Sports

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

Angler makes 'Catch of the Year' in Morro Bay

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The saltwater “Catch of the Year” occurred Tuesday aboard the Harbor Pathfinder out of Virg’s Landing.

And it wasn’t even a fish.

It was much more important!

Dangling jigs can attract more than the piscatorial set. Just ask an unsuspecting angler named Ralph Boone of Atascadero.

Ralph was set for a bountiful day of fishing. His two rods were armed and leaning on the rail at the stern of the Harbor Pathfinder.

Skipper Sharon Rowley had piloted her vessel out of the harbor and beyond the breakwater. Ralph headed for the galley to purchase a beer before the fishing was to take place.

Someone bolted into the galley to inform Boone that his brand new $400 Kencor/Shimano rod and reel had been stolen by a seagull.

The thief and his quarry were out of sight.

“I turned the boat around and followed the wake to retrace our path,” Rowley said. “I’ve been a captain for 14 years and I’d never had anything like this happen. I didn’t think Ralph would get his rig back.”

The Harbor Pathfinder had doubled back 300 yards before first an otter was seen in the surf. Struggling nearby was the perpetrator of the crime — the hooked up seagull.

Deckhand Mike Lane used a gaff to snag the fishing line attached to the jig, which was imbedded in the seagull’s feathers. A hand over hand retrieve by the deckhand brought the rod, reel and the seagull on board.

“Mike removed the jig from the ‘thief’ and it fled the scene,” Rowley said. “Ralph was really happy to get his rod and reel back.”

There’s a postscript to the story. Capturing jackpot honors Nov. 18 was Boone with a red rockcod that Rowley estimated to weigh 10 pounds.

“It’s the biggest red I’ve seen for a while,” Rowley said.

(Atascadero’s Mike Blackstone’s post on the fishreports.net website was the tip leading to this story.)

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Have you secured your Thanksgiving turkey, yet?

If not, you can call upon your marksmanship to win a frozen turkey at the Santa Lucia Sportsmen’s shooting range this Sunday.

The annual Public Turkey Shoot is scheduled Sunday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The range is located at 10400 Santa Clara Road, Atascadero.

Take your choice — Trap, Quail Walk, Rifle, Pistol and Running Deer. The cost is $5 per round with proceeds benefiting the association’s Junior Shooting programs.

For more information call the club at 466-9995.

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Atascadero’s Gary Finch earned three first place honors last weekend in the season-ending San Luis Obispo County Bass Ambushers event.

Gary, 58, has scaled back both his recreational and tournament fishing activity, and rarely pre-fishes for a tournament. He made an exception last Friday stopping off at Jim’s Pro Bass Tackle en route to Lake San Antonio. Owner Jim Slusher shared advice on his experience on the lake the previous week.

“I found some spots that looked pretty good and caught two smallmouth in the 2 ½- to 3-pound range,” Finch reported. “I’m always happy to catch a keeper and I had two smallies on Saturday, one on a Zara Spook and the other on a spoon.”

Finch and runner-up Steve Bereda were the only participants in the field of 23 anglers who caught two fish. Gary’s duo weighed 3.40 pounds and Bereda’s 2.81 pounds.

“We’re in the fall to winter transition period so the poor bite didn’t surprise me,” Finch said. Only 10 fish were caught.

“It has been months since I’ve been on Lake Nacimiento. On Sunday I started fishing the far end of Bee Rock Cove which is where I usually start. I pitched plastic worms on a 1/16th -ounce darthead to rock faces. I also worked the middle of the lake with spoons. I never fished in water deeper than 20 feet.”

When he was done culling a catch of 12 to 15 fish his five-fish limit weighed 8.80 pounds. It included Sunday’s big fish, 2.51 pounds.

Half of the 24-angler entry had limits on Sunday with Atascadero High School student Graham Grove placing second with an 8.02-pound limit.

Tournament placings were scored on a combined weight for the two days and Finch topped that list also with seven fish weighing 12.20 pounds.

Ambushers’ Combined 2-Day Top 10 Standings, No. Fish, Wt.---1. Gary Finch, Atascadero, 7, 12.20 pounds; 2. Steve Bereda, Santa Margarita, 7, 10.76 pounds; 3. Erik Zillig, Cambria, 6, 9.05 pounds; 4. Greg Hanley, Paso Robles, 6, 8.32 pounds; 5. Neal Franklin, Atascadero, 6, 8.20 pounds; 6. Graham Grove, Atascadero, 5, 8.02 pounds; 7. Ken Meeks, Atascadero, 6, 7.63 pounds; 8. Austin Bonjour, Atascadero, 5, 7.39 pounds; 9. Joey Davis, Atascadero, 5, 6.95 pounds; 10. Shelby Godfrey, Atascadero, 5, 6.76 pounds. Big Fish Saturday, 2.38 pounds, Neal Franklin; Big Fish Sunday, 2.51 pounds, Gary Finch. (At Lake San Antonio Nov. 15, 23 anglers caught just 10 bass; no limits, only 8 caught fish, 15 were blanked; on Nov. 16, 24 anglers at Lake Nacimiento caught 80 fish including 12, 5-fish limits, only 4 participants did not catch fish).

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Arroyo Grande’s Jared Lintner is featured in a spread over seven pages in the December edition of Bass Master magazine. Jared, who finished fifth in the 2007 Bassmaster Elite standings, was taken to a 1,100-acre lake he’d never seen before. He had no map and no practice time for this “Day on the Lake” experience, Dec. 3, 2007.

Writer Don Wirth gave a blow by blow description of how Lintner handled a massive cold front that dropped the temperature to 24 degrees. The writer describes every cast and change of baits Jared employed during seven hours of fishing.

It’s an intriguing look at how a pro bass fisherman unravels the secrets of a lake.

Virg’s Landing A 10-pound lingcod caught by Devin Papavich of Dinuba was last week’s big fish. The catch by 135 anglers included 2 lingcod, 436 red rockcod, and 791 assorted rockfish.

Other jackpot winners were: Milo McMullen, Fresno, 8-pound red rockcod; Shannon Lowe, Bakersfield, 8-pound whitebelly; and Romero Trevino, Tulare, 6-pound red rockcod. Reservations are being taken for the final overnight trip of the season departing at 3 p.m. Nov. 29 and returning by 5 p.m. Nov. 30.

Call: 772-1222 for reservations, more information.

Patriot Sportfishing Terry Koch of Tehachapi had last week’s big fish, a 14-3 lingcod.

Caught by 228 fishermen last week were: 83 lingcod; 177 red rockcod; 1,110 assorted rockfish; 381 bolina; 1 halibut; 14 cabezon; and 2 bonito.

Other jackpot winners were: Jeremy McCombs, Bullhead City, AZ, and Kathleen Szoph, Clovis, both 14-pound lingcod; Arturo Torres, Fresno, 9-pound lingcod; Mark Lichtenwalter, Arroyo Grande, 9-pound halibut; Gus Salcedo, Bakersfield, 8-pound lingcod; Jeremy Johnson,, Pismo Beach, 8-pound bonito; Joey Masters, Soledad, 7-pound lingcod; Florenzo Gomez, Farmersville, 6-pound lingcod; Mitch Corona, Nipomo, and Carrie Gulotta, Menomonee Falls, WI, both 3-pound red rockcod.

Long Range trips to Pt. Purisima are scheduled Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, weather permitting. The 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. trips are priced at $75. Call: 595-7200 for reservations, more information. The 3-month long Lingcod Contest ends Nov. 30. The trio of leaders have weights of 22-1, 21-2 and 18-6 pounds. The prizes are $3,000; $2,000; and $1,000.

Central Coast Sportfishing Last week’s jackpot winners included Zachary Stevens, Atascadero, 15-pound lingcod; John Gregory, Cayucos, 8-pound lingcod; and Michael Costello, San Francisco, 5-pound red rockcod. Thirty-four anglers caught 11 lingcod; 166 red rockcod; 145 assorted rockfish; 29 bolina and 1 rock sole.

For reservations, trip schedules call: 704-2084.

Kids At Sea The last Kids At Sea fishing experience this year for youngsters 10-16 is slated for Nov. 26. Parents who want their children to have this experience may reserve a place by calling 704-2084.

Port Side Marine Whopper of the Week winner with a 15-2-pound lingcod was Mark Struther. Seventy-six boats were launched last week. Twenty-six lings; 2 halibut; l shark; and 18 bonito were in the catch. No fish were caught two days. Three quarter limits were caught two days; three quarters to full, half to three quarters and half limits one day each.

Lopez Lake The Martinez family from Orcutt caught three bass on nightcrawlers. The combined weight was 6 ∏ pounds. They were fishing from shore at the point leading into the Wittenberg Arm.

Jerry Weatherly, marina manager, reports a few trout limits and good redear and bluegill fishing.

Santa Margarita Lake Bakersfield’s Cameron Howard and his girlfriend both caught limits of crappie last weekend. They scored 30 feet off shore between the marina and White Oak. Redear and bluegill are active while trout limits are few.

Cachuma Lake Marina spokesman Chris Hutchinson says the trout bite is improving in the middle of the lake. “The fish are moving toward the flats, but they are in front of the marina, currently.” Trollers are using red Needlefish. Crappie, bluegill and redear are small.

Camp Roberts Hunt Four animals were dropped last weekend during the Pigs Only hunt. Field-dressed the three taken on Saturday weighed 150, 140 and 105 pounds. The only pig harvested on Sunday field dressed at 105 pounds. It was downed out of a herd of 11 pigs.

Sixty-five adult and three juniors were on base plus 11 guests.

Game in season this Saturday and Sunday include: Turkey, quail, waterfowl, dove, wild pig and rabbit. The base will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Whale Rock Reservoir The first week of the season when eight fish were caught and the last week when six were caught were the best weeks of the year. The season closed Nov. 15.

Seventeen anglers turned out for the final four days bringing the fisherman total for the year to 274. The reservoir was open for 148 days. The catch totaled 35 trout.