DAN SIMMONS Sportsman's Quest MORE COLUMNS SPECIAL TO THE PVT Drew Calvert shows off a white sea bass he caught recently. Advertisement

When the word goes out, "The bite is on," some of my fishing fanatic friends go into a frenzy, much as the fish do. They abandon their jobs and family, mortgage the home, grab a credit card, their Penn International or Shimaro reels, and go.

My buddy Drew Calvert is one of these "dedicated" sportsmen and he has a small team of like-minded colleagues who join him.

Well, the bite is on off the Catalina and San Clemente islands of California's south coast, for white sea bass and the fishermen, with their appropriate priorities, are on them. Drew has been driving to Newport Landing these past weekends to get in on the action.

It must be said, however, that sometimes the fishing is much better than the catching. They don't call these fish "The White Ghost" without reason. They are extremely sensitive to the abundance of squid, water temperature and currents, and the action can begin or go dead, with little notice.

If you get two or three really hot trips a season it's enough to keep you going back for these silver and blue beauties; they make for some fine eating too.

This unpredictability is illustrated by a recent weekend Drew spent on an overnight trip to Catalina on an "eight pack" (that's a boat with only eight fishermen rather than the usual 20 to 40 rods in the water).

Fishing out of Newport Landing, no whites or yellowtail were landed, so Drew jumped off the eight pack and rushed down to Pier Point Landing in Long Beach, and hopped on a larger 90-foot boat and headed off to Santa Barbara Island with 40 other anglers; still no white sea bass and only seven yellowtail.

What keeps him coming back? It's trips like the one out of Newport Landing on the Ultra, a fifty-foot Delta designed vessel. He was with seven friends going out to San Clemente and Catalina; the fishing was hot.

They left port at 9 p.m. and motored all night. Just before dawn they were jigging and netting squid for bait. Then came the fishing. Drew had the fortune to hook into the first fish of this trip and had everyone's attention as he fought it for 20 minutes.

One could hear the spectators, "It's definitely a huge yellowtail, get the gaff." With everyone hanging on the rail, Drew had real celebrity status. As it comes up-up-up they see that it's really a big 40-pound "mud marlin," you may know it as a giant stingray, but it was big.

Following Drew's big "mud marlin" they caught yellowtail, sheep-head, barracuda and all limited-out (three per person) on white sea bass using a dropper loop rig with No. 5 hooks. The next day it was up again before dawn and a repeat of the previous day.

What else does it take to enjoy this type of action? Let's face it: an enthusiastic wife. Anna Calvert doesn't fish as much as she did when they first married; perhaps that's because she regularly out-fished her husband early during the relationship and figured she would quit while ahead, but she is certainly involved at home.

With all the fish Drew brings home, they set up an assembly line operation to package them for the freezer and jars.

They often enter their award-winning smoked salmon in contests. This is what keeps them going and with three kids following in the tradition, it looks like it will stay that way for a long time.

Drew was out on an eight pack again this past weekend to San Clemente and Santa Barbara Islands. They limited-out on white sea bass (two each), 10 yellowtail, and filled the boat with rock fish, barracuda, and the sheep head. That should hold the team's attention until the albacore start getting really hot. I'm sure they will once again heed the call of "the bite is on," as fishermen have done since time immemorial. I look forward to joining them.

What's new

Here's what's new, but it shouldn't be. It's called getting in shape. Whether you are on a long range fishing trip fighting the big ones, hiking in the back country for elk or certainly climbing those mountains while sheep hunting, fitness is paramount.

Drew began an impressive fitness program earlier in the year and lost 30 pounds in the four months following his new year's resolution. He didn't go on a diet and did it all on his own.

Starting with one mile of walking, a few push-ups and some crunches, he exercised five days a week and let his body rest on the weekends. Then he began walking longer distances with some jogging and wind sprints.

As he lost two or three pounds a week he started feeling better and now walks up to three miles a day and continues with the pushups and crunches.

When I asked him about his diet, he said, "I just started eating less, stopping when I was no longer hungry, cut out fast foods and started drinking water or ice tea instead of soft drinks."

Start your own program like this and you'll find you won't be huffing and puffing up those hillsides, and will be able to fight several of those big fish while the "bite is on," not having to sit it out while the others are still going strong.

Way to go Drew. We're with you.

Events

* Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn Annual Banquet, July 12, at South Point Hotel & Casino. Doors open at 5 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. The auction will start at 7:30 p.m.

For more information visit www.desertbighorn.com or call Paul Harris at 1-702-596-6849

* ICAST, International Convention of Allied Sport Fishing Trades, will hold Follow your Instincts, the world's largest sport fishing tradeshow, July 16 - 18, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Recipe of week

This is a great way to enjoy that sea bass that you caught. The fresh herbs and light sauce don't overpower the fish, and it is just special enough that your wife won't mind that you have been gone for three days and came back smelling like fish. You don't have to tell her that you ran up the credit cards and the fish cost $300.00 per pound; it was worth it.

Anna's Sea Bass with Garlic and Fennel

One 4 to 5 pound sea bass, filet; 5 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil; 2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed and thinly sliced (save the fronds); 3 cloves garlic, blanched and thinly sliced; 2 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley; 1/4 cup sweet white wine; 1 Tbsp sea salt; 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 Tbsp butter.

Brush fish on each side with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper; make three cuts on each skin side; place garlic and parsley in each slit; preheat broiler or prepare coals for medium heat; broil fennel for four minutes on each side; put fennel slices on the underside bass; cook for 10 minutes either under the broiler or in a pan on the fire; remove fish from pan and add the white wine to deglaze; add 2 Tbsp chopped fennel fronds and butter; stir until butter is melted, pour over fish and serve with a nice rice pilaf and fresh bread.

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If you have an adventure, a story or a comment give me a call at 727-9777 or e-mail me at dansimmons@usa.net.