FISHING NOTES : Giant Black Sea Bass Back on the Local Scene

Hopes for black sea bass are rebounding.

Juvenile giant black sea bass are making appearances again.

The fish were in danger of extinction until the state Department of Fish and Game put them on the prohibited keeper list in 1982.

Not a day passes but that someone on a party boat catches a bass and releases it.

When these fish come to the surface in a bloated condition and are unable to submerge, there is a safe method to deflate them. The fish suffer from bloating of the gas bladder. Fish and Game personnel have deflated bloated rockfish successfully during tag and release programs.

Anglers on private boats who hook black sea bass can penetrate the skin just behind the pectoral fin with a thin blade. The gas will be removed and the fish can submerge unharmed.

These fish can grow to 500 pounds and live 70 years if they can evade a hook.

There could be a full return to fishing these giants if the small ones are returned to sea.

Paul Gregory of Fish and Game said fishermen should remember the survival of the sea bass or any undersized fish is an important factor to the fishing of the future.

The King Harbor Marlin Club held its 16th annual awards banquet Saturday night. A club record was set in 1989 when club anglers caught 40 marlin, releasing and tagging 28.

Trophy winners were Jerry Austin for largest marlin, Ray Hawkes for first albacore and Stan Austin for junior-member award.

A special award went to Syd Whitaker for catching a 6-pound, 4-ounce halibut using two-pound test line.

Gary Klein, 31, the 1989 bass angler of the year, has won $300,000 fishing for bass.

Klein, from Montgomery, Tex., has been called the “Fishing Professor” because of his analytical approach to the sport.

While most anglers have a special technique--spinner baits, flippin, etc.--Klein has adapted a number of techniques into his game plan. He has gained a reputation as a proponent of flippin. He has proven he can catch bass on deep, clear lakes as well using plastic worms and grubs as part of his arsenal.

He has been a “bassmaster” finalist seven times.

Klein will be sharing techniques with participants in a bass institute at El Camino College on Saturday and Sunday. For reservations and information call (213) 715-3116.