By GARTH STAPLEY
Modesto Bee
May 23, 2003
MODESTO, Calif. - The image of Scott Peterson fishing alone in San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve doesn't make sense to some longtime sturgeon fishermen.
The target of most of their skepticism is Peterson's 14-foot aluminum boat. It's too small, they said.
"That's totally ridiculous," said Tim Sellars, manager of Fisherman's Warehouse in Manteca. "I've been out there in a 30-foot boat, and it's spooky."
Five sturgeon fishermen, contacted separately, offered the same opinion. Waves and swells are common and can be deadly to small boats, they said.
"I wouldn't even take a 16-footer out in the bay," said Randy McGee of Modesto, who has fished there for 40 years. "You don't go fishing for sturgeon in the bay with a little 14-foot aluminum boat. You just don't."
Peterson, 30, has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Their bodies washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in mid-April within miles of where Scott Peterson told authorities he went fishing alone on Christmas Eve.
Other aspects of Peterson's story are unusual, the fishermen say:
Sturgeon, which often top 100 pounds and 6 feet in length, are difficult to haul into a boat without help.
"You'll have a hell of a time landing one by yourself," said Ken Moore of Ripon. "They're big. It can be done, but most sturgeon fishermen don't go by themselves."
Most fishermen are on the water by daybreak. Peterson told police he left Modesto at 9:30 a.m.
"A true fisherman would not go so late in the day," Moore said. "If you're ... serious about fishing, you're not going to have much time to fish."
Brooks Island, where Peterson said he fished - and where divers associated with Modesto police continue to search for clues - "is not a known sturgeon spot," said Barry Canevaro. He has fished the bay for 50 years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service, http://www.shns.com.)