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!
From Paul Himmelberger – “It is with sadness that I have another notification of passing of a long time MBMC member. Linda Winters, wife of Stuart who predeceased her by years, has gone to be with him. The Winters family all have been great members and supporters of our club for many years. Stuart (Stu), Linda and more recently their son Jeff have helped the club immensely. I was VP when Stu was president and fished with Stu and Jeff when Jeff was just a boy. Personally, I have fond memories of the Winters family and send my heartfelt condolences to Jeff.
Now that our year, and our club, are winding down I want to take a minute to thank those who have stuck it out for this year. The board has diligently worked hard to make this as enjoyable a sendoff for the club as possible.
It has been a privilege to work with all of the hard working board members this year. They will continue to have the scheduled tournaments and activities available. In addition, I wish to thank the many who have faithfully supported MBMC through the years. Among them, Dana Landing and Tackle Shop, Fisherman’s Landing, and Everingham’s Bait deserve special mention. “
Dana Landing has taken over as the IGFA official weigh station. This was important as there is no other official IGFA weigh station in Mission Bay. So should any of you have that world record catch, there is a place to have your fish weighed.
Tight Lines!, Jeff
2025 Tournament Schedule:
- October 1-31 Extended Monthlong Marlin?? (TBD)
- November 1-30 Monthlong Rockcod (With a separate Lingcod Division)