The Weather Is Cool, but Fishing Is Hot as Exoticis Hit Those Hooks

Ocean sportfishing usually changes in fall and winter, with bass and rock cod becoming the targets of anglers.

This month, however, the surface exotics continue to be caught. Not even during the year of El Nino has the surface angling been so consistent.

It is a result of summer storms at Cabo San Lucas which pushed the warm water currents to the Southland. The game fish followed.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, the barracuda run at horseshoe kelp continued along with some good-size bonito.

Yellowtail were found off Catalina Island along with floating squid. All-day boats have had some impressive counts.

Many fish were lost when big yellowtail ran into the kelp and busted tackle.

Halibut fishing has shown an improvement, although most anglers have been chasing other species.

Stan Robason of Westchester was fishing the Santa Monica Bay from his boat Gringo and landed a big halibut. It weighed 39 1/4 pounds at the Marina del Rey scales.

Fishing from his boat Club Spice off of Venice Pier, Maurice Sasizadeh caught a 27-pound halibut.

Jack Wright of Redondo Beach was trolling in his skiff three miles out from King Harbor when he got a strike. He geared his outboard motor down to a slow troll as the fish was moving toward the beach.

After 10 minutes, he was able to reel the fish to his small skiff. Wright described it as the largest bonito he had ever caught trolling. It weighed 8 1/2 pounds.

Wendy Ward of San Pedro returned to L.A. Harbor Sportfishing on a recent trip to Tanner Bank aboard the Outerlimits.

Using mackerel for bait, she hooked a bluefin tuna. After 25 minutes of battling the fish, it broke her 20-pound test line.

Ward changed reels and with 40-pound line again set the hook on a tuna.

When Ward finally landed the 41-pound bluefin, she discovered the same hook and part of the line that had broken off from her first hookup.

Ward said that had the tuna not been injured she would have released it.

South Bay Catches: Dan Fouts of Torrance, fishing aboard the New Image at Santa Barbara Island, pulled a yellowtail out from the kelp. It weighed 36 pounds and was the whopper of the week.

Art Romo of Venice, fishing aboard the Blackjack at Santa Barbara Island, caught a 35-pound yellowtail.

Steve Sturges of West Los Angeles, fishing off Catalina Island aboard the Sumo, caught a 29-pound yellowtail.

Phil Romando of Santa Monica, fishing Santa Monica Bay aboard the Spitfire, caught a 26 1/2-pound halibut.

Theo Murphy of San Pedro, fishing at horseshoe kelp aboard the Sportking, caught a 22-pound yellowtail.

Charles Harwood of Lomita, fishing at horseshoe kelp aboard the Hitless Miss, caught an 11 1/2-pound barracuda.