NOTES / PETE THOMAS : Lion Still a Threat Even After Its Death

There was another fatal encounter between man and mountain lion recently, but this one was different. The lion was killed by a car early last Friday on the westbound 91 Freeway near the Green River exit.

A Highway Patrol officer found the animal about 7 a.m. and contacted warden Eric Vielhauer of the Department of Fish and Game.

Five minutes before Vielhauer arrived, the Highway Patrol officer got a call and sped away. When Vielhauer arrived, the cat was gone.

Apparently, a motorist stopped, put the carcass in his car and took off.

They may not know it, Vielhauer said, but despite the lion being dead, it could still be deadly, if it carried any diseases.

“Rabies and bubonic plague come to mind,” Vielhauer said.

Additionally, the motorist faces up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Possession of a mountain lion, alive or dead, is illegal.

“I would urge anyone who has that animal to call us right away so we can collect the carcass as soon as possible,” Vielhauer said.

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A striped bass fisherman called The Times recently to complain that the new Silverwood Lake record, a 50-pound 12-ounce fish caught last week, should not be considered a record at all.

“The scale only went up to 20 pounds,” the caller said of the instrument used to weigh the fish, at the Country Store near the San Bernardino County reservoir.

And as far as the marina tackle store is concerned, the fish isn’t a lake record, either.

“We never saw it,” a spokeswoman said.

The angler, Andres Herrera, is remaining low-key. As far as he is concerned, he caught a huge striper. Enough said.

Jim Hughes, a clerk at the store, said the certified scale does go only to 20 pounds, but it is calibrated to spin four times past the 20 on the dial, so it can accommodate fish to 80 pounds.

He has been besieged by striper fishermen complaining about the fisherman and the fish, and wonders what all the fuss is about.

“They’re going berserk about it,” he said. “They’ve blamed the guy for using live trout for bait, for bringing the fish in from the Colorado River. One guy wanted to get in my face about it and I told him, ‘Look, as far as we’re concerned it’s a lake record.’ They just don’t want to believe it.”

Briefly

FISHING--In with the latest heat wave came schools of sand bass, which are treating anglers aboard twilight boats to some outstanding fishing. “The Matt Walsh [of L.A. Harbor Sportfishing] and the Southern Cal out of Long Beach--both [are] boats doing really well,” said Dan Stanton, a spokesman for L.A. Harbor. “They’re getting anywhere from half to full [10-fish] limits on every trip.” The barracuda bite remains sporadic--excellent one day, poor the next. Off the Ventura coast, salmon is still the hot item, but with the weather warming, the bite seems to be cooling somewhat.

Cabo San Lucas: The striped marlin seem to be moving closer to Cabo, which is good news to the fleets. Dorado action is picking up and the tuna bite remains steady. Along the surf zone, roosterfish reign supreme. A Mazatlan angler beached one at 70 pounds.

East Cape: Striped marlin and sailfish are being caught daily, with the occasional dorado taking the bait. Roosterfish are active along the beaches.

La Paz: Large tuna, some to 100 pounds, are available for those with strong backs outside La Paz Harbor, and dorado--many in the 30- to 40-pound class--are being targeted at the shark buoys south of Cerralvo Island, according to Seal Beach-based Blue Water Tours. Striped marlin are hitting lures at both locations.

Loreto: Dorado may be attracting many, but an unusually strong showing of striped marlin and sailfish has also been a pleasant surprise. Squid to five pounds are making things interesting, especially for calamari lovers.

HUNTING--The deadline to apply for California big-game tags is Monday, and the DFG’s License and Revenue Branch in Sacramento reminds hunters to carefully fill out their applications before sending them in, “because we’re no longer correcting mistakes or allowing changes to be made after we’ve received the applications,” said Karen Madrigal at the office. The most common mistake, she said, is putting down an invalid license number. The DFG is responsible for some of the confusion, however. A printing mistake on the bear tag application asks for a $5.50 application fee in addition to the tag fee. There is no extra fee, and those submitted are being refunded. In any event, details on how to apply for tags are available wherever licenses are sold, or at DFG offices.

MISCELLANY--The Southland has a new fishing boat. The City of Long Beach, formerly L.A. Harbor’s Annie B. Barge transport vessel named the Billy V, has been converted to a half-day boat and is running from Belmont Pier. The barge is out of service. . . . Neil Kelly, co-author of the Baja Catch, will give a seminar on summer fishing in Baja on Thursday night from 7-10 p.m. at Discover Baja travel club in San Diego. Details: (619) 275-4225.