Fishermen Spring Into Action for Yellowtail

You know spring is in the air when....

... Yellowtail start breezing around the Coronado Islands. The fish have yet to fully cooperate, but this is largely because Mother Nature keeps blowing the fishermen back to port.

“We licensed two boats to go out there last weekend but they got blown back in,” said John Yamate, manager of Seaforth Sportfishing in San Diego.

On Feb. 6, Doug Kern of Fisherman’s Landing Tackle was at the islands on a smaller boat and saw at least 50 spots of yellowtail corralling bait fish at the surface--he caught two and lost three--and said it was only a matter of time before a full-scale bite erupts.

“It’s amazing to see that kind of stuff going on in February,” Kern said.

... White seabass begin making a splash at Santa Catalina Island. Allyn Watson took Pierpoint Landing’s Dreamer to the island Tuesday and his customers put 12 large croakers (the largest a 20-pounder) on the deck. In an interview with www.976-tuna.com, Watson pointed to a jump in water temperature from 55 to 59 degrees as the reason.

This undoubtedly will draw more attention to the backside of the island, which until this week has been all but deserted.

... The really big tuna start cooperating for long-range fishermen at Mexico’s Revillagigedo Islands.

The Excel returned to Fisherman’s Landing on Wednesday with its second 300-pounder of the season. Roca Partida was the hot spot.

Pete Gray of the “Let’s Talk Hook-up!” radio show was there aboard the Royal Star and reported catching not only five yellowfin topping 100 pounds, but a black marlin estimated at 500 pounds before it was unhooked.

... People start talking about the Eastern Sierra trout season opener. It’s not until April 28, but it’s already a hot topic, especially at Crowley Lake, where a faulty electrical wire reportedly caused a fire two weeks ago that consumed a large storage facility, in which were four pick-up trucks and an antique automobile, four boats, several motors and other equipment.

The tackle and boat rental shop was not damaged and Crowley Lake Fish Camp should be ship-shape come opening day.

... Southland fly fishing groups start offering free casting courses in anticipation of the trout opener. Sierra Pacific Flyfishers is conducting its four Saturday clinics--from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.-- beginning March 16 at Reseda High in the San Fernando Valley. The course culminates with a field trip to Piru Creek. Details: (818) 888-1974 or via e-mail at coachg1@earthlink.net.

... The Southern California Boat Show comes to town. The “Super Bowl” of boat shows, boasting more than 600 of the latest models, is scheduled March 2-10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Admission is $9 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays, and 2-9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

... Preparations start being made for the spring hunting season. Hunter safety courses are being offered sporadically through March and recorded information, with dates and locations, is available by calling (562) 590-5670 or visiting www.dfg.ca.gov.

Also a rite of pre-spring: the San Gabriel Valley chapter of Quail Unlimited’s annual Gun Dog Showdown, which is an “attempt to determine whether the pointing breeds or flushing breeds are better suited for the rigors of upland game hunting.”

This year’s event, featuring planted chukar, is March 9 beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Prado Dog-Training Area in Chino. Registration is $50. Details: (909) 624-7411 or via e-mail at sgvqu@onebox.com.

News and Notes

* Cabo San Lucas: Julio Castro of the Pisces Fleet will be honored Saturday by the Billfish Foundation for releasing more billfish than any other Cabo skipper during 2001. Castro, captain of the Tracy Ann, also will be honored for releasing the most marlin worldwide. His release total was listed at 178, but was actually 20%-25% higher, Pisces owner Tracy Ehernberg said, because “not everyone wants to fill in a release card when they come back from fishing.”

* Guadalupe Island: This remote island off central Baja California has become known as much recently as a haunt for great white sharks as it is for large tuna.

“I wouldn’t say that the sharks have ruined our fishing trips [by stealing fish from hooks], but they have at times made it so it’s very difficult to get a fish in past them,” said Art Taylor, owner and operator of the Searcher. “They have that much of a presence.”

Given this, the veteran San Diego captain, in conjunction with the Bay Area’s Absolute Adventures, is plunging into the shark-diving business, offering a series of five-day trips to Guadalupe that will allow passengers to view great whites from within the safety of steel cages. The trips, from June through November, cost $2,250-$2,400 per person. Details: www.sharkdiver.com.

* Zihuatanejo: If it’s light-tackle sailfish action you’re after, it’s hard to beat the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo region. For the past few weeks anglers have been logging phenomenal release totals and little has changed.

One of the best days was logged by a group from England, fishing aboard four Ixtapa Sportfishing super pangas and leadering 38 sailfish in two days. Another pair from England logged eight sailfish releases on a day they also boated a 72-pound dorado and waged unsuccessful battle with three blue marlin.

“The sailfish action has been nothing short of the very best season we have had in many years,” fleet manager Stan Lushinsky said.

* New Mexico: Mark Mariani, a bowhunter from Greenwich, Conn., recently purchased the right to bag a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep this year in New Mexico. Cost of the tag, sold at auction during the annual meeting in Reno of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep: $157,500. The money will be used for sheep restoration projects.

Winding Up

A fishing tackle “Super Swap Meet” will be held Feb. 24 from 4 a.m.-noon in the parking lot of Ballyhooed Lures in Santa Ana, to raise money for the Mel Auiler memorial fund. Auiler, who founded the highly popular Allcoast Sportfishing Web site, died recently of cancer. Tackle and trips will be on sale. Details: (949) 363-8558.