It Takes Time, but Tuna Make It Worthwhile

San Diego’s long-range fishing season is well under way, and if those who want to get a first-hand look at how well it’s going should show up at the docks at Emerson and Scott streets today between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. There will be tons of tuna.

Both the Red Rooster III and Royal Polaris will be unloading after two weeks at Mexico’s Revillagigedo Islands, where the bite on refrigerator-sized yellowfin tuna was anything but cold.

Fishing was so good that anglers released fish weighing less than 150 pounds halfway through the excursions to save room for the bigger ones.

Frank LoPreste, skipper of the Royal Polaris, said the trip got off to a slow start on Jan. 4 at Roca Partida, but after moving to nearby Clarion Island the next day, “fishing was absolutely sensational for the next five days.”

The bite at Clarion started at 7:30 a.m. and lasted until after dark, with the anglers boating 94 tuna, from 75 to 130 pounds, and 43 wahoo. “That pace continued for next four days,” LoPreste said.

After 11 days of fishing, they put more than 300 tuna and 200 wahoo on the boat. Anglers aboard the Red Rooster III had similar results.

Corky Yokoe of Buena Park took the biggest fish, a 280-pound yellowfin landed aboard the Royal Polaris after a 1 1/2-hour fight. Joyce Corrigan of Los Angeles, who has a women’s all-tackle world record pending, a 305-pound tuna earlier in the season, took a 180-pounder.

Butch Brown caught and released 49 fish.

“Everybody got plenty of fish and released plenty,” LoPreste said. “The boat is full.”

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Japan’s countryside is as beautiful as any, but the hiking experience leaves something to be desired, unless hikers have no genuine desire to escape civilization.

Rob Schultheis says in a recent issue of Backpacker Magazine that 2,777-foot Mt. Hiei, near the ancient city of Kyoto, is not only one of the most picturesque, but one of the holiest of Japanese peaks.

The surrounding forests teem with deer, bear and monkeys, and monks still follow ancient traditions in their reverence of the mountain.

But Schultheis points out that there is nothing mythical or holy about what the hiker encounters at the summit.

“You feel like you are in the sacred heart of old, wild Japan--until you walk on to the summit. There, you meet the road again and encounter a vast parking lot, vending machines, fast-food joints and carnival-style tourists traps,” Schultheis writes.

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Tokyo resident and mountain climber Michael Jardine says the same is true elsewhere in Japan, citing the 12,366-foot Mt. Fujiyama as an example.

“Climbing Mt. Fuji is like going to a Japanese beach--same crowds, same trash,” Jardine told Schultheis. “At the end of each climbing season, they send bulldozers up the side of the mountain to clear away all the rubbish that has accumulated. The beaches never get cleaned.

“For most Japanese, climbing Fuji is a ritual. They have a saying: ‘He who has never climbed Fujiyama is a fool; he who climbs Fujiyama twice is also a fool.’ It’s all part of the peculiar Japanese attitude toward wilderness. Where else could you climb a really high and difficult peak, like Mt. Aka, and find a red coin telephone on top?”

Briefly

SALTWATER--Bottom fishing remains the most productive locally, because the calico bass bite has shut off at San Clemente and Catalina islands. But squid is starting to show and that could improve things considerably. The deep holes around the northern Channel Islands continue to produce large lingcod. The Pacific Dawn, with 21 anglers on its Sunday lingcod run, returned to CISCO Sportfishing in Oxnard with 83 fish 18-36 1/2 pounds.

Cabo San Lucas: Striped marlin are still abundant, but the catch has dropped. There are still a few blue marlin around, as proved by Jeff Paterson of Fairbanks, Alaska, who last Thursday landed a 700-pound blue that struck a red and orange lure. Most of the dorado and tuna have moved up into the gulf, biting primarily at the Gordo Banks.

Loreto: Fishing for yellowtail is good, but winds are blowing strong at times. Carmon Island is producing fish to 28 pounds. A few small dorado are still in the area, but not worth the effort. Cabrillo and pargo are steady.

SHOOTING--Tom John Jr. of Acton was the overall winner of the inaugural Los Angeles Iron Man Shoot on Sunday in San Fernando and Newhall. Competitors participated, shooting sporting clays, skeet and trap. John hit 282 out of a possible 300 targets.