FISHING NOTES / DAN STANTON : It’s Time to Shift Gear for Surface Action

It’s gear shifting time as the spring surface action heats up. Anglers have started to hang up their rock cod rods as the transition from deep water action to fishing for the exotics begins.

The fall and winter rock cod season proved to be an excellent one where anglers could catch a 20-fish limit and fill the freezers with fillets.

Yellowtail have been showing in good numbers at San Clemente Island every day with squid the choice bait.

On trips last week, L.A. Harbor Sportfishing’s Outerlimits and Shogun scored with impressive catches of yellowtail weighing 14 to 30-pounds.

Chuck Graham aboard the Outerlimits was using 15-pound test line and continued to hook and lose big yellowtail as his light line broke.

The Gardena fisherman said he switched to 20-pound test and set the hook on four yellowtail. He decked all of them. They weighed 15 to 24 pounds.

Graham wasn’t the only one having success with yellowtail.

Mark Avery, 11, of Torrance pulled a yellowtail out of the kelp, and gave battle by following his fish all around the deck while his father cheered. After 15 minutes, the fish tired first and came to the surface. It weighed in at 22 1/4 pounds.

Catalina Island’s Two Harbors held its annual spring halibut/white sea bass tournament recently with 14 boats participating in the one-day event. However the white sea bass refused to cooperate. Steve Quarnstrom of Avalon, was a first place finisher with his 9 1/2-pound halibut. A close second was Jay Garcia of Avalon with his 8 1/2-pound flattie.

Dates are being set for Two Harbors third annual mako shark tournament in June.

On the local scene big barracuda have moved into a large area outside Rocky Point.

Mark Larson of San Pedro, fishing on the Sport King, landed one 30 inches long and weighing more than nine pounds. Ben Newman of Wilmington, fishing aboard the Victory, caught a limit of 10. One was 8 3/4-pounds.

South Bay Catches: Joe Atsumi of West Los Angeles, fishing aboard the Top Gun at San Clemente Island, had a yellowtail charge his squid but a white sea bass hit the bait first. Atsumi set the hook and was rewarded the whopper of the week. His sea bass weighed in at 39 pounds.

Frank Barra of San Pedro, fishing at San Clemente aboard the Shogun caught a 33-pound yellowtail.

Robert Shirkai of Culver City, fishing aboard the New Hustler, won the jackpot when he pulled a yellowtail out of the San Clemente Island kelp. It weighed 29 pounds.

Donald Ames of Palos Verdes, fishing at San Clemente Island aboard the Outerlimits, caught a 27-pound yellowtail.

Bill Vernon of Venice, fishing aboard the Happyman in Santa Monica Bay, caught a 20-pound halibut.

Lou Rudin of Rancho Palos Verdes won the jackpot aboard the Sea Spray. Fishing at Twin Roads, he decked a 14-pound halibut.

Fish Reports: Steady catches of barracuda at Rocky Point have sparked the local action.

The outer islands yellowtail counts continue to climb. The white sea bass fishing has slowed at Catalina.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Spitfire fished the bay and anglers caught 54 sculpin, eight sand bass and five halibut.

The Happyman on a half-day trip to Venice Beach returned with 35 calico bass and eight halibut.

The Betty O Rock Cod Special fished the close-in rock reefs and anglers sacked 171 rock cod and two cow cod.

At Redondo Sportfishing: The Sea Spray trip to Rocky Point chalked up 88 barracuda, 31 sculpin and four halibut.

The Redondo Special on a half-day run to Twin Roads returned with 34 bonito and 23 barracuda.

The City of Redondo half-day trip to Rocky Point garnered 95 bonito and eight halibut.

22nd St. Landing, San Pedro: The First String worked Rocky Point with success as anglers sacked 167 barracuda and six bonito.

The Monte Carlo on a half-day trip to the Rock Pile had a catch of 65 bonito, 60 sculpin and 30 whitefish.

The Freedom tried San Clemente Island and found a bass bite with 192 calicos, 37 sheephead and eight yellowtail.

At L.A. Harbor Sportfishing; The Sportking trip to Rocky Point resulted in a early return as anglers sacked a limit of 236 barracuda.

The Outerlimits fished San Clemente Island and had a catch of 33 sculpin, 14 yellowtail, 15 sheephead, nine whitefish and one halibut.

The Shogun worked San Clemente Island for 101 sheephead, 35 calico bass and two yellowtail.

The Annie B Barge weekend catch included 725 mackerel, 411 kingfish and one halibut.

Long Beach Sportfishing: The Victory found a wide open barracuda bite at Rocky Point and returned with a full limit for all anglers with 231.

The Toranado trip to San Clemente Island resulted in a catch of 151 calico bass, 61 sheephead, 39 whitefish and three yellowtail.

Freshwater Notes: Tom Ashley of Torrance, fishing at Lake Casitas, landed a lunker bass. It weighed in at 11 pounds.

Norm Wright of Long Beach,, fishing Irvine Lake, used power bait and landed a six-pound rainbow trout.