Fishing Party Favor: First Albacore of 2000

It was an eerie way to ring in the new year, 50 miles at sea in the wind and rain, on a boat with no cabin, waiting for the clock to strike midnight while more than a dozen large sharks circled under the lights.

“We were out there looking for satellites to fall out of the sky and for a red glow to develop over San Onofre,” said Wes Trent, 47, one of four Orange County fishermen aboard the vessel, hoping to catch the first albacore of 2000. “But all we saw were all these big blue sharks, which were all around us.”

The sky didn’t fall, the San Onofre nuclear power plant didn’t blow up, the boat stayed afloat, the sharks went hungry and the four intrepid fishermen did indeed make history on New Year’s Day--by landing a 27-pound albacore that struck a purple-and-black Rapala at 6:45 a.m.

That was the easy part, Trent said. Getting their catch back to Fisherman’s Landing in San Diego was “just brutal.”

With Trent were his brother, Kevin; Rory Hughes, 41, of Costa Mesa, and Brian Wilson, 42, of San Clemente. They were one of several teams entered in the landing’s Y2K contest, trying to earn not only a $1,000 shopping spree at its tackle store, but bragging rights for the next millennium--and bragging rights are pretty important to any serious fisherman.

That the new millennium technically does not begin until next Jan. 1 was not important, since fishermen rarely get hung up on technicalities.

“In fact, since we went out the day before and caught a few albacore right before sunset, we probably caught the last albacore of the old millennium too,” Trent boasted.

In any event, it was their New Year’s Day tuna, landed by Hughes, that they hoped would bring them fame--and a taste of fortune. That’s why they were on Hughes’ 27-foot Boston Whaler, equipped with twin 200-horsepower outboards.

With three albacore on the deck and speed to burn, they set a course for Point Loma, well aware that others were probably racing back as well. The wind was gusting at 20 mph, the swells were rolling in at five to seven feet. As the boat leaped over and plowed through an angry ocean, the fishermen maintained death grips on the rails for the two hours, bashing knees, hips and elbows, finally gliding into the shelter of San Diego Harbor a sopping mess.

Their haste, it turned out, was well advised, since a duo in a smaller Whaler was only 10 minutes behind them. Having limped in from even farther offshore, with a broken rod holder, a loose bow railing and a crumpled speaker, the two San Diego anglers were disheartened as well as disheveled.

“But they were a lot smarter than us,” Trent said. “They wore knee pads and elbow pads, which came in handy because it was one brutal ride home.”

Asked what became of the 27-pound tuna, Trent said it was not sent to the taxidermist but to the dinner table, where it tasted as sweet as victory.

“Being the first albacore of the new millennium makes ours a special kind of fish, fitting for only special friends,” he said. “This is really fun stuff for us. As we all get older and the color changes in our hair, this event just gives us something to look back on later in life.”

WHALE TALES

* With the hectic holiday season over, one way to mellow out is to hop on a boat and watch the whales go by. Most sportfishing landings are running trips through mid-May, but here’s a tip for those considering an excursion this month: The southbound migration reaches a peak off Southern California on Jan. 18, according to a recent study based on census-project averages.

The migration seems to be getting off to a slow start this season, though, so any late-January voyage would probably offer excellent viewing for Southland whale watchers. The Los Angeles chapter of the American Cetacean Society did not plan its annual Super Whalewatch trip to Catalina and back on Jan. 22 by chance. The outing, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is aboard the Monte Carlo out of 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro. Cost is $55. Details: (562) 437-4376.

* Though gray whales have been slow to get a move on toward Baja--or the first wave is simply taking an offshore course behind the islands--the season has been interesting nonetheless.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a researcher for the ACS, encountered a small pod of killer whales recently while on a trip aboard the Condor out of Santa Barbara’s Sea Landing. The orcas belong to a “transient” group known to prey on other marine mammals, among them migrating grays. They were observed “head-butting” small seabirds on the surface and “flipping them around,” perhaps enjoying them as snacks while searching for a main course.

Schulman-Janiger, who photo-catalogs individual killer whales as part of an ongoing project, recognized one of the transients as CA 49, which had by her side a very young calf; CA 50, a juvenile born in 1992, and CA 160, a “sprouting male” or teenage orca.

CA 160 and CA 50 were among several killer whales observed off Monterey last May feeding on elephant seals, a Dall’s porpoise and Cassin’s auklets while presumably waiting to ambush the main course: northbound grays, calves in particular.

The two other killer whale groups that occasionally grace Southland waters--the L.A. Pod and Offshore Group--are chiefly fish eaters.

ON THE SLOPES

* The holiday season was not especially kind to resort operators, but “all things considered, the troops are reasonably happy,” says Bob Roberts, director of the California Ski Industry Assn., adding that “strong daily numbers” in the 5,000 to 6,000 range helped the bigger Southland resorts--notably Snow Summit in Big Bear Lake, and Mountain High and Wrightwood--post modest profits.

Skier and snowboarder visits were slightly higher at the larger Tahoe-area resorts and at Mammoth Mountain, but those without snow-making capabilities--Dodge Ridge and June Mountain, to name a couple--remain closed and are running out of optimism.

Those with heavy snow-making investments may be reaping their rewards, thanks to frigid nighttime temperatures, but even they could use a boost as conditions start deteriorating by noon.

* Natural snow or not, the shows go on. Boarding for Breast Cancer, a five-stop fund-raising tour, will be at Mountain High on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m. Pro and amateur athletes will be performing, but there also will be a fashion show, product demos, live music and raffles. A minimum pledge of $50 is required. Details: (760) 249-5808.

At Mammoth, the Ford Downhill Series resumes Saturday, featuring Kyle Rasmussen of Angels Camp, Calif., in a race against 1998 Olympic gold-medalist Jean-Luc Cretier of France. Rasmussen holds a narrow lead over Cretier going into the third of a five-race series.

Also at Mammoth, the inaugural winter Gravity Games, a wild extravaganza featuring competition in snowboarding, freestyle skiing and freestyle snowmobiling, is expected to attract a crowd of about 35,000 to the Eastern Sierra resort Jan. 20-23. Many of the world’s top athletes are expected to be on hand, among them Olympic gold-medalist Jonny Moseley. The festival, which also features product demos and live music, is a joint venture of NBC Sports and EMAP Petersen Publishing. NBC will televise the event Feb. 12-13 and Feb. 20.

ON THE ROCKS

A tough fall-winter fishing season has become even tougher for landing operators who rely on rockfish and lingcod during the otherwise drearily slow winter months, as the Southern California fishery is closed until March 1.

The closure, which went into effect Saturday, is designed to allow several species of rockfish and lingcod to recover from years of overfishing, by both commercial trawlers and--to a lesser degree--sport fishermen.

When it reopens, there will be a reduced bag limit, from 15 to 10, with no more than three bocaccio, three canary rockfish and one cow cod among them. No more than two cow cod are allowed on any vessel, regardless of its passenger load. The lingcod limit remains two, but the minimum-size limit has been increased to 26 inches.

The days of five-to-seven-hook rigs are history too. Anglers are now limited to three hooks per line.

The closure is in effect south of Lopez Point in Monterey County. On March 1, a similar two-month closure goes into effect north of Lopez Point.

During open seasons, rockfish fillets must have the entire skin attached to make identification of species more accurate. Lingcod fillets must retain a one-inch patch of skin.

WINDING UP

Former baseball star Ted Williams is one of five anglers to be inducted into the International Game Fish Assn.’s Fishing Hall of Fame on Jan. 29.

“He practiced the art of fishing with the same dedication he put into baseball for the Boston Red Sox,” the IGFA said in its December newsletter. “He tied his own flies, studied the habits of fish, became a master caster and was determined to be the best,” the IGFA said in a news release.

Williams spent most of his time in the Florida Keys and the Miramichi River in New Brunswick, Canada, fishing for tarpon, bonefish and Atlantic salmon, and is said to have caught more than 1,000 of each, releasing most.

At 81, he’s the only living member of the five inductees. He no longer fishes but is expected to attend the ceremony at the Florida facility.

The lone California entry is the late Ralph Bandini, an Avalon Tuna Club member who was friends with saltwater fishing pioneers Zane Grey and George Farnsworth. Bandini also served on the California Fish and Game Commission.