OUTDOOR NOTES : Plenty of Fish Records Show They Are Made to Be Broken

So bass fishermen believe the 60-year-old all-tackle record is finally ripe for breaking, right here in Los Angeles County at Castaic Lake.

Perhaps it is.

After all, if someone should take a fish heavier than George Perry’s 1932 catch of a 22-pound 4-ounce largemouth bass, it wouldn’t be the first time that a record long thought to be unbreakable has fallen years after it was set.

According to the records committee of the Wisconsin-based National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, “other giant catches in the record book thought to be unreachable, have actually been beaten in the last few years.”

Among them:

--A 97-pound blue catfish taken from South Dakota’s Missouri River in the early 1950s was surpassed twice during 1991 when anglers in Missouri and South Carolina hauled in catfish weighing 103 and 109 pounds, respectively.

--A 65-pound lake trout that for 27 years has stood as an all-tackle record was broken last July when Tennessee’s Rodney Harback pulled a 66-pound 8-ounce lake trout out of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories.

Long-standing records still waiting to be broken, according to the Fishing Hall of Fame, which is not affiliated with the International Game Fish Assn., include: a 46-pound 2-ounce North American northern pike, caught in a New York reservoir in 1940 (the closet to date is a 40-pounder); a 25-pound walleye, caught in Tennessee in 1960; a six-pound black crappie, caught in Louisiana in 1970, and a 97-pound chinook--or king--salmon, caught off the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska in 1985.

There is a very good chance, too, that Perry’s record will stand for at least another year--several, including a 22-pound 1-ounce fish, came close last March--because the big bass at Castaic have begun to spawn, releasing their eggs and losing considerable weight.

Halibut: The Santa Monica Bay Derby April 4-5 will, for the first time, allow participants to help directly with the monitoring of the fishery. They will be offered--for an additional $5--tagging kits and instructions.

Robert J. Lavenberg, curator of fishes at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, said data gathered from tagged halibut will help biologists better understand the spawning and migration habits of the popular gamefish, and a large-scale tagging program in Santa Monica Bay could provide long-sought answers pertaining to the species.

Fishermen catching fish already tagged are asked not to remove the tag, but to bring the entire fish to Lavenberg at the weigh-station. A specific tagged fish is worth $1,000.

About 2,000 are expected to participate in the derby, proceeds of which go to the Boys and Girls club of Santa Monica and its youth fishing program, and to the Natural History Museum’s halibut hatchery project.

Participants can enter as teams--at $15 per fisherman--or as individuals at a cost of $35. Entry forms are available at most local tackle stores and must be received no later than midnight next Tuesday. Additional information is available by calling (310) 450-5131.

Private boaters may finally be able to fish close to Catalina Island with fresh live bait, rather than that purchased on the mainland and sloshed into submission during the rocky trip across the channel.

The Chovy Monster, a 105-foot bait barge, is scheduled to open next Wednesday outside of Avalon, offering anchovies, mackerel, squid and sardines 24 hours a day.

The barge will be located just east of Avalon, near Pebbly Beach. It can be reached on Channel 72 of VHF marine radio or by calling (800) 585-2248.

El Nino: The strengthening warm-water phenomenon is expected to bring several species of tuna into Southland waters by late summer, but albacore is not one of them.

Michael Laurs, a La Jolla-based oceanographer for the National Marine Fisheries Service, pointed out that, historically, the years of an El Nino have not been productive for albacore fishermen. In the El Nino year of 1983, for example, California sportfishermen caught 17,161 albacore.

However, the year after an El Nino typically has been very productive. In 1984, fishermen caught 211,285 albacore.

Briefly

BAJA FISHING--Cabo San Lucas: Lots of marlin sighted, but few caught. The Gaviota Fleet in the past week posted the following numbers: 41 dorado, 38 marlin (17 released), seven tuna and six wahoo. Clouds and drizzle have persisted. Daytime temperatures are in the low to mid-80s. Bait is plentiful.

East Cape: Windy at times, but fishing is generally good.

Loreto: Yellowtail from 20 to 30 pounds are providing lots of action off Punta Lobos, Carmen Island. Cabrilla are being taken in the same areas.

FLY FISHING--The Long Beach Casting Club is holding its annual auction of equipment and guided fishing trips Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Recreation Park in Long Beach. Details: (310) 598-7486 or (310) 426-3264. . . . Downey Fly Fishers is offering at no charge a six-week basic fly-tying class on Tuesdays, beginning next week, at 7:30 p.m. in Rio San Gabriel Park’s community room. Details: (714) 952-3552 or (310) 692-1145. . . . East Fork Fly Fishing is offering a mini-series of various fly fishing courses--from buying equipment to making and using it--on Wednesdays beginning next week. Cost per class is $10. Details: (714) 724-8840. . . . Dr. Ernest Schwiebert on New Zealand trout fishing, April 2 at Greg Lilly’s in Tustin. Details: (714) 669-1006.

CONSERVATION--The Volunteer Desert Water and Wildlife Survey is asking for volunteers to help repair three water guzzlers on April 4 in the Old Woman Mountain range in San Bernardino County. Roads from highway to camp are accessible by all vehicles. Hikes from camp range from easy to moderate. Project ends with evening campfire. Details: (213) 256-0463. . . . Openings remain for CalTrout’s golf tournament to benefit the state’s trout fisheries, April 10 at Brookside Country Club in Pasadena. Details: (818) 799-5011.