FISHING : White Seabass Afford Anglers Plenty of Action

Anglers have enjoyed plenty of surface action in the past week as white seabass have started to bite.

During the weekend, South Bay anglers were catching seabass that weighed from 18 to 53 pounds. The fish have been particularly plentiful off Santa Catalina Island’s west end and at the Farnsworth Bank.

Anglers aboard small boats and skiffs working kelp from Point Fermin to Rocky Point have been catching seabass that weigh up to 32 pounds.

The 22nd Street Landing boat Freedom returned from a weekend trip with 24 seabass and halibut weighing up to 20 pounds. The jackpot went to Carson fisherman Jeff Price, who caught a 38-pound seabass.

Anglers aboard the Long Beach Sportfishing boat Aztec also got into the action. Redondo fisherman Mike Bell, using 15-pound test line with a squid-baited lure, had to pump and reel at a slow pace to bring in his catch.

But his persistence paid dividends as he decked a 53-pound white seabass, one of the largest caught by a South Bay angler this year.

Another heavyweight seabass was caught aboard the L.A. Harbor boat Shogun, which was fishing off Catalina. West Los Angeles angler Steve Hardin was fishing for calico bass and using a 30-pound test line when hooked his seabass. Because he was using heavy tackle, it took him only 15 minutes to deck his 53-pound fish.

Keith Brewer and Patsy Kennedy of San Pedro, fishing Monday in a skiff near the Point Fermin palms, each caught a seabass. Brewer’s fish weighed 32 1/2 pounds and Kennedy’s was 27 1/4 pounds.

Sal and Hazel Gorman of Wilmington were drifting in their skiff off White’s Point and using small sardines for bait when Hazel caught a seabass that weighed 27 pounds.

David Lane of San Pedro, fishing for halibut aboard the Annie B barge with strips of squid for bait, reeled in a spider crab that weighed 10 3/4 pounds.

Local fishing also remains promising for calico bass and sculpin. The half-day fleet has reported seeing yellowtail at the kelp, but the fish have refused to take bait or jigs.

The Cabrillo Marine Museum will present a special program to inform the public about grunion and their spawning runs on Friday night.

The museum will open at 8 p.m. and participants will view a film on grunion at the museum’s auditorium.

The film will be followed by a walk to the beach to watch the grunion spawn. The fish are expected to come ashore from 10:38 to 12:39 p.m.

Admission to the program is free and everyone is urged to bring a flashlight to help in observing the grunion.

The State Department of Fish and Game reports that 1992 fishing regulation books have been distributed. Anglers can obtain copies at South Bay tackle stores and sportfishing landings.

South Bay Catches: Jerry Palmer of Hermosa Beach, aboard the City of Redondo off Rocky Point, caught the whopper of the week--a 55-pound thresher shark.

Richard Rice of Long Beach, aboard the Phantom off Catalina, caught a 29-pound halibut.

Gary Mannox of San Pedro, aboard the Pacifica at Tanner Bank, caught a 22-pound cow cod.

Elaine Lara of Culver City, aboard the Outerlimits, caught an 18 1/2-pound yellowtail.