Dorado Seek Cover, but Anglers Flush Them Out

For the average boater on the open sea, a large clump of floating kelp can represent a navigational hazard. But to a summertime fisherman, it can mark the location of a most prized treasure.

And those aboard the Jawbreaker out of 22nd Street Landing on Tuesday found a bonanza for the taking beneath a paddy that was drifting 14 miles off the coast. Hundreds of dorado were using the seaweed for cover.

Upon pulling up to the paddy, skipper Rick Tricarico noticed flashes of silver and green. Then up from the water came a leaping dorado “as if to say: ‘We’re here, come and catch us,’ ” Tricarico said.

It took several minutes to get the fish to bite, and the first two hookups were lost. Finally, the first was landed and five more were boated in the next 20 minutes. But then, as Tricarico fired up the Jawbreaker to reposition it, he saw 30 to 40 dorado leave the water in a mass of green and yellow.

“It was like watching baitfish jump,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. We threw bait over and they came up foaming, boiling all around the stern. We had quadruple hookups for the next three to four hours.”

Wade Lundgran, Dan Riperti, Jack Nilsen and Roger Kelton, all from the South Bay, caught so many dorado they began throwing them back after filling one large gunnysack. Tricarico, who maneuvered the boat most of the time, caught only one fish. “I just happened to catch the biggest, though,” he said.

Tricarico’s fish was close to 16 pounds. The rest were in the 10- to 15-pound range.

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Normally, such luck is merely that: being at the right place at the right time. But Redondo Sportfishing’s Blackjack, hearing about the bite, located a piece of kelp Wednesday and had a dozen or so dorado on the deck by 11:30 a.m., according to Mike Silva at the landing.

“But that was at 11:30 and we haven’t heard from them since,” Silva said Wednesday afternoon. “They could have a lot more by now.”

Silva was there, too, in a private boat. He said the kelp was teeming with dorado “20-pound plus,” but he came back empty-handed.

“We didn’t have the right bait,” he said. Instead of large anchovies and sardines, Silva had his bait tank filled with “little pinhead anchovies.”

Other South Bay vessels were kelp-paddy hopping with varying degrees of success.

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Closer to shore it’s more like late fall than mid-summer. The water cooled and there are too many of those pinheads in the bait receivers. Dock totals are sporting fall-like numbers on rockfish and other bottom fish.

However, some quality fish are still being taken. Max Borgese of Venice, fishing Sunday off Malibu Pier’s Aquarius, caught a 35-pound white seabass. Dennis Thompson of Venice caught a 24-pound halibut out of Marina del Rey, and Butch Somarian of Hermosa Beach and George Everhart of Redondo Beach caught 19- and 15-pound halibut, respectively, while fishing out of Redondo.

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Grunion grabbers have one more week to grab the grunion legally, because after the runs of Aug. 19-22 the season closes until spring.

The first run, along dark, sandy beaches, is predicted at 11:10 p.m. Aug. 19. Runs are expected to begin about an hour later each night thereafter. Second and third nights are usually best.

Notes

The Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro is offering a chance for children to learn about the creatures of the shallows. “Galloping Snails and Other Fishy Tales” will offer first- and second-graders a chance to explore habitat of snails and crabs and creatures of the mud, create their own storybooks and make records of their discoveries. The course begins Monday and ends Aug. 20. The course runs from 9 a.m. to noon daily. The cost is $80. A more advanced course is offered to third- and fourth-graders. Information: (310) 548-7563. . . . A variety of outdoor activities--such as bird-watching, campfire hikes, star treks and historic adventures--are being offered this month in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Information: National Park Visitor Center at (818) 597-9192.