FISHING / DAN STANTON

Fishing Gets a Boost With Supply of Fresh Squid

Fishing has improved the past week, in part because commercial seiners worked areas off San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands and brought tons of fresh squid into San Pedro.

Squid is a choice bait of anglers fishing for white seabass and yellowtail. Local sportfishing boats are hoping to add to the supply of squid in the coming weeks by setting lights off the east end of Catalina Island to attract the bait.

The Los Angeles Harbor boat Sportking worked the west end of Catalina over the weekend and returned with 90 rock cod, five cow cod and two lingcod after fishing in 600 feet of water.

Long Beach angler Ralph Subrian’s catch included a 15-pound cow cod and a jackpot 24-pound ling cod.

Al Richards of Long Beach caught cow cod and salmon grouper weighing up to 10 pounds in his catch.

San Pedro fishermen Chris Williams and Chow Nami caught half limits of rock cod, ling cod and groupers.

Cookie Cook, who skippers the Sportking on rock cod trips, suggests that anglers on their first rock cod trip outfit their gear with a large reel, a five-hook ganon and three pounds of lead. When fishing shallow water, all that is needed are 8- to 10-ounce sinkers.

With local water temperatures starting to drop, catches of calico bass, rockfish and sheephead have been reported.

Long Beach Sportfishing’s Victory worked Horseshoe Kelp and the rock pile area last weekend and returned with 110 rockfish and some calico bass.

George Grijaiva of Long Beach caught a 10 1/2-pound sheephead.

Gray whales have begun their trek from the waters of the Arctic Ocean to the warm waters and sheltered bays of Baja California.

The round trip is more than 12,000 miles.

On Saturday, South Bay sportfishing landings will schedule trips to watch the whales. There will be two trips Monday through Friday and three on weekends.

For departure times, call any of the five South Bay sportfishing landings.

South Bay catches--Danny Kendall of Santa Monica, aboard the Happyman at the pipeline area of Santa Monica Bay, caught the whopper of the week, a 37-pound halibut.

Ivan Janny of West Los Angeles, aboard the Seaspray at Hermosa Flats, caught a 39-pound halibut.

A 15-pound lingcod was landed by Milo Shaw of Redondo Beach, who was aboard the Blackjack off of Santa Barbara Island.

Earl Wall of San Pedro, aboard the Hitless Miss at the rigs, caught a 14 1/2-pound lingcod.