Boats Set Sail as Halibut Make Their Run

David Zammit came all the way from New Boston, Mich., to go halibut fishing aboard Redondo Sportfishing’s Sea Spray. He caught a 19-pounder and proudly proclaimed that “New Boston rocks!”

Danny Wi traveled a much shorter distance, from Costa Mesa, to fish aboard the landing’s Betty G. He caught a 17-pounder and declared, much less emphatically, “This was my lucky day.”

This was Saturday, the oval-shaped bookends being reeled in off Malibu and Manhattan Beach, respectively, making it a lucky day not only for the two fishermen but for a fleet that, during the long, cold winter months, had been sorely lacking in passengers.

“This is right on time, or maybe even a little late if anything,” Jeff Jessop, skipper of the Betty G, said of the seasonal influx of halibut into sprawling Santa Monica Bay.

Jessop’s 13 passengers boated only seven legal-sized halibut--22 inches or longer--but that’s a good day by halibut-fishing standards. They also caught about 50 “shorts,” which is an indication that there are lots of fish already in the bay.

The Sea Spray’s 27 anglers, fishing 15 miles north of the Betty G, caught only eight legal halibut but also reeled in dozens of shorts, which is an indication of how widespread the migration is.

‘Barn Door’ Prospects

One of the biggest “barn doors” caught so far this season was a 41-pounder taken a month ago aboard the Betty G. It was caught on a sardine but in its gullet were a couple of much larger mackerel, showing how voracious the larger halibut can be.

Over the years, several line-class world records have been set by halibut fishermen in the bay, topped by a 50-pounder caught on 16-pound-test monofilament in 1996. The all-tackle world record is a 58-pound 9-ounce halibut caught at Santa Rosa Island in June 1999.

Derby Dope

The balmy forecast this weekend bodes well for those planning to drift for halibut.

And for the hundreds planning on participating in any of the upcoming mega-derbies, well, they can only hope for weather this nice. In past years, either or both of the bay tournaments have at times been blasted by wind and rain.

With this in mind, the Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby has been pushed back to April 27-28. “We did that because of what happened last year [with the weather],” tournament chairman John Bourget said.

What he failed to take into consideration, though, was that the Eastern Sierra general trout season opener is April 27. This is bound to present a dilemma for those who like to fish both. Cost of the derby is $60 an angler. Derby hotline: (310) 450-5131.

The Marina del Rey Halibut Derby, which drew nearly 1,000 participants last year, is taking its chances with Mother Nature and sticking to its April 6-7 schedule. Cost is $60 an angler ($25 for those 15 or younger). Hotline: (310) 827-4855.

New this year is the Shoreline Yacht Club/976-TUNA Charity Halibut Derby, held outside the bay from Pt. Fermin to Huntington Pier, scheduled May 4. Cost is $35 an angler. Hotline: (562) 435-4093.

All three derbies, which boast an array of prizes and feature optional team competitions, benefit various youth fishing programs.

On the Waterfront

Bill Poole and Frank LoPreste are now majority owners of Point Loma Sportfishing as well of nearby Fisherman’s Landing, having purchased the former from Dan Sansome, who is retiring.

As a result, there have been changes in ownership of two of the most popular boats in the huge San Diego fleet. The American Angler, previously owned by Sansome, has been sold to Sam Patella and Brian Kiyohara. The Pacific Queen, previously owned by Patella and Kiyohara, has been sold to Bill Cavanaugh.

Whereas the American Angler specializes in multiday long-range trips, the Pacific Queen is arguably the Southland’s premier overnight boat, though it occasionally runs longer trips. Cavanaugh, formerly a skipper on the Excel, said there won’t be much of a change in the boat’s schedule.

A Cloud Over Crowley

With the Eastern Sierra trout opener only two months away, they’re scrambling like mad to get things in order at Crowley Lake Fish Camp. As mentioned here last week, a Jan. 29 fire destroyed a large storage facility and everything in it, including boats, motors and other equipment, causing $1 million worth of damage.

John Frederickson, whose company, Sierra Recreation, operates the concession, said this week that the fire was actually the second disaster to have struck at the popular Eastern Sierra fishery. A few days earlier, 90-mph winds swept through the region, tearing up a column of docks and causing more than $100,000 worth of damage.

As for the fire, it also destroyed the Crowley Lake Fish Camp booth and more than 4,000 color brochures that were going to be brought to the Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show, March 6-10 at the Long Beach Convention Center. So the show will go on without much in the way of representation from Crowley.

The ‘Early Opener’

There is an Eastern Sierra trout opener before the opener, and it’s known simply as the Early Opener in southern Inyo County.

On March 2, the streams from Independence Creek south on the west side of U.S. 395 will open to angling. Most will be well-stocked and include rainbow trout to about five pounds.

Kicking off the Early Opener is the Diaz Lake Trout Derby, sponsored by the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce. Details: (877) 253-8981.

Turnaround Time

Gray whales have finished their business in Baja’s lagoons and have begun their northbound migration to their home waters in the Bering Sea. For Southland whale watchers, the numbers of leviathan passers-by should be increasing by the day, peaking in mid- to late March.

To celebrate the turnaround, the L.A. Chapter of the American Cetacean Society is holding its annual “Whale of a Day” festival March 2 from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Point Vicente Lighthouse on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Highlights include a lighthouse open house, kids activities, arts and crafts, information booths and, of course, a chance to see whales and other marine mammals frolicking offshore.