Albacore Arrive Early and Often

What does a marine biologist do on vacation? If it’s Steve Crooke, he goes fishing for albacore.

The Southland’s most popular saltwater game fish moved within range of San Diego’s day fleet last weekend, signaling an early start to the season. And Crooke, a Department of Fish and Game biologist who last season teamed with his son to catch more than 100 of the prized tuna, was among the first on the scene.

Fishing last Saturday aboard the Cortez out of Seaforth Sportfishing, Crooke and his fellow anglers--his son is sidelined with an injury--scored easy five-fish limits on a day when the boat stopped more than 20 times after jig strikes.

“Prospects for this season are phenomenal,” Crooke said, reporting purplish water at an ideal 61 degrees, and a somewhat unusual northeasterly current that might be facilitating the northerly movement of fish.

Most of the albacore are being caught 70-plus miles south of Point Loma, although some catches this week have been much closer, some even in U.S. waters.

“They’re not experiencing fishing up here like we had down there, but they’re catching some fish and seeing a lot of fish,” Crooke said. “So it could be only a matter of time.”

Not Hooked Yet

As Capt. Bill Cavanaugh prepared the Pacific Queen for a Wednesday night run to the fishing grounds, he said that one of the drawbacks of having an albacore season start six weeks earlier than normal is that fishermen aren’t ready for it.

“The craze hasn’t started yet; I’m really surprised,” Cavanaugh said. “For the Monday trip, which was Memorial Day, I literally had to get on the phone to drum up people to go fishing.”

Cavanaugh drummed up 16 passengers, who enjoyed July-style albacore fishing, with each jig-strike stop producing up to 25 fish. They finished with 80, or limits for all.

At the fishing grounds Thursday afternoon, Cavanaugh, who runs from Fisherman’s Landing, reported via satellite phone that his 26 passengers were closing in on limits, with more than 120 albacore and 16 yellowtail on the deck.

The albacore were averaging 15-18 pounds, with some pushing 25, Cavanaugh said.

Island Hopping

It will take a more substantial influx of albacore locally to get the L.A. and Orange County skippers to shift their attention from the islands, where white seabass remain schooled along their shores.

The seabass bite is far from predictable, however. In fact, part of the game is finding the right island at the right time. After a week-long lull at Catalina, the focus turned to Santa Barbara Island. The fish surfaced there Monday and again Wednesday and Thursday, with one-fish limits the rule.

However, they popped up again Thursday at Catalina. Capt. John Woodrum of the Pursuit, out of 22nd St. Landing, was all but alone on the island’s back side when the fish rose to the surface in a frenzy. His 45 customers had to stop fishing when each had put a hefty seabass in a gunnysack. The fish ranged from 15 to about 40 pounds.

The bag limit increases to three a day June 16.

Baja Blast

The season’s first hurricane, Alma, swept to the southwest of Cabo San Lucas this week, bringing high humidity and large swells but causing no damage and doing little to disrupt the fishing.

“[Wednesday] it was really hot and on the humid side but you could tell by the afternoon that the hurricane was already passing by,” said Tracy Ehrenberg, owner of the Pisces fleet. “The air got cooler and the clouds looked streaky. There were some big swells Wednesday afternoon but it was much calmer [Thursday].”

Ehrenberg said boats were averaging one to two marlin releases a day this week, and that anglers were keeping busy between marlin strikes by catching dorado. Inshore, a 65-pound roosterfish was landed aboard the Adriana.

Northern Exposure

Their aching bodies screaming for rest and their precious food supply dwindling, Tom and Tina Sjogren reached the North Pole in snowy, foggy, below-freezing conditions Wednesday, 101/2 weeks after they’d begun their unsupported, 483-mile trek from Ward Hunt Island, Canada.

Married 18 years, the Sjogrens (pronounced SHO-gren), of New York, are only the fourth and fifth people to complete the so-called “Triple Crown” of adventuring, having scaled Mt. Everest in 1999 and crossed the South Pole on Feb. 2.

Tina, who turned 43 Sunday, is the first woman to complete the hat trick. She is also the first woman to reach the North Pole without the aid of dogs, sails or air drops.

In a race against the clock, amid fears that an ocean drift could push them too far south to reach their goal before their food ran out, the couple skied 17 hours a day over the last four days of their journey, stopping only to eat and sleep.

Doubt was a constant companion.

“We didn’t talk about it,” said Tom, 42, “but I know that Tina was doubting. I was doubting, because it has been so difficult, just incredibly difficult.”

The pole brought relief, but also a new concern. Only one day’s food supply remained and they might have to make it last a week before the weather clears, enabling an airplane to land on the ice and take them back to civilization.

The Sjogrens, however, already were looking ahead. Their ultimate adventure, both have said, would be a trip to outer space.

“What we want to do,” Tom says, “is go to other solar systems.”

No Tea Party

Jeff Mathy of Fullerton had to retreat from an expedition to scale Mt. Everest last week. The climb was part of Mathy’s ultimate quest to become the youngest mountaineer to conquer “the seven summits,” or the highest peak on each continent.

Mathy, 23, who was part of an Alpine Ascents team that was successful this week in reaching the 29,035-foot summit of Everest, was left behind in a village below base camp after coming down with a severe stomach virus he believes he caught by drinking a glass of tainted lemonade.

The news couldn’t have made his sponsor very happy, that sponsor being Lipton tea.

Mathy, who has nearly three years to set the record, has three summits remaining. This summer and fall he’ll try Russia’s Mt. Elbrus (Europe’s highest peak) and Indonesia’s Carstensz Pyramid (the highest in Oceania/Australia). He’ll try Everest again next year.

Rapid Fire

* Shooting sports: Fast-draw and trick-shooting specialists Jerry Miculek, Todd Jarrett, Rob Leatham and John Cloherty are headline performers at Raahauge’s Shooting Sports Fair today through Sunday in Norco. The fair also includes demos and seminars. Details: (909) 735-7981.

* Hunting: The DFG has announced special dove and quail hunts, funded through its Game Bird Heritage Program, in September and October.

Applications for a public drawing must be submitted by Aug. 6. Standard postcard applications should include the applicant’s name (and the name of no more than one guest), mailing address, phone number and 2002-2003 hunting license number. They should be mailed to California Department of Fish and Game, Game Bird Heritage-Special Dove/Quail Hunts, 4665 Lampson Ave., Suite C, Los Alamitos, Calif., 90720, Attention: Scott Sewell. Details: (562) 590-5100.

* Fishing: June 8 is one of two annual state-sponsored free fishing days, when no license is required.... Also on June 8: the annual Youth Fishing Derby at Lake Gregory Regional Park in San Bernardino County. Details: (909) 338-2233. And the Southwest Council-Federation of Fly Fishers’ annual Youth Fly Fishing Fair at Follows Camp on the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. Details: (626) 444-9201, ext. 275.

* Boating: The annual Spring Boat Show at Fairplex in Pomona begins a five-day run Wednesday. Details: www.scma.com.

* Off-road driving: The California Assn. of Four-Wheel-Drive Clubs is sponsoring a “hands-on” safety clinic June 15 at Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area near Gorman. Details. (818) 705-3930 or via e-mail at info@4x4quest.com.

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Times staff writer Jerry Crowe contributed to this report.