FISHING NOTES : Angler Catches 32-Pound Halibut

It was a rewarding first-time fishing trip for Nguyen Hon Ling of West Los Angeles.

Fishing aboard the Annie B Barge out of Los Angeles Harbor, Ling was catching jack smelt with a barrowed rod and reel.

As Ling was reeling in a jack smelt, he had a strong hit. With help from the crew, he reeled the fish up to the surface, where a net was lowered to scoop up a 32-pound halibut.

Barge Master Paul Berube said the halibut set an all-time barge record. Berube said that over the past two years, the average catch aboard the Annie B was from four the six pounds. Most of the bigger fish have been lost to light tackle.

The Annie B and the Los Angeles Rod and Reel Club will play host to 300 underprivileged boys and girls Monday.

Dan Armstrong of Torrance and Howard Tanaka of West Los Angeles returned from a fishing trip to Craig, Alaska, this week with some big catches. Tanaka came away with a 180-pound halibut, which he caught using a mojo lure with strips of bait. Armstrong’s catches included a 52-pound halibut and salmon and lingcod weighing up to 30 pounds.

The third annual March of Dimes Fishathon is Saturday night aboard L.A. Harbor’s Shogun.

The overnight Catalina trip was organized by West Los Angeles sportsman Tom Bohn, who donated $1,000 worth of tackle and fishing trips for a raffle.

South Bay Catches: Curt Wang of Long Beach, fishing aboard the Victory outside horseshoe kelp, caught a 40-pound yellowtail, the whopper of the week.

Don Dredon of Lomita, fishing aboard the Outerlimits off Catalina, caught a 32-pound yellowtail.

Charles Harwood of Wilmington, fishing aboard the Hitless Miss at rocky point, caught a 27 1/2-pound yellowtail.

Bill Holden of San Pedro, fishing off Catalina aboard the Maverick, caught a 25-pound yellowtail.

Jim Meland Jr. of San Pedro, fishing aboard the Diawa at Catalina, caught a 14-pound yellowtail.

Sally Levy of Gardena, fishing aboard the Southern Cal at rock pile, caught a 13 1/2-pound halibut.

Fish Reports: Local fishing remains good despite a shortage of bait. Plenty of sand bass and calico are being caught with lures.

Catalina is the hot spot for big barracuda and yellowtail. A shortage of squid has lowered the white sea bass counts.

Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Sumo fished off Catalina and anglers caught 107 calico bass and 21 barracuda. The Spitfire fished the flats and chalked up a count of 138 sand bass and 52 calico bass. Angler aboard the Betty O caught 260 rock cod and five whitefish in shallow water.

Redondo Sportfishing: The Sea Spray fished twin roads and had a catch of 112 sand bass, nine barracuda, 14 rockfish and two halibut.

22nd Street Landing: The First String worked Catalina for 287 barracuda and 71 bonito. The Monte Carlo half-day trip to horseshoe kelp returned with 148 calico bass. The Diawa fished Catalina and anglers sacked 43 calico bass, 23 barracuda, seven yellowtail and two halibut.

At Los Angeles Harbor Sportsfishing: The Sportking fished off Catalina. Anglers caught 307 barracuda, 91 bonito, 49 calico bass, and a yellowtail. The Matt Walsh on a half-day trip to the horseshoe kelp returned with 39 calico bass, 30 sand bass and three whitefish.

The Shogun fished Catalina and anglers caught 81 barracuda, 30 blue perch, 11 bonito, and 10 calico bass. The Annie B Barge weekend count was 805 mackerel, 433 kingfish and two halibut.

At Long Beach Sportfishing: The Victory returned with 57 sand bass, 31 calico bass, and 18 yellowtail. The Southern Cal on a half-day trip the horseshoe kelp returned with 55 barracuda, 36 sand bass and 21 whitefish. The Aztec fished off Catalina and anglers caught 125 bonito, 40 barracuda and a halibut.