Ask Any Tuna You Happen to See About Cerritos Woman

Standing on its nose, the tuna towered over Joyce Corrigan, a good two feet taller, and judging from its tremendous girth, it was a good 120 pounds heavier.

But it wasn’t any stronger than the 52-year-old Cerritos resident, who stopped by The Times the other day to show off a picture of the 253-pound tuna she caught last week aboard the Royal Polaris at Clarion Island of the popular Revillagigedo chain off southern Mexico.

“Feel my muscles,” she said, flexing her forearm and then her biceps. Rock hard. “See, when you pull on the fish, you hold the rod up and reel until the fish can’t stand it anymore. The guys say I’m stronger than most of the men. I’m Italian and . . . God was good to me, I guess.”

Since fishing for giant tuna is a highly specialized sport practiced mostly by men, a call was placed to owner-operator Frank LoPreste aboard the San Diego-based vessel to see if Corrigan’s catch might have been a fluke.

Not at all, he said. “Joyce is a very good fisherman, she is especially strong and does a very good job pulling on fish. . . . She sure doesn’t need any assistance, which is more than I can say about some of the guys.”

A check of the International Game Fish Assn. world-record book reveals that Corrigan holds the women’s 130-pound line-class record for the 304.4-pound tuna she wrestled to the boat in 1993.

It is believed to be the largest yellowfin caught by a woman, and it is among the largest caught by man or woman. The all-tackle record is a 388.12-pounder caught by Curt Wiesenhutter at the Revillagigedos in 1977.

Corrigan said she and her husband used to go fishing on overnight boats out of San Diego for albacore, but when they stopped showing about 10 years ago, she stopped fishing.

Then she met LoPreste at an outdoor show in Long Beach and decided to give one of his multiday trips a try.

“It looked like fun,” she said. “I tried it, I liked it. It’s kind of like going on a cruise, but you have something to do every day. The food’s so good, you gain weight just like on a cruise.”

But you can work it off by battling what many consider the most powerful fish in the sea.

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Corrigan said one of the highlights of her recent trip was getting a 100-pound yellowfin to the boat before a 1,000-pound shark could sink its teeth into it.

“You could see its fin getting closer and closer, just like [the movie] ‘Jaws,’ ” she said. “But I just kept reeling and backing up and they gaffed the fish and hauled it up just in time.”

Sharks have been somewhat of a problem in the early part of the long-range season. Last week, Tommy Rothery of the Polaris Supreme reported that for every fish brought to the boat, another was eaten by sharks.

Corrigan said they were surrounding the Royal Polaris at times, forcing customers to stop chunking, or fishing with chunks of fish, which attract sharks to the boat, causing LoPreste to move more than he would have liked.

But LoPreste, one of the pioneers of long-range fishing, gets rankled every time someone reports that there is a shark “problem.” He said sharks are part of the game and anglers--especially skippers--must understand that.

“It bothers me when people say that because sharks are always where the tuna are at,” he said. “It can be bad, especially at night. I tend to leave one area after nightfall and move to another.

“Yes, we had a few fish eaten by sharks, and one day we had a good bite going and seven sharks moved in, but a half-hour later the sharks were gone and we caught fish again.”

BAJA BITE

Striped marlin are elusive more days than not off Cabo San Lucas, but when they are found, according to guide Jeff Klassen, they are in bunches, resulting in multiple hookups.

Top catches include a 470-pound blue marlin by Robert Burgess of Great Falls, Mont., aboard Quien Sabe; a 120-pound swordfish caught on 30-pound test in 30 minutes by Dean Morrow of Bellflower aboard Minerva III; a 53-pound roosterfish caught by England’s Andrew Gibbs aboard Tracy Ann, and a 24-pound Pacific jack crevalle caught from the surf on 15-pound test (a possible line-class world record) by Stephen Jansen of the Netherlands. Klassen is the current record holder with a 22.8-pounder he caught in June 1992.

FRESHWATER FISHING

Outdoor Safaris International is close to being awarded a concession at the Castaic Lagoon, an after bay of the popular Los Angeles County Reservoir.

If the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors votes in favor of awarding the concession to the company, which it is expected to, and if the Department of Fish and Game gives its approval, which it probably will, Castaic Lagoon will feature huge rainbow trout as well as trophy-sized largemouth bass.

Outdoor Safaris currently runs Corona and Santa Ana River Lakes and stocks both heavily with giant trout raised at a Mt. Lassen hatchery. It would bring the same fish to Castaic.

FRESHWATER REPORT

17. CASTAIC LAKE--Largemouth bass has slowed, but the trout bite has picked up. Paul, Lee Albert and Tony Lama, Reseda, 20 trout, 15 kept, from 1-2 1/2 pounds, on salmon eggs near main ram at upper Lake. Darryl Todd, Lancaster, 10-0 bass, on AC Plug at upper lake. Rick Johnson, La Puente, 8-2 bass, on Optimum Swimbait at lower lake. A few stripers being caught. Bob Hanley, Westchester, 18-0 and 16-0 stripers, on homemade lure.

18. LAKE PIRU--Trout good, with several limits being filled by trollers using Needlefish and Rapalas at east end. Some largemouth bass, most being caught on purple plastic worms at north end. Incidental catches of crappie and catfish.

19. PYRAMID LAKE--Largemouth and smallmouth bass fair off points and in coves, biting mainly on plastic worms, averaging 1 1/2 pounds. Some small striped bass caught in channel on anchovies, but fishing is spotty. Some crappie caught at docks on small jigs and red worms.

20. LAKE CACHUMA--Trout best bet, biting primarily at east end. Lots of limits, most being filled with night crawlers, Power Bait and Needlefish lures. Some bass, most caught on plastics and jigs at 30 feet. Kelly Ripa, Lompoc, 12-0 bass, on crankbait at E Point.

21. LAKE CASITAS--Catfish good. Leonard Gobson, Oak View, 22-0 catfish, on mackerel at Station Canyon. Jim Mason, Oak View, 16-0 and 14-0 catfish, on mackerel at Sunken Island. Some Largemouth bass. Sven Vanderhei, Ventura, 10-0 and 6-12 bass, on AC Plug at Santa Ana ramp.

22. CORONA LAKE--Trout Championship contest scheduled Feb. 1, with $500 in prize money. Details: (909) 277-3321. Top catches this past week, a 16-3 by Paul Mesa, Corona, on Power Bait from shore near dam; a 14-2 by James Mancarudo, Corona, on silver Kastmaster from boat near dock.

23. SANTA ANA RIVER LAKES--Nearly 30 trout weighed in at 10 or more pounds in past week. Top catch, a 20-6 by Chris Zavala, Pico Rivera, on Power Bait at Bubble Hole. Night crawlers also nailing the big ones.

24. IRVINE LAKE--Largest trout, a 9-0 by Bob Moorhouse, Los Angeles, on mini-jig at west shore. Moorhouse also filled his five-fish limit. Trollers using Rapalas doing best, but night crawlers and Power Bait also producing.

25. LAGUNA NIGUEL LAKE--3,300 pounds of trout raised in Utah’s hatcheries awaits anglers, with fish from 2-5 pounds being caught on night crawlers, Power Bait, salmon eggs and small jigs and lures. Largemouth bass surprisingly cooperative.

26. LAKE SKINNER--Striped bass fair on surface plugs in mornings, anchovies and night crawlers during day. Top catch, a 37-0 stringer, topped by a 14-0 striper, caught by Mark Lynn of Winchester, on Oki plugs at Ramp 2.

27. LAKE PERRIS--Trout best bet, biting at lot 5 on chartreuse and rainbow Power Bait, night crawlers and Roostertails. Largemouth bass slow. Joe Massey, Temecula, 7-6 bass.

28. SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES--Miramar fair for trout, largest a 4-1, some limits on standard baits. Murray not quite as good for trout, but better for bass to 3-3. No report out of San Vincente. Otay opens Jan. 29. El Capitan opens Feb. 7.

29. LAKE CUYAMACA--Only two trollers cruised the lake last Sunday. They caught their five-fish limits after five hours dragging Rapalas behind their boat. Still-fishermen, from shore and boat, struggled a bit more, with night crawlers netting the best results.

SALTWATER REPORT

3. AVILA BAY (Avila Beach)--4 anglers (1 boat): 30 red rock cod, 30 rock cod.

4. SANTA BARBARA (Sea Landing)--11 anglers (1 boat): 14 calico bass, 15 sand bass, 2 sculpin, 23 rockfish, 10 perch. (Hornet’s Landing)--7 anglers (1 boat): 24 sand bass, 1 calico bass, 1 sculpin, 4 rockfish, 1 whitefish, 2 sheephead.

6. OXNARD (Cisco’s)--16 anglers (1 boat): 40 rockfish, 1 sheephead, 6 whitefish.

8. MARINA DEL REY--7 anglers (1 boat): 4 sculpin, 3 sand bass, 1 sole.

9. REDONDO BEACH--29 anglers (1 boat): 1 calico bass, 5 sand bass, 5 halibut, 1 sculpin, 1 perch, 1 cabezon.

11. LONG BEACH--7 anglers (1 boat): 30 sand bass, 1 halibut, 5 whitefish, 70 perch. (Belmont Pier)--30 anglers (1 boat): 3 calico bass, 43 perch, 195 rockfish, 1 sand bass, 2 sculpin, 15 sheephead, 33 whitefish.

12. SEAL BEACH--12 anglers (1 boat): 5 calico bass, 3 sand bass, 1 halibut, 15 whitefish, 31 sheephead, 6 blue perch, 4 sculpin.

14. DANA WHARF--12 anglers (1 boat): 5 calico bass, 11 sand bass, 9 sheephead.

15. OCEANSIDE--19 anglers (2 boats): 10 calico bass, 83 sand bass, 18 sculpin, 5 sheephead, 15 rockfish, 15 blue perch, 3 cabezon, 71 mackerel.

TROUT PLANTS

LOS ANGELES--Belvedere Lake, Cerritos Lake, Crystal Lake, Downey Wilderness Park Lake, Echo Park Lake, El Dorado Park Lake, Kenneth Hahn Park Lake, Legg Lake, La Mirada Park Lake, Lincoln Lake, Little Rock Reservoir, MacArthur Park Lake, Peck Road Park Lake, Puddingstone Reservoir, San Gabriel River (East, North and West forks), Santa Fe Reservoir, Willowbrook Lake. ORANGE--Centennial Park Lake, Mile Square Park Lake, Ralph Clark Park Lake, Tri-City Lake. RIVERSIDE--Cahuilla Park Lake, Evans Lake. SAN BERNARDINO--Prado Park Lake, Yucaipa Park Lake. SAN DIEGO--Cuyamaca Lake.