Videos maybe land angler in hot water

A man who hooked a giant specimen of a protected species of fish at Balboa Pier has hired a lawyer and created a website to tell his side of the story after video of his big catch surfaced on YouTube, attracting scrutiny from law enforcement officials.

Amateur angler Jon Apothaker could face up to a $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail for unintentionally landing a giant black sea bass off the pier Jan. 3. Apothaker said he released the fish once he realized it was a black sea bass. The species has been protected by state law since 1982 because of overfishing.

Apothaker’s struggle to reel in the massive fish attracted a crowd of spectators, and several videos of the incident have popped up on the Internet.

After reviewing video footage of the incident on YouTube, officials from the California Department of Fish and Game said they believe Apothaker broke the law when he brought the giant fish on the beach.

They’ve recommended that the Orange County district attorney’s office press charges.

“I don’t know how many videos are floating around out there, but they showed more than what we thought it was,” said Department of Fish and Game Lt. Dan Sforza. “Law requires black sea bass to be immediately released.”

The D.A.’s office is still looking into the matter and has not decided whether it will charge Apothaker, spokeswoman Farah Emami said Wednesday.

Apothaker and a friend drove to Newport Beach from the Thousand Oaks area to fish the day he caught the bass, which he estimated was 5 feet long and weighed as much as 225 pounds.

Apothaker’s fishing line broke, and he brought the fish ashore with the help of a passing boater, who put a gaff through its mouth. Once on the beach, Apothaker removed the hook from the fish’s mouth and then attempted to get the fish to swim on its own after he claims spectators told him it was illegal to catch and keep the bass.

On his new website, www.savetheseabass.com, Apothaker offers T-shirts for a $20 donation with a picture of a sea bass on them that read “Protected by law, do not touch, no gaff’n.”

Apothaker plans to donate proceeds to a nonprofit marine research organization, but he hasn’t decided on which one yet, Apothaker’s attorney, Christopher McCann said Wednesday.

“He’s trying to turn this unfortunate experience into a positive one and make sure the public is educated about the black sea bass,” McCann said.

Apothaker also is raising money for his legal costs on the website.

Apothaker’s hour-long struggle with the massive fish and subsequent legal controversy has garnered national media attention. Apothaker and his attorney pleaded their case during an appearance on the Fox News network Wednesday morning.