THE OUTDOORS : Outdoor Notes / Pete Thomas : Remote Areas Near Water Should Provide Best Deer Hunting Prospects

The best hunting in Zone A, along the Pacific Coast, will be had in remote areas nearest running water when the general deer season opens Aug. 12, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

Zone A is California’s largest deer hunting zone, stretching from the urban city limits west of the Santa Monica Mountains to the northwest corner of Mendocino County, and inland from the Pacific Coast to California 99 south of Sacramento and Interstate 5 north of the capital.

Between 50,000 and 65,000 tags are sold for Zone A each year.

The southern part of the region has been extremely dry, according to biologist Bruce Elliott, who says hunters should work areas close to streams, creeks and rivers, especially along the more densely-covered north-facing slopes.

Popular areas include the Los Padres National Forest and Bureau of Land Management acreage, where officials have worked--primarily through controlled burning--to improve deer habitat. Elliott said that hunters will increase their chances by getting away from the roads and suggests they try the Stockdale and Laguna Mountains, and the New Idira recreation site in San Benito County.

Heavy March rains in the northern half of the zone dispersed the deer throughout their typical summer habitat and, according to biologist Jim Swanson, hunters may have trouble finding them.

Swanson advises a preseason scouting trip, but otherwise recommends hiking away from the roads and into the high country--also near surface water areas closest the cooler north-facing slopes--where he said bucks tend to travel to escape the summer heat.

“If you can put a ridge between you and the nearest road, you’ll often find the hunting more productive and less crowded,” Swanson said.

The albacore that San Diego landing operators are hoping will move to within range of the overnight fleet have so far been uncooperative. Most fish are being taken from an area about 240 miles from San Diego.

However, Skipper Buzz Brizendine, on a 1 1/2-day trip aboard the Prowler, metered what he said was a large school of albacore roughly 152 miles south of the landings, but said the fish were moving and wouldn’t bite.

Meanwhile, the Spirit of Adventure returned from its three-day trip Sunday with 213 albacore, all in the six- to seven-pound range, and the Red Rooster III, fishing an area roughly 30 miles west of Guadalupe Island, returned late last week with 87 albacore ranging from 10 to 12 pounds.

San Diego’s overnight fleet operators are more strapped than usual this year, since cold water has completely shut off the local yellowtail bite, which is generally red hot during the summer.

There have been no reports of albacore taken from the coastal waters of central California north to Washington, but the National Marine Fisheries Service says there is “an excellent corridor for the migration of fish (from offshore areas) into the coast” and expects albacore to show off the Pacific Northwest by the end of the month.

Now performing from high atop the Las Vegas Hilton: four peregrine falcons that are sure to dazzle all comers.

The falcons were purchased for $10,000 by the Hilton-Nevada Corporation, which built a shelter for them on the hotel’s roof, are part of a reintroduction program by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

“Falcons (typically) live in cliffs, and the hotel is a huge man-made cliff,” said the department’s Geoff Schneider. “We’re going to do this every year and eventually we hope to establish a breeding pattern.”

Peregrine falcons are capable of reaching speeds of 200 m.p.h. before “exploding” upon their prey, in this case probably pigeons and other small birds.

Officials have determined that two of the three decomposed fish found floating in a gill net off the Santa Barbara coast were basking sharks, and they are fairly sure that the third, which was significantly smaller than the others, is of the same species.

Because of their size, there had been speculation that they were California gray whales, an endangered species.

Briefly

Readers interested in contacting the Vista-based Sportsman’s Caravans, which specializes in fishing trips to Baja California and was featured in a recent Times story, may call (619) 944-1945 for detailed information. . . . CalTrout is asking for volunteers to work on the Hot Creek Restoration Project, Aug. 12-13 and 19-20. Volunteers may contact Jim Edmondson, Region 5 manager, at (818) 579-1248. . . . Fly fishing: Phil Eubanks, an instructor in basic fly fishing, is conducting 1 1/2-day classes each weekend in August at Marriott’s Fly Fishing Center in Fullerton.