Bryan Gunther, who recently caught a nearly 7-pound barred sand bass, was confident the fish’s size would remain the record-holder in a competition meant to raise awareness of recreational fishing conservation and sustainability along Southern California’s coastline.

So, on Monday, July 31, the last day of Dana Wharf’s Sportfishing Catch & Release Bass Tournament, Gunther, 39, of Irvine, had a big grin as he and his father, Jeff Gunther, of Dana Point, boarded the Reel Fun for the tournament’s last day – with them were at least a dozen other anglers who had design’s on getting a last-minute score by landing an even larger bass.

“I feel pretty confident,” Bryan Gunther said about the size of his catch which he snagged using “a lively anchovy.” “It would be amazing if they could catch something larger, I’m fairly confident. I feel honored and humbled to be in the lead.”

Bryan Gunter landed his 6.9-pound sand bass on July 21, just off the San Clemente Pier, and the catch put him in first place. In all, 600 anglers boarded the iconic fishing vessel over the past two months and headed up and down the coast from the Dana Point Harbor looking for bass. Second place when to Mark Ator, of Rancho Santa Margarita, who reeled in a 5.8-pound calico bass on July 13.

The tournament, launched by the Dana Wharf charter, is the first of its kind and is being held to create more awareness of The Coastal Conservation Association of California. The group of recreational anglers was created in 2015 with a mission of working for the conservation and enhancement of the local marine resources and coastal environments. Their goal is to not only protect the health, habitat and sustainability of resources but also the interests of recreational saltwater fishers and their access to the resources.

To enter the tournament, fishers paid $5 and the funds were collected for the group. In all, $6,000 was raised for CCA and Donna Kalez, who operates the sportfishing charter, called it a “great start.”

“We need to elevate people’s awareness of CCA Cal and what they’re doing for the recreational anglers,” she said. “A lot of people release bass but some don’t want to. We promote both.”

Gunther knew he had a big one on the line when he lowered his bait just after Reel Fun boat captain Chris Pica dropped the anchor not far from the San Clemente Pier.

“I immediately felt the pull and the rod started bending,” Gunther said. “I knew it was a big fish, but I wasn’t sure though if it was a halibut or a small yellow tail.”

His father, a retired superior court judge, was right there cheering him on.

“I’m very proud,” he said of his son’s catch. “I’ve been fishing the water with him since he was 3 years old. Then, I tied him to my belt with a little rope so he wouldn’t fall. My father did the same with me when I was 3 years old.”

Just as quickly as the sand bass was reeled in, it was unhooked and released back into the ocean.

Pica, who has been on the water for 35 years, called Gunter’s catch a “good, quality sand bass.”

“It swam off as healthy as it could be,” Pica said, adding that now is the time the fish are spawning. “It’s extremely important to release these big ones back. They’ll produce more offspring and, in return, will create a healthier population of calico and sand bass.”

Wayne Kotow, executive director for CCA California, is thrilled that Dana Wharf is bringing greater awareness to his group. All who signed up also got a free annual subscription so they could learn more about the group.

Like Pica, he agreed keeping the breeder fish alive is critical to the preservation of the resources.

“A lot of bass are caught in the lip and not in the gut where they can bleed out,” Kotow said.”Our fishing methodology is getting better. Ninety-nine percent should survive because the guys on the boats are trained well.”

A special adventure in recreational fishing this year seems to be that some species – like albacore not fished off Southern California waster since the early 2000s – are being caught again.

Over the weekend, two “longfin” albacore were caught on another Dana Wharf charter about 70 miles off the coast. In San Diego, another fishing vessel also bagged one.

The presence of the fish is surprising local anglers because of weather predictions of the El Nino warmer waters based on predictions of water temperatures at the equator.

“What we had here from the fisheries is water that’s been extremely cold and signs that pointed us to a La Nino (cooler water),” said Kotow. “The bait has been changing from sardines to anchovies. We’ve had bonito, squid and brown baits. They’re all the fish that started coming back in the winter. Now, with the albacore showing up, it points to colder waters.”

Kotow said fishing is cyclical and that albacore was here off Southern California in 2008 and before that in the 1970s.

“Who knows what’s going to happen?” he said, adding that no matter what the water temperatures, the variety of fishing opportunities off Southern California is immense.

“There is so much opportunity for fishing adventures and we don’t take it for granted.”