GREAT CATCH OF MEMORIES; AFTER FOUR YEARS AS OUTDOORS EDITOR, BRETT PAULY LEAVES BY TELLING SOME OF HIS FAVORITE STORIES.

Byline: Brett Pauly

Next to "stop the presses," I've always wanted to say, "It's been a hell of a ride." Now's the chance. Indulge me as I reminisce:

SEEING THE JOY on the faces of children as they bring a fish over the rail or onto shore is an indelible memory, even more so that I have my own child now. I had the experience frequently, and perhaps the most touching scene took place during on a day on the brine when blind teen- agers plied rods and reels for the first time.

While the young anglers overcame challenges, there was plenty of room for levity - and clarity. "That stupid fish. You got caught by a blind kid," said Juan Ruiz of Anaheim after boating a particularly stubborn barracuda.

Ruiz was clearly hooked: "I like using my strength on these animals. I don't want to stop. Let's keep going."

Fishing proved a great equalizer for Annie Arredondo of Anaheim. "It gives us a chance to learn how to do things that a lot of people don't know how to do," she said.

"I want to be accepted for who I am or who I can be." The phrase won't soon escape me.

AHH, THE TROUT OPENER. Never will any single angling event compare to the start of fishing in the Eastern Sierra. Four times I covered this spectacle, for which some 30,000 to 40,000 Southlanders travel Highway 395 to converge on Bishop, Mammoth Lakes, Bridgeport and other communities that fairly live and die by the pilgrimage in early spring.

The words "tradition," "camaraderie" and "family" come to mind when describing the classic gathering. As is so often the case with the recreation, fishing often takes a back seat to more important matters.

"I've come up here for the opener almost every year of my life with my dad," said Karen Honey of North Hollywood during the 1997 opener. "It's total tradition. To me, it means everything."

For others, all that matters on the first day of trout fishing is size - the bigger the fish, the better.

"I've only caught two and I let 'em go," said Alan Hurni of Canoga Park during the 1999 opener. "I'm only after the big ones."

From the opener, numerous trips to the Eastern Sierra were spawned - to fish at major roadside waters and remote backcountry spots.

Zack Hallam of Orinda hooked an 11-inch golden trout before exiting Pioneer Basin southwest of Toms Place during a short but grueling backpacking trip. "It was the biggest golden I've ever caught," he said. "Now if I can just make it over that pass (Mono) without passing out."

AS WITH ANYTHING, THE OUTDOORS has its share of the odd and eccentric. Case in point: kite buggiers.

Indeed, for the few brave souls who cast kites to the wind and use their energy to be pulled about in go-carts, Mother Nature can be an impressive source of power.

"There is an element of danger and an adrenaline rush involved in anything that you know can physically drag you," said Ventura kite-buggy enthusiast Dan Rubesh. "It's kind of like hooking into a really big marlin; you know there is going to be a really big fight between you and that fish."

LOS ANGELES RECREATIONIST Rich Martin and I formed a strong hiking partnership and continue to climb trails in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Los Padres, Angeles and San Bernardino national forests. The best trek we made was one of our first - Icehouse Canyon in the eastern stretches of the San Gabriel Mountains south of Mount Baldy Ski Area.

"I come up here all the time. I like the exercise - easy pickings," Upland hiker Martin Faull said of the pristine Icehouse Saddle loop. "It's my way of getting away from the smog and traffic."

IN POLITICALLY CORRECT California, hunting and shooting stories are frowned on as often as they are applauded. Make no mistake, however, this writer is pro-hunting and pro-shooting. Few activities match the fun of target shooting, and hunting dies hard for those who hear the call.

"The rumors in Ridgecrest are that the chukar's killed more hunters than hunters have killed chukar," said state wildlife biologist David Consoli after explaining the particularly sturdy constitution of the red-legged partridge during a staged hunt in Gorman. "They are a wily bird. They make you work for them."

IF THE DOG IS MAN'S BEST FRIEND, on the trail they're a soul mate. Companionship, a sense of safety, a better appreciation of nature - all are elements of the bonds between canines and humans in the wilderness.

"The more you take them out into the wilderness, the more in tune with nature they are and the more in tune you are," said Julie Rush of Silver Lake, whose hiking partner Ruskie was an 8-year-old sheep dog-retriever mix. "You can watch how the animals reacts to the environment and learn to appreciate it more."

HE'S GOTTEN ALL THE LOOKS and all the comments - and he has all the comebacks. Such is the story of a shoeless joe named Paul Lucas of Mountain View, who hopes to bring into better focus the growing trend of hikers who prefer bare feet to wafflestompers.

"Oh, you like them? My parents made them for me," he retorted when people asked where are his shoes.

"These are God's Reeboks."

"Aliens took them."

Remember the aforementioned outdoors caveat of odd and eccentric? Case in point, Part 2.

THE FIRST FISHING COLUMN I penned was about the virtues of angling for trout in Big Tujunga Canyon, where the San Fernando Valley metropolis meets wild trout waters.

"Big T's bitchin'. It's the closest you'll get to natural rainbow in L.A.," exclaimed Joe Contaldi of La Canada Flintridge, a fly-fishing guru and my partner on the day.

Joe and I became fast friends and would later make odysseys to Oregon to float and fish the fabled Deschutes River, to Castaic Lake to feed crawdads to bucketmouth bass, to the East Walker River to lure rainbows and brown on the disco midge and to Cabo San Lucas to tackle dorado on 11- to 14-weight fly rods.

SPEAKING OF MEXICO, November's journey to the East Cape marked the fourth trip to Baja California Sur I was fortunate enough to make during my tenure. The object of the outing: fly-angling from shore for tough-warring jack crevalle, roosterfish, ladyfish and any number of the 850 species of fish that fin in these waters.

The pastime is somewhat unusual but immensely rewarding. "The most- difficult-to-catch fish are the fish that are just right along the coastline," said Dave Cooper of Castle Rock, Colo.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo: (1 -- 4 color) Clockwise from top, that 58-pound albacore holding Brett Pauly off Santa Cruz was the largest fish that ever posed with him. Santa Paula's Luther Brown, one of the few and proud in his recreation, catches a gust of wind in his kite buggy at El Mirage Dry Lake. Consider Paul Lucas of Mountain View a sole survivor for promoting barefoot hiking. Mayra Garcia of Norwalk, one in a group of blind teen-agers who had the opportunity to fish for the first time, hesitantly touches a Pacific mackerel she boated outside Long Beach Harbor.

Brett Pauly/Staff Photographer

(5 -- 7) From top, Byron Eguchi, left, points out a chukar on the wing to Glenn Darrow of Canyon Lake during a staged hunt for the game bird near Gorman. Pete Gray, co-host of a San Diego radio talk show dedicated to angling, casts for plump barred surfperch during a wide-open bite on mussel along western Santa Cruz Island. Bishop trekker Wynne Benti - author of ``Favorite Dog Hikes In and Around Los Angeles'' - and her husband, Andy Zdon, take a respite with their pooches atop Sandstone Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Brett Pauly/Staff Photographer