Everything You Wanted to Know About Fish but Were Afraid to Ask

How serious are you about fishing?

Do you board a party boat once or twice a year, rent a rod, bait your hook and drop a line with absolutely no clue as to what you might catch?

Or are you among those who flip through the sport pages every morning to get to the fish report so you can decide whether to go to work the next day, based on what’s biting?

If you’re in the first group, well, continue what you’re doing and enjoy yourself. Maybe you’ll get lucky and land a big one.

If you’re in the second group, or somewhere in the middle, you’re hooked. You’re tired of seeing sculpin in the counts and and can’t wait to see something exciting surface like yellowtail, white seabass or even halibut.

That’s all up to Mother Nature, of course, but there is something you can do while biding your time--you can sharpen your skills, keep up with the latest in tackle and techniques, meet some of the pros.

Salt Water Sportsman magazine’s national seminar series is coming to Long Beach State on Jan. 16. And although you don’t have to go to school to catch more fish, it might help.

The series, featuring national and local experts, stopped in the Los Angeles area last year and the response was astonishing. They had to close the doors after 750 people filled the room.

“We’re going to keep to about that many again this year because any more would be unmanageable,” said George Poveromo, 40, senior editor for the Boston-based magazine, the nation’s oldest and largest saltwater fishing publication.

Poveromo is the driving force behind the seminar series, which in its 10th year is stopping in eight cities from January through March. He has fished all over the world and says he logs about 200 days a year on the water.

“I don’t want to make you jealous or anything, but [Wednesday] I just had a fantastic day on the flats [off Key Biscayne, Fla.],” he said. “We found this spot on the lee side of one of the islands where the bonefish had gathered and we hooked them at will. There must have been 1,000 fish in that one area.”

Bonefish aren’t on tap at Long Beach, of course. But yellowtail, tuna, halibut and white seabass are. So are mako sharks, thresher sharks and marlin.

Coming with Poveromo is Spider Andresen, the magazine’s publisher-at-large and host of the Salt Water Sportsman television series on ESPN.

Local experts are Capt. Randy Wood (offshore specialist); Greg Stotesbury of AFTCO Manufacturing (light-tackle, inshore); Jim Hendricks (calico bass, halibut and yellowtail); Capt. David Brackmann (tuna, marlin and sharks); Tom Waters (bays and harbors; Fred Archer (sharks and other big game); Barry Brightenburg (coastal species on artificials), and Capt. Scott Weldon (offshore big game).

These fishermen, for six hours beginning at 9 a.m., will share secrets and discuss advancements in tackle, rigging techniques and fishing strategies.

It’s an elaborate production, featuring two 10-foot screens, visual aids and a team-teaching concept, with up to three experts sharing the floor at the same time.

“I guarantee it won’t be like watching four guys in a room of a Holiday Inn,” Poveromo said, alluding to the typical seminar format.

Cost of the event is $40, which includes a textbook co-authored by Poveromo, a year’s subscription to Salt Water Sportsman and a chance to win a trip to the Bahamas or a fishing boat. Tickets can be ordered by phone at (800) 448-7360, or by check at Outdoor Associates, Inc., 9930 N.W. 59th Court, Parkland, Fla., 33076.

WHERE THEY’RE BITING

Not locally. Actually, there are loads of sculpin in the Santa Monica Bay, and although they’re not much for fight, they go great in a tortilla with a little cabbage and fresh salsa. Elsewhere, private boaters able to catch squid off Santa Catalina Island are using the squid to catch a few yellowtail, but only a few.

If you’re looking south of the border for more exotic action, keep in mind that the north winds have begun to blow in the La Paz and East Cape areas and fishing will be unpredictable through March (but the windsurfing will be excellent). The best bet in Baja: Cabo San Lucas, where yellowfin tuna, blue and striped marlin and dorado are keeping the reels singing daily.

CETACEAN CITY

Whale-watching season is just getting underway, but it has been going strong for two weeks at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Volunteer spotters, from their cliff-side perch overlooking the Pacific, have already seen more than a dozen southbound gray whales, a breaching humpback and a sperm whale that has been hanging around for a week, perhaps feeding on squid.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, who coordinates the American Cetacean Society’s gray whale census project, said killer whales have also been spotted by private boaters a little farther offshore.

Anyone interested in becoming a spotter is invited to join Schulman-Janiger for an orientation Saturday, 2-4 p.m. The only requirements are binoculars, warm clothing and an interest in marine mammals. Details: (310) 377-5370.

WORTH A MENTION

* Steve Fernandez, a Southland architect who is also a renowned fly-tier, will demonstrate his tying skills tonight during a dinner meeting of the Sierra Pacific Flyfishers at 6:30 p.m. at the Encino Glen in Encino. Cost is $22 for nonmembers. Details: (818) 789-1919.

* Volunteers are needed to help count bald eagles at Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area on Saturday from 8-10 a.m. Bring your own binoculars. Details: (760) 389-2320.

* The DFG has published a new magazine about upland game hunting in California. Upland Game California, published twice annually, is geared toward novice and veteran hunters and includes feature articles, tips and recipes. The magazine is free and can be ordered by calling (916) 653-4263.

* FISH REPORT, PAGE 13