Rudy Finally Goes Home, in a Pinch

“Free Rudy!”

That was the cry for the last few weeks in Rancho Cordova, until a 100-year-old Maine lobster presumably destined for the dinner table was shipped back to its home waters and set free.

The giant lobster, caught in a fisherman’s net and flown west to Rudy’s Hideaway, a restaurant in the Sacramento suburb, spent weeks in a tank before arrangements could be made for it to be flown back east. Rudy, as the crustacean had been dubbed by restaurant personnel, was released Monday at an undisclosed site off New Hampshire.

“I was told he arrived in good shape,” said Steve Ryan, owner of Rudy’s. “He was lively when he got there, and when he saw the ocean he became even more lively. He was released and then he really took off.”

Ryan thought he was merely getting an unusually large lobster from his East Coast broker, who normally ships 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-pound specimens. He had no way of knowing that when the giant crustacean arrived, so would the TV cameras and protesters.

“We found out after it arrived that it was not so much an 18-pound lobster, but a 100-year-old lobster,” Ryan said, adding that Rudy “would have probably fed a small neighborhood.”

An animal-rights group got involved in the lobster-liberation movement, and with Ryan’s permission made plans to have Rudy sent back to the Atlantic.

Just as well, Ryan said. “It was the size of the Buick. It had huge claws. We probably would have needed a buzz saw to get through the shell.”

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Strong winds practically blew the Del Mar off the water, but a fishing trip promoting next month’s Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby wasn’t a total bust.

The crew gave the fishery a boost of sorts by releasing 100 hatchery-raised fish into the bay.

“They were all 8- to 10-inch fish,” tournament chairman John Bourget said.

The trip was cut short when a huge wave slammed against the side of the boat shortly before noon.

“It was choppy at first, but we caught five nice halibut,” Bourget said. “Then all of a sudden one big, big wave came in and soaked half of the guys. After that, the skipper said it was time to head in.”

The derby, proceeds from which benefit youth groups and the halibut hatchery project, will be held April 16-17. Details: (310) 450-5131.

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Barracuda have made their annual springtime showing at various locations from San Diego to Palos Verdes, an indication that bottom-fishing for sluggish rock cod and rockfish will soon give way to surface fishing.

One of the better bites has been at Horseshoe Kelp outside of L.A. Harbor, where large female barracuda are mixed in with smaller fish. The Matt Walsh returned with 42 fish on Saturday and the First String had 25 on Monday.

There is a catch, though.

“You have to have the anchovies for bait if you want to catch them,” said Mark Larson, a spokesman at L.A. Harbor Sportfishing. “And they’ve been hard to come by.”

Strong winds hampered the fishing effort Tuesday.

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The Golden Gate appears to have finally lost some of its luster.

The popular fishing area off Cabo San Lucas had been the site of an outstanding marlin bite since last November, but seasonal winds appear to have finally shut it down.

“The water turned green and the mackerel the marlin were feeding on have disappeared,” Mario Banaga of the Pisces Fleet said. “So far (Tuesday), only one boat had some fish, three yellowfin tuna . . . small ones, about eight pounds.”

Banaga said there is an abundance of larger tuna offshore and when the winds let up, the Cabo fleets should have no trouble finding porpoises and the tuna that feed beneath them.

Briefly

MISCELLANY--The Inland Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will hold a seminar and calling contest Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Sizzler in Corona. Details: (909) 985-5896. . . . Pacific Edge in Huntington Beach will hold a seminar covering all aspects of trailering boats into Baja California on Saturday at 11 a.m. Details: (714) 840-4262. . . . The Fly Fishers Club of Orange County will hold a casting clinic Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at William Mason Park in Irvine. Details: (909) 598-7905. . . . The Claybird Classic, a sporting clays contest for amateurs, will be held Sunday at Coto Valley Shooting Club in Coto de Caza. Details: (714) 589-5000.