George Van Zant on Outdoors: Fred Hall Fishing Show coming to Long Beach

Well another year has passed. It seems like we just attended the Fred Hall Fishing Show, just as I did with my father when I was in junior high. That was 1946 when Fred had his first show at Gilmore Field in Hollywood. The show is now celebrating 70 years. Fred’s eldest son Bart took over the reins after Fred passed away back in 2000 from complications of heart surgery.

For many years my fishing partner Jed Welsh and I would arrive the first day of the show when the doors opened. As anyone who knew Jed could tell you, he was a talker, and the Fred Hall Show provided plenty of folks to talk to. As he wandered from booth to booth visiting with all of his fellow prevaricators, I would have to leave him and explore, looking for the latest iovations in tackle and fishing gear. One year I stumbled onto this strange reel, and I was convinced it would never work. The spool was horizontal and had some hook-shaped thing they called a bail to catch the line as it was laid back onto the reel. I laugh now as I really blew that one.

The 70th aual Fred Hall Show will take place March 2-6 at the Long Beach Convention Center and March 17–20 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Tons of new exhibitors and the reintroduction of the very popular Fashion Show and New Product Review are just part of this new show. Free trout fishing for the kids and the Ram Ultimate Air Dogs will all be back.

More rules

The following is another of my 10 Cardinal Rules of Fishermen that I follow to get a little closer to my catch.

No. 4: Save some for seed. This means simply release alive and kicking all fish you do not plan to use for the table or any other reason such as for bait. Release them as quickly as possible. Follow the big fish-little fish rule.

Release all the big ones ‑ they are usually the ones that are tough chewing or stinky. Something you might consider is the air bladder control in many fish, mostly deep-water types like rockfish and the bass. These types of fish lose control over the inflation process and their bladder bloats up. This affliction is known as barotrauma.

When anglers are fishing for these floaters, they should lea how to release them in a way that improves the chance of survival. Even a fish with bulging eyes and a protruding stomach can survive if retued to the to depths quickly. The best method I have seen was done using a torpedo sinker with a barbless hook attached upside down with a screw. You simply attached the fish to be released and lowered it back down, then gave a couple of yanks to release it. Long Beach State did a study for the Califoia Sea Grant showing 83 percent of fish caught at depths between 217 feet and 350 feet survived when retued to depth within two minutes.

What is not recommended is a technique a Lake Tahoe guide I fished with used while we were fishing around 200 feet deep for mackinaw trout. Guide John Hinson used a large hypodermic needle inserted in the swim bladder of lake trout. There were three fishermen fishing at 200 feet and as the hypo stuck the air pocket of the fish, a loud resounding pop echoed across the lake. You could keep track of how many macs had been caught by keeping track of the number of “pops” you counted as the time went by.

Advertisement

I repeat, do not bag the larger fish and instead keep only a few of the smaller legal eaters. And don’t squeeze the larger ones by the belly. This is the one fatal way that gets them every time. It’s best to grab them with a wet towel lightly around the belly, if you must handle them at all.

- - , .