I hope this message finds you all well as the peak of the 2022 fishing season winds down. I hope you all managed to find time to get out and enjoy what has been a spectacular season overall. And while the water temperatures trend in a cooler direction, know that there are still some opportunities to stock up the freezer for the winter.
Though the numbers have dwindled, there is still a chance to find some Bluefin Tuna around. Recent action has been reported inside San Clemente Island and around the 267 zone off Dana Point. Also of note are recent catches of Swordfish along the 9 mile bank, inside San Clemente, and off Oceanside to name a few.
Wanted to take a moment to congratulate Shannon Carpenter on her October FOM win with a 47.4 lb BFT. Well done Shannon and team Encounter.
***Reminder!!! Be sure to come out and enjoy the Mission Bay Marlin Club End Of The Year Social which will be held Saturday December 3, 2022, from 2 to 5pm at the Marina Village Dockside Deli – 1842 Quivira Way. Hope to see you all there for an afternoon of comradery and fish stories recapping the 2022 season.
Another reminder to be sure to save the date for the annual MBMC Awards Banquet coming up on Saturday, January 28th starting at 5pm at Tom Hamm’s Lighthouse. For those of you that made the last banquet at this venue, you will recall what a great venue it is and a great way to celebrate the 2022 fishing season. RSVP deadline is Saturday, January 15th. An announcement flyer will be coming soon with more details.
I would like to remind everyone that the MBMC Rockcod/Lingcod Tournament is this coming weekend, November 12th & 13th. You may fish one or two days of the Two Day Tournament. There are awards for an Adult Division as well as a Junior Division. I’m sure there are plenty of big Reds and Lingcod out there for Club Members to target.
I hope you are all managing to find some time to enjoy the 2022 fishing season while the good weather remains with us. We are very fortunate to have enjoyed a long and productive fishing year.
Wanted to give one last shout out to the winners of this year’s MBMC Marlin Tournament winners. What an amazing tournament full of fun events, good catching, and great comradery. I also wanted to send out a note of appreciation to your board members and everyone that contributed their time to make this yet another special event. And as always, a special thanks goes out to all our tournament sponsors that together help make this such a special annual event.
While much of the attention went to the big MBMC Marlin Tournament, the Roy Lively Month-Long Marlin Tournament was going on in September as well. This year the shootout was limited to the Hargrave family v. Team Encounter. We did not have the numbers of fish we would have liked this year for a month-long event, but there were decent numbers of Billfish out there. Sport boats and private boats were reported to hook them by accident on kelps, tuna feathers, and even the infamous Mad Macs.
The Tournament came to an end on September 30th with the single Marlin release by team Encounter. Good job Ken Yasuda and team!
I also wanted to congratulate Tim Honick for his September 2022 FOM win taken for his 129.2 lb Marlin catch aboard Jeff Meeker’sDoghouse. Well done Tim!
***Reminder to all to get signed up for this year’s MBMC Rock/Ling cod Tournament coming up November 12th & 13th. Always a fun event to wind down the fishing season. Click for Tournament Entry Form and Rules.
I would like to welcome new MBMC members Dave Boggerman aboard Desperado, a 39’ Chris Craft, and Jeff Winters aboard Una Mas, a 26’ Blackman. Club membership stands at 90 members.
A quick reminder that MBMC club T-shirts are still available for purchase for $20 each. Be sure to stock up before supplies are depleted.
I don’t have a ton of info to share regarding the current bite. Honestly, I have been locked into kids soccer and work this year. Always seems to be the case when the bite is good! I do know that the show is not over with Marlin still being caught in close off Newport Beach that I know of. Also be sure to get your Swordfish deep drop gear dialed in as that part of the year is starting to happen locally.
This year is flying by, it is already mid-October. I hope you all have had a chance to get out on the water for some of the incredible Dorado fishing that this year has offered! If not, they are still biting as I write this. The water has been cooling down, but all it takes is the right paddy for a fun day of catching.
That being said, I would like to remind everyone that the MBMC Rockcod/Lingcod Tournament is coming up on November 12th & 13th. You may fish one or two days of the Two Day Tournament. There are awards for an Adult Division as well as a Junior Division. I’m sure there are plenty of big Reds and Lingcod out there for Club Members to target. Don’t forget to bring the Junior Anglers, they always get a kick out of winding in those Cod. . . . unless it’s from 70 fathoms.
Click here for Entry Form and Rules . Hope to see you out there. In the meantime, make the most out of this offshore season as we head toward the end of the year.
Another MBMC Marlin Tournament is in the books. I would like to thank all 12 Teams and 33 Entrants for participating. Extra thank you to Billy Vitale for taking care of Tournament Control, updates, and ‘On the Water’ raffles.
The weather was a little bumpy, but manageable. Marlin sign was from below the border all the way up to off of Point Vicente. Kudos to the Doghouse for running the 50+ miles North to the 14 Bank. Good job. Most Teams stuck to the closer Banks/Zones.
First hookup was a Jig bite @ 8:30 a.m. on the ‘Una Mas’ captained by Jeff Winters. The Jig stuck and angler Ryan Kohler took care of business before the flying gaff was sunk home by Captain Jeff Winters. It was a nice fish that tipped the scale at 113 lbs. That one has an appointment with the Smoke House!
Captain Ken Yasuda on the ‘Encounter’ was next with a 8:45 a.m. Jig bite. That one definitely wanted the jig and stuck itself well on 80# gear. A few minutes later Alex Edwards leadered and released a nice Marlin for happy angler Kevin Yamamoto.
The last hookup @ 11:25 a.m. rewarded the Doghouse for their longer run. Captain Jeff Meeker gaffed the fish after angler Tim Honick subdued the nice129 lb on 50# tackle.
There were least one or two other “Zips” on the Jigs that didn’t stick. But that is Marlin fishing after all. Fishy looking porpoise pods were also seen. Surprising that no one pulled a tuna off of any of them.
The Sunday Awards Banquet at Sardina’s was a fun event. Over 35 bags with great items from Spreader bars to Custom Marlin heads were raffled off to lucky anglers. There was even a hot Mad Mac lure in the giveaway! As usual, Sardina’s food was great, along with the exceptional service from them. Teams had a chance to wind down and go over the previous day’s fishing in style.
The lottery for Tournament Grand Prizes favored angler Ryan Kohler and team ‘Una Mas‘ for 1st prize of $1500 , followed by angler Tim Honick and team ‘Doghouse” for 2nd prize of $1000, and finally angler Kevin Yamamoto and team ‘Encounter‘ for 3rd prize of $700. Team ‘Encounter’ scored again when team member Alex Edwards was drawn for the Tuna Prize of $500!
This Event would not be what it is without our generous Sponsors and Donors. They deserve a big Thank You from all of us and include the following:
John Brudvik – Frantic
Jeff & Linda Winters @ EW Trucking
Ken Yasuda with Yasuda Landscape
Dana Landing & Fuel Dock – Steve Pinard / John White
Fisherman’s Landing Tackle – Doug Kern
Tim & Heidi McBride from the Sundowner (Hawaii)
Jerry Lively – Lively One
Bob & Donna Hargraves – Radar
Kenny Shilling – Joint Venture
Banquet Host Sardina’s Italian Restaurant
Seaforth Sportfishing
Fishworks
Scott Paul – Tri-Dent
John Overland – No Limit
Roger Baird – Last Mango
Paul & Gloria Himmelberger – Reel Estate
Dan Muslin & Ann Thompson – To the Limit
Squidco Tackle
Bay Park Fish Company
Slugg Fishing
We would like to again thank everyone for their participation. And special thanks to the Tournament Committee and Board members whose hard work made the event such a success.
Hope to see all of this year’s participants and more for the 49th Annual Event next year. In the meantime, there is still time to go out and get a Marlin before the season winds down. The water is still good, go out and get yourself a catch/release before everything cools down.
Good luck out there,
MBMC Board Memebers,
Shane Hurt, Ken Yasuda, Billy Vitale, Jerry Lively, Scott Paul, Ray Fear, & Kevin Yamamoto
