Fishing Loses Tireless Advocate in Russ Izor

It won’t go down as one of his greatest achievements, but it was a fitting last gesture by a man who wasn’t one to hide his feelings.

Russ Izor, in the months before succumbing to cancer, launched a bumper-sticker campaign in an attempt to effect change in the state capital in November. The message: “Sportfishermen Unite -- No Closures; Vote in 2002 for Anybody but Governor Gray Davis.”

“He spent $10,000 out of his own pocket to have those stickers printed up,” Bob Fletcher, president of the Sportfishing Assn. of California, said of Izor, a staunch Democrat. “And he passed them out at all the shows and meetings, and pretty much anywhere he went to anyone who wanted one.”

They were appreciated by California’s saltwater anglers, who are struggling against environmentalist advocates supporting a series of proposed marine closures and a state administration they accuse of catering to environmentalists for purely political reasons.

It should be said, then, that Russell A. Izor got his point across, regardless of what happens in November. That, too, is fitting, because with Izor that was usually the case.

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The renowned boat builder, captain and fishing-line manufacturer, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer. He was 79 and he leaves behind a legacy his family and friends can be proud of.

Based in the San Pedro area, Izor spent 41 years as one of the Southland’s most popular skippers. He was among the first to start programs involving underprivileged children and introduced thousands of them to fishing. He gave anglers an innovative and refined product in Izorline. He helped build artificial reefs and restore kelp beds. He once led a movement to win tougher restrictions for calico bass, a species he loved to catch (and release), and one he wanted so dearly to protect.

But most of all, Izor was simply a friend of the fisherman.

“I considered Russ to be a second father, as did a lot of the people around the docks,” said Terry Randall, owner of Art’s Fishing Tackle in Gardena. “If any of us had a question to be answered, we went to Russ.”

His answers were rarely brief. Izor was one of those people who cared about everything.

“When we switched from typewriters to word processors, he got one and went through three or four right away because he was always on it writing, putting out letters about all of his concerns, whether they were about mistreatment of people at a factory or about a fishery issue,” Randall said.

Fletcher, a former deputy director with the Department of Fish and Game, with which Izor feuded frequently over a variety of issues, called Izor “rough around the edges” and said the two didn’t always see eye to eye.

“But I will always appreciate the passion he had for the ocean and its resources,” Fletcher said. “He spent his whole life trying to make things better.”

Izor’s personality was reflected in the names of some of the early boats he built: the Truth, the Maverick and the Indian. His pride and joy, however, was his last and grandest endeavor in 1983: the 93-foot First String, which remains one of the Southland’s newest and most luxurious party boats.

With reluctance, Izor eventually retired as captain and sold the vessel so he could concentrate on his fishing-line business.

On Oct. 29 at 1 p.m., though, he will be given one last ride on the sleek white sportfisher. His family and closest friends will take his ashes to an area beyond the San Pedro Lighthouse, scatter them at sea and return to 22nd Street Landing to celebrate his life.

A tribute will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the 22nd Street Grill and Bar. Izor is survived by his wife, Lura Kuhlman, daughters Lorry, Kristen and Caryl Anne, and granddaughter Kaitlin.

Showing Their Colors

A special Fish and Game Commission hearing on proposed closures within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is scheduled Wednesday in Santa Barbara. It is the public’s last chance to weigh in before commission members decide how expansive the closures should be.

It’s a hot issue. So hot that the United Anglers of Southern California has accused the commission, as it moves closer to decision time, of “caving in to corporate environmental interests” while paying no attention to new evidence it says “damages the commission’s case for massive closures.”

That evidence will be presented formally Wednesday by sportfishing leaders, who will be cheered on by perhaps hundreds of fishermen wearing red shirts, not because they’re Angel fans, but as a show of unity. The meeting, which will also be attended by environmental advocates, is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Earl Warren Showgrounds.

Thrown to the Sharks

Sportfishing and environmental groups in Mexico, on the same side in a fight against commercial fishing interests trying to blaze their way into waters long reserved for sportfishing, are rejoicing over the withdrawal last week of the now-infamous shark norma.

The decree, scheduled to become effective next month, would have allowed commercial fishing for sharks inside the 50-mile sportfishing-only zone and as close as a half-mile from the Mexican coastline.

“What the withdrawal of the norma represents to fisheries and tourism is basically hope that overfishing in the southern Sea of Cortez will slow down,” said Rocio Lozano-Knowlton, a dive center owner in La Paz. “We gained some time for management actions to take place before it is too late, as it may [already] be for some species.”

The shark norma would have allowed extensive use of long-line gear and gill-nets, and thus the incidental by-catch of everything from marlin and mahi-mahi to sea turtles, manta rays and even whales, all of which are vital to the country’s lucrative tourist industry.

Sportfishing and environmental groups are also cheering the firing this week of Jeronimo Ramos, a top fisheries official who openly supported the measure.

Casting Call

Sister Carol Anne Corley, a.k.a. the “Tying Nun,” is among several noteworthy personalities scheduled to give presentations at the International Women Fly Fishers Festival Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at the San Diego Marriott in La Jolla. ABC news correspondent Judy Muller, an avid fly angler, is the keynote speaker.

San Diego has proclaimed the preceding day “International Women Fly Fishers Day” and the festival, which also features area fishing trips, is expected to attract hundreds.

It is open to members and nonmembers for $225 and $250, respectively. Those who don’t wish to participate can attend the Nov. 2 dinner-auction for $50. Proceeds go to Casting for Recovery, which works with breast cancer survivors. Details: www.inltwomenflyfishers.org, or (925) 934-2461.

Winding Up

The indefinite closure of the Southland’s parched national forests has been bothersome to many, but none have been inconvenienced as much as deer hunters holding tags for zones within the closed areas. Many are outraged, thinking the closures were designed to keep them out.

Turner’s Outdoorsman, one of the top sellers of the U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass, which is required for day and overnight use throughout much of the forest lands, went so far as to accuse the forest service of discrimination and is no longer carrying the passes.

“We believe implementing the closure now is discrimination against the hunting public,” Andy McCormick, spokesman for the chain of sporting goods stores, said in a prepared statement. “Over 7,000 deer-tag users and probably an equal number of quail hunters are being locked out of forests that are no more dangerous this month than they were last month.”

All of the Angeles, Cleveland, San Bernardino national forests and a portion of Los Padres are off-limits to all forms of recreation until further notice.

“The forest is closed to everyone, not just hunters,” said Gail Wright, spokeswoman for the Angeles National Forest. “There is no recreation, so I don’t know how that can be called discrimination.”