Taking the Bait : The Mellos Have Been Bringing Them Back Alive for 30 Years

As the electronic fish-finder aboard the Mona Lisa went crazy, signaling the presence of huge schools of anchovies beneath the boat, Skipper John Mello inched back on the throttle and brought the craft to an idle.

“Light up the skiff,” Mello said, his voice barely audible over the low rumble of the Mona Lisa’s diesel engine. Deckhand Adam Souder turned on an electrical generator that powered a small, naked light bulb hanging in the skiff, sending a circle of light onto the water.

It was 3 a.m. The waiting game began.

For more than 30 years, Mello, 50, has played the game associated with a live-bait fishing business he began with his dad, Arthur Mello, 72, who is now semi-retired. They started it when Newport Beach was known not for its pricey homes and upscale malls, but for its fish canneries and fishing fleet. Up and down the coast, the family is regarded as among the best live-bait operations.

Nowadays, Mello and his brothers, Sam, 38, of San Clemente, and Mike, 35, of Costa Mesa, operate and supply Dana Point’s only live-bait platform. In addition to selling to private boaters, they are under contract to supply bait to the boats owned by Dana Wharf Sportfishing.

On Friday, the 46-foot Mona Lisa left Dana Point after 1 a.m., cruised up the coast in the dark, and was a mile west of Laguna Beach when the electronic meter spiked.

Minutes ticked by as anxious eyes focused on the illuminated circle beneath the light bulb. At first, nothing happened. Then, silver hordes of anchovy broke the ocean surface.

“Let’s get the net out,” Mello said.

In a year that has been described as phenomenal for tuna found close to shore, the half-dozen live-bait operations in Southern California also are enjoying a “pretty good year” for anchovies, said Mary Larson, an associate marine biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game.

While the Mona Lisa carries enough electronic gadgetry to zero in on the tiny anchovies, the brothers’ teamwork is critical.

After the order to set the net, Sam Mello immediately got in the skiff. He would stay there with the light shining to continue attracting the fish while the Mona Lisa circled as Mike Mello and Souder released the net.

Then, as the boat’s big winch whined, it began pulling in the net with several tons of anchovies, sardines and some squid, a payload valued at $1,000 to $1,200. With each tug, the net grew smaller until thousands of twisting and turning anchovies rose close to the surface in a silvery explosion.

The crew worked swiftly and smoothly in synchronized fashion, working the winches as a huge canvas scoop moved 600 pounds at a time from the nets to boat’s two tanks.

In less than half an hour, they were done.

The Mello brothers grew up on a fishing boat. In the earlier days, their father worked for Davey’s Locker and Art’s Landing in Newport Beach and then ran a live-bait operation from the San Clemente pier before Dana Point Harbor was built.

“Everyone knows the Mello brothers,” said Bob Steffen, who helps sell the anchovies from the Dana Point platform.

Only Sam has left the operation, to work as a security guard at Disneyland.

“I came back to fishing, and I’m really happy I did,” he said. “The attraction here is you go out in the middle of the night and it’s a great place to come to work instead of an office.”

Sam’s older brother, John, has never known another life, since his teens in the ‘60s when he had to hand-scoop tons of bait aboard his dad’s boat, before the days of winches.

“It’s nice being outside doing this kind of work,” he said. “In my years, I’ve seen all kinds of marine life, sharks, whales, and even marlin and swordfish out here.”

When the Mona Lisa returned to the harbor at 5 a.m., several boats already were lined up, waiting to buy bait.

Sam Mello said few anglers realize that the Mellos fish their bait every weeknight, going up to seven nights during the busy summer season.

“You’ll be surprised at how angry people get when we run out of bait,” Sam Mello said. “They don’t understand we have to catch the anchovies and we’re not in control of that. But they usually say things like, ‘Hey, didn’t the [bait] truck come today?’ ”