OUTDOOR NOTES / RICH ROBERTS : Group Is Flying Warning Flag as Boat Show Nears

The boat-show season peaks with the 37th Southern California Boat Show running from Friday through Feb. 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the Boat Owners Assn. of the United States--BOAT/U.S., with 440,000 members--cautions visitors to any show: Buyer beware.

Caroline Ortado, director of the organization’s Consumer Protection Bureau, said: “While there are probably some good deals to be had, our files are full of examples of what consumers should not do when buying a boat at a boat show.”

At some shows, salespersons have promised deferred payments that come due earlier because, dealers explain later, “Boat show salespeople aren’t authorized to make such promises.”

Ortado suggests:

--Put the delivery date on the sales contract and specify that the deposit will be returned in full if the boat doesn’t arrive on schedule.

--Make sure the sale is subject to approved financing, a sea trial and, for larger vessels, a marine survey, even if it is a new boat.

“Read the sales contract before you sign it,” Ortado urged. “Don’t rely on an oral agreement.”

The show is produced by dealers of the Southern California Marine Assn.

Among new products to be featured is a versatile, high-performance, rigid-hull, inflatable dinghy with a straddle seat capable of pulling skiers or serving as a fishing platform. Free seminars will cover freshwater and saltwater fishing, marine electronics, water skiing and outboard motor maintenance.

Show hours: weekdays 1-9 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission: adults $7, seniors (55-plus) $4, children 12 and younger free. Discount coupons are available at marine stores and dealers.

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The threat of a restraining order to stop its fish trucks has moved the California Department of Fish and Game to respond to Trout Unlimited’s “friendly” suit seeking a review of the trout planting program.

Chief Deputy Director John H. Sullivan wrote T.U. Attorney Barrett McInerny on Jan. 13, suggesting that “staff of the department . . . meet with . . . T.U. within the next three weeks” to discuss T.U.’s concerns and entertain the organization’s input.

Briefly

MEXICAN FISHING--San Jose Del Cabo: Striped marlin 110-180 pounds reported on a “major feed” six miles off La Laguna, near Gordo Point. Pangas catching and releasing about two per day. San Diego long-range: With storms restricting local activity, the Qualifier Excel highlighted the week with a 358.3-pound yellowfin tuna by Mark Awad off San Diego--1 pound 3 ounces larger than the 130-pound line record set in 1987. Awad fought the fish from a skiff off Roca Partida Island of the Revillagigedo chain. The Red Rooster III, 14 days to Socorro and Clarion Islands in the same group, took six yellowfin tuna weighing more than 200 pounds in a catch of 219 yellowfin and 240 wahoo. Steve Cottrell, Carlsbad, won the jackpot with a yellowfin at 289.8 pounds, but Ron Carlton of San Diego, who wasn’t entered, had one at 294.6. Ralph Cox used three sets of gear to land a 271-pound yellowfin. The Royal Polaris, 16 days out with 25 novice saltwater anglers, took 335 yellowfin--seven weighing in at 200 or better, topped by a 286-pounder by Corky Yokoe of La Mirada--and 285 wahoo.

OFF-ROAD--Sidekick Off Road Maps of Chino offers three new videos: Baja 500 Race Adventure/Exploring Baja Backcountry, Big Bear Trails and Dusy/Ershim Trail. Price: $17.95 each. Details: (714) 628-7227.

RECOMMENDED READING--Dan Hernandez’s book “Saltwater Fishing Adventures” is in its second printing. The book, with details on where and how to catch species of Southern California and Baja, is available at some tackle stores for $13.95. . . . The North American Gamebird Assn. has published a “Directory of Hunting Resorts” for the U.S. and Canada. Copies are available by mailing a $2 check to NSSF(035), 555 Danbury Road, Wilton, Conn., 06897-2217.

JURISPRUDENCE--California Department of Fish and Game Warden John Mullin is credited with the arrest and conviction of two Calistoga men for illegally poaching deer in the Mendocino National Forest, following up an anonymous tip. John Floyd Geary, 66, was fined $2,000 and Doug Craig King, 34, $1,000. Each also received three years’ probation, and Geary forfeited his .240 Weatherby magnum rifle.