CLOSE-UP

John Glackin doesn’t act much like a weathered sea captain: his hand is wrapped around a can of Diet Coke, not a bottle of Jamaican rum, he doesn’t say “arrr,” not even once in a while. But for the past 26 years, he’s worked on boats up and down the coast, as deckhand, skipper and, finally, captain. As owner/operator of the Seaspray out of King Harbor in Redondo Beach, he takes fishing parties out twice a day every day in search of bass, bonito, barracuda and the elusive yellowtail.

“I have regulars who go out once or twice a week,” Glackin, 38, says. “Folks from inland; they want to get away from the heat.”

Companies also charter the Seaspray, which is one of five fishing party boats that go out of Redondo. In summer months, as many as 50 anglers line the decks. And, Glackin says, more women are joining the party. “They usually end up out-fishing the men,” he says, laughing. “The men get real mad, and of course we don’t let them forget about it.”

Glackin recently moved up the oceanic feeding chain--in July he bought the Redondo Sport Fishing ticket and equipment rental office. But, he says, he’ll still take his boat out a couple of days a week. “I love the freedom of it,” he says. “I could never just work in an office. I have a hard enough time putting on shoes.”