FISHING / DAN STANTON : Anglers Are Loading Up on Dorado

It appears this summer’s sportfishing season could set a record for unusual catches.

Recent storms off Cabo San Lucas have pushed the exotics north.

Fluctuating water temperatures have brought dorado and giant squid to Southland beaches and close-in fishing grounds.

The dorado prefer the warm water. Now these fighters are being caught by local party boats.

Long Beach Sportfishing’s Toronado and Phantom got into a wide-open dorado bite Tuesday morning. The Phantom returned with 140, a limit for its 14 anglers. The Toronado had to get through the kelp patties, where line-slashing yellowtail were hiding, and decked 25 yellows and more than 100 dorado.

The Shogun and Outerlimits from L.A. Harbor have been catching dorado 12 miles out and scored with more than 100 Sunday and Monday.

Long Beach Sportfishing’s Southern Cal was fishing for sand bass at the power plant when the boat found what deckhand Myron Ackerman described as an invasion of giant squid going up to 20 pounds.

The anglers hooked 23 of them and the crew scooped the small ones for bait. Anglers baited the small ones and caught 23 yellowtail that weighed up to 20 pounds.

Veteran party boat captain Cookie Cook said in his 50 years operating South Bay party boats he has never witnessed such a strong showing of dorado and giant squid so close to shore.

Big game fish anglers might even see some tackle records broken. Art Laffey of Rancho Palos Verdes was trolling on his boat Kelley-Fish 30 miles from Avalon using a mackerel clone jig when he had a blind strike, then the battle began. For 30 minutes Laffey had to move the boat, holding the fish with his 80-pound test line. Finally it tired and aboard came a big-eye tuna.

It was the first tuna weighed in this season at the Avalon scales. It went 222 1/2 pounds.

Walter Gilman and Richard Murray of Wilmington had three successful days of fishing at Cabo San Lucas.

Murray fought a marlin for one hour and 40 minutes while Gilman kept busy fighting a big dorado. The marlin weighed 436 pounds and the dorado and even 70.

Carrie Friedman of Torrance returned from a one-day albacore trip fishing 90 miles out aboard the Conquest.

Friedman reeled in nine yellowtail, four skipjack, one dorado and one albacore.

She lost the jackpot when a 40-pound class tuna that she was reeling in for 25 minutes parted the line as it was ready for the gaff.

South Bay Catches: Jarrett Makem of Gardena, fishing off San Clemente Island aboard the Toronado, caught the whopper of the week, a 30-pound bluefin tuna.

Pattie Bown of Torrance, fishing at the rigs aboard the Sportking, caught a 19-pound yellowtail.

Danny Walters of Long Beach snagged a squid that weighed 18 pounds.

Mitch Chudakoff of Lomita, fishing aboard the Hitless Miss at the horseshoe kelp, caught a 16 1/2-pound yellowtail.

Mike Blue of Long Beach, fishing aboard the Victory at the rock pile, caught an 11-pound bonito.

Fish Reports--Big bonito have moved into all areas. The local sand bass bite remains unchanged.

Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Spitfire fished Venice reefs and anglers caught 50 bonito, 40 calico bass and 25 barracuda.

The Happyman on a half-day trip returned with a catch of 160 bonito and 11 barracuda.

The Betty O rock cod trip resulted in a catch of 220 rock cod, three cow cod and a lingcod.

The Sumo fished the bay and anglers caught a variety--105 bonito, 49 sand bass, 25 barracuda, three cabazon, three sculpin and a halibut.

Redondo Sportfishing: The Sea Spray’s trip to rocky point found bonito, with anglers sacking 186, plus 93 sand bass and a yellowtail.

The Blackjack worked Catalina Island for 193 bonito, 36 calico bass and 32 barracuda.

The City of Redondo on a half-day trip returned with 175 bonito and 40 sand bass.

The Redondo Special half-day trip resulted in 80 bonito and nine barracuda.

The barge Isle of Redondo scored with 2,220 mackerel, 240 bonito and three barracuda.

22nd Street Landing: The First String fished Catalina and chalked up 211 barracuda, 78 bonito, 48 calico bass and seven yellowtail.

The Monte Carlo on a half-day trip returned with 91 bonito and 51 barracuda.

L.A. Harbor Sportfishing: Anglers on the Sportking trip to the horseshoe kelp sacked 132 barracuda, 107 bonito and 10 yellowtail.

The Matt Walsh on a half-day trip returned with 194 bonito and 25 barracuda.

The Shogun fished Catalina for dorado and anglers sacked 56 calico bass, 11 dorado and a yellowtail.

The Dreamer’s dorado trip had a catch of 80.

The Outerlimits fished Catalina for 200 calico bass, 76 bonito and 10 dorado.

Long Beach Sportfishing: The Victory fished the rigs for bass and scored with 141 calico bass, 140 sand bass and 91 bonito.

The Southern Cal on a half-day trip returned with 92 calico bass, 35 giant squid and 23 yellowtail.