Marlin Likely to Remain Catch of Year Off Cabo San Lucas

Like shooting billfish in a barrel . . .

Not quite, but fishing for striped marlin in the Golden Gate Banks area off Cabo San Lucas is currently as exciting as the sport gets.

“The way it is now, the fish are on the surface, and when (skippers) see the birds diving (above the feeding marlin), everyone races to the area,” said Tracy Ehrenberg, owner of the Pisces Fleet. “It’s fun, as long as they avoid crashing into each other.”

Ehrenberg, who has run the fleet for the last 10 years, said she has not seen fishing this good in at least five years.

Her fleet caught 132 marlin in the past week, releasing 116. Dave Bishop of Chicago, fishing with a friend aboard the Tracy Ann, caught and released nine striped marlin in one day, using 20-pound and even lighter line.

Ehrenberg, who said all of her boats returned Tuesday flying two or more marlin flags, added that she has no reason to believe there will be a letup soon.

“This past week was the most exceptional,” she said. “But it’s been like this for the last 30 days.”

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Giant yellowfin tuna are cooperating at the Revillagigedo Islands 300 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, though not in the quality or quantity of the last two years.

The Qualifier Excel returned Tuesday from a 17-day trip with 202 tuna--the largest a 328 1/2-pounder caught by Dennis Braid of Palmdale--and only 32 wahoo.

“I would say that so far, it’s mediocre at best,” skipper Randy Toussaint said. “That was only our third fish over 300 (pounds).”

As for the wahoo, which usually abound near the islands, “They just weren’t around,” Toussaint said.

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Could this be the year of the albacore?

It could, according to Tim Barnett, oceanographer at Scripps Institute. Barnett gave his annual albacore report to members of the Sportfishing Assn. of California last week and said that with the El Nino all but over, conditions are prime for an albacore run of the magnitude not seen off the Baja California coast in several years.

“He said conditions are similar to those preceding good albacore fishing years in the past,” SAC President Bob Fletcher said.

Barnett added his usual disclaimer, saying it is too early to tell for sure whether this would be one of those years. The last albacore run of any significance was in 1989, when 29,728 fish were landed aboard California-based boats.

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North America’s fastest land animal is the pronghorn antelope, which can reach speeds of 60 m.p.h. And with the end of the drought followed by the relatively mild winter thus far, experts say the stage is set for a speedy comeback for the animals in Northeastern California.

The antelope--an estimated 7,908 in January of 1992--suffered significant losses during the harsh winter of 1992-93, but recent aerial surveys in Modoc, Lassen and parts of Siskiyou and Shasta counties turned up 5,160 animals, 75 more than were counted in the same ranges last January. The increase is not enough, Department of Fish and Game officials say, to warrant an increase in tags for the fall hunting season. The early ’92 count was the highest in 29 years of DFG surveys in the region.

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Unfair advantage: Hunting guide Don Holleman, a former professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for hunting grizzly bears from an airplane. Western Outdoors magazine reported that Holleman, who pleaded guilty, was fined $10,000 and ordered to forfeit his $47,000 plane to the federal government.

Briefly

FISHING--Locally, bottom fishing remains the best bet, but the past week had its moments. Anglers aboard Long Beach Sportfishing’s Victory were in the right place last weekend--near Horseshoe Kelp--when schools of barracuda made an unseasonable run through the area. They landed 121, the largest an eight-pounder caught by Dan Anderson of Duarte. Sand bass fishing has been steady in the Santa Monica Bay, primarily in the Redondo Beach area, where anglers aboard the Redondo Special put 95 sand bass in the sacks Saturday.

CONSERVATION--Operation Bighorn: Volunteers planning to help with construction of a water guzzler for the animals in the Sheep Hole Mountains east of Twentynine Palms this weekend are in for more of an an adventure than otherwise planned. Ground access to the site has been disallowed, and the work force of 40 or 50, after a camp-out in the desert, will be flown in at dawn and out at dusk by helicopter. Helmets and flight jackets will be provided, after a mandatory safety meeting. Flight space is limited, so prospective volunteers 18 or older should confirm by calling (213) 256-0463.

MISCELLANY--Fly-tyer A.K. Best will be the guest speaker at the Long Beach Casting Club’s meeting next Wednesday at Recreation Park in Long Beach. Details: (310) 549-1556. . . . Joe Humphries, fly-fishing author and instructor at Penn State, will be the guest speaker at Sierra Pacific Flyfishers’ meeting on Feb. 17 at the Encino Glen in Encino. Details: (818) 785-7306. . . . Art’s Tackle in Gardena will give its annual rock cod seminar, focusing on jig and gangion fishing in deep and shallow water, on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. The seminar will be followed by a two-day charter. Details: (310) 323-3339.