NOTES / PETE THOMAS : Wardens Shark-Like in Poaching Arrests

While allegedly poaching sharks below the surface, three commercial fishermen were unwittingly being watched from well above the surface.

Department of Fish and Game wardens staked out the vessel Kathy Ann, a 28-foot harpoon boat based in Redondo Beach, for four days before swooping in for the bust.

Cited last Wednesday for illegal use of boat bumpers to catch sharks were Melvin G. Dahle, 46, of Torrance; Max A. Schultz, 39, of Lomita; and MathewA. Sautter, 41, of Redondo Beach.

An anonymous informant told the DFG that the three men regularly used “mouse traps” to catch mako sharks.

Mouse trap fishing, according to the DFG, is an extremely efficient way to catch sharks by using buoys or boat bumpers set adrift while attached to a baited hook and line.

It was from the DFG’s single engine airplane that wardens spotted the boat 10 miles west of Palos Verdes.

Two other wardens, waiting nearby in an inflatable boat, closed in.

“They were cleaning sharks when we arrived, with eight makos in the boat and one in the water hooked to a buoy,” said Mike Conely, one of the wardens. He said an additional six bumpers attached to baited hooks were also seized.

The three were charged with using illegal fishing gear and illegal use of a buoy-attached line to catch mako sharks.

Both charges are misdemeanors punishable by fines up to $1,000 and six-month jail terms.

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Skippers and landing operators out of San Diego are keeping a watchful eye on the water south of Point Loma, and, finally, they like what they see.

Tuna, arriving late in the season for the second consecutive year, are beginning to show within the 100-mile range of the city’s huge overnight fleet.

It’s no bonanza--the Pegasus caught two bluefins at 66 miles and the Conquest reported catching about a dozen at 70 miles--but they’ll take it. At least it proves oceanic conditions are finally such to support the popular game fish.

And given what took place last weekend aboard two vessels fishing 160 miles south of Point Loma, it seems thousands more tuna may soon be making their way north.

Anglers on a three-day trip aboard the American Angler bagged 307 bluefin tuna from 25-40 pounds; 44 yellowfins and a 61-pound bigeye.

“And we lost quite a few more bigeye,” said Dan Sansome, the vessel’s owner. “We were stopped for 18 hours on one school on Friday and got 225 bluefins.”

The Vagabond, also from Point Loma, was fishing slightly farther south and reported about 100 fewer bluefins but a few dozen more yellowfins.

Sansome said he encountered calm winds and ideal conditions en route back. “The water is 66 degrees and purple,” he said. “Absolutely beautiful.”

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The salmon that took the Southland by storm a few months ago have all but disappeared from local waters, but it appears they’re making a big splash up north where they belong.

The most excitement recently was generated in the San Simeon area, where the fish chased bait into San Simeon Cove and stayed for three days, providing some of the best pier fishing ever for local anglers.

“Everybody was catching them,” said Harry Neil, general manager of Virg’s Sportfishing, whose boats are based at the pier. “I went out there last Friday and the water was full of bait, and I saw these big silver flashes, so I grabbed my mooching rod and four anchovies, and with the four anchovies I caught three fish and kept two.”

Neil said the bay bite ended Monday, but that the fish are still offshore.

Meanwhile, the continued northward movement of the salmon is evident. Fishing is reportedly outstanding outside Monterey and San Francisco bays.

“Fishing is spectacular, there are fish everywhere,” said Roger Thomas, owner of the Salty Lady, a party boat that runs out of Sausalito. “We’re catching fish all over on the outside and even inside the Golden Gate [Bridge]. We’re also getting striped bass and halibut in the bay. In fact, the Bay Area right now is a virtual smorgasbord of fish.”

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Close to the coast, barracuda and sand bass counts at almost every landing are soaring, and there is a good calico bass bite wherever there is kelp. Redondo Sportfishing reports one of the better calico bites taking place off the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Private boaters are getting into the act there as well, catching fish from two to five pounds. It has been an on-again-off-again affair, but the fish bit for the second consecutive day on Tuesday for L.A. Harbor and 22nd St. landing boats.