Veteran angler Steve Carson hosting free fishing seminar Monday at Sport Chalet, Marina del Rey

Veteran angler Steve Carson, whose Irvine Lake fishing reports appear weekly in Outposts, will be hosting a sport fishing seminar Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sport Chalet in Marina del Rey.

Carson will be sharing tips on how to catch more and bigger fish -- and have more fun doing it -- in Southern California, Alaska, Mexico and elsewhere, and covering fish including  albacore, yellowtail, trout and tuna. He'll also discuss teaching kids to fish, and how to hopefully keep their interest up while fishing.

Carson, Penn Fishing University program director, has an impressive resume. He's ranked No. 3 in the world among International Game Fish Assn. membership for the most different species of fish (235) caught on rod and reel; named one of the "Top 30 anglers in the West" by Western Outdoors magazine in 2006; and inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2010. Carson is also a radio personality, outdoors writer, pro staffer for Penn, Rapala, Luhr Jensen, Berkley and Flambeau (to name a few), and tournament director for the Berkley Alaska Grand Slam, Lake Oroville Open Bass tournament and Penn International Baja Grand Slam tournament.

There will also be a prize drawing, with the chance to win an overnight trip from Fisherman's Landing, a pair of admission passes and boat rental at Irvine Lake plus additional prizes from Rapala, Berkley and others.

Admission to the seminar is free, but attendees are advised to arrive early as seating is limited. The Marina del Rey Sport Chalet is in the Via Marina Marketplace, 13455 Maxella Ave.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Steve Carson with a nice tuna caught last fall out of San Diego. Credit: Steve Carson

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Will Mexico's drug war lead to tighter gun control laws in U.S.?

Hunters, target shooters and general gun owners: Try to imagine living in a country that has only one gun store. It's run by the army,  and buyers, who often wait months before receiving a permit, have to prove first that they make an honest living.

They must also undergo a psychological exam. The number of guns one can own is restricted. Ammunition sales are limited. Areas where guns can be carried are severely restricted. Selling guns to another person requires gobs of red tape.

That country is Mexico.

The Arizona Republic today ran a story on Mexico's gun-control laws, among the strictest in the world, and quoted a Mexican gun shopper as saying, "If the United States had a system like ours, we wouldn't have so many problems here in Mexico."

Agustin Villordo was referring, of course, to the heavily armed drug cartels, whose weapons come primarily from the U.S. And his statement surely will cause U.S. citizens -- who cherish their 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms as they cherish their freedom --  to collectively cringe.

Mexico's president rules out joint raids with U.S. in drug war--good or bad?

News item: Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Monday he has ruled out joint raids with the United States as part of the effort to minimize violence among drug cartels the border.

Calderon instead asked for more cooperation, equipment and logistical support, and implored President Barack Obama to do more to reduce demand for illegal drugs and stem the flow of weapons across the border.

Reaction: Fine for now. Mexico's ramped-up efforts to fight the cartels have been substantial and the U.S. should focus on contributing factors on this side of the border.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration will be unable to slow  demand for illegal drugs and will have powerful gun lobbies to contend with regarding the weapons issue (gun sales have been brisk these past several months because of fears Obama will enact stricter gun-control measures).

But that's where the U.S. effort in the drug war belongs at this point: in the U.S.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: Mexican soldier stands guard over an arsenal of sophisticated weaponry captured last year during a raid across the border from Texas in Reynosa. Credit: Associated Press 

Mexico's drug war doesn't add up as a safety threat to tourists

I recently booked a May round-trip Alaska Airlines flight to and from Cabo San Lucas for a base price of $150.00. The after-tax rate of $249 is perhaps the lowest I've paid for a trip to Land's End in 20 years.

Of course if you've watched the news, you know that Mexico is now ruled entirely by drug lords and crooked cops. I'll have to dodge bullets, inspect shadows for kidnappers and check my fish cooler for human heads.

But sometimes you just have to let caution fly and have some fun....

Seriously, the U.S. media, despite admirable coverage of most aspects of Mexico's high-profile drug war, have frightened thousands into believing they face certain peril if they set foot in Mexico.

In truth, many stand at least as good a chance of becoming a murder victim in or near their own communities.

So implies Frank Koughan, executive editor of the Burro Hall website and a former producer for CBS News' "60 Minutes."

In a recent blog post, Koughan, who for nearly three years has lived in Queretaro on mainland Mexico, repeated a point I've stressed often on Outposts: That the vast majority of the 7,000 or so people murdered in Mexico during the past 16 months were involved in the illicit drug trade or worked for law enforcement agencies fighting the narco war.

Boycott Mexico campaign targets illegal immigration issue

The large bold letters scream, "BOYCOTT MEXICO!!'' and are followed by the plea, "Do not give your tourist dollars to Mexico! Spend them in the beautiful American Southwest!"

The Boycott Mexico campaign, by a group called Americans United to Halt Tourism in Mexico, is the last thing tourist destinations in Baja California and elsewhere in Mexico need, as they struggle with an image problem caused by an unrelenting drug war.

Campaign volunteers have been passing out fliers at the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro and other points of entry. The group wants tourists to stop traveling into Mexico until the Mexican government complies with several demands related to the immigration issue.

"The AUHTM Campaign is designed to allow the American people to confront the Mexican people directly on these issues," it says on a campaign link. "The incompetence of the White House and U.S. Congress to do their jobs in this area is well known and leaves concerned and well-informed Americans few alternatives."

Reaction: This smacks of racism, and people in this country are free to travel wherever they wish. This campaign, which is requesting concerned citizens to print and distribute fliers and organize demonstrations, can only hurt businesses that have nothing to do with the illegal immigration issue and, in fact, employ Mexicans in Mexico.

But because it's a free country, those behind AUHTM, who obviously are frustrated and concerned about what they perceive as a major problem, are within their rights to call for a boycott.

As for the American Southwest, it is beautiful. But last time I checked you cannot catch a marlin there. Nor can you kayak with whales or scuba dive with giant Pacific mantas.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: Hectic scene at U.S.-Mexico border. Credit: Associated Press

Subdued San Felipe still reeling from loss of spring break tours

News item: Summer Winter Action Tours cancels huge spring break excursion to San Felipe in favor of Palm Springs, citing too many concerns about drug-related violence. A devastated San Felipe says it feels as if it's been "hit by an atomic bomb."

So as a comparatively subdued spring break is underway, this message sits on San Felipe's official website: "We are not, in any way, affected by the border violence that is plaguing Tijuana and Juarez. However, it is understandable that parents of college-age students want to be absolutely sure that their sons and daughters will be safe while in the care of SWAT."

Reaction: Good for Palm Springs. Very unfortunate for San Felipe, which joins Tijuana and Rosarito Beach, and perhaps all of Mexico, in tourism-related misery caused by cold-hearted drug peddlers and lots of sensational media reports that have made many people in the U.S. feel as though not a square inch of that country is safe.

In the case of drug violence, tourists are not targeted, and I've had people ask and have wondered myself if it's really so bad that cartel thugs are killing each other at such a frenetic pace. Answer: It is when the result is so much collateral damage.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: San Felipe has long been appreciated for its slow pace, except during spring break. But even that's turning out to be a slow time this year because of a tourism scare related to drug violence elsewhere in Baja California. Credit: Paul Micks