This Time, Victory at Sea Goes to the Black Marlin

Randy Reiter, a drywall contractor from Colorado, told one fleet owner, “It was the most depressing moment of my life.”

He had spent nearly 15 hours fighting a giant black marlin. He was exhausted, he ached and he wanted to cry.

Had things only gone his way for another half hour or so, he and his teammates in last weekend’s annual Bisbee’s Black and Blue tournament off Cabo San Lucas would have been on Easy Street, for a while anyway.

But things didn’t go his way.

As the battle wore on, from 11 a.m. last Saturday to 3:30 Sunday morning, taking Reiter and companions farther out to sea, his equipment began to fail. Part of his harness broke, so he had to fight the fish with the butt of the rod digging into his stomach. Then just after 3:30 a.m., his reel quit, frozen by the hours of pressure put on it by the fierce billfish, estimated at 700-800 pounds.

The line broke instantly.

Reiter sat there, stunned.

So did his partners.

“Total silence,” said teammate Glen Brown, 39, of Gypsum, Colo.

What would probably have been the biggest marlin of the Black and Blue, the richest billfish tournament in the world, was swimming deeper into the black ocean.

And Reiter was feeling about as blue as could be. His chance was gone. He had let his team down.

And when the team’s boat, Gaviota I, pulled into the docks at 5:30 a.m., two hours before the final day of competition was to begin, he told teammates he was too exhausted, mentally and physically, to continue.

“He didn’t even want to go out again,” Brown said. “We didn’t even want to. We were all depressed. But then I told everyone, ‘Hey, if it happened once, it could happen again.’ ”

Turned out Brown was right. The Gaviota I, one of 159 vessels in the tournament, was obviously charmed.

This time it was Ron Smith of Silt, Colo., who hooked up, using a live yellowfin tuna for bait, only 15 minutes before the 5 p.m. horn signaled the end of the tournament.

Another lengthy battle ensued, well after several others had ended. A 406-pounder was checked in early in the day, then was beaten by a 410-pounder at 7 p.m.

Smith pumped and reeled as dusk turned to darkness, determined not to make any mistakes.

And this time, there were no equipment failures. Smith had the marlin alongside the boat at 8:30 p.m. and when it was finally weighed, it was indeed bigger than the rest, a blue marlin topping out at 632 pounds. That netted Smith and his teammates $325,150.

Neither Smith nor Reiter could be reached for comment, but Brown said Reiter was the first to greet the others at the docks.

“And he was just ecstatic when he saw what we had,” he said. “We all were.”

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Add Black and Blue: In all, 624 anglers on 159 boats competed for $1.375 million in prize money. Smith caught the biggest marlin, but because he wasn’t entered in all the optional jackpots, he was only the third-leading money winner. Andres Hites of Lafayette, Calif., took top honors with a 563-pound black marlin worth $393,098. Marshall Hugo of Corona Del Mar caught a 523-pound blue worth $350,168.

The top team was a Santa Ana group aboard the Viper that took home $79,500.

Only 19 marlin met the 300-pound minimum weight requirement. A total of 149 were caught and released, 19 of them tagged for research purposes.

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Don’t feed the humans: Ten people found themselves on the inside, looking out, recently at the Honolulu Zoo, after five chimpanzees broke out of their enclosure and went on a brief rampage, forcing the humans into a large bird cage for their own protection.

Roscoe, a 175-pound chimp, led the breakout by climbing up a tree branch and jumping over the wall.

The zoo was cleared and closed for 40 minutes while zookeepers lured the chimps back into their quarters. The branch used in the escape was chopped off, the Associated Press reported.

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Congressional targets? Environmentalists around the country are shedding no tears over the conclusion of the 104th Congress, which has been criticized for its stand on critical outdoor issues.

Backpacker magazine, as it does every year, has chosen what it calls “the four worst enemies” in Congress, all members of the House.

The magazine’s picks and comments:

--Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho): “Ms. Chenoweth will forever be immortalized by her quote in which she said there was no need to worry about the endangered Chinook salmon because you can ‘buy a can of salmon off the shelf’ at the grocery store. She also views the United Nations’ designation of Yellowstone [Park] as a World Heritage Site as proof of an impending one-world government. ‘This is one person who needs to be institutionalized someplace other than Congress,’ says Sierra Club representative Bill Arthur.”

--James Hansen (R-Utah): “Last session, Hansen tried to open 3.9 million acres of red-rock wilds in Utah to coal mining, oil drilling, and other industrial development. He also tried to give every state the power to veto new wilderness areas, to allow paved highways to be built wherever a trail once existed, even in national parks, and to decommission any national park deemed ‘not worthy’ of the name.”

--Richard Pombo (R-Calif.): “Pombo decided to run for office after county officials wanted to put a hiking trail through his family’s ranch. ‘If you take away someone’s property, you have to pay for that.’ As it turned out, the trail was an old railroad right-of-way and public domain. But that attitude was nothing compared to his assault on the Endangered Species Act, when he said the public should pay landowners to refrain from killing at-risk plants and animals. Believe it or not, House Speaker Newt Gingrich stepped in to pull the plug on Pombo’s extreme bill.”

--Don Young (R-Alaska): “As head of the new House Resources Committee (he deleted the word ‘Natural’ from the title), Young has led efforts to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and to drastically increase logging in the already abused Tongass National Forest. Environmentalists, he complains, want to create a national park every time they see a tree ‘in a Safeway parking lot.’ And what does Young see in a tree? ‘I see paper to blow your nose.’ Enough said.”

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Eagle flies: Osceola, an old bald eagle who lost a wing to a hunter’s bullet 13 years ago, is taking to the skies again, thanks to the efforts of his caretaker, who has recently taken up hang-gliding.

John Stokes, of Gatlinburg, Tenn., has built a special harness that holds the eagle’s body in place without confining the movement of his head, tail and legs.

Stokes received permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to test the device on the eagle he helped rehabilitate.

Freshwater

LAKE PERRIS--Lots of small bass, mostly coming from east end and island, biting on plastic worms and small lures. Duck hunting on Saturday mornings restricting fishing at east end until 1 p.m. Other species slow.

CORONA LAKE--Hybrid striped bass active at north end, boiling periodically and striking mini-jigs. Catfish action fair at south end.

ANAHEIM LAKE--Sturgeon biting, but few are being landed. Heavy line and hooks baited with mackerel, shrimp or night crawlers recommended. Catfish and hybrid striped bass action fair.

IRVINE LAKE--Several limits of small channel catfish, and an occasional larger blue catfish. Barry Beaubien, Huntington Beach, 55-pound 8-ounce blue catfish, on mackerel at west shore. Largemouth bass action fair for boaters fishing west shore, the hump and the back of Sierra Cove. Plastic worms and crank plugs getting most.

LAGUNA NIGUEL LAKE--Limits of catfish being taken at night on mackerel. Big Bertha, a 52-pound catfish, was caught for the second time, this time by Juan Sanchez, Paramount, on mackerel at Three Pipes. Night crawlers and plastic worms taking some largemouth bass. Largest 6-9 by Ray Tellez, Los Angeles, on minnow lure near small island.

SILVERWOOD LAKE--Fishing slow. Boating access is expected to be restricted in the coming weeks because the lake is being drawn down so the outtake tower can be retrofitted to meet earthquake standards. Status reports: (619) 389-2303.

GREEN VALLEY LAKE--Trout slow one day, fair the next. A lake-record 9-6 fish was caught by a local resident on rainbow Power Bait. Several in three- to four-pound range, but few limits.

LAKE CACHUMA--Two recent trout plants have improved prospects. Meanwhile, largemouth bass remain the best bet, biting on most lures at 10-18 feet. Red-ear perch bite fair on mealworms and night crawlers.

LAKE CASITAS--Largemouth bass action fair throughout lake. Willie DeCoste, Ventura, 9-12 bass, on crankbait. Catfish fair, but moving deep. Tye Davis, Ventura, 15-8 catfish, on mackerel. Some trout.

PYRAMID LAKE--Catfish best bet, but striped bass action is picking up. Raul Garcia, Canoga Park, two 10-pound catfish, on anchovies at marina. Mark Graves, North Hollywood, eight- and 7 1/2-pound stripers, on top-water lures at Bear Trap. Largemouth and smallmouth bass biting on crankbaits and plastic worms along shoreline.

LAKE PIRU--Largemouth bass best bet, with north end producing most. Jacinto Fierro, Pacoima, 5-8 bass, on Pig-N-Jig at north end. Trout picking up at dam, biting on Power Bait and small lures. Some catfish. Ennis Choyce, Pasadena, 14-8 catfish, on home-made bait mixture. John Hendricks, Granada Hills, 16-pound catfish, on night crawler at Reasoner Cove.

CASTAIC LAKE--Largemouth bass active in both lakes. Pat Buckley, Castaic, 11-2 and 10-4 bass, on crawdads. James Bond, Sylmar, five-, three- and two-pound bass, on Bass Assassin’ lures. Tim Rosten, Burbank, six bass, largest 6-8, on purple-smoke colored plastic worms. Tye Fosberg, Canoga Park, eight-pound bass, on plastic worm.

SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES--El Capitan: Largemouth bass best bet, though fishing is fair at best. Crankbaits and plastic worms getting most. San Vicente: Largemouth bass action fair to good, largest one 6-7. Some limits, most coming on plastic worms and surface lures. Fishing for bluegills and catfish fair. Floyd Talmadge, Chula Vista, 48-4 blue catfish, on mackerel at Buoy line. Miramar opens Saturday. Murray opens Nov. 6.

LAKE CUYAMACA--Snow has fallen for the first time in October in 28 years, and more may fall this week. Cooler weather should have the trout biting. going wild, but they remain sluggish. Only notable catch was that of 9-year-old Michael Lukefahr, who spiced up his plastic worm with a shot of Tabasco sauce and landed a 4-1 rainbow.

LAKE SKINNER--Largemouth bass fishing fair, with most in 10-inch range. Brian and Jan Richie, Menifee, 60 bass, largest 5-10, on top-water lures near Ramp 2. Catfish action fair at east end on mackerel and chicken livers. More than five tons of trout scheduled to be stocked this week for Saturday’s “opener.”

Saltwater

The Times accepts and publishes the catch count as a public service. Any responsibility for accuracy is that of the landing operator.

VENTURA--(Harbor Village)--9 anglers (1 boat): 41 whitefish, 5 rockfish, 5 sculpin, 3 sheephead.

PORT HUENEME--15 anglers (1 boat): 16 ocean whitefish, 8 sculpin, 1 rockfish.

MARINA DEL REY--45 anglers (4 boats): 2 halibut, 18 sand bass, 135 sculpin, 1 sole, 1 rockfish, 7 whitefish, 1 cabezon.

REDONDO--38 anglers (3 boats): 1 calico bass, 11 sand bass, 80 red snapper, 4 sole, 3 salmon grouper, 128 sculpin, 47 rockfish.

SAN PEDRO (L.A. Harbor Sportfishing)--27 anglers (2 boats): 27 sand bass, 2 calico bass, 22 sculpin, 25 rockfish, 2 red rock cod, 5 whitefish.

LONG BEACH--9 anglers (1 boat): 1 sand bass, 16 whitefish, 7 sheephead, 6 sculpin, 40 rockfish. (Belmont Pier)--7 anglers (1 boat): 50 mackerel, 1 perch, 25 rockfish, 1 sole.

SEAL BEACH--19 anglers (2 boats): 1 calico bass, 1 sand bass, 6 whitefish, 3 sheephead, 22 sculpin, 122 rockfish, 43 red snapper, 5 salmon grouper, 36 mackerel.

NEWPORT BEACH (Newport Landing)--15 anglers (1 boat): 3 sand bass, 3 rockfish, 150 sculpin, 3 guitar fish, 30 mackerel. (Davey’s Locker)--42 anglers (4 boats): 140 bonito, 7 calico bass, 7 sand bass, 19 sculpin, 7 sheephead, 59 rockfish, 88 whitefish, 92 mackerel.

DANA WHARF--32 anglers (2 boats): 1 bonita, 26 calico bass, 1 sand bass, 15 mackerel, 19 rockfish, 2 sculpin, 1 sheephead.

OCEANSIDE--17 anglers (2 boats): 1 yellowtail, 7 bonita, 28 calico bass, 23 sand bass, 48 sculpin, 5 sheephead, 4 rockfish.

SAN DIEGO--(Seaforth)--36 anglers (3 boats): 8 calico bass, 8 sand bass, 128 rockfish, 152 mackerel, 16 sculpin. (Islandia)--25 anglers (2 boats): 2 barracuda, 10 calico bass, 8 sculpin, 58 rockfish, 25 mackerel.

Trout Plants

LOS ANGELES COUNTY--El Dorado Park Lake, Legg Lake, Peck Road Park Lake, Puddingstone Reservoir, San Gabriel River (East, North and West forks), Santa Fe Reservoir, Willowbrook Lake. RIVERSIDE--Lake Skinner. SAN BERNARDINO--Santa Ana River, Santa Ana River (South Fork). INYO--Baker Creek, Big Pine Creek, Bishop Creek (Lower, Middle, South forks and Intake II), Diaz Lake, Goodale Creek, Independence Creek, Lake Sabrina, North Lake, Lone Pine Creek, Owens River (Laws Bridge downstream to Steward Lane and below Tinnemaha), Pleasant Valley Reservoir, South Lake, Taboose Creek, Tinnemaha CreeK, Tuttle Creek.