Season’s Greetings MBMC Members!

The 2025 Fishing Season is winding down and so is the Mission Bay Marlin club after 53 exciting years. Our last meeting of the year was held at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse which included a fine meal and a rundown of Dan Muslin’s and Ann Thompson’s recent Mag Bay run with over 200 Marlin released. Dan gave us important logistics information for what it takes to make this exciting trip happen and important tips on where to stop along the way, check in and check out procedures and fee costs with the Mexican Officials, contact information for the locals at each harbor who could help you obtain fuel & groceries and even transportation contacts in case some of your crew would prefer the Fly Down or Fly Back option and need a taxi to either La Paz or Loreto airport. Once again Ray Fear produced another fine Raffle only this time everyone in attendance were issued 5 raffle tickets at no cost to the attendees; fishing lures, bait certificates, restaurant gift cards, and a host of other nice gifts topped by another Daiwa Rod & Reel combo won by Scott Paul on the final drawing.

Our Final Tournament of the year the November Month Long Rock Cod Tourney was basically a competition between 2 boats; the Encounter and Doghouse. Ken Yasuda’s crew started out the first week of the month nailing down a 24.2 lb. Lingcod, and a 4.6 and 4.0 Red ,all by Nicolas Kane off the Lower 9 Mile Bank. Ken went back out on 11/23 with Herman Sumpena landing a 5.4 lb. Salmon Grouper with Ken landing a 4.8 lb. Red to hold the top 3 spots and Top Ling Cod spots to that point. However Team Doghouse weighed in a 6.0 lb. Salmon Grouper later in the day to break up the clean sweep. Well this didn’t sit too well with Team Encounter so they headed back out over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and Herman Sumpena landed a 6.8 lb Salmon Grouper to take 1st place and $500, Nick Kane landed a 6.2 lb. Salmon Grouper to take 2nd Place and $250; which knocked Jeff Meeker’s 6.0 lb. Salmon Grouper down to 3rd place and $100. Nick Kane’s 24.2 lb. Ling took the largest Ling Cod Prize of $250 and was also the largest fish caught in November earning Nick Fish of the Month and a new Daiwa reel.

2025 Mission Bay Marlin Club Final Awards Banquet will be held at Baci’s Restaurant on January 17, 2025 @ 6PM. There will be a $50 admission cost to all that attend and it should be one fine evening to chat with fellow members who have supported the Club over the years. A flyer with more details will be coming out soon.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Holidays and Joyous New Year!  –  Jeff

Greetings to all.

Summer is long gone however both Yellowfin and Bluefin Tuna were caught in decent numbers throughout October and even now into the 1st week in November. Some Bluefin schools returned to the local banks while a steady bite has developed at the Tanner and Cortez Banks along with a fairly consistent bite on Bluefin, Yellowfin, Yellowtail, and the rare Dorado 70-90 miles below the Border. In fact there were a couple of days in mid October where the Bluefin were found just outside the Upper 9 and 2 of the ½ day boats each caught a couple of Bluefin up to 100 pounds. News of the catch spread like wildfire and many boats scoured the offshore area between the 178 and Coronado Islands hoping for a catch.

The Doghouse was lucky enough to score Bluefin limits the next day on a Spreader Bar; Chris Meeker fought the 1st one and landed a 92.6# Bluefin while I was able to bring in a 37.6 and a couple of 15-18# tuna by mid morning. We were looking pretty good for the FOM rewards until Adi Ljubovic hit the scales a couple of days later with a nice 131# BFT.

Even though we extended the Monthlong Marlin Tourney into October, no fish were caught or released although Mark Henwood of the Southwestern Yacht Club was trolling a spreader bar inside the 371 looking for tuna when a 562# Blue Marlin inhaled the trailing squid lure and found itself on Mark’s swimstep after a 60 minute battle on 100# test. However the real excitement began at SD Marlin Club dock when they tried to raise the fish up to the scales when the boom lift pole snapped and came crashing down on the stern of Marks boat. 2 of Mark’s crew were injured, one seriously and fortunately no one else was hurt. This incident reminds us to mention to all MBMC Members the Mission Bay Marlin Club no longer has the IFGA Weigh Station at the Dana Fuel Dock; Dana Landing Bait and Tackle has the full responsibility of manning the Weigh Station and maintaining the Hoist and Electronic Scales. Please be sure to tip the Dana Landing employee who sets up the scale and helps you record the catch.

This month we have the November Month Long Rockfish Tourney with separate Lingcod division ($250 for largest ling). Tournament entries will be accepted through 11/29/25 just remember to submit your new or updated entry to info@missionbaymarlinclub.org before you go. Click for Entry Form and Rules.

Adi Ljubovic takes the October Fish of the Month Award with his butterball 131# BFT and that’s one less reel to be given away at the Awards Banquet; Date and Time TBD.

“Sadly, it seems that every month I am writing a story like this. Robert (Bob) Smith has died. He was a charter member and our third president. I first fished with him in 1975 and did so until the last few years when he was unable to do so. Bob was an active member of MBMC for over 20 years. You may remember that he was the guest speaker at the club’s 50th anniversary party at Bay Park Fish Co. Bob’s boat was Alexandra III at that time. I believe that it was a Luhrs. Later The Alexandra IV was a Trojan. Bob was also a frequent skipper on the Alliance. He will be missed.” – Paul Himmelberger

Our Final Seminar for 2025 is to be held @ Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on Saturday November 15th @ 11AM however local commercial Swordfish and Marlin Fishing expert Maurice Smith will not be able to attend due to minor medical issues so we were able to get MBMC member Dan Muslin to stand in and recount his recently completed Mag Bay Fishing trip giving us insight to the action and the logistics he encounters year after year and it will be a meeting you don’t want to miss if you are contemplating an extended trip down south. Includes a free lunch to all members in attendance and a $30 charge to all non-members. Get your reservations in early as seating will be limited to the first 40 who sign up; email to:  info@missionbaymarlinclub.org. This might be your last chance to pick up any leftover MBMC T-Shirts from the last tournament and any of the other past events so keep that in mind and remember Ray Fear will produce another fine and final raffle for 2025.

WE STILL HAVE SEATS AVAILABLE SO PLEASE GET YOUR RESERVATIONS IN FOR THIS LAST FREE EVENT! See attached flyer.  I hope to see you at the Seminar! See email flyer for details.

2025 Tournament Schedule:

November 1-30 Monthlong Rockcod (With a separate Lingcod Division) 

2025 Mission Bay Marlin Club Final Awards Banquet – Date & Time to be Announced

GREETINGS MBMC!

Well… no Marlin were caught during the September Month Long Marlin Tournament so the MBMC Board has extended the Tournament into the month of October with the same rules and regulations. All Tournament Entries will carry forward and any new Tournament Entries will be accepted through 10/31/25. Just remember to submit your new or updated entry to info@missionbaymarlinclub.org before you go.

There were no fish submitted for the September Fish of the Month Award and so far October is wide open.

Our Final Social and Seminar for 2025 is to be held @ Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on Saturday November 15th @ 11AM. Unfortunately, local commercial Swordfish and Marlin Fishing expert Maurice Smith will not be able to attend as originally scheduled. In his place, we were able to get MBMC member Dan Muslin to stand in and recount his recently completed Mag Bay Fishing trip and give us insight to the action and the logistics he encounters year after year. It will be a meeting you don’t want to miss if you are contemplating an extended trip down south. This social event and seminar includes a free lunch to all members in attendance and a $30 charge to all non-members.  Get your reservations in early as seating will be limited to the first 40 who sign up; email to: info@missionbaymarlinclub.org.

This might be your last chance to pick up any leftover MBMC T-Shirts from the last tournament and any of the other past events so keep that in mind and remember Ray Fear will produce another fine and final raffle for 2025.

I hope to see you at the Seminar!

2025 Tournament Schedule:

• October 1-31            Extended Monthlong Marlin
• November 1-30        Monthlong Rockcod  (With a separate Lingcod Division)

The Full Moon in beginning of the month put a damper on the already dismal offshore season as even the 2 and 3 day Sportboats were struggling to even bring home 1 fish for each angler for the whole trip. Except for a couple of days around the 101 outside Rosarito where the large BFT came out of nowhere and bit anything thrown at them, there was nothing biting within 40-60 miles of San Diego and many of the overnight fleet came home empty. The only bright spot was La Jolla where a decent bite on 15-25# Yellowtail for anglers slow trolling sardines and mackerel or running Rapalas in 80-90 feet outside the kelp line and typically the afternoon was better than each morning.

Which brings us to our long awaited MBMC 51st and Final Annual Marlin Tournament attended by 13 boats carrying 33 anglers the only problem was only a very few marlin showed up. The only local action was encountered by Rafael & Aileen Sanchez aboard their boat Karibik just inside the 182 when a marlin climbed on their Bleeding Mackerel jig and headed for the horizon. Unfortunately a tangle of lines ensued and the marlin gained it’s freedom once the 50# test line snapped. Ken Yasuda’s Encounter watched a pair of Tailers pass by the boat while Ken was down below deck and they were out by the old 15 Mile FAD spot. The Doghouse traveled north and shadowed the Pesky Tournament boats fishing off Catalina Island between the Avalon Bank and the shipping lanes; we had chances on 2 sleepers and 2 tailers on the slack noon tide and we blew all of them. Most fish caught in the Pesky’s Tourney were Blind Jig Strikes with only a few on bait; we tried each and came up empty. No marlin were caught in our Tournament and an even bigger shock was no tuna were taken either. So at the Awards Dinner held at Sardinas Restaurant every anglers name was put in the hat and the winners were chosen:

Marlin Division:

• 1st Place – Brent Hargraves $ 2,000.00
• 2nd Place – Gloria Himmelberger $1,250.00
• 3rd Place – Jim Kelly $ 750.00

Tuna Division:

• 1st Place – Jeff Meeker $ 1,000.00
• 2nd Place – Ann Thompson $ 500.00

Early Bird Marlin Caster Rod & Reel – Bob Nelson

Ray Fear put on another fabulous Raffle with many great prizes including several Daiwa reels, a couple of Daiwa Rod & Reel Combos, Everingham Bait Certificates along with several lures and Restaurant Gift Cards; and the difference this year the Club sought no donations and all the items were paid for by the Club. And once again the food at Sardinas was outstanding as always with the big hit being the Chicken Marsala which went like Locusts through a wheat field!

So far there have been no caught or released fish submitted for our Monthlong Marlin Tournament and if there are no Marlin caught or released in September the Board is considering extending the Tournament into the month of October; look for a future OOPSLINE Update with a September winner list or the October Extension. Also, there are currently no weight slips submitted for the Fish of the Month so get out there and bring something to the scales as right now its wide open and anything has a chance to win. Please remember to email your weigh slips within 72 hours to info@missionbaymarlinclub.org and please fill out the form completely so I won’t have to make up the location, Hook up time, Time to boat, etc.

Our Final Seminar for 2025 is to be held @ Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on Saturday November 15th @ 11AM featuring local commercial Swordfish and Marlin Fishing expert Maurice Smith and it will be a meeting you don’t want to miss which includes a free lunch to all members in attendance and a $30 charge to all non-members. Maurice “Goose” Smith will relive the banner years of the offshore Billfish fishing from the 1970s to present and offer tips and predictions for what lies ahead in the Southern California Bight. Get your reservations in early as seating will be limited to the first 40 who sign up; email to: info@missionbaymarlinclub.org. This might be your last chance to pick up any leftover MBMC T-Shirts from the last tournament and any of the other past events so keep that in mind and remember Ray Fear will produce another fine and final raffle for 2025. I hope to see you at the Seminar!

2025 Tournament Schedule:

• October 1-31 Extended Monthlong Marlin?? (TBD)
• November 1-30 Monthlong Rockcod (With a separate Lingcod Division)

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Greetings

The MBMC Board of Directors have re-examined the “2 Angler Minimum” Rule in the interest of allowing more current members the chance to participate in our final Marlin Tournament.  The Board has voted and decided to make a Rule Change to allow participants to fish solo aboard their boat.  The rules regarding “catch and release” and submittal of the picture requirements for a released Marlin are more difficult to follow while fishing solo, however they still apply. As do Rules for caught and weighed fish (Marlin and Tuna).  If not fishing solo, everyone on the boat needs to be entered in the tournament.

Finally, any members who have not yet signed their MBMC Release of Liability forms must do so at the Captain’s Meeting.

Tournament Entry Forms will be available at the Captain’s Meeting Friday September12th @ 6PM at the Marina Village Dockhouse Deli. 

Jeff Meeker