thereafter, Gerns, of Woodland Hills, landed one weighing 270 pounds.

And their day had just begun.

“We went back and tied those to a rock on the beach and went right back out,” Wallace said. “And I hooked up again immediately.”

Its air bladder bulging from the rapid change in pressure, the giant fish rose on its own after a 30- minute struggle, breaking the surface “like a submarine,” Wallace said. Because the local scale was too small to accommodate such a fish, it was gutted--to avoid spoiling the flesh--and taken to a larger scale on the back of an ice truck. “We weighed the big one with its gills and guts in buckets,” Wallace said.

“It was like butchering a cow,” Gerns said.

At 370 pounds it looked like one, too.

As the news of the catch spread, the local fishermen flocked to the area the next morning to get in on the action.

“There were nine boats full of locals,” Gerns said. “Everybody took the day off.”

But el pescador had accurately set the Gerns’ boat above the only productive area and two more fish--at 160 pounds apiece--were hauled aboard while the frustrated onlookers shook their heads.

Said Gus Velez of Baja Fishing Tours, which specializes in Midriff Island trips: “I’ve seen one 395-pounder in my life. Usually there are three or four caught a year that weigh between 90 and 150 pounds. But five--that’s really rare.”

So says el pescador , who in 15 years at the sleepy fishing village, claims to have caught just 13 before hooking up with Wallace and Gerns. And they, after eating sea bass meatball soup, sea bass burritos and just plain sea bass, donated the fish to his family.

Whitewater rafting is on a comeback in Northern California, according to operators, despite three consecutive dry years for California overall.

Jerry Ashburn of EarthTrek Expeditions, based in Santa Ana, said: “Rainfall in Northern California is 100% of normal and the rivers are flowing high.”

The South Fork of the American River, the state’s most popular run, “is seeing its best flow in many years,” according to a survey by the Sacramento Bee, and should be able to go all summer.

But central California’s precipitation has been only about 80% of normal, so runs such as the Tuolumne, Kings and Kern will probably last only into June.

Nate Rangel of the Adventure Connection, chairman of the Western River Guides Assn., suggested that people phone (800) 552-3625 for the latest information on particular rivers.

Briefly

The California Paralyzed Veterans Assn. will have its fourth annual invitational trap shoot Saturday at the Oak Tree Gun Club in Newhall. About 35 wheelchair-bound marksmen are expected to compete. . . . Showtime: The 21st annual Anaheim Boat Show, starting today at the Anaheim Convention Center for five days; the Spring Boat Show, starting a 10-day run Friday at the Los Angeles County Fair Grounds in Pomona.

Interested anglers are invited to the first meeting of the new South Coast chapter of Trout Unlimited Thursday night, 7:30, at the Oasis Center in Corona del Mar. National President Steve Lundy will show slides of his recent fishing trip to the Soviet Union. . . . The Colorado Division of Wildlife reports that the state has more elk, 182,000, and antelope, 47,800, than at any time in this century. . . . The Angler’s Club of Venezuela has a pocket-sized English-Spanish phrase book specifically designed for the traveling fisherman. Cost, $3, P.O. Box 1298, Fernandina Beach, Fla. 32034.