OUTDOOR NOTES : Gill-Net Violators Aren’t Easy to Catch

Long Beach fireman Fred Losey and his brother Richard were spearfishing for halibut at the Topaz Jetty in Redondo Beach before dawn on Oct. 13 when they noticed unusual activity down the beach. Four men had fishing rods stuck in the sand but no lines out, and they seemed involved in something else.

“Hey, I think those guys are stringing a net,” Richard Losey said. “Let’s check it out.”

The Loseys swam into the ocean, following a heavy underwater monofilament line until they found a gill net offshore. They returned to the beach and confronted two of the men.

“Hey, are you guys fishing a net?” Richard Losey asked.

“Yeah,” responded one. The other apparently spoke no English.

“Do you know that’s illegal?” Richard Losey asked.

The man shrugged. The Loseys told them to reel in the net, and asked a resident from a nearby apartment to call the police.

The other two men fled, but police apprehended them as they were disposing of fish in a dumpster. California Department of Fish and Game Warden Kent Smirl met the group at the Redondo Beach police station.

The four were Peter Duong Tran, 31; Thanh Van Nguyen, 31, and Dung Quoc Tran, 19, all of Santa Ana, and Duc Minh Huynh, 25, of Westminster. They were charged with violating Section 8694 of the Fish and Game Code--unlawful use of a gill net in Santa Monica Bay, a misdemeanor. They are scheduled to appear in South Bay Municipal Court on Nov. 12.

“It’s a real problem, it’s so widespread,” Fred Losey said. “And people who live right there will never see what we saw, because they’re not looking for it.”

Fred Losey said he has seen as many as eight nets on the beach at one time, holding as many as 100 corbina.

“People don’t know it’s even illegal--even the police department,” he said. “The first police officer there said: ‘What do I arrest them for?’ Then his sergeant came and knew (it was illegal). It’s just too easy for them. These people are very slick.”

The 176-pound blue marlin that Josephine (Jo) Hoffman of West Los Angeles caught at Cabo San Lucas last week is worth telling her grandchildren about. In fact, she can tell all five of them now--and her three great- grandchildren, too.

Hoffman, 74, is 4 feet 11 and 115 pounds. She has done a lot of freshwater fishing but had never been on a saltwater trip. A day earlier, she had caught a 66-pound wahoo that “ate all the bottom of my lure off.”

She fought the marlin for 1 hour 20 minutes.

“All of my life I wanted to do this, so my son Ed took me down there,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s true yet.”

Briefly

SALTWATER--Eighteen fly-fishermen are due to return to San Diego from Alijos Rocks on the Royal Polaris this morning, claiming three world records. Steve Abel, the Camarillo reelmaker who organized the 10-day trip to target saltwater fly tackle records, reported by radio Tuesday that the group took 127 yellowfin tuna averaging 30 pounds, along with 72 mahi mahi. They also hooked a few wahoo. Abel’s publicist, Ben Mintz, landed a 50-pounder, but two others bit off the leaders. “We did see some marlin on the surface,” Abel said, “but we had to spend a whole day trying to find bait. Next time, we’ll also schedule a 10-day trip in November and target marlin and wahoo.” The records to be submitted include two by Dave Inks of Santa Rosa--a 42-pound yellowfin on 20-pound test line and an 18-pound yellowfin on four-pound test line--and a 15-pound skipjack by Powell Leavitt of Vancouver, Canada. Also noteworthy was an 85-pound yellowfin taken by Rein Paesold of Vancouver, trolling a flyrod.

Ernie Aragon of Arcadia placed third in the Gold Cup marlin tournament at Cabo San Lucas last weekend. Aragon used an antique rod and reel once owned by Ernest Hemingway, and a Zane Grey teaser, but he still had a hard-luck story to tell. His 230-pound blue was good for second place, behind a 530-pound catch by Larry Rassel of Oceanside, until Dean Foreman of Los Angeles checked in 15 minutes before the deadline Sunday with one weighing 232 pounds. Rassel’s catch was worth $38,000, Foreman’s $7,000 and Aragon’s $2,000. The tournament had 31 competitors, who hooked 26 marlin, lost three and released 16. The tournament raised $6,000 for Escuela El Camino in Cabo.

San Diego’s overnight fleet has been largely inoperative because of the lack of fish, but skippers who have switched to a 1 1/2-day operation discovered a large body of tuna between 130 and 150 miles south of Pt. Loma. Buzz Brizendine of the Prowler returned Monday with 80 yellowfin for 16 anglers, and others have reported similar results. The fish are averaging about 20 pounds.

Farther up the coast, yellowtail, white seabass and calico bass are still being taken near Catalina and San Clemente islands, and fishing should remain steady as long as squid remain in Southland waters.

Cabo San Lucas: Blue marlin fishing remains excellent, with most in the 250-pound class but some topping 500. Striped marlin slow, perhaps because of the 86-degree water. Yellowfin tuna still plentiful, averaging 40-50 pounds. The largest of the past week was a 168-pounder. Dorado and sailfish fair.

East Cape: Reports from hotel Palmas de Cortez, Punta Colorada and Rancho Buenavista indicate an abundance of most species of fish. Tuna are the prevalent catch, with fish averaging about 50 pounds. Dorado are scattered throughout the region. Blue marlin and sailfish are showing regularly at the scales.

CONSERVATION--The Department of Fish and Game and the Society for the Conservation and Protection of Bighorn Sheep are requesting volunteers for another series of treks into the desert to construct, repair or simply inspect water “guzzlers” and developed springs, and to conduct surveys of the animals. Workers will camp in the desert Friday nights and hike to project sites. Prospective volunteers should call Dick Conti at (213) 256-0463 for waterhole project schedules and details.

SHOOTING--The Pacific Coast Regional Sporting Clays Championships, with entries from California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, are scheduled Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m., at Mike Raahauge’s Shooting Enterprises in Norco. Details: (714) 735-7981.