Lobsters Aren’t Only Things in Hot Water
There’s no telling how many lobsters went into the pot last Saturday, the first day of open season, but at least one lobster diver did.
According to Giordan Hernandez, manager of Dive N’ Surf in Redondo Beach, one of the scuba divers participating in the store’s annual “Lobster Mobster” contest got sucked into an intake pipe at the Southern California Edison plant in El Segundo, ended up in a small pond within the facility and “from there he just climbed right out,” Hernandez said.
Thousands of lobsters weren’t so fortunate, of course, having found themselves in much hotter water, and with no way out.
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The Lobster Mobster, in its 24th year, involved more than 200 participants vying for various store prizes. A 10.85-pound “bug” was the biggest, plucked by a diver who refused to disclose the location.
Similar contests were held throughout the Southland.
The real mobsters, however, were involved in another type of contest: disregard all lobster laws and hope you’re not caught.
They were out in force during the dark hours last Saturday morning, taking lobsters that were too small, using illegal methods to catch them (the law says hands only) and taking more than the seven they were allowed, provided they possessed valid fishing licenses.
“We issued quite a few citations, mostly for short lobsters and also for snagging lobsters from piers and jetties,” said Angel Raton, a lieutenant with the California Department of Fish and Game. “They use fishing poles and [baited] treble hooks, and usually when they snag ‘em they take everything, even the shorts, so in a way they’re double-dipping.”
One poacher allegedly double-dipped from the King Harbor breakwater in Redondo Beach. Wardens spied from afar and made the collar in the parking lot as he was getting ready to drive away.
A cluster of lobsters was discovered in the back of his truck, carefully stashed in the catch-basin of his lawn mower.
“The suspect was not cooperative, so he was also cited for resisting a peace officer,” Raton said.
As for the lobsters, they were spared a bubbling caldron in favor of the chilly Pacific, to which they were promptly returned.
“Basically, it was a pretty busy night as there were quite a few people out there chasing the lobsters,” Raton said.
You can legally chase them through March 21.
GREAT WHITE HYPE
Last Friday in this space was an item on white sharks wreaking havoc on the tuna bite at Guadalupe Island off Baja California. The same morning off Northern California, a large white shark savagely struck a surfer as he was paddling out at Maverick’s near Half Moon Bay.
Miraculously, the surfer emerged unscathed, the shark having lifted him off the board with its snout before clamping down on fiberglass and foam. The surfer, a local named Peck Euwer, maintained his grasp and came down with his arm around the shark’s head. The shark then slipped back under and chose not to come back for more.
“It was a spiritual life-changing event,” Euwer said in an interview with Ryan Molde of the Half Moon Bay Review. “I hugged a shark. There’s a reason for that. We totally touched. It’s an incredibly unique once-in-a-lifetime event, to get that close and emerge unscathed.”
The same day, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story on a company offering this once-in-a-lifetime chance to anyone interested, provided they come up with $400 on weekdays or $450 on weekends.
Lawrence Groth, a Bay Area tug boat operator who also runs Golden Gate Adventures, takes customers to the Farallon Islands 25 miles west of the famous bridge, where great whites congregate in the fall to feed on elephant seals.
Groth uses a seal-like decoy to attract them, and a steel cage to keep his clients safe. Unfortunately, however, visibility has been poor so far this season and Groth has not had much success with the cage aspect of his endeavor.
That’s not to say that things haven’t been interesting aboard his 32-foot vessel. During one recent outing, he and his clients heard an attack on a seal about a quarter of a mile away. “We heard this huge splash, turned and could see this bright red spot and flailing shark fins all around it,” Groth said. “And then every bird on the island took off and headed over.”
Groth said the initial attack, by an 18-footer, was followed by that of a smaller shark that scurried past his boat and “caused everyone to start screaming.”
In seven trips this season, he said he has been skunked only once. “We’ve either had an investigation [by a shark on the decoy], an attack on the decoy or a natural feeding event,” he said.
So successful has he been in this regard that his favorite decoy, a plywood-and-neoprene contraption named “Chewy,” has been put on “permanent disability.”
SALTWATER FISHING
* Hot tuna: The yellowfin bite off the Orange County coast has gone from amazing to ridiculous. Even during an El Nino summer, yellowfin don’t hang around this long, or so close.
“Everywhere you go there are breaking fish and leaping fish all over the place,” says Norris Tapp, owner of Davey’s Locker Sportfishing in Newport Beach. “We’ve only had one day in the last 13 days when we had less than 200 tuna for the landing.”
Boats from L.A. Harbor to Dana Point have been targeting the tuna. Davey’s Locker’s Thunderbird and Pierpoint Landing’s Toronado have been regularly posting the bigger scores locally. San Diego’s overnight fleet is finding plenty of tuna just across the border, although fishing isn’t nearly as good as it had been down there. It is hoped that Tropical Storm Olivia will push more warm water--and more tuna and dorado--into Southland waters.
* End of an era: The 65-foot Thunderbird, having spent 40 years based at Davey’s Locker, will run its final trip out of the landing next Friday. The Boat has been sold to veteran skipper Bob Yoshihiro and is moving to Marina del Rey, giving Del Rey Sportfishing overnight access to and beyond the Channel Islands. Davey’s Locker has plans to bring in a 75-foot vessel with a wider beam and greater range.
* Central California albacore: “The counts have dropped down but, boy, the fish sure got bigger,” says Kevin Frankhauser, a spokesman for Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay. Frankhauser said the average size this week jumped from the mid-20s to about 32 pounds, topped by a 55-pound longfin. The popular San Diego vessel Pacific Queen has moved to Virg’s for the remainder of the season.
* Angler accolades: Eric Hogan of Corona caught an 84-pound bigeye at Guadalupe Island aboard the Royal Star. . . . Dave Hogan of Vista, on the same trip, caught a 50-pound yellowtail. . . . Greg Gates of Moorpark landed a 57-pound yellowtail aboard the Excel. . . . Mike Parmenter of San Diego caught a 70-pound wahoo with a dorado-colored Marauder at “the Ridge” aboard the Polaris Supreme. . . . Richard Cookson of Riverside boated a 78-pound yellowfin aboard the American Angler. . . . Ed Rain of Bakersfield, fishing aboard the Admiral off Morro Bay, subdued a 55-pound albacore, the largest longfin yet by the Virg’s Landing fleet.
HUNTING
The southerly migration has begun and the Southern California waterfowl season is just around the corner. It becomes open season on ducks Oct. 14 and prospects are fair to good in most areas. At San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Riverside County, several species of ducks and white-front geese have been dropping in. Goose season opens Oct. 21.
San Jacinto will have 33 sites ready for opening day, with two adults and two juniors allowed at each site. Hunting is allowed on Saturdays and Wednesdays and information for San Jacinto and nearby Lake Perris State Recreation Area can be obtained by calling (909) 654-0580. Last opening day, hunters averaged 1.89 birds.
At Lake Perris, 15 sites will be open and have motorized boat access only. Two hunters are allowed per boat--they must have their own boat--and hunters must bring their own blind materials. Retriever dogs are allowed. Hunters last year fared slightly better than at San Jacinto, posting a three-bird average.
Farther south at Imperial Wildlife Area in Niland, the Wister Unit is prime for a great opener, flooded and lush and already teeming with cinnamon teal, green-wing teal, shoveler and pintail. One hundred sites will be ready for the opener at Wister. At the nearby Finney-Ramer unit, hunters do not need reservations but can expect only “halfway decent” prospects, according to manager Pam Cherny. Imperial Wildlife Area can be reached at (760) 359-0577.
Duck and goose seasons run through Jan. 21. The daily bag limit is seven ducks, with certain species restrictions. The goose limit is five.
WINDING UP
The California gray whale migration will soon begin and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro is seeking volunteers interested in becoming naturalists for its Cabrillo Whalewatch program.
Classes, free of charge and open to people college age or older, are Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. until the season officially begins Dec. 26. Once trained, the volunteers will be placed on boats running out of Redondo Sportfishing in Redondo Beach, 22nd St. Landing in San Pedro and Catalina Cruise Lines in Long Beach. Details: (310) 548-8397.
* FISH REPORT, D16
