Big Fish That Didn’t Get Away
Bruce Gaudino knew his swim would be fruitful long before he dove in.
He saw baitfish fluttering at the surface, chased there, obviously, by much larger predators.
He noticed scales floating in large patches, an indication that predators were indeed in the vicinity--and that they were feeding.
“I tell you, it’s hard to keep your heart rate down when you see all of those things,” the Brea chiropractor said of last week’s spearfishing adventure off La Paz, with friends Mike Marsh and Todd Anderson.
The adrenaline really started flowing when Gaudino glimpsed a few tuna during his first breath-hold dive, and it coursed through his veins when he poked his head under for another look and saw, in the wavering haze, what appeared to be a large torpedo, silhouetted beneath the rays of the sun.
But the torpedo had pectoral fins.
Gaudino tried not to make any sudden moves and was able to drift closer, closing the gap enough to discover that he had stumbled upon the biggest wahoo he had ever seen, one that no longer looked like a torpedo, but the submarine that fired the torpedo.
“I was looking for serial numbers on that thing,” he said.
He then sucked in a breath of air and dove slowly, parallel to and eventually toward his saw-toothed quarry, gave a few swift kicks, extended his gun and pulled the trigger.
Line zipped from and broke free of his gun, as it is supposed to do, and Gaudino grabbed hold of the float attached to the end of the line. Once back on the surface, he leveled out on a plane to keep resistance to a minimum, “and I enjoyed the ride.”
Not long thereafter, when the wahoo was sapped of its strength, Gaudino slipped one hand beneath its gill plate to steady the head, and wrapped his free arm around the “waist” of the fish to steady its body.
“It was like hugging a human,” he said.
The skipper of the skiff that brought the trio to the fishing grounds, just northeast of Cerralvo Island, whisked in and picked up the prize. Back in La Paz, it measured 72 inches long and 34 1/2 inches around.
Its weight varied on three scales from 125 to 130 pounds, and dive experts at La Concha Resort’s Cortez Club this week were getting the scales recertified and trying to come up with an official weight.
Whatever the weight turns out to be, the fish, if approved by the two spearfishing world record bodies, will replace in the books an 84-pound wahoo shot by Ron Mullins in November 1996 at Thetis Bank off Baja California’s west coast. (The all-tackle rod-and-reel world record is a 158-pound 8-ounce wahoo caught off Loreto in June 1996.)
Gaudino, who booked his trip through Tail Hunters Fishing and Adventures in Hacienda Heights, credits a higher power for what he called an opportunity of a lifetime.
“The story behind the story is that I had said a little prayer beforehand,” he said. “I asked for a 120-pound fish to come straight toward me and turn in front of me, and that’s what I got.”
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Those wanting to learn more about free-diving and spearfishing can attend a daylong clinic beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday at Liburdi’s Scuba Center in Costa Mesa. Veteran hunter Al Schneppershoff will discuss equipment, techniques, rules, shallow-water blackout, fish habits and safety. Cost is $65. Details: (714) 662-7230.
Baja Beat
* San Quintin: Those traveling south of Ensenada to this quaint but wind-swept piece of paradise had for the last several weeks been forced to settle for rockfish because of unusually cold water (as low as 53 degrees). But Gene Allshouse of San Quintin Sportfishing on Wednesday happily reported that warmer water had finally moved in and that albacore schools were being encountered only 15 miles out.
* East Cape: Mark Rayor is a dive master based in Buena Vista. But on his days off he likes to stay above water and fish for the big ones. Two weeks ago off Punta Pescadora he was rewarded with the strike of a blue marlin that was subdued in less than two hours. It weighed in at 550 pounds, making it the largest of the season.
* La Paz: Las Arenas Resort, which sits alone on the white-sand beach about 30 miles southeast of La Paz, will close Aug. 5 for renovations. It is expected to reopen in October, spokeswoman Linda Glassman-Davis said. The booking office in San Diego will close July 25.
* Cabo San Lucas: The frigid water that had been scaring away fish and fishermen has warmed considerably in the last few days, to a still unseasonably cool average of 72-74 degrees in the Sea of Cortez. It’s even cooler on the Pacific side.
“The fishing has definitely gotten better this week,” a spokeswoman for Pisces Sportfishing said. But the fishing is far from hot.
Local Saltwater
* Inshore: Captains and landing operators from L.A. Harbor to Oceanside are calling this week’s sand bass bite one of the best in recent history. The fish are piled up on the ocean floor from San Onofre to Huntington Beach, biting morning, noon and night. “The [twilight boat] Enterprise on Wednesday night had 86 people and they caught 860 sand bass--now that’s pretty impressive,” said Don Ashley, owner of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach. Schools of breezing barracuda have made things interesting from top to bottom.
* Offshore: Albacore were not difficult to find Thursday for anglers aboard San Diego boats in Mexican waters. Huge schools could be seen breaking the surface in feeding frenzies. Not surprisingly, most boats were returning to port Thursday afternoon with full sacks. Meanwhile, there is more effort in U.S. waters beyond Cortez Bank after Pierpoint Landing’s Toronado returned Wednesday night with 130 albacore averaging 12-25 pounds. The fish were biting in the area again Thursday.
Local Freshwater
* Castaic Lake: The popular Los Angeles County Reservoir will be closed Tuesday morning for water quality tests and treatment by the California Dept. of Water Resources. The lake will reopen at about 1 p.m. The lower lake, or lagoon, will not close. Details: (661) 257-4050.
* West Walker River: It’s not that local, but the Eastern Sierra river is popular among Southland anglers and they’ll be delighted to learn that “bonus plants” of trophy-sized brown and rainbow trout will take place periodically through August. The extra plants, of fish provided by the Sierra Trout Foundation and Alpers Ranch, are designed to lure tourists who stayed away during a recent wildfire.
* Whittier Narrows Regional Park: The park’s annual all-night catfish derby is tonight, beginning at 6 and lasting until 6 a.m. Saturday. The event, featuring trophies and raffle prizes, is free but there’s a $3 vehicle entry fee. Participants will be able to pitch tents along the lake shore. Details: (626) 575-5526.
Bragging Rights
* Saltwater: A group of anglers aboard Bongos II out of Davey’s Locker in Newport Beach on Monday teamed to boat a 241-pound swordfish after a fight lasting nearly two hours. The catch was made 85 miles offshore. The anglers, reeling in shifts, were Jim Gore of Riverside, Warren and Barry Coalson of San Diego, Dennis Fransway of San Diego and John Rains and Ken Moses of Hesperia.
* Freshwater: Chad Johnson of Los Angeles spent his 10th birthday in the Eastern Sierra and celebrated by reeling in a 5-pound 10-ounce rainbow trout at South Lake near Bishop.
The Three Rs
The Department of Fish and Game is offering 40 special pheasant hunts it says are designed to “recruit new hunters, retain current hunting families and return past hunters to the field.”
Family, women’s and junior hunts are scheduled this fall and winter throughout Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The hunts are free and applications must be received by Sept. 1. Details can be obtained in the “Hunting in California” section of the DFG Web site (www.dfg.ca.gov) or by calling (562) 590-5100.
Catching Air
* Bass fishing: ESPN and ESPN2 will televise “Bass Week” at various times beginning July 21 and show same-day coverage of the CITGO Bassmasters Classic July 25-27.
The tournament, featuring 52 of the world’s top anglers vying for the world title, will take place on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala.
Defending champion is Kevin VanDam, who Wednesday night was awarded the inaugural ESPY Award in the best outdoor sports athlete category. “Awesome,” he said of the honor. “The coolest part of the whole thing was having John Madden hand me the award.”
* Miscellaneous: The ESPN Great Outdoor Games began a four-day run Thursday. Athletes from the U.S., Australia, the Bahamas, Canada and New Zealand have gathered at Lake Placid, N.Y., to compete in events including timber rolling, target shooting, sporting dog competition and fishing. The Games will air on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC beginning July 20.
Winding Up
The top women’s longboard surfers will take the spotlight in Malibu this weekend during the U.S. Women’s Professional Longboard Championships at Surfrider State Beach.
Competition, from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, will feature categories for all ages and even a men’s exhibition called the Malibu Heels-Over Championship in which competitors will attempt an about-face version of the Hang Ten.
