A FISHING SAFARI FOR THESE BOARD ANGLERS.

Byline: Associated Press 

Surfers like Mike West have figured out how to hang more than 10.

On a recent outing, West, balancing on his board, reeled in a 40-pound halibut. He's one of a flourishing school of surfers who tote rods and reels in their fanny packs when they paddle out to the surf line.

Traditional surfers usually snicker at the sight of anglers. But when someone like West gets a strike, the laughs turn to gawks of amazement.

``I usually get a shout, a `yahooooo,' or something like that,'' said the 45-year-old West, a veteran surfer and former lifeguard. ``They think you're kind of nuts at first, but the halibut changes their minds.''

Bringing a heavy fish into a small boat can be tricky enough; for an angler straddling a surfboard, it can be downright dangerous. The sport isn't for novices.

``It's really tricky because you don't have any traction,'' said West. ``When I caught that 40-pound fish, it spun me around in a circle on my board. You have to have it hooked really well . . . and then it's a balancing act.''

Reeling the catch in is just half the fight. The angler then has to negotiate his way to the beach with it.

``You have to wait between sets (of waves),'' West said. ``It's a matter of good timing.''

``These surfers, they'll do anything,'' said Joan Burson, for 22 years the owner of the Jig Stop, a bait and tackle shop on Pacific Coast Highway. ``Most of the guys are good fishermen before they try something like this. But it seems to be getting more popular.''

The churning surf is a prime feeding area for halibut, especially when grunion are running. Most anglers use plastic bottom-weighted wiggly lures with glitter.

The flat-bodied halibut can get as big as 70 pounds, said Steve Wertz, a marine biologist with the state Fish and Game Department. The legal catch minimum is 22 inches wide, and West uses his surfboard as a guide.

But the halibut don't always cooperate, and they have sharp teeth.

Despite its reputation as a predator, California halibut have a light ``trout-like bite,'' West said. They tend to swim toward the angler when they take the bait, so there's no noticeable tug on the line.

That calls for a light rod. West uses 10-pound line, usually regarded as undersize for sea fishing but strong enough that halibut can't easily bite through it. The simpler the tackle, the better.

``You don't want to be worrying about hooks and sinkers on a surfboard. You don't want to be carrying a lot of things with you,'' Burson said.