THE OUTDOORS : Outdoor Notes / Pete Thomas : Baja Fishing Slow, but Indications Are That a Big Improvement Is Near

Fishing for exotic species off the southern Baja peninsula and off the Mexican mainland has been uneventful in recent weeks, but with warm-water currents pushing their way north, conditions should improve greatly.

These currents, typical during spring, are flushing warm water into the Sea of Cortez and against the Baja coastline, creating an upwelling of green water rich in plankton.

“With that there are the red crabs, the mackerel and the sardines . . . and all of that showed up real well last week,” said John Doughty of Bisbee’s Tackle in Newport Beach.

However, the striped marlin that moved into the area in great numbers have been feeding on the abundance of crabs and mackerel and, according to Doughty, “are just full” and not cooperating with fishermen.

Meanwhile, similar conditions can be found on the mainland as far south as Acapulco and as far out as 50 miles. Closer to the beach the plankton is so dense that a red tide exists, which is extracting oxygen from the water--making fishing impossible--and clogging filters on boats.

However, Rob Harbour, skipper of the Billfish, last Friday took Zihuatanejo Port Captain Victor Ortiz Gomez to an area 34 miles south of the resort city where the water was blue and the fishing “dramatic” for big yellowfin tuna and dorado to 40 pounds.

Gomez landed a 211-pound yellowfin on 50-pound tackle after a 2-hour 34-minute fight.

The blue water, Doughty says, will slowly move north and fishing is expected to improve “right up into the summer months.”

Assemblywoman Doris Allen is once again trying to get legislation passed that would stem the use of the gillnets by compensating commercial fishermen who turn in their permits.

Assembly Bill 1, written by Allen (R-Cypress), would make gillnets illegal within three miles of the coast from Point Arguello to the Mexican border, and eliminate their use within 70 fathoms (360 feet) around the Channel Islands.

Additionally, it would buy out nearly 90% of the gillnet permit holders who fish nearshore areas off California. That revenue would come from a $3 fishing license fee increase.

The bill comes up before the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee for vote April 18 in Sacramento.

The International Game Fish Assn. approved a total of 437 world-record catches in 1988, including 88 all-tackle records for the heaviest catch of a species.

There were 275 line class records approved (211 for saltwater species, 64 for freshwater) and 74 fly rod marks (40 for fresh water species and 34 for marine fish).

The IGFA processed 738 world-record applications throughout the year.

All-tackle records caught in California waters include:

--Theodore Furnish’s 66-pound landlocked striped bass, taken at O’Neill Forebay, Los Banos. Furnish’s fish is also good for the 16-pound line class record.

--Russell Harmon’s 53-pound 4-ounce California halibut, caught off Santa Rosa Island. Harmon’s fish is also a 20-pound line class record.

--Eric Mailander’s nine-pound vermilion rockfish, taken in Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz.

Based on angler surveys, the Department of Fish and Game will begin stocking larger trout in eight Southern California counties later this month.

“Half-pounders to one-pound size trout will be released in the southern waters in keeping with angler desires,” Keith Anderson, Inland Fisheries Supervisor, said in a release.

In recent years planted trout have been the three-to-the-pound variety. Anderson said all DFG hatcheries will be producing the larger fish by 1990.

Briefly

The world’s only fishing tournament solely for research of a species will be held this weekend off the Florida Keys. Sharks will be the target species, which will be given to the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Adult sharks will be donated to the school for research on their life and reproductive cycles.

Trout Magazine’s latest issue contains a list of the country’s top 100 trout streams, as picked by prominent trout fishermen and fisheries biologists nationwide.

Offerings: Greg Silks is conducting seminars on fishing for striped and largemouth bass at San Bernardino County’s Lake Silverwood on the last Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. at the lake’s marina. . . . Jim Teeny, an Oregon pheasant hunter who uses feathers of the birds for making patented fishing flies, will demonstrate his procedures at the Sierra Pacific Flyfishers’ April 20 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Odyssey Restaurant in Mission Hills. . . . The proper use of depth-finders for locating saltwater species will be the focus of a seminar given April 26 at 7 p.m. at the Angler’s Tackle Box in Seal Beach; Al Zapanta will teach a course in saltwater-big game fishing at Rio Hondo College on Mondays beginning April 17 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call (213) 692-0921, ext. 286.