OUTDOOR NOTES : Hunt for Deer Might Become Secondary

The general deer hunting season opens in the state’s largest zone Saturday, and experts advise hunters to do what the deer have to do: Look for water.

Zone A, encompassing 26 counties, extends along the California coast from Santa Monica to within about 125 miles of the Oregon border and inland along California 99, an area suffering from a four-year drought.

“There is some water left in scattered locations, (but) good water sources are few and hard to find,” said Larry Sitton, wildlife management supervisor in Long Beach.

Hunters who have scouted for water sources are expected to have the best chance. Last year, 6,847 of 53,924 hunters--15%--were successful in taking a legal buck (forked horn or better) in Zone A. The season ends Sept. 23. Archery season ran from July 14 to last Sunday.

Sitton suggested that the better areas would be Ojai ranger district of the Los Padres National Forest, the Nordhoff Peak area east of California 33 and south of Sespe Creek, the southern tip of Los Padres National Forest, and the Potrero Seco area.

Hunters were alerted to extreme fire danger and were advised that some areas could be closed because of dry conditions.

Bob Hinckley of Fullerton was fishing in the right company when he caught a record-size 333.4-pound Pacific halibut near Gustavus, Alaska, last week. His wife, Jean, holds the 12-pound-test line class record for albacore with a 57-pound 12-ounce catch off Pt. Loma in 1982, and his fishing pal, James McAdam Jr., has the all-tackle world record for giant sea bass--563 pounds 8 ounces, at Anacapa Island in 1968.

Hinckley’s halibut would have been a line-class record, except for a couple of technicalities. Instead of gaffing the fish, the crew first harpooned it twice, then had to shoot it to subdue it. A large halibut can destroy a small boat.

The fish was eight feet long, a foot thick and three feet wide. Another boat had to be summoned to assist in getting the fish aboard.

The controversial Columbia River-Pacific Ocean SHARK Tournament last weekend failed to fulfill concerns of opponents who feared it would attract a dangerous number of sharks to the area.

Twenty-four entrants caught four sharks, the largest 56 pounds.

The drought isn’t all bad. Bob Tanner, who operates the Red’s Meadow Pack Station out of Mammoth Lakes, said the lower water levels will provide an unusual opportunity for good back-country fly fishing next month.

“With the low water, there is less food floating in,” Tanner said. “What it means is you’re getting October fishing in (August and) September.”

And the onset of winter makes the high Eastern Sierra difficult to fish in October.

For non-anglers, the scenery alone can be worth the trip.

“We’re in awfully good shape,” Tanner said. “We had some good rains in July and may get some more this week. The horse food in the mountains is excellent. The grass is green.”

With most outfitters, a customer has the option of riding in with his pack mule or hiking and letting the mule carry the load. Tanner noted a change over the years.

“The age group that used the trails in the ‘60s went to work and didn’t have time for backpacking anymore,” he said. “Now we see them coming back with their kids.”

Briefly

A new federal ruling establishes stiff penalties for dumping trash overboard and requires all commercial and recreational boats 26 feet or longer to display a placard stating that such dumping is illegal. The ruling, which went into effect July 31, provides for civil penalties of as much as $25,000 and criminal penalties of as much as $50,000 and five years in jail. Placards are available by calling (800) 237-8663. . . . Toll-free whitewater rafting information is available by phoning the California Western River Guides Assn. at (800) 552-3625.

The Fish and Game Commission has scheduled a meeting in Sacramento Thursday to consider certifying environmental documents for dove and bandtailed pigeon hunts. Adoption of the hunts was postponed last week because of the threat of a legal challenge. . . . The commission authorized doubling ptarmigan permits to 100 in Alpine and Mono counties, where the state’s first hunt was conducted last year. . . . DFG wildlife biologist Denyse Racine will lead a free tour to observe tule elk Aug. 18, starting at 8 a.m. at the wildlife viewpoint six miles south of Big Pine on California 395.