FISHING : Marine Museum Adds to Its Collection

Another unusual catch has found its way to the Cabrillo Marine Museum.

L.A. Harbor’s half-day boat Matt Walsh and its anglers consistently provide the museum with non-resident fish caught in local waters.

Last week during rain showers the Matt Walsh was on a rockfish trip, fishing at 150 feet.

Mack Harris of San Pedro reeled in a lingcod, placed it in his sack and rebaited with a live squid.

He sent his line down and as soon as his sinker hit bottom he had a strike. To his surprise, when he reeled it to the surface it was a large, eel-like fish.

Matt Walsh Captain Ray Duane placed it in the bait tank to keep it alive, went to his book on fish and identified the catch as a wolf eel, which are generally found in the cold waters of the north Pacific.

Duane made a call to museum director Larry Fukuhara, who sent biologist Jeff Landesman to pick it up and place it in a holding tank so the wolf eel could be readied for public display.

Wolf eels can grow to 6 feet, 8 inches. The wolf eel Harris caught is about 3 1/2 feet long, and is pale orange with spots like a Dalmatian. They feed on hard-shell organisms in deep water.

Fukuhara said this is the sixth unusual species in the past four months that has been donated to the museum by the Matt Walsh.

Duane also supplies live bait remaining from fishing trips to help feed the many live fish in the museum aquariums.

The museum is located at 3720 Stephen White Drive in San Pedro.

The California Department of Fish and Game is reminding anglers to purchase a fishing license and that being caught fishing without one will be costlier than ever.

Under legislation approved last fall, anglers cited for fishing without a license this year face fines from $250 to $1,000.

A resident general sportfishing license for 1991 costs $20.50 at Department of Fish and Game offices and $21.55 at licensing agents.

South Bay Catches: Miles Redman of Long Beach, returning from a two-day rock cod trip aboard the Admiral, caught the whopper of the week, a 25-pound lingcod.

Jim Barnes of San Pedro, fishing off San Clemente Island aboard the Freedom, caught a 21-pound lingcod.

Paul Glen of West Los Angeles, fishing off San Nicholas Island aboard the Pacifica, caught an 18-pound lingcod.

Leonard Rubenstein of Long Beach, fishing at horseshoe kelp aboard the Hitless Miss, caught a 17 1/2-pound white sea bass.

Mary Helms of Marina del Rey, fishing off San Clemente Island aboard the Freedom, caught a 13-pound lingcod.

Chuck Graham of San Pedro, fishing aboard the New Image off San Clemente Island, caught a bull bass that weighed 7 1/2 pounds.

Fish Reports: Rockfish are providing most of the local action along with Santa Monica Bay halibut. Catches of bull bass and lingcod off of outer islands are improving.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Spitfire fished the bay and caught 35 sand bass and nine halibut.

The Betty O rock cod trip resulted in a catch of 205 rock cod and a lingcod.

At Redondo Sportfishing: The Blackjack worked Santa Barbara Island for 130 rockfish, 45 red snapper and 13 lingcod.

The City of Redondo, on a half-day trip, returned with 96 rock cod and a lingcod.

At 22nd Street Landing: The New Image fished off San Clemente Island and anglers caught 200 blue perch, 82 bull bass, 61 whitefish and 23 sheephead.

The Diawa, on a rock cod trip off San Clemente Island, returned with 270 rock cod, 13 lingcod and two cow cod.

At L.A. Harbor Sportfishing: Anglers on the Pacifica’s special rock cod trip off San Nicholas Island caught 225 rock cod and 11 lingcod.

The Matt Walsh, on a half-day trip, returned with 29 red snapper, 22 rockfish and 11 lingcod.

The Topgun, on a Catalina Island shallow rock cod trip, reported a catch of 77 salmon grouper, four lingcod and three whitefish.

The Annie B barge had a weekend total of 700 kingfish, 256 jacksmelt and 90 bonito.

At Long Beach Sportfishing: The Aztec worked the waters surrounding San Nicholas Island for 225 rock cod and a halibut.

The Southern Cal, on a half-day trip, returned with 35 rockfish, seven lingcod and a cow cod.

Freshwater Notes: Charles Richards of San Pedro, fishing Irvine Lake, landed a 9-pound, 15-ounce trout.

Bob Hanley of Westchester fished Pyramid Lake and caught a 14-pound striper.