OUTDOOR NOTES : He Offers Anglers a Basic Approach

So many rods, so many reels, so many fish, so little time.

The five-day, 46th annual Western Fishing Tackle and Boat Show opening today at the Long Beach Convention Center offers all of that except the time, and Russ Izor will be there to tell how to make the most of that.

Izor, tackle manufacturer, conservation activist and former longtime operator of the First String sportfishing boat out of San Pedro, believes it’s sad that so many people are wasting time not fishing because they don’t know how to start or are not doing it properly because they’re afraid to ask.

“A lot of people don’t understand the basics of what they’re doing, (such as) how monofilament stretches, how to tie a knot, why one rod is better than another, why their line twists when they spin-fish,” Izor said. “Those things are so gut-basic that that’s what I try to stress.”

Izor will discuss “Simple Fishing” tonight through Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 3 p.m. Nobody knows how many kids show-producer Fred Hall has introduced to fishing. He has never charged admission to those under 12.

But kids are easy marks. Izor targets non-fishermen, especially adults. A recent survey by the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Assn. indicated that only 10% of freshwater anglers started after 20. The California Department of Fish and Game says that while the state’s population has been soaring, the sale of resident annual fishing licenses has dropped from a peak of 2,295,079 in 1981 to 1,586,637 in ‘89, the last year for which complete data are available.

Izor said: “Conceive how many macho men will not even try it because they know it’s a competitive activity and they don’t want to get caught in a situation where they might look foolish. Another thing I try to stress is that the female of the species is equally capable as the male, but she also is sensitive in thinking that it’s a male-dominated sport.”

Izor also covers freshwater fishing. He confesses to being a salmon-egg angler, which is as basic as fishing gets. He has just returned from the year-round area of the Eastern Sierra, where he said he successfully tested his newest product, “the Egg.”

Izor started doing Hall’s shows in 1975 at the Great Western Exhibit Center near the stockyards in East Los Angeles. “Where they’d kept the dumpsters, they set up some bleachers,” he recalled.

At Long Beach, six casting ponds are available for visitors to try equipment. Izor and professional anglers Rich Tauber, Don Iovino and Charlie Davis will work the “Hawg Trough” aquarium.

The show also offers camping, backpacking and archery instruction. And fishermen may check out the new “5-GAL-PAL,” a bucket that’s a combination rod holder, tackle box and seat for stationary anglers.

Show hours are 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. today through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission: adults $6.50, children under 12 free.

Briefly

OCEAN FISHING--Anglers south of Pt. Arguello are reminded by the Department of Fish and Game that they need a $3.15 stamp on their 1991 licenses after passage last November of Proposition 132 approving the Marine Resources Protection Act that prohibits gill-nets. That’s in addition to the basic $21.50 price and the old $1 “Ocean Resources Habitat Enhancement and Protection” stamp. The extra stamp, which brings the ocean license to a total of $25.65, is to cover the cost of buying out commercial gill-netters when the law becomes effective in 1994. One-day licenses are exempt.

FRESHWATER FISHING--The fifth and worst year of the statewide drought is a temporary boon for anglers. With the DFG unloading its hatcheries in waters that may not be available for planting by late spring or early summer, the Eastern Sierra’s year-round fisheries have been hot this month. But those waters are now stocked to capacity, so the DFG has delivered 100,000 trout from its Black Rock hatchery to seven urban waters in three southern counties--Legg Lake, Peck Road Park Lake and Santa Fe Lake in Los Angeles County, Laguna Niguel Park Lake in Orange and Cahuilla Lake, Lake Perris and Lake Skinner in Riverside. The fish aren’t huge--about four to the pound--but they’re catchable size.

BAJA--Fair to good marlin fishing is reported by Darrell Primrose of the Finisterra Tortuga Sportfishing Fleet at Cabo San Lucas, with boats landing 1-1 1/2 a day. Tuna are averaging 35 pounds, dorado are fair and roosterfish are hitting off most sandy beaches.

CONSERVATION--Volunteers are sought for the annual spring cleanup of the DFG’s Imperial Wildlife Area at Wister on the Salton Sea on March 9. A cookout is scheduled afterward. Details: (619) 359-0577.

FLY-FISHING--The Traveling Fly Fisherman program featuring Jack Dennis, Gary LaFontaine and Mike Lawson is scheduled at Greg Lilly’s store in Tustin this weekend. Casting will be the subject Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fee: $50. Fly tying is the focus Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fee: $85. The fees include a video and lunch. . . . Paul Brown instructs advanced fly casting at Bob Marriott’s Fullerton store Saturday, intermediate casting Sunday and beginning casting on March 16. Fee: $45. At the same location, Maggie Merriman offers her 1 1/2-day fly-fishing schools March 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24. Fee: $75. . . . The Pasadena Casting Club’s annual novice casting clinic with Will Trefry instructing is scheduled on three consecutive Saturdays--March 9, 16 and 23--at the clubhouse, 415 South Arroyo Blvd. Fee: $25 total or $10 each session. Reservations: (818) 794-6973. . . . John Vanderhoof will present a slide show on freshwater and saltwater fishing at the South Bay Flyfishers meeting next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Westchester Townhouse, 8501 Emerson Ave. The same club will have a joint meeting with Trout Unlimited on March 13. . . . The East Fork Fly Fishing Store in Irvine offers casting classes for beginners and intermediates Saturday, with Matt Rickerd, 1989 national dry fly champion. Fee: $50. Details: (714) 724-8840.

FALCONRY--Raahauge’s Pheasant Hunting Club in Norco will conduct an end-of-season field meet on March 9. Sign-in is at 7 a.m. Admission: $5. Details: (714) 594-4725.