OUTDOOR NOTES : Undaunted Halibut Return for Spawning

California halibut, despite stormy weather and spills of sewage and oil into their habitat, have moved into Santa Monica Bay to spawn.

And should nature cooperate, there could be about 2,000 fishermen competing in the Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby April 13-14.

“As far as we can tell, there will be no problems from the oil spill in the bay,” tournament chairman John Bourget said, referring to the March 16 spill of 21,000 gallons of diesel-like oil.

Steve Crooke, a biologist with the Department of Fish and Game, said rough weather has helped flush the bay and things are basically back to normal.

Last year, there were 1,950 anglers in the two-day event. They pulled out 460 halibut and generated more than $40,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica, a youth fishing program and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

The largest halibut, worth a cash prize and an Alaskan fishing trip, was a 31.2-pounder taken from an underwater ledge south of King Harbor by Tim Crissman of Newhall.

In 1989, Mike Rogalla of Buena Park won the event with a 45.1-pound halibut that is still the world record in the 16-pound line class.

The capture of Big Bertha, one of five specially tagged halibut, is worth $5,000. The fish, held in a museum tank in Redondo Beach, will be released before the derby weekend off Redondo Beach, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Topanga and Malibu.

But don’t hold your breath. Nobody has cashed in on Big Bertha in the six years of the event.

Prospective participants may pick up an entry form at Santa Monica Bay landings and sporting goods stores or call (213) 450-5131. Entries must be received by April 9 and should be mailed to 2117 Ashland Ave., Santa Monica, 90405.

With spring comes the gradual transition from bottom fishing to surface fishing, and the subsequent anticipation of what summer might bring.

Word from Tim Barnett, an oceanographer at Scripps Institute in La Jolla, is that this summer might be accompanied by El Nino , a warm-water phenomenon that in 1982-83 was responsible for an invasion of yellowfin tuna into Southland waters.

“There are no guarantees in any of this business, but it certainly looks like there’s something brewing down there,” Barnett said. “Not a real clear picture yet, and it’s debatable how strong it’ll be. But it sort of looks like something’s brewing up.”

Barnett, who uses computer models to predict such phenomena, said that if El Nino does develop, it would probably not be as strong as the one eight years ago, but added that if the timing is right, the tuna fishing could improve significantly in late summer or fall.

“There’s some disagreement about when this thing could get started,” he said. “If (it comes) this summer, we might look out and see something by fall. If it comes on later, then it’ll be next year (before it becomes noticeable).”

Last summer, fishermen experienced some of the best fishing in several years for dorado, yellowtail and, to an extent, tuna. Experts, however, said there was no El Nino , rather a lack of steady westerly winds that led to warmer-than-normal surface temperatures.

“It sort of looked like El Nino --everybody said there was one, but there really wasn’t,” Barnett said. “This year the computer models are saying that there probably will be.”

Briefly

SALTWATER FISHING--Locally, barracuda are showing prominently in the San Diego counts, and there have been some white seabass taken from the Channel Islands, but poor weather continues to hinder the effort. Long-range fishermen are finding yellowfin tuna harder to find than in recent weeks but continue to land good numbers of wahoo. The 17 aboard the Red Rooster III, which returned from Mexico’s Revillagigedo Islands Saturday, accounted for 235 wahoo and 78 yellowfin, along with two marlin and 125 grouper.

Cabo San Lucas: Swordfish are in the area but difficult to catch. At least two of the powerful broadbills--at 256 and 184 pounds--have been brought to the scales, according to Darrell Primrose of the Finisterra Tortuga Fleet. Striped marlin and dorado are plentiful, Primrose added. At the East Cape, marlin fishing remains steady. Bob Van Wormer of Hotel Punta Colorada said the fish are concentrated near the shore. Joe Wirtz of San Diego returned from Hotel Palmas de Cortez, where in one day in a panga he caught 13 dorado, seven yellowfin tuna--to 60 pounds--and four skipjack tuna.

FLY-FISHING--Fly-Fishing the ‘90s, with presentations, shows, clinics and vendors, will be held April 6-7 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Airport Marina Hotel in Westchester. Registration: $15 for families ($11 Sunday only); $12 for individuals. Information: (818) 799-5066.

Eastern Sierra guide Fred Rowe will appear at the South Bay Flyfishers’ general meeting April 3 at 7:30 at the Westchester Townhouse, 8501 Emerson Ave. . . . Maggie Merriman will conduct 1 1/2-day weekend schools focusing on early season trout April 6-7, 13-14 and 27-28. Charlene Hanson’s four sessions of tying will be held on consecutive Mondays starting next Monday. Information on both classes: (714) 525-1827.

HUNTING--An estimated 17,000 hunters will greet the opening of the 37-day spring turkey season Saturday, statewide except in San Diego County. Two years ago, high-elevation Merriam-strain birds were transplanted from South Dakota to the San Bernardino Mountains, where they have settled in around the slopes north of Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs. DFG biologists suggest preseason scouting for tracks, feathers and droppings at Willow Creek, Bacon Flats, Rouse Meadow, Coxey Meadow and Miller Canyon east of Lake Silverwood.

Jeff Buck, president of the California Wildlife Federation, is soliciting comments on amendments to the Fish and Game Code, which he thinks discriminates against handicapped hunters. Disabled persons holding doctors’ certifications may shoot from vehicles but are required to inform the DFG at least 48 hours in advance when and where they will be hunting and what kind of vehicles they will be driving. Buck may be written at Box 1527, Sacramento, CA. 95812.