MBMC March Newsletter – THE OOPSLINE

Posted on by Larry Oberti

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!

Ann and Dan
Ryan and Jeff

 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