Catch of the Day at Landings: the Doldrums

Gloomy days continue, and gloomy faces remain on many a landing operator as much of their fleets remain dockside because of a drop in business caused in part by a lack of fish in local waters.

“Our half-day (boats) aren’t even running . . . they didn’t go out (Tuesday) and they’re not going out again (Wednesday),” Dian Peterson, at 22nd St. Landing in San Pedro, said Tuesday.

It’s no different at any South Bay landing, as the post-Labor Day doldrums have set in. Cloudy days and cooler water haven’t helped.

But then, things are not all bad for anglers aboard boats that are getting out.

Bonito counts remain steady at many landings, calico bass are cooperating for some and there’s always such bottom dwellers as sculpin and other rockfish willing to take the bait.

And every now and then, yellowtail are making things interesting at Rocky Point and Horseshoe Kelp.

“Our three-quarter day (the Sea Spray) had three yellowtail (Monday) and lost about a dozen more,” said Nancy Grey at Redondo Sportfishing, adding that the largest caught was an 18-pounder. “And we had one Sunday that weighed 21 pounds.”

The Southern Cal, out of Long Beach Sportfishing, got four yellowtail Tuesday, the largest an 18-pounder by Cheri Zimmerman of Gardena, and the Matt Walsh of L.A. Harbor Sportfishing reported four yellowtail on board Wednesday and was still fishing.

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Meanwhile, out at Cortez Bank, an excellent yellowtail bite seems to have begun.

The Toronado, in the midst of a 1 1/2-day boat trip, reported to Long Beach Sportfishing that as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, 40 yellowtail had been boated--all between 20 and 30 pounds. “And they were still fishing,” said Marilyn Robinson at the landing.

Long Beach- and L.A. Harbor-based landings have scheduled trips to Cortez this week and or this weekend.

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While local fishermen for the most part scratched for yellowtail, bonito and bass along the coast, anglers aboard 100 boats were plying offshore waters Monday and Tuesday in search of marlin during the annual Catalina Gold Cup.

While 73 marlin were hooked, only 38 were boated and six more caught and released. Not bad, considering that this has been an unusually poor season for striped marlin.

“We had two beautiful days on the water, and the fish even showed up,” tournament spokesman Curt Cameron said.

The team aboard the Colleen, angler Pete Groesbeck and Steve Lassley, won the tournament--and $41,000--with the largest marlin, a 185 1/2-pounder.

The release award, for two marlin caught and released, went to the Zane Grey crew, with angler Jeri Grey (Zane’s granddaughter), 28, and sister Susan, 34, catching and releasing two marlin in the 120-pound class.

Dr. Loren Grey, 77, son of the author and legendary fisherman, was aboard the Industrious One to watch his two daughters battle the stripers off Santa Catalina Island. Zane Grey caught his first marlin off Catalina in 1916. Loren caught his first marlin off the island in 1930 at age 14.

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Add tournament: The Catalina Classic, based in Avalon, will be next Monday and Tuesday. Cost is $1,500 per boat and the grand prize is $30,000. Information: Roger Cadman at (310) 510-1571.

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The Islander, out of 22nd St. Landing, ventured south of the border for a three-day trip last week, and the 19 anglers aboard found the trip worthwhile, tangling with tuna after tuna, putting 167 yellowfin and 28 bluefin aboard and adding 33 dorado and six yellowtail, and a mess of skipjack for good measure.

Notes

Lori Bonus and Ken Farabaugh of Long Beach traveled with friends to Baja California’s East Cape and found the fishing as hot as the weather. Their group, fishing out of Hotel Playa del Sol, caught 10 football-sized tuna and five dorado--including a 47-pounder--two sailfish and a 195-pound blue marlin, all on the first day. On the second day they added 10 tuna, including an 80-pounder, a 120-pound blue marlin and a sailfish. . . . Howie Tella of Hermosa Beach fished aboard Al Gaston’s fleet in San Quintin south of Ensenada and caught limits of tuna averaging 20 pounds apiece. . . . Ron Sugimoto of Torrance teamed with Joe Stella of Temple City to win the American Bass Assn. tournament--and $2,245--last weekend at Castaic Lake with six largemouth bass totaling 26.70 pounds. . . . Alondra Park Lake in Torrance is scheduled to be stocked with catfish in the 1- to 2-pound range this week as part of the California Department of Fish and Game’s urban lakes planting program. . . . Saturday is the second free fishing day of the year, meaning no licenses are required for anglers fishing in California.