Fish-Fighting Exhibit a Big Lure at Show

Ever wondered what it’s like to battle a giant marlin?

You can find out without spending a small fortune to travel to some exotic location. You don’t even have to set foot on a boat.

Of course it won’t be quite the same. The marlin is a machine.

The fish-fighting simulator is one of many exhibits at the annual Fred Hall Western Fishing Tackle and Boat Show, which begins today and runs through Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center.

For younger anglers, there is the real thing--a trout pond. It’s for kids only and the price is right. Fishing is free to children 12 and under.

The Southland’s most popular fishing show, besides featuring seminars and clinics by some of the West Coast’s most prominent fishermen, will also feature shooting and camping instruction, and professional dog-handlers and their retrievers, showing their stuff on land and in the water.

The show also boasts an extensive display of fishing tackle and boats, and dozens of outdoor travel booths.

Cost is $8 for adults. Hours are 2-10 p.m. through Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.

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The invasion will begin Friday night about 10:30. Riding in with the tide, will come wave after wave of . . . grunion.

In one of nature’s more remarkable displays, the small, silvery fish will catch a wave to the beach, where the females will drill themselves into the wet sand and lay their eggs, which will then be fertilized by males that have wrapped themselves around the females.

Then it’s back to the sea--providing they don’t get caught by the grunion grabbers.

Grunion grabbers are allowed all they can catch, providing they use only their bare hands.

And catching the slippery little fish is only part of the challenge. The sneaky little fish prefer the darkest stretches of sandy beach and, although it has not been scientifically proven, some people believe they send a scout grunion or two to make sure the beaches are safe for landing.

A fishing license is required for grunion grabbers 16 or older. The first runs of the season are predicted to last through Monday, with each night’s run beginning a little later than the previous night’s.

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Women who would like to become more adept in the wild now have that opportunity thanks to a popular program being offered by the Department of Fish and Game.

“Becoming an Outdoors Woman,” which features such outdoor activities as bow hunting, outdoor cooking, fishing, shooting, how to “read” the woods and basic survival skills, will be held in the Santa Barbara wilderness April 21-23.

The workshop is open to the first 100 applicants. Cost is $175, including instruction, food and lodging in a dorm-like camp near Lake Cachuma.

The DFG held its first such program last September in Northern California and nearly all the participants, in a survey, gave it high ratings.

For registration information, call (310) 590-5151.

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Spring turkey season is less than a month away, but already the DFG is predicting excellent hunting, thanks to a “super reproduction year for turkeys.”

The best hunting is expected in the north San Bernardino Mountains near the Coxey Meadow burn site, the result of a 16,000-acre wildfire last June. The area has been closed to vehicles since the fire to help protect recovering habitat from erosion. Thus, turkeys have found it a safe haven.

That will probably change come opening day, March 25.

The concentration of turkeys might be also attract hunters of another sort--mountain lions--and the DFG warns hunters to remain alert at all times, especially while crouching down to call the birds.

Briefly

SALTWATER FISHING--Los Angeles area fishermen are enjoying unseasonable showings of sand bass and barracuda. The sand bass moved into the Santa Monica Bay two weeks ago and, after a brief drop in the action, resurfaced again in the last few days. The barracuda showed about the same time, primarily at the Horseshoe Kelp outside L.A. Harbor and off the Palos Verdes peninsula. Lately, the fish have averaged about 10 pounds.

Cabo San Lucas: Striped marlin are feeding heartily in the Sea of Cortez between Gordo Banks and Destiladeres, with 90% of the boats flying marlin flags. Dorado and tuna are in the area, but are scattered. Roosterfish are biting off the beach in the Palmilla area. La Paz: Pargo are still the game fish of choice, though some are venturing offshore and catching small tuna and dorado. A few yellowtail are being taken as well. Loreto: Panga fleets have enjoyed yellowtail success at offshore islands, with fish running 10-30 pounds.

FLY FISHING--Sierra Pacific Flyfishers and the Pasadena Casting Club are conducting casting clinics this month. Sierra Pacific’s free classes will be held four consecutive Saturdays beginning Saturday at 9 a.m. at Reseda Park in Reseda. Details: (818) 846-6597. Pasadena’s class costs $10 a session or $25 for all three and will be held on Saturdays beginning March 11 at 9 a.m. at the Pasadena Casting Pool. Details: (818) 799-4373.

NOTEWORTHY--The Wilderness Fly Fishers, a Santa Monica-based club, and students from San Pedro Magnate High, last Saturday released hundreds of tiny trout into Piru Creek as part of a Trout in the Classroom program. The club is the first sponsor of the program in Los Angeles County and the fish were raised by the students from eggs obtained from the DFG’s Fillmore hatchery.