Meet the Grunion program Friday night at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro will be holding its Meet the Grunion program Friday night.

The aquarium exhibit hall will open at 8 p.m., with a film on grunion to be screened at 9. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for seniors, children and students. Tickets can be purchased at the door (cash only).

Afterward, those who wish to participate will head to the beach to await the spawning run, which has a projected two-hour window of 10:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m.

Grunion runs are a sight to behold. For four consecutive nights, beginning on full and new moon phases during spring and summer, the small silvery fish leave the water to spawn on beaches. The shoreline may glisten with fish as the silversides attempt to lay and fertilize their eggs.

Grunion may only be caught in the months of March, June and July, and only by hand. Catchers 16 and older must possess a valid state fishing license.

There is no limit to the number of fish that may be caught, but the California Department of Fish and Game asks that people only catch what they will eat.

The program will be offered again June 17 and July 16.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro. Directions and parking information is available on the aquarium's website.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Grunion scramble to get onto the beach to spawn. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

'Grunion Fish-tival' Thursday at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro will hold a special "Grunion Fish-tival" on Thursday at 7 p.m. to supplement its regular "Meet the Grunion" program. The evening will include a film on grunion as well as the added opportunity to hatch grunion eggs, make grunion origami and other arts and crafts and interact with grunion researchers.

The cost to attend is $5 for adults and $1 for seniors, children and students. Tickets can be purchased onsite (cash only).

Afterward, those who wish to participate will head to the beach to await the spawning run, which has a projected two-hour window of 11:05 p.m. to 1:05 a.m.

Grunion may only be caught in the months of March, June and July; because grunion are not in season now, the outing is for observation only.

Runs are a sight to behold. For four consecutive nights, beginning on full- and new-moon phases during spring and summer, the small, silvery fish leave the water to spawn on beaches. The shoreline may glisten with fish as the silversides attempt to lay and fertilize their eggs.

There is no limit to the number of fish that may be caught during open season (the next one begins June 3), but the California Department of Fish and Game asks that people catch only what they will eat. Catchers 16 and older must possess a valid state fishing license.

The program will be offered again on June 3 and 17 and July 16.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro. Directions and parking information are available on the website.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Grunion come ashore to spawn twice a month during spring and summer. Credit: Gary Florin / Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Deer hunting clinic offered by California Department of Fish and Game

The California Department of Fish and Game will be holding a deer hunting clinic on June 18 as part of its advanced hunter education program.

Co-sponsored by the Pacific Coast Hunter Education Assn. and the California Deer Assn., the class will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Canada De Los Osos Ecological Reserve in Santa Clara County.

The clinic, specifically designed for hunting deer in California, will cover deer biology; hunting locations, techniques and requirements; methods for locating deer; field dressing and care of game.

The cost is $45 and space is limited, so those interested are advised to register early. A barbecue lunch is available for an additional $10.

Those 16 or younger will be admitted free but must be accompanied by an adult. Registration, including fee payment, closes two weeks before the workshop date and can be completed online. After registering, participants will receive an email with a map to the facility and a list of items to bring. For more information email or call DFG Lt. Dan Lehman at (916) 358-4356.

-- Kelly Burgess
Twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Mule deer in a field. Credit: Gary Zahm / U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

California Department of Fish and Game offers clinic on hunting wild pigs

The next advanced hunting clinic offered by the California Department of Fish and Game will focus on wild pigs.

Co-hosted by the Pacific Coast Hunter Education Assn., the class will take place Saturday, June 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Russian River Sportsmen's Club in the Sonoma County town of Duncan Mills.

Topics to be covered include the biology of wild pigs, techniques for locating the animals, methods of take, how to handle and properly care for the game, plus recipes for preparing wild pig. Instructors will also be field dressing and skinning a pig during the clinic.

Hunting season for wild pigs is open year-round in California for licensed hunters, with no daily bag or possession limit, so this clinic seems well worth the registration cost for anyone wanting to learn more about the quarry.

The cost is $45, and space is limited to 30 participants, so those interested are advised to register early. A barbecue lunch is available for an additional $10.

Those 16 or younger will be admitted free but must be accompanied by an adult. Registration, including fee payment, closes two weeks before the workshop date and can be completed online. For more information, email or call DFG Lt. Dan Lehman at (916) 358-4356.

If you miss this one, there will be one more DFG clinic this year on wild-pig hunting: July 30 at Tejon Ranch.

-- Kelly Burgess
Twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A wild pig on the range. Credit: California Department of Fish and Game

'Meet the Grunion' Thursday at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro will be holding its "Meet the Grunion" program on Thursday.

The aquarium exhibit hall will open at 8 p.m., with a film on grunion to be screened at 9. The cost to attend is $5 for adults and $1 for seniors, children and students. Tickets can be purchased on site (cash only).

Afterward, those who wish to participate will head to the beach to await the spawning run, which has a projected two-hour window of 10:45 p.m. to 12:45 a.m.

Grunion may only be caught in the months of March, June and July; since this is closed season, the outing is for observation only.

Runs are a sight to behold. For four consecutive nights, beginning on full- and new-moon phases during spring and summer, the small, silvery fish leave the water to spawn on beaches. The shoreline may glisten with fish as the silversides attempt to lay and fertilize their eggs.

There is no limit to the number of fish that may be caught during open season (the next one begins June 3), but the California Department of Fish and Game asks that people only catch what they will eat. Catchers 16 and older must possess a valid state fishing license.

The program will be offered again on May 19, June 3 and 17 and July 16.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro. Directions and parking information are available on the website.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Grunion spawn on the beaches during the annual grunion run. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

'Shark Men' premieres Sunday on National Geographic Channel

Expedition leader Chris Fischer, marine biologist Michael Domeier and crew are back for another season of "Shark Men," premiering Sunday at 9 p.m. on National Geographic Channel with two hourlong episodes. Additional episodes will follow, airing at 10 p.m. on Sunday nights through June 12.

Though the name of the series has changed (it was “Expedition Great White” last year) the focus is still the same -- attempting to learn more about the mysterious great white shark and its life cycle -- where the sharks are born, where they migrate, how they mate, and where they congregate.

Using a specially designed, 126-foot-long mothership that includes a 37-ton hydraulic platform for hoisting a living shark out of the ocean, the crew returns to Mexico's Guadalupe Island, 160 miles west of Baja California, in the hopes of landing, tagging and releasing sharks -- specifically females -- alive. This season, they also secure a permit to hook a white shark at Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of San Francisco, and also travel to just off the shores of Malibu, hoping to catch juvenile great white sharks in an effort to learn more about the younger years of the apex predator's life cycle. 

"Shark Men" episode descriptions through April are after the jump (the rest of the descriptions are still pending):

Extreme angler Jeremy Wade back for third season of 'River Monsters' beginning April 10 on Animal Planet

Extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade is back, tracking down and fishing for some of the most threatening-looking freshwater fish worldwide for season three of "River Monsters," premiering April 10 at 10 p.m. on Animal Planet.

"This season, I get into even more unfamiliar territory," Wade said in a press release. "The destinations are diverse, the stories strange, and the fish every bit as fearsome but in unexpected ways. I encountered fish with invisible powers, others that live to a century, the largest true freshwater fish so far and the longest struggle I’ve had with a live fish to date."

This season will feature seven new episodes plus two specials, "Tribal Fishing" and "Most Bizarre."

The "River Monsters" series schedule and episode descriptions are after the jump.

California Department of Fish and Game offers black powder hunting clinic

The California Department of Fish and Game will be holding a black powder hunting clinic on April 30 in Merced County as part of its advanced hunter education program. Designed for all skill levels, the clinic will include both lectures and live-fire exercises.

The lecture portion will include a brief history of black powder shooting, different styles of black powder rifles used today, how to safely load and shoot a black powder rifle, laws and regulations pertaining to black powder hunting and strategies for hunting with black powder firearms.

The live-fire exercise will include target shooting with black powder firearms. All course material and loaner black powder firearms will be provided. Participants should not bring their personal firearms.

The clinic will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the River Oaks Range in Winton, seven miles north of Atwater in Merced County.

The cost is $45 and space is limited to 25, so those interested are advised to register early.

Those 16 and younger will be admitted free but must be accompanied by an adult. Registration, including fee payment, closes two weeks before the workshop date and can be completed online.

After registering, participants will receive an e-mail with a map to the facility and a list of items to bring.

For more information, e-mail or call DFG Lt. Dan Lehman at (916) 358-4356.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A hunter puts black powder into his single shot flintlock. Credit: Branson Reynolds / For The Times

Station Fire recovery program

Have you been wondering how the plants and critters in the Angeles National Forest have been recovering from the 2009 Station Fire, and when you'll be able to hike in the forest again? If so, plan on attending "Recovering From the Station Fire: The 2011 Update" Wednesday night at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena.

The program is being sponsored by the Forest Committee for the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter and will be presented by Angeles National Forest Acting Supervisor Marty Dumpis. Topics scheduled to be covered include preventing the invasion of non-native plant species and an update on areas that will be reopened to hiking, hopefully this summer and fall.

The fire in August 2009 burned more than 160,000 acres, and most of the forest and Angeles Crest Highway have been closed to the public ever since. The most recent closure order on the Angeles National Forest website says trails are still closed and entrance to the recovery area is prohibited, except for the Red Box Day Use Area, Hidden Springs Day Use Area and Monte Cristo Campground.

The program Wednesday is at 7:30 p.m., with a reception at 7 p.m. It's open to the public and will be at Eaton Canyon Nature Center, 1750 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena.

—Julie Sheer

Photo: A hillside in bloom in May 2010, on a wildfire recovery hike in the Hall-Beckley canyon area near La Cañada-Flintridge. Credit: Julie Sheer

'Meet the Grunion' Monday at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

The grunion are back in Southern California, and with them comes the return of the "Meet the Grunion" program, Monday evening at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro.

The aquarium exhibit hall will open at 8 p.m., with a film on grunion to be screened at 9 p.m. The cost to attend is $5 for adults and $1 for seniors, children and students. Tickets can be purchased on site, cash only.

Afterward, those who wish to participate will head to the beach to await the spawning run, which has a projected two-hour window of 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m.

Grunion runs are a sight to behold. For four consecutive nights, beginning on full- and new-moon phases during spring and summer, the small silvery fish leave the water to spawn on beaches. The shoreline may glisten with fish as the silversides attempt to lay and fertilize their eggs.

Grunion may only be caught in the months of March, June and July, and only by hand. Catchers 16 and older must possess a valid state fishing license.

There is no limit to the number of fish that may be caught, but the California Department of Fish and Game asks that people only catch what they will eat.

The program will be offered again on April 5 and 19, May 5 and 19, June 3 and 17, and July 16.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro. Directions and parking information is available on the aquarium's website.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Grunion scramble to get onto the beach to spawn. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

California Department of Fish and Game offers wild pig-hunting clinic

The next advanced hunting clinic offered by the California Department of Fish and Game will focus on wild pigs.

Co-hosted by the Pacific Coast Hunter Education Assn., the class will take place Sat., April 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds in King City.

The topics covered will include the biology of wild pigs, techniques for locating the animals, methods of take, how to handle and properly care for the game, plus recipes for preparing wild pig. They will also be field dressing and skinning a pig during the clinic.

Wild pig-hunting season is open year-round in California for licensed hunters, with no daily bag or possession limit, so this clinic seems well worth the registration cost for those wanting to learn more about the quarry.

The cost is $45 and space is limited, so those interested are advised to register early. A barbecue lunch is available for an additional $10.

Those 16 or younger will be admitted free but must be accompanied by an adult. Registration, including fee payment, closes two weeks before the workshop date and can be completed online. For more information e-mail or call DFG Lt. Dan Lehman at (916) 358-4356.

If you miss this one there will be two more DFG clinics this year on wild pig hunting: June 11 at the Russian River Sportsmens Club in Sonoma and July 30 at Tejon Ranch.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Wild pig. Credit: Department of Fish and Game

NSSF video emphasizes indoor shooting range safety

The National Shooting Sports Foundation recently posted the above video, "Introduction to Range Safety and Etiquette," on its YouTube channel.

The 8 1/2-minute video covers the following aspects of shooting range safety:
•    Rules of gun safety
•    Eye and ear protection
•    Range rules
•    Role of the range officer
•    What to do when you get to the firing line
•    Making your handgun safe
•    Cease fire -- who can call it, what it means and how you should respond
•    Range courtesy, common sense and etiquette

The video is useful to new and inexperienced shooters -- so they can better understand what's expected of them at indoor ranges -- and is also a handy refresher to those familiar with the rules and etiquette.

As a novice shooter, I plan on giving this video at least a couple of views before heading to the range this weekend.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Video credit: National Shooting Sports Foundation via YouTube