OUTDOOR NOTES / PETE THOMAS : Hunter Was No Turkey, but Mountain Lion Not Convinced

Turkey hunters, so adept at camouflage and mimicking turkeys, have on many occasions been mistaken for the real thing by fellow hunters and shot.

But Arthur Eichele fooled a mountain lion--and it could have cost him dearly.

Eichele, 27, was hunting with a companion recently in the Grass Valley wilderness. “I was camouflaged from head to toe,” he recalled from his Sacramento home.

He was crouched behind a tree, sounding off like a turkey while his friend waited in the bushes in front of him. A hen was responding to his calls from about a mile away, across a canyon.

The lion was lurking silently behind him.

“I had been sitting still for about 10 minutes and then I heard this funny ‘bump-bump’ noise behind me,” Eichele said. “I turned just in time to see the cat hit me.”

Eichele’s gun was knocked to the ground. He raised his elbows in self-defense, but then the cat scratched its way free of the encounter and took off down the canyon.

Eichele, who came away with a few deep scratches behind his left ear--one requiring stitches--learned later from a biologist and warden that the cat probably had mistaken him for a turkey.

“I think at the moment I turned that he changed his mind in mid-air,” Eichele said. “But he didn’t make any noise, not one noise. And I assume that pretty much what saved me from worse injuries is when I heard him jump and I turned.”

Eichele, calling the incident minor, said he’ll be back talking turkey in no time.

Add lions: Confrontations between humans and the big cats are increasing, especially in Southern California where man is moving into the animals’ territory.

What should you do if you find yourself face to face with a lion?

“Raise hell,” said Terry Mansfield, wildlife management supervisor for the California Department of Fish and Game.

Mansfield said that because the mountain lion likes to inflict a “killing bite” during the initial attack, you should not run or turn your back on the cat.

And if it’s acting the least bit aggressive, Mansfield said: “Throw a rock at it, yell at it, throw a stick, do something. And if one jumps you fight back, yell, scream, kick. Do anything you can.

“Not that those are air tight,” he added. “But most people that have escaped alive or have avoided an attack have said that those things have helped.”

Commercial fishermen who reluctantly paid the same fees as last year for licenses and permits when the 30% increase imposed last year was supposed to have expired before the start of a new season April 1, will be reimbursed by the DFG, said Vern Goehring, legislative coordinator for the department.

Goehring said that the DFG gambled that legislation would be approved extending the higher fees for another year.

When the bill was stalled, the department decided to print and sell licenses at the higher fees. The bill failed passage last week. The DFG asked for reconsideration, but was refused and the rates reverted to the 1990 level.

“We have already started the process for refunds,” Goehring said.

El Nino update: Glendale’s Joe Kokrak, 48, reported catching three triggerfish in the middle of Santa Monica Bay.

“I’ve fished here since 1964,” he said. “Once a week, and in all the 10s and 1,000s of hours I’ve seen two triggerfish. And (now) I caught three.”

Kokrak released the first two fish and weighed in the third at three pounds 13 ounces.

Triggerfish are commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical waters and apparently are following north a band of warm water produced by El Nino. Kokrak said he monitored temperatures of 64 degrees in the bay, well above normal.

For the record: Camping will be allowed in the North Landing, South Landing and Layton Springs areas of Crowley Lake for the Eastern Sierra general trout season opener on April 25. After the opener, camping will not be allowed around the lake, except in the North Landing area after designated sites are completed, probably in mid-June.

Also, the price to rent a boat last season, when Crowley was run by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, was $50 for a day, not $100.

Briefly

MISCELLANY--The Action Adventure Expo, featuring booths, information and live demonstrations on activities from bungee jumping to house-boating to windsurfing, will be held Saturday and Sunday at Fairplex Park in Pomona. Details: (818) 972-1062.

SALTWATER--Barracuda are showing prominently in the counts as far north as Ventura, which is unusual for early spring. North of Santa Barbara, rock cod and rockfish are still being targeted, but landings south of Port Hueneme have shifted to their spring shallow-water operations, reporting fair numbers of barracuda, bonito, calico bass and sand bass.

Tournament: About 1,300 competed in the Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby over the weekend, weighing in 93 fish on Saturday and 91 on Sunday. Jay Underwood of North Hollywood won the individual competition with a 33.6-pound halibut. Underwood gets his choice between trips to Alaska or Mexico. Scott McClain of Torrance was second with a 24.8-pound and Scott Smith of Venice was third with a 23.6-pound halibut. Winners of the team competition were Duane McCutcheon and Tony Lalev, who combined for five fish weighing 61.10 pounds.

Cabo San Lucas: Dorado have become very active at the Gorda Banks. Boats are averaging almost five a day. Striped marlin are abundant but reluctant to feed. Amberjack, wahoo, cabrilla and pargo are being taken fairly regularly, according to Victor Guiterrez of the Palmillia Beach panga fleet.

East Cape: Fishing is good, according to reports from hotels Palmas de Cortez and Punta Colorada. Striped marlin, tuna, dorado and pargo are showing regularly at the scales. The windy season is winding down and blue marlin are due in soon.

Loreto: Windy at times, but yellowtail remain active at Punta Lobos, Puerto Balandra and Punta Mangle, according to Gordon Prentice of Baja Fishing Adventures. Fish are between 10 and 30 pounds. The grouper bite is fair.