WET & WILD : Time for Anglers to Head to Sea

Fishing in Orange County in December can be the pits.

Early mornings along the coast are often foggy. Exposed beaches offer little protection from increased wind and surf. And you can spend hours dangling a hook off a pier without getting a single bite.

Recently my children and I found a solution. On a Sunday afternoon, we all put on our coats, hopped in the car and drove to Davey’s Locker, a sportfishing shop at Newport Harbor at Balboa Pavilion. And for the next 4 1/2 hours, anchored at various points off the coast aboard a 77-foot sportfisher called the Western Pride, we pulled fish in so fast that we barely had time to get our hooks in the water.

“Look, Dad!” my 7-year-old son, Drew, shouted as a glistening mackerel performed midair somersaults at the end of his line. “I got one!”

Declared my 10-year-old daughter, Adina, after reeling in her third fish: “This is more fun than I expected!”

Apparently we’re not the only ones who have thought of going fishing this way in winter. According to manager Norris Tapp, about 300 people--at least half of them novices--ride the shop’s three fishing boats each week, and Davey’s Locker is just one of several sportfishing companies based in Balboa.

“It’s a good time of the year to learn the fundamentals,” Tapp said. “The crowds are light, and crew members can pay a lot of attention to you. They’re very anxious to help, and it’s a little bit more relaxed during the winter.”

Whenever possible, the deckhands will show you how to bait your hook. When your line gets tangled up with the guy’s next to you, they will untangle it for you. And when you catch a fish, they will pull it off your hook, identify it and tell you what its legal size and bag limits are so that you can decide whether to keep the thing or throw it back. When not too busy, they’ll even conduct on-deck fishing seminars en route to a spot.

Davey’s Locker offers a variety of fishing trips seven days a week. Popular among novices are the two half-day trips; the first from 6 a.m. to noon, the second from 12:30 to 5 p.m., each at a cost of $22 an adult and $14 a child.

Those with a little more experience, ambition or money may opt for the three-quarter-day Catalina trip--from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily--or the full-day trip to the outer Channel Islands leaving at 11 p.m. each night and returning the next evening. Cost of the three-quarter-day trip is $35 for adults and $25 for juniors, while the full-day trips are priced from $55 to $75, depending on destination.

On any trip, for an additional $19 a person, Davey’s Locker will sell you a one-day fishing license and outfit you with all the gear you need. That was the option we took.

Leaning our rented rods in niches carved conveniently into the ship’s wooden railing, we settled down for the short but glorious ride through the harbor and down the coast.

“I like being out here,” said fellow passenger Lance Hoglund, 50, the breeze blowing through his hair. “It takes your mind off everything else, and no one can get hold of you.”

In what seemed like no time, we were anchored a few miles down the coast off Crystal Cove, ready to drop our hooks in the water. Suddenly, the fish started biting.

Fishing out there during winter months is better than off a beach or pier because of the greater stability of deeper water, said Marty Igleheart, assistant manager of Davey’s Locker. In winter, the shallow water--more affected by tidal surges, wind and weather--turns colder, while the temperature of the deeper water remains more constant. As a result, he said, offshore fish either migrate south or go deeper. The ones that remain in shallow water become sluggish, less aggressively hungry and therefore less likely to bite.

The situation begins changing back again, Igleheart said, as the shallow water heats up in late March or early April.

In the meantime, he said, the fishing is good from a boat offshore where lots of rockfish, lingcod, sculpin, mackerel, calico bass, sand bass and even an occasional bonita can be caught. While average sizes are three to five pounds, Igleheart said, every once in a while a winter angler will reel in a 30-pound halibut or a 2 1/2-foot sheephead.

When renting out gear, he said, the shop routinely supplies customers with the strength of line, style of hook and size of reel appropriate for the day’s destination. If you’re bringing your own, he said, it’s a good idea to call in advance for advice on all those matters.

Then, once aboard, you can fish all you want while breaking up your day with visits to a well-equipped galley featuring, among other things, hamburgers, eggs, toast, coffee and a wide array of candy bars and other sweets.

Needless to say, my children spent their share of time there.

Yet by day’s end, we had more fish than the three of us could handle. Our take-home: five large mackerel, two sand bass, three whitefish and seven perch--17 fish in all, just under the legal limit of 20 and not counting the 15 mackerel we had thrown back as too small.

While the kids watched wide-eyed, the deckhand filleted their catch with a smile.

“People come out here to relax,” he explained as he worked. “We try to keep it low-key and take care of people.”

Bill White, 35, a Huntington Beach facilities maintenance engineer, came out for a day of fishing with his 6-year-old son. “I like the thrill of catching fish and eating them afterward,” he said.

For my children, though, the thrill seemed to be in the catching.

“I love being out here,” Adina said as we finally approached port late that afternoon. “I like how you can feel the wind on your face, and it’s exciting feeling the tug on your pole. The best part is reeling it up.”

Concluded Drew: “It’s pretty hard, but fun hard. You can catch fish and give them to your mother. You make her feel good.”

With just a little luck, you can make your mother feel good too. To book a trip, call (714) 673-1434.