Dear MBMC Members,

May is quickly upon us.  Fishing has been streaky at best. The bluefin showed up for a brief moment, but with windy conditions the water temperatures dropped and fish counts followed.

Rock Codding continues to be good on both the North and South nine.  The good news is that yellowtail have showed up in increasing numbers on kelps so keep your eyes out on the water.  Don’t forget the lesser species. .  Member Nick Kane took the time to get in on some big sand dab fishing.

The Bay Bass Tournament was held on 4/22-4/23 with 9 anglers participating in the event.  The Hargaves Family on the ‘Radar’ won the tournament.  A big congratulations to Board Member Jim Kelly for his 28 pound Bluefin caught on 4/22/23.  Jim takes home the honors of FIRST TUNA FLAG OF 2023 along with Fish of the Month for April!  

To all our members please take pictures of your catches or events on the water and send them to us.  We would love to post them.

Our membership has grown to 61 members.  Remember, on June 1st dues will increase to $150.00 so get signed up now.  We want to welcome new members Mariusz Wysoczanki, his son Gabriel, and Carl Schultz.  They are fishing on a 32 ft. Yellowfin named ‘Vitamin Sea’.  Nicholas and Juli Beth Hinds also joined the MBMC this month on their 22 ft. Dorral ‘Pilar’.

We have a couple of events scheduled coming up.  The first will be our Bluefin Tuna Seminar and BBQ.  This will be held at the Marina Village Deli on June 17th.  Food will be served from 2-3:00 pm. Be advised food service will end at 3:00.  John White from Dana Tackle will discuss Bluefin strategies. This is sure to be a great seminar. John has always provided a vast amount of knowledge and new techniques for catching bluefin.  A free Burger with fries & a soft drink will be provided for Members. Non-members pricing is $10.  A raffle will also be held, tickets will be for sale at the Event.  Flyer sent via email.

July 22nd we will celebrate the Mission BayMarlin Club’s 50th Anniversary.  A little belated (pushed back a year) because of all of the Covid stuff.  This will be held at the Bay Park Fish Company from 4-7pm.  We will have 1974 alumni share their stories of the early days in the club.  Past Presidents Paul Himmelberger, Bob Smith, and Jim Valentine have been invited.  Shirts marking this occasion will be available for purchase.  A Flyer will be distributed shortly.

The MBMC Halibut / White Seabass Tournament is this month.  We have changed to a One Month format this year.  Since we are getting a late start, there will be NO Entry Fee.  All you have to do is fill out the Entry and submit it to enter.  Prizes will be nice MBMC Award Plaques for the Largest qualifying fish. Link to Entry Form & Rules.

Finally, the Southwestern Yacht Club has an open invite to everyone for their Bottom Fishing Tournament to be held May13. This is a Charity Tournament to benefit the ElderHelp Non-Profit.  You must weigh in at the SWYC scale in San Diego Bay.  It could be easier to drive over your catch if participating.  Should be a good event for a great cause.  Check-out their website for further details.

Mark your calendars for these Events and watch out for future MBMC Seminars and Tournaments.

Tight lines,

Scott Paul

MBMC Secretary/Social

MBMC Members,

Another Bay Bass Tournament is in the books.  Timing worked out great.  The weather cooperated with mild warm weather all weekend.  The Bay was full of people taking advantage after our long bout of “cooler” weather.

There were a total of nine (9) Anglers participating.

• Scott Paul
• Dave Chrisman
• Tommy Baronner Jr.
• Thomas Baronner
• Ken Yasuda
• Bob Hargraves
• Donna Hargraves
• Brent Hargraves
• Brent Hargraves Jr.

Most Anglers were Kayak fishing, but it seems a Boat might have been the way to go.  Team Radar dominated the board again this year.  Great job!

• Men’s Winner        Bob Hargraves (Radar)
• Women’s Winner   Donna Hargraves (Radar)
• Junior Winner        Brent Hargraves Jr. (Radar)

Brent Jr. wins a $25 gift card from Dana Landing Tackle in addition to the Entry money in the Junior Division.  That will get him some more Bay Bass Lures.

Catch stats are as follows:

• Brent Hargraves Jr. – 14-3/4″ Spotted Bay Bass
• Bob Hargraves – 15″ Spotted Bay Bass
• Brent Hargraves Sr. – 14-1/2″ Spotted Bay Bass
• Donna Hargraves – 15″ Spotted Bay Bass
• Ken Yasuda – 14’1/2″ Spotted Bay Bass
• Tommy Baronner Jr. – 14-1/4″ Spotted Bay Bass

Great job all Anglers.  Many more “shorts” under 14″ were released plus a legal halibut on a beautiful Mission Bay weekend.

Now onto the Tuna Update.  There has been sign of bluefin on the upper banks.  There has even been a little bit of offshore yellowtail caught.  MBMC Member Jim Kelley on the Arumi Boto put in the time and scored the 1st Tuna of 2023 on Saturday.  Great work Jim!  He was able to score a 28# Bluefin in the 302 area on the troll.    That is a legit tuna, but there are larger bft in the 50-90# class out there also.  April Bluefin is a great way to kick off the Offshore Season!

Everyone have a great week and good luck out on the water!

Kevin Yamamoto

MBMC Board Member

Dear Members,

Hopefully the weather starts to cooperate and boats can get out to fish more.  Not much precipitation, but windy. . The Rockcod fishing is now open in U.S. Waters.  Be sure and read through the latest Regulations as they have changed this season.  There is some quality out there to be caught. . . Bluefin sign @ 50-160 miles, but are biting hot and cold.  Daytime biters on bait and colt snipers, nighttime knife type jigs.  Water at the Islands is not too pretty, but it is holding Yo-Yo yellowtail.  Look for the counts to get better as the wind lies down. 

April will be the start of our Tournament schedule.  Our first tournament of the year will be our Bay Bass Tournament. This is scheduled for April 22nd and 23rd (fish both or just one day).  Let’s make this a great start to the year.  Get your friends and family out on the bay for a fun day of fishing.  Take a kid fishing, we’ll be sure and reward them for their effort.  Remember that Non-Members can fish this tournament provided  they are signed up by a member. 

The Halibut/White Seabass (May) and Yellowtail (June) Tournaments will be One Month format Tournaments this year .  Rules will be worked out shortly for this new layout we are trying.  Even if you are not entered in a Tournament.  Come weigh-in fish at the Dana Fuel Dock and get a Certified Weighslip filled out (Fuel Dock Staff will assist you).  This will give you a great chance to win FOM (fish of the month) if you are entered in this.  We had NO fish weighed in for January, February, and March.  So, whoever weighed in a fish would have taken that month’s FOM prize. 

Member Directories and Cards are available now.  Big thanks to Kent Yamada for putting this together again.  We would also like to give a huge thank you to outgoing President Shane Hurt, longtime Board Member Billy Vitale, and Jerry Lively (two-time past President, Boardmember, and Member of many years).  With outgoing Board Members, we would like to bring more people into the mix on the Board.  Please do not hesitate to contact any Board Member regarding this.  Contact info. is available in the Member Directory.  The more people that get involved, the more we can do for the Club. 

This past weekend we had the annual Member Meeting and included a Seminar.  John White from Dana Landing Tackle  graciously offered to speak at our seminar.  He offered his insight on Mission Bay inshore fishing.  We heard great tips on areas to target, best conditions to use different techniques, and of course the latest hot gear that is getting bit.  There are many new bay techniques and gear that are hot.  If you missed the Seminar, visit Dana Landing Tackle for advice.  Those people fish EVERY day and know what’s biting and on what.  The Raffle had a lot of great new gear for the Bay Bass Tournament.  Everything from Japanese Swimbaits to Alabama Rigs, much of which was generously donated by John White @ Dana.  Big thanks goes out to them!  The Member Meeting was good as we now have new Board Members sworn in.

President:  Ken Yasuda

Vice President:  Paul Himmelberger

Secretary:  Scott Paul

Treasurer:  Tommy Baronner

Tournament Directors:  Jim Kelly / Kevin Yamamoto

Social Director:  Scott Paul

Weighmaster:  Kevin Yamamoto / Jim Kelly

Our next big event will be the MBMC 51st Anniversary Celebration.  We are planning on having two ORIGINAL members, Paul Himmelberger and Jim Valentine speak at the celebration.  Stay tuned on details for this.  In the meantime, we are working on updating our website to modernize and add some features.

Another reminder if you have not signed up yet for the 2023 year, the dues will be increasing to $150.00 on June 1st.  Get renewed by May to save the $25.

As always please share the MBMC with your friends and family and get involved with these great Seminars and Tournaments.  Send us your pics of having fun fishing, we would love to post them.  Look forward to seeing everybody in the 2023 fishing season.  

Tight lines,

Scott Paul

Secretary

Hello Members,

Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of Spring.  Sounds like the on and off storms will be coming to an end.  Time to go fishing!

I would like to remind everyone that we are having our Yearly Member Meeting along with a Seminar on Saturday, April 15th.

It is being held at Sardina’s Restayrant on Morena Avenue and includes an Italian Buffet with Antipasto Salad, Chicken Marsala, & Lasagna.  This will include a Seminar by John White of Dana Landing Tackle.  He will be giving us pointers on Bay Bass, Halibut, & White Seabass fishing.

Please flyer included in recent email for details.

Hope to see you there.

Kevin Yamamoto,

MBMC Board

Dear MBMC members,

First we would like to wish everybody a happy New Year!  Hopefully this year we have another epic year of fishing.  With all of the Post-Covid madness, we did not have a MBMC 50th Anniversary Celebration last year.  Yes, the Club was founded back in 1972. We would like to catch up and have a nice 51st year Anniversary Get- together.  The details will be worked out and we will send out information so keep an eye out for this.

For many years the MBMC newsletter was called the OOPSLINE!  In celebration, this year’s newsletters will again be OOPSLINE in celebration. 

The Board met on March 11th to start the ball rolling on all the Tournaments and Seminars that will be put on this year.  To start, we would like to welcome two new Board Members, Jim Kelley and Tommy Barroner.  Big thanks to Shane Hurt for his 2 years of serving as our President as well as Jerry Lively for his years of service, knowledge, & contributions to the Club.  Both Shane and Jerry will be stepping down from the Board this year.  Another thanks to last year’s Board Members for all the hard work and dedication that was put into the Mission Bay Marlin Club:  Shane Hurt, Jerry Lively, Billy Vitale, Ken Yasuda, Kevin Yamamoto, Ray Fear, and Scott Paul.

As we stated in the past, this is your Club.  Please give us your feedback or suggestions on things you would like to see from the Club.  This year we would really like to see more kids get involved.  So please bring your kids and their friends into the Tournaments or Fish of the Month.  There will be a lot of prizes and giveaways for them.  They are the future of fishing.  Also, we would love it if Members would submit Fishing Pics throughout the year.  It would be great to include these in the Monthly emails.  Fishing, catching, or just having fun on the water.

Last year the MBMC saw its membership grow to 90.  Thank you everyone.  This year as of June 1st, 2023,  the dues will be raised by 25 dollars to $150.00 for Adults.  Spouses & Children under 18 remain at $40.00.  Still a great deal compared to other fishing Clubs in the area.  So get signed up before the deadline and save 25 dollars.

The next Event this year will be the Membership Meeting / Bay Bass, Seabass, & Halibut Seminar on April 15th, 2023 (see attached flyer).  These are always fun and informative.  So come out, meet fellow anglers, and maybe pick up a few new tips.  Our presenter is John White from Dana Landing Tackle who is a wealth of knowledge.  It is being held at Sardina’s Restaurant, a great venue in the Morena/Bay Park area. 

The first tournament of the year will be our popular Bay Bass Tournament.  The date has been set for April 22-23 (see attached flyer).  A few changes have been made to this year’s tournament formats.  As you know September is the start of the Roy Lively Month Long Marlin Tourney.  This year we will be following the same month long format for the Month Long Halibut / White Seabass Tournament in May and the Month Long Yellowtail Tournament in July.  We are hoping to get more anglers involved with this change in format.  We are working out the details and more information will follow in the coming months.

The end of the year MBMC Awards Banquet was another huge success. It was held at the beautiful Tom Ham’s Lighthouse. 35 members with wives and significant others attended.  The food was exceptional as always.  A lot of good fishing stories of the past year.  The early bird winner of the Penn fathom 30 2 speed reel was Brent Hargraves Jr. Congratulations to him.

Ann Thompson and “To the Limit” (Dan Muslin) earned the 1st Marlin release flag and Ryan Kohler with team “Una Mas”(Jeff Winters) scored the 1st capture flag for 2022.  Nicely Done!

 Largest Species Awards:

• Halibut-39.1 lbs – Billy Vitale
• Lincod-24.8 Lbs – Ken Yasuda
• Marlin-129.3 – Tim Honick
• Rockfish-6.2lbs – Billy Vitale
• Bluefin Tuna (M ) – 128lbs-Kevin Yamamoto
• Bluefin Tuna (F) – 47.4lbs-Shannon Carpenter

Great job anglers!

A quick recap of a few tournaments from 2022

MBMC Marlin Tournament 

• Ryan Kohleron the ‘Una Mas’ – 1st
• Tim Honickon the’ Doghouse’ – 2nd
• Kevin Yamamotoon the ‘Encounter’ drew 3rd.
• Team ‘Encounter’ hit it again when Alex Edwardsdrew the Tuna Prize.

Bay Bass Tournament

• Men’s winner – Bob Hargraves– Radar
• Women’s winner – Donna Hargarves– Radar
• Junior winner – Brent Hargraves Jr. – Radar

Hargraves dominated the Tournament, excellent work.

Rockcod Tournament

• 1st – Tommy Barroner– Tri-dent
• 2nd – Rodney Villalva– Tri-dent
• 3rd – Scott Paul– Tri-dent

Team Trident swept the prizes, way to go!

Fishing report wise. . . As you have all experienced, fishing since December has been tough due to the weather.  The last reports have yellows showing up at the islands. These are yoyo fish.  More volume seen than the counts reflect.  There also has been good quality of reds and lingcod across the border.  Do not forget the CA Fish and Wildlife has NEW regulations for bottom fishing in 2023.  Be sure and review carefully as dates and depths have changed.

Looking forward to another great year on the water. Again thanks to all Members and Board Members for making the MBMC such a great Club!

Tight Lines,

Scott Paul, Treasurer