Western Outdoor News – Spectra has the Largest White Seabass of the Year So Far 6-22-10

From the June 22nd, 2010 Western Outdoor News

SOCAL SALT REPORTS: Catalina gives up its biggest hits of the year on white seabass

BY BRANDON HAYWARD/WON Staff WriterPublished: Jun 22, 2010

SOUTH CAL HAYWARD REPORTS

LONG BEACH — Along with being able to keep 3 white seabass starting on Wednesday of last week came the best white seabass fishing of the year.

And it wasn’t just for small boats and six-packs. The bigger sportboats like the Big Game 90 and Freedom posted some impressive counts.

“We ended up with 38 seabass for out 27 guys,” said Big Game 90 owner/operator Mike Jewett on a call with WON after wrapping up a 2 1/2-day trip out of Long Beach Marina Sportfishing on Sunday.

The trip put it’s extended length to fish all over the place day and night.
“We started at Catalina in the bait grounds up west where Tommy (Lee, on the Freedom) had 35. We left to go to Santa Barbara Island for nothing, and then we went back to Catalina for 11 seabass. We waited it out in the bait grounds for nothing, and then we went to San Clemente Island,” said Jewett.

Clemente continues to be a huge dissapointment. Like the other sportboats to visit Clemente recently, the Big Game 90 saw signs of yellowtail, but there wasn’t much action.

BEST BISCUIT OF THE YEAR, SO FAR — The biggest white seabass to get caught on a sportboat so far this season is this 59 pounder that Jeffrey Looke of Aliso Viejo caught while fishing on the Spectra with Captain Jack Dalla Corte last Sunday. Looke caught the fish on a Seeker 970-7, and a Shimano Torium 16 with 40-pound Izorline XXX.

“We looked at some yellowtail there and got one shitty little one. So we took off and went back to Catalina. We ended up getting 27 after dark,” added Jewett, who is running his last round of trips-including a Saturday open party-out of Marina Sportfishing this week before going back down to San Diego.

Sunday had some huge hits for the fleet. The Freedom backed up its big day Friday (when it had 35 white seabass) with 51 white seabass. The trip started at San Clemente Island for 2 yellowtail before heading for the East End of Catalina where the best seabass fishing was found.

The Options ended up with 3-fish limits at Catalina on Sunday for it’s 5 passengers. The crew got in on the fun and boated a few fish to bring the total up to 19 white seabass.
“We just scratched at them all day,” said Options skipper Tino Valantine. “It was our best trip of the year, which was a coincidence seeing how out best trips of the year on seabass last year was on Father’s Day.”

In addition to the big hits for some boats, the island also gave up its biggest sportboat-caught seabass of the season on Sunday for the Spectra out of Pierpoint Landing. The seabass was a 59 pounder caught by Jeffrey Looke of Aliso Viejo on a Seeker 970-7, and a Shimano Torium 16 with 40-pound Izorline XXX.
“We have had seabass five of the seven trips I’ve ran,” said the Spectra’s captain, Jack Dalla Corte. “There’s plenty of bait and fish over at the island and we are looking at a really good start to summer.”

On Friday the Spectra had 6 white seabass, 8 halibut and a yellowtail to go with good calico bass fishing for its 6 anglers.

The local coast was the hotspot during the week, and that’s where the Dreamer had some huge days. The last day it turned in a count form the coast was Wednesday when it was full three-fish limits for passengers and crew to the tune of 27 white seabass for 9 anglers.

The last big hit for one of the Redondo boats was on the Redondo Special on Wednesday when a wide-open seabass bite gave up 17 white seabass for the anglers on the morning half-day trip.

On Friday the MarDiosa tuned in 4 white seabass, 24 calico bass, 1 sheephead and a balck seabass (released) for its 6 anglers fishing Catalina.

http://www.wonews.com/t-SCSalTReport_hayward_062210.aspx