Greetings Members

On March 15th we held the MBMC Annual Membership Meeting at Sardinas restaurant. With the beautiful weather, we were able to hold the event on the patio. The food as always was excellent and plentiful.  We had 9 members present for the meeting. Of which 5 were existing board members.

As of today, 3 members have stepped up to fill Board of Directors vacancies.  Longtime member Jeff Meeker has volunteered to take over my spot as OopsLine editor and assist with tournaments. John Kirhoffer has also volunteered his help after his return in July. And longtime member Billy Vitale has also volunteered.

Facing continued lack of member participation and not filling out the full Board to run the club, a motion was made and approved by the members in attendance to SADLY end the 51-year run of the Mission Bay Marlin Club. 2025 will be the last year. 

We will have seminars and tournaments this year. Watch the flyers /dates/emails for future events. We welcome your comments and urge your participation.

Fishing has been limited again due to weather. Hopefully April will bring better weather and more boats will be out looking for the bluefin.  Rock cod fishing will be open to US waters April 1st. Remember to check fish and game regulations for 2025.

No FOM weighed in for February or March. Hopefully with improved weather we will see more participation.

The Board has set the tournament and seminar schedule for 2025.

Tournament Schedule:

• July – Month Long Yellowtail Tournament
• August- Month Long Tuna Tournament
• September- Month Long Jerry/Roy Lively Marlin Tournament
• September 12,13,14 Mission Bay Marlin Tournament
• November Month Long Rock Cod Tournament

Seminar Schedule:

• June 7th   – Legendary Marlin Fisherman Mike “Beak” Hurt will provide us with all his secrets for landing local marlin. The seminar will be held at Bay Park Fish Company from 11-3pm. Members will be treated to great food and seminar at no charge.  Non members 20.00. As always Ray Fear will be putting together an extremely generous raffle. 

Remember lets get our membership up. Time to renew and get your friends on board. It’s also not too late to donate your time to the board to help out your club.

Want to thank outgoing board member Kevin Yamamoto for all his hard work throughout the years in running our tournaments and serving as Weighmaster.  Billy Vitale will become the new Weighmaster.

I have also stepped down as Secretary and Social Chairman. My duties will be taken over by Jeff Meeker. During my term on the Board, we have had several challenges and some trying times but my term on the Board has allowed me to meet and work with great people that I can now call friends! 
             

Tight lines,
Scott Paul
sec/social

Members,

The Mission Bay Marlin Club Annual Membership Meeting will be held March 15, 2025, at Sardinas Restaurant from 2-5pm. Food will be complimentary.  As always Ray Fear will put together another great raffle. This will be a very important meeting for the future of the club. We will elect new members to the Board of Directors. As stated in the February 20, 2025, email – if there are not enough volunteers to serve as Board members and fill all vacant Board positions, the club will cease to exist at the end of this year.

FYI- MBMC has a new mailing address:

Mission Bay Marlin Club
5663 Balboa Ave, #456
San Diego, CA.  92111-2705

Fish Report – Fishing has been mainly deep. Whether you are calico, sand bass or rock cod fishing. Water has been cold and the wind has been generally up.

Remember rock cod fishing is closed in US waters until 4/1/25. If you are fishing Mexican waters, make sure to have all your permits. This includes the DFG importation document.

No fish were weighed for February Fish of the Month.  The reel will be raffled off at the membership meeting.

The Annual Mission Bay Marlin Club Awards Banquet was held at Tom Hams’ Lighthouse on February 15, 2025. Seventeen members were treated to a delicious dinner of salmon, ribs, or chicken. A scrumptious German chocolate cake was served for dessert and artfully decorated with a hand-drawn boat and fisherman catching a marlin. 

Jimmy Valentine , a member since 1974 won the early bird drawing for those who renewed membership by February 1st. Kevin Yamamoto handed out the 2024 Fishing Awards following the dinner. Many thanks to Kevin for putting together the Oscars and their plaques. 

Below are the MBMC AWARDS for 2024: 

Fish of the Month Awards

January	Kevin Yamamoto	7 lb. Rockcod (Grouper)***
February	Chris Bailey	71.6 lb. White Seabass***
March	Pat Holmes	23.2 lb. Yellowtail***
April	Tim Honick	7.6 lb. Lingcod
May	Paul Himmelberger	6 lb. Rockcod (Red)
June	NONE
July	Jim Kelley	41.2 lb. Seabass
August	John Brudvik	146 lb. Bluefin***
September	Chris Bailey	Marlin Release (130pts.)
October	Nick Kane	18 lb. Yellowfin***
November	NONE
December	Ken Yasuda	12.6 lb. Lingcod***
	*** Largest Species

LARGEST SPECIES OF 2024

Species	Size	Angler
Halibut	37.2 lb.	Jim Kelley
Lingcod	12.6 lb.	Ken Yasuda
Marlin	122.6 lb.	Paul Himmelberger
Rockfish	7 lb.	Kevin Yamamoto
Bluefin	146 lb.	John Brudvik
Yellowfin	18 lb.	Nick Kane
White Seabass	71.6 lb.	Chris Bailey
Yellowtail	23.2 lb.	Pat Holmes
Spotted Bay Bass	15-3/4″	Ken Yasuda

1ST TUNA FLAG     

John Brudvik   146 lb. Bluefin Tuna

MARLIN AWARDS (OSCARS) for 2024

CHRIS BAILEY on “HAWK”

• 1st Release of year
• 1st SOLO release  
• 1st Skiff release   
• 1st Men’s 30 lb. release  
• 2 RELEASED THIS YEAR  

ANN THOMPSON on “TO THE LIMIT”

• 1st Women’s 30 lb. Release
• 2 RELEASED THIS YEAR

PAUL HIMMELBERGER on “ENCOUNTER”

• 1st Captured Marlin 121 lb.
• 2 CAPTURED THIS YEAR

Kevin Yamamoto on “ENCOUNTER”

• 1st Men’s 50 lb. Release
• 1st Men’s 80 lb. Release
• 2 RELEASED THIS YEAR  

DAN MUSLIN on “TO THE LIMIT”

• 1st Men’s 20 lb. Release
• Last Marlin (Release) of 2024
• 2 RELEASED THIS YEAR

“ENCOUNTER” and Captain KEN YASUDA

• TOP MARLIN BOAT
• 3 RELEASED & 2 CAPTURED

Hope to see everybody at the membership meeting Saturday March 15th at 2;00pm..

Hope everybody has a great year of fishing.
Scott Paul
secretary/social

Happy New Year from the Board. Wishing you all a happy and healthy year. 

Fishing has been dominated by rock codding. Yellowtail off La Jolla have been showing occasionally. Rock Cod fishing is closed in US waters till April 2025. Make sure you have the proper documents for fishing Mexican waters. Fish and Game has been checking.

The Mission Bay Marlin Club Annual Awards Banquet is February 15, 2025, to be held at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse at 5:00 pm.  This is a great event in a beautiful setting honoring the angling accomplishments of the 2024 fishing season.  Please RSVP by February 8, 2025 (Details in link sent via email). Cost is $60.00 for adults and $15.00 for children (16 and under).

Remember the 2025 Early Bird membership renewal deadline is February 1st. The Early Bird drawing will be held at the Awards Banquet on February 15th. Please renew by March 1st as this will be the cutoff date for the 2025 directory to go to print.

The MBMC Annual Membership Meeting will be held March 15th at Sardina’s Restaurant from 2:00-5:00 pm. As you all know this is a very important meeting for the club. We need to elect a new president as well as add two more board members.  Of course, there will be a generous Raffle put together by board member Ray Fear. Save the date. Details to follow.

Future tournaments with date to be determined:

• Rock cod tournament will be held in April
• Bay Bass tournament will be held in May.

Fish of the Month went to Ken Yasuda on the Encounter with a 12.6-pound lingcod. Congratulations Ken!

Finally, the Dana Landing Fuel Dock will be removing all non-member phone numbers for fuel discount from their list on March 1, 2025.  Make sure you renew your membership by March 1 to remain current on the list and ensure uninterrupted access to this valuable MBMC benefit.

Wishing everybody a great year on the water,
Scott Paul
Secretary/social

Season’s Greetings!

Well Santa has blessed us with great weather the last couple of weeks. There have been a few larger yellowtail models coming off La Jolla. Other than that it has been rock cod, rock cod, rock cod.

The month of November saw no fish weighed in for fish of the month. Let’s get out there and win a reel.

There will be a nice reel raffled off for upcoming Early Bird Membership Registration/Renewal. The deadline for Early Bird is February 1, 2025. Lets get signed up!  The reel will be raffled off at the MBMC Awards Banquet to be held February 15, 2025,  at Tom Ham’s Restaurant.  Mark your calendars!

March 15th, 2025, will be our important Annual Membership Meeting. This will also include a seminar and raffle.  Stay tuned for details and location. The membership meeting will elect new board members. Remember we still need a new president and an additional board member.  We have asked for volunteers before without success. We are at a critical point with the club. We need your help.

This Saturday, December 7th will be our last seminar of the year. This will be a very casual meeting with questions and answers from Kenny Schilling. Kenny has many fishing experiences to share with us. The Seminar will be at Marina Village Dock House Grill (the Deli) on Guivira Way. Food will be served from 1-3 pm. The food will be comped by the MBMC. Ray Fear has put together another great raffle for us. Come join us for some friendship and fish stories.

The Rock Cod tournament will be held April 5th and 6th 2025. The Bay Bass tournament will be held April 26th and 27th 2025. Watch for future flyers with more details.

Don’t forget to purchase your Mission Bay Marlin Club T-Shirts. They make great stocking stuffers.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Warmest Regards,
Scott Paul
Secretary/social 

Hello MBMC Members!

As water temperatures continue to drop, fishing has shifted to rock codding and harvesting lobsters. Tuna had been seen recently and a few were caught under dolphin, but have not been seen in the last couple of weeks. Swordfish were being caught off the west end of the nine mile bank, but this also seems to have dried up.

The 2024 Jerry & Roy Lively Month Long MarlinTournament winner for this year was Kevin Yamamoto. He released a marlin on 9/11/24 to score 150 points. Paul Himmelberger was runner up with a 122 pound marlin weighed in on 9/24 that was good for 122 points.  Both marlin were caught on Ken Yasuda’s Encounter, making it top boat. On 10/20/24 Dan Muslin released a marlin on his boat ‘To The Limit’ with Ann Thompson at the helm. He was able to land the fish on 20 pound test. Great job!!!

Another notable catch was a 164# swordfish caught on the ‘Hawk’. Micah Anderson was the angler with Captain Pat Holmes and Shaun Kaus. Great job and patience on the deep drop guys! 

Nick Kane captured FOM prize for his 18# yellowfin tuna caught off a pod of dolphin. He won a Daiwa Saltist Reel for his effort. The

Rockcod/Lingcod Tournament scheduled for November 16-17 is cancelled and will be moved to February 2025. Watch oops line for an update on the exact date and time.

December 7th will be our final seminar for 2024. This will be a social gathering with Ken Schilling giving us his experience and knowledge of his fishing adventures. Time will be set aside for Q and A with Ken. This will be held at the Marina Village Deli from 1:00- 5:00. Food will be served from 1-3 only. Burgers, fries and a drink for ten dollars. A raffle will also be held.  RSVP IS NEEDED BY NOVEMBER 30TH. IF WE DO NOT HAVE 20 PEOPLE WE WILL HAVE TO CANCEL.

Early bird membership renewal forms will be going out the first week of December.  FYI – Dana Landing will start purging out all phone numbers that are not current members beginning in March. Don’t forget to renew your membership or your tackle and fuel discounts will no longer be valid.

Save the dates:

• Awards Banquet February 22, 2025 at Tom Ham’s restaurant.
• Annual Membership meeting March 2025.

We still have MBMC Tee Shirts available. These make great stocking stuffers. Please contact Jim at : info@missionbaymarlinclub.org

With winter upon us it’s a good time to check all the safety gear on your boats. Do your maintenance now so when spring fishing begins you’re out on the water and not stuck at the ramp or dock. 

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Scott Paul
secretary/social