Angler scores huge white seabass at Catalina Island on the Spectra – www.examiner.com

From the www.examiner.com LA Edition

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-52384-LA-Fishing-Examiner~y2010m6d21-Angler-scores-huge-white-seabass-at-Catalina-Island

Angler Jeff Cooke, of Aliso Viego, was fishing at Catalina Island the weekend of June 12. He was looking to catch a trophy sized white seabass. He thought his wait was over when his rod bent, and the crew declared he had hooked the “right kind”. Their prediction was confirmed at that moment you can first get a glimpse of the fish at deep color through the frequently murky waters where the prized sportfish congregate in the spring and early summer months. Seconds later, the line went limp. Cooke had lost his prize, an estimated 45-50 pound seabass.

Captain Jack and Jeff Cooke (right) show off the 59 pound white seabass caught by Cooke on Sunday.

Photo by Pam sharp

Two weeks later, Saturday night, June 19, Cooke boarded a 976-Tuna charter on the Spectra out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach. He and his two fishing buddies agreed to each chip in twenty dollars, to go to the angler on the trip that scored the biggest fish.

The bait tanks were already loaded with some live squid. At the island, none of the light boats had any to sell, so the crew fished with nets for the prized “candy bait”. Just before dawn the passengers were called out on deck to start fishing. With no response by sunrise, Captain Jack moved around from one small cove to next along the rocky shores of Catalina Island, looking for the right conditions among dozens of sandy beaches. In one of those spots afternoon, an angler landed a seabass just over 30 pounds. The fish tend to travel in schools; one usually means there are others in the area, and that set off a rush of adrenaline among the angers. Seconds after the first fish was on the deck, Cooke hooked up. After a trip around the boat, fish dragging angler, it took two of the crew to gaff and drag the fish over the rail. But Cooke had his prize.

The fish weighed in at a whopping 59 pounds.

Cooke, unchallenged by his two friends, went home with the $60, and a lifetime worth of bragging rights.