Greetings! This month’s OOPsLine contains much information about our club. Please see the attached musings from Ann Thompson regarding the recent Marlin Seminar, a really informative and well received social event.
Recently, members were emailed information about our upcoming annual Marlin Tournament. This is the 50th year that this tournament has been held. Something worth celebrating!! There is still time to register as an early bird for the Tournament as the deadline has been extended to September 20th. This is an event that you don’t want to miss. Great fishing, great food, great raffle, great fun! Entry forms were emailed and are also available on our web page – Marlin Tournament Entry Form and Rules.
Thanks to all of the people who have already donated to this event, which is our major fund raiser for the year. There is still time to donate cash or raffle prizes if you are so inclined.
It is only the 6th of September so there is plenty of time to enter the Month-Long Marlin Tournament. Fish caught on the 27th will count in both events!! Link to Month-Long Entry Form and Rules.
FISH REPORT
Fishing offshore has been very spotty. Stingy on the kelps, with even less biting fish. Coronados have been the hot area. Yellowtail still popping off well from the Rockpile up to Pukey and all spots in between. There have even been Marlin hooked / seen in some of the areas holding these yellowtail. An added plus are the Bluefin breezers that have been down around South Island and the adjacent tuna pens. The fish have been small footballs up to 50 lbs. It may take some patience, but they are there and will bite a sardine. You may get lucky and come across a foamer, but lots of boats will be running over those.
Local kelp beds have been decently consistent. Calicos bite well some days and are picky the next. Current and water may be the factor here. Still yellowtail and white seabass mixed in the same areas. We have not heard if the Sandbass bite off of Imperial Beach is making a resurgence, but it was biting full speed for a while. Smaller bonito have showed up in the counts off the coast too.
There have been several Marlin released / taken this month.
Chris Bailey on Kingpin, released one on August 5th just off Catalina. He even got the fish SOLO, great job! There have been good numbers up in this zone. So far he has earned the following Oscar awards for this season:
- 1st Marlin Release of the Season
- 1st Marlin Release on Skiff (23′ & under)
- 1st Marlin Release on 30 lb tackle
- Solo Marlin Release
Can we fit all of these awards on one Oscar Plaque??
A few days later, on August 10th, Dan Muslin and Ann Thompson on To The Limit got into them in the same area. Ann started it off with a 1pm jig fish hookup on 30 lb test. After she reeled it in, Dan leadered and released it. After about another hour, Dan came tight to another jig fish on 30 lb test. While Ann ran the helm, Dan wound in the Marlin and did a clean leader/release on it. Way to go Kids! In addition, Ann earns the Oscar for the first Women’s release on 30 lb tackle. Very nice job!
Fast forward a week and a half. Ken Yasuda on the Encounter found some sign in the local zone. He put Paul Himmelberger onto a jig fish on August 21st. After a 20 min. fight, the crew of Ken Yasuda, Johnny White, & Kevin Yamamoto landed the fish. It weighed in at 121 lbs at the Dana Landing Tackle Fuel Dock. This wins Paul the 1st Taken Marlin Flag for 2024. Congrats! The fish was processed on the boat and taken by one of the crew who smoked it beautifully using a few different brine recipes.
The following weekend, the Encounter was out again for a look. Captain Ken Yasuda got into the zone and put the Crew of Kevin Yamamoto, Dan Muslin, & Nick Kane on Marlin again. Kevin started it off with a drop-back hookup after Nick spotted a feeder that came charging into the jigs. A few minutes later, Nick cleanly leadered and released Kevin’s fish. A while later, Nick was tight to a jig fish and wound it to the boat. Kevin leadered and released that fish. Nice double for the day Guys!
Member Pat Holmes on the Hawk has also been on the Marlin lately. He’s in the Northern Zone and is up to 4 releases. Great Job Pat!
You would think FOM for this month would have been a marlin release with its earned 130 pts = 130 lbs. But John Brudvik eclipsed this mark with a 146 lb. bluefin tuna out in the Tanner Bank zone. Congrats on FOM! Great job putting in the time and distance John!
In closing, it seems that this message illustrates what our club is all about: the shared joy of fishing, camaraderie and member participation. Soo with that!! Calm seas and good fishing to all.