Like most long rangers, I learned how to fish live bait by fishing for bass from half-day boats in San Diego, Oceanside and other cities. Since then, I've discovered that anglers who are good at catching bass are also good at catching tuna and yellowtail. There have been many seasons in recent years, though, when bass were hard to find. That could be changing.

There's some recent encouragement for south coast inshore anglers who love kelp bass, especially those big sluggers, the bull bass that love to drag you into the kelp stringers and leave you pulling against the bottom.

"I have seen more 10-pound (calico) bass caught this year than any other," said the well-known local scientist Dr. Larry Allen, in the Fish Taco Chronicles Spring issue.

"Anglers are targeting trophies instead of just numbers," noted Allen. "Do I think the population is coming back? Yes! Because of catch and release by private boaters and sport boats, who are regularly practicing this on a daily basis."

Talk about slow growth; Ben Florentino, who wrote the column in FTC, remarked that Tom Murphy's world record calico was 27 years old, and that another 9.5-pound bass was 34. Murphy got his 14.5-pound fish off Newport Beach in 1995. Maybe this coming season will see a bigger one.

"During spawning," said Florentino, "?Ķindividuals with yellow-orange snouts are males. Fish with golden hues and yellow chins and jaws a usually females."

That would seem to make the critter shown here, caught off La Jolla, a he.?? At this time of year, the bass are beginning to show a spring interest in feeding.?? The spawn will come later, probably in May or June.

Calicos are most common between Pt. Conception and Magdalena Bay, though they can be found in more northern and occasionally more southern places on the West Coast.?? As many as a million may be caught in a season, by private boaters and sport boat anglers combined.

"Right now," Oceanside deckhand Nacho Camarena told me Wednesday, "they're starting to get a few nice bass on plastic baits fished right on the hard bottom near the kelp. You've got to keep the bait moving, though. They won't bite it if it doesn't wiggle."

That's good advice, though you may have to experiment with the speed and amount of movement to learn what's most enticing to the cold-water bass of early spring. I'd suggest a four or five-inch swim bait like a Fish Trap or AA's with a quarter or half-ounce leadhead, unless the current or depth demands more weight.?? A worm might work equally well; I've had good luck with Whams and similar baits.

It's a good idea to release all bass over 16 inches or so, because the big ones are prolific breeders. All anglers should enjoy catching and releasing large kelp bass, and if there are more big ones around these days then good on us.