A total of 73 youngsters fished while a few more showed up at the end of the event and though late were allowed to participate in the festivities. The kids were accompanied by a large number of adults yielding a total number of somewhere around 150 people. The weather was great, about 80 degrees with only a slight breeze, and the pier was filled with smiling faces along with hope and anticipation for a fish, maybe even a big fish.

Derby registration was handled by Michelle, PFIC member Pat Jones, and MR&G club member Rita Magdamo Jones (who’s also a PFIC member). The club’s insurance registration was handled by club members Ann Marie and Leslie.

A large group set up and organized the raffle gifts while still more people cooked, organized and served the hot dog lunch. Office secretary Marilyn provided help in many areas. As always it was a large group effort by club members.

The Marin Rod and Gun Club and Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) brought free loaner tackle while the club provided the free bait. Setting up the rods and reels were club members Gary along with PFIC members   Robert Gardner and Kyle Pease.

On the pier a knowledgeable group of club members (and PFIC members Kyle Pease and Robert Gardner) worked as judges helping record and score the catches of fish while assistance for the (often) newbie anglers was available from both club and PFIC members.

As for the fishing, it was one of the best derbies. A total of 44 fish were recorded during the derby while early bird anglers who started before the official starting time caught several fish including a striped bass that was probably the largest fish of the day. Overall about 50 fish were caught by the kids. Included in the official mix were 15 striped bass, 12 jacksmelt, 7 halibut, 4 blackperch, 2 leopard shark, 1 bat ray, 1 walleye surfperch, 1 shinerperch and 1 staghorn sculpin (bullhead).

Once the fishing was completed, every youngster received a free hot dog lunch courtesy of the club followed by the announcement of the age group winners. Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones of Pier Fishing In California who was making his thirteenth appearance at the event.

Age Group Winners:

5-Year-Old Winner: Joey Giblin

6-Year-Old Winner: (friend) Eli Flores

7-Year-Old Winner: Charles McFarlan

8-Year-Old Winner: Jack O’Neil

9-Year-Old Winner: Gemma Schultz

10-Year-Old Winner: Caleb Ham

11-Year-Old Winner: Beckett Gross

12-Year-Old Winner: Audrey Madden

13-Year-Old Winner: Nicolas Barnes

15-Year-Old Winner: Jaxon Lagomarsin

Last but certainly not least was the raffle, which provided brand new rods and reels for EVERY youngster that was in the derby. It was fun watching the youngsters pick out their favorite rods and reels.

As mentioned, there are many, many volunteers to thank, too many to know all the names. But first and of upmost importance is Al Pietrosilli, the club coordinator for the event. He’s the one hitting the streets and getting the necessary donations (thousands of dollars) for the event, money that paid for everything from the food to the rods and reels. Naming the derby in his name reflects the honor he has earned for his outstanding work on the derby over the years. A special mention also goes to Joe Morrison who has for years helped coordinate our various contacts, and to Dan Nonberg who handled most of the announcing at the event.

]]> http://kenjonesfishing.com/2025/09/2025-%e2%80%94-al-pietrosilli%e2%80%99s-kid%e2%80%99s-day-on-the-pier-%e2%80%94-marin-rod-gun-club/feed/ 0 http://kenjonesfishing.com/2024/08/2024-%e2%80%94-al-pietrosilli%e2%80%99s-kid%e2%80%99s-day-on-the-pier-%e2%80%94-marin-rod-gun-club/ http://kenjonesfishing.com/2024/08/2024-%e2%80%94-al-pietrosilli%e2%80%99s-kid%e2%80%99s-day-on-the-pier-%e2%80%94-marin-rod-gun-club/#comments Thu, 29 Aug 2024 18:30:53 +0000 kenjones http://kenjonesfishing.com/?p=20811 Saturday, August 17 saw the 34th annual “Al Pietrosilli’s Kid’s Day on the Pier” at the Marin Rod and Gun Club. As always, a large group of volunteers helped out at the event and with their efforts the day’s activities run smoothly and efficiently.  Perhaps the only disappoint was in the number of actual participants. Although 84 youngsters had signed up, only 53 actually showed up along with roughly 100 parents and friends. No matter the number, the pier was filled with smiling faces along with hope and anticipation for a fish, maybe even a big fish. Some early morning pictures:

The “Doorway To Fish”

Registration was handled by club members Jeane Pietrosilli, Ann Marie, and Rita Magdamo (who’s also a PFIC member).

 The Marin Rod and Gun Club and Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) brought free loaner tackle and people to help out at the event while the club provided the free bait. Assistance for the (often) newbie anglers was available from both club and PFIC members.

Setting up the rods and reels were club members Scott and Gary along with PFIC members Rita Magdamo, Hans Jones, Robert Gardner and Kyle Pease.

A number of judges were helping the kids record their catches including several Marin Rod & Gun Club members (and I didn’t get their names) as well as PFIC members Mel Kon and Hans Jones.

Kyle Pease

A nice variety of fish were caught by the young anglers including 3 striped bass, 2 leopard sharks, 1 bat ray, 1 halibut, and 18 jacksmelt. Several additional fish—striped bass, jacksmelt and perch were caught just prior to the official gun starting the derby.

The families:

Helping with water and recycling bottles was club members James and Daniella Hearn.

Rich Reano from Pier Fishing In California filmed the event.

Once the fishing was completed, every youngster received a free hot dog lunch courtesy of the club followed by the announcement of the age group winners. Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones of Pier Fishing In California who was making his twelfth appearance at the event. In addition Mimi FishFish provided free lures to every age winner.

 Nest up was the announcement of the winners in the various age categories. Age Group winners:

6-Year-Old — Milo Jayquish

7-Year-Old — Maximus Gerlach

 8-Year-Old — Cambria Simpson

9-Year-Old — Jake Mitchell

10-Year-Old — (Tie)

Joshua Montufor

Lilly Mitchell

Natalie Delreal

 11-Year-Old — (Tie)

Lorenzo Briosos

Valentino Ponce

 13-Year-Old — Mimi Sintchak

 14-Year-Old — Adrien Martin

Last but certainly not least was the raffle, which provided brand new rods and reels for EVERY youngster that was in the derby. It was fun watching the youngsters pick out their favorite rods and reels.

The free rods and reels given to every participant.

There are many, many volunteers to thank, those who assisted with registration, setting up the rods, reels and bait, the judges, and all the cooks and servers for the lunch. Too many to know all the names. But first and of upmost importance is Al Pietrosilli, the club coordinator for the event. He’s the one hitting the streets and getting the necessary donations (thousands of dollars) for the event, money that paid for everything from the food to the rods and reels. Naming the day in his name reflects the honor he has earned for his outstanding work on the derby over the years. A special,mention also goes to  Al’s assistant Joe Morrison who has for years helped coordinate  our various contacts, and to Dan Nonberg who handled most of the announcing at the event.

Saturday, August 26, saw a large group of volunteers host the 34^th annual “Kids Day On The Pier,” an event given a new name this year—“Al Pietrosilli’s Kid’s Day on the Pier.” Although the 45 youngsters in attendance was a somewhat smaller than expected number, they and roughly 90 adults filled the pier with high hope, excitement and fish. The atmosphere was upbeat, the kids were smiling, and the weather cooperated with mid temperatures and just a slight breeze.

Registration

The Marin Rod and Gun Club and Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) brought free loaner tackle and people to help out at the event while the club provided the free bait. Assistance for the (often) newbie anglers was available from both club and PFIC members.

Loaner rods and reels

People quickly headed to what they hoped would be a “hot” spot

Fish on!

A nice variety of fish were caught by the young anglers including 3 striped bass, 2 leopard sharks, 2 thornback rays, 1 bat ray, 2 walleye surfperch, 1 barred surfperch, 1 staghorn sculpin, and many, many jacksmelt.

Thornback Ray

Leopard Shark

Walleye Surfperch

A young lady with a jacksmelt

Jacksmelt

Striped Bass

Once the fishing was completed, every youngster received a free hot dog lunch courtesy of the club followed by the announcement of the age group winners. Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones of Pier Fishing In California who was making his eleventh appearance at the event.

Ken Jones

Next up was the announcement of the winners in the various age categories. Age Group winners: 5 & 6-Year-Old — (tie) Baxter Grey and Crystal Ariya; 7-Year-Old — Gemma Schultz; 8-Year-Old — (tie) Isaac Guiterez and Maddox Doherty; 9-Year-Old — Destin Malony; 11-Year-Old — Evan Magoria; 12-Year-Old — Bora Tekin; 13-Year-Old — Vincent Borosso.  Special prize to Miles McCulloch who fought a large ray to the surface but whose fish was lost in the netting.

5 & 6-Year-Old — Baxter Grey

 5 & 6-Year-Old — Crystal Ariya

7-yr-old Gemma Schultz

8-yr-old Isaac Guiterez

8-yr-old Maddox Doherty

9-yr-old Destin Malony

11-yr-old Evan Magoria

12-yr-old Bora Tekin

13-yr-old Vincent Borosso

Special Award – Miles McCulloch

Last but certainly not least was the raffle, which provided brand new rods and reels for EVERY youngster that was in the derby. It was fun watching the youngsters pick out their favorite rods and reels.

There are many, many volunteers to thank, those who assisted with registration, setting up the rods, reels and bait, the judges, and all the cooks and servers for the lunch.

First and of upmost importance is Al Pietrosilli, the club coordinator for the event. He’s the one hitting the streets and getting the necessary donations (thousands of dollars) for the event, money that paid for everything from the food to the rods and reels. The change in the derby name certainly reflects the honor he has earned for his outstanding work on the derby over the years.

Registration was handled by club members Katie Schultz, Patti Clark, Ann Marie and Rita Magdamo (who’s also a PFIC member).

Setting up the rods and reels were club members Scott and Gary along with PFIC members Rita Magdamo, Hans Jones, Robert Gardner and Kyle Pease.

Judges included club members Nick Kerr, Justin Etter, Mark Tognoli, Mike Tomita, Kevin Tomita, Ed McCain, and Vince Simpson, along with PFIC members Mel Kon, Kyle Pease, and Hans Jones.

Helping with water and recycling bottles was club members James and Daniella Hearn.

In closing, special attention once again should be given to Al Petrocelli but two additional men were instrumental in making everything so smoothly come together—Joe Morrison, a board member who has helped the derby for years and President Dan Nonberg who was busy throughout the day making sure everything came together. A big thanks to both.

Al Pietrosilli and Ken Jones

The Marin Rod and Gun Club and Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) brought free loaner tackle and people to help out at the event while the club provided the free bait. Assistance for the (often) newbie anglers was available as needed.

We had 86 youngsters on the pier with at least that many adults and fish were caught although not too many. The red tide, which unfortunately has negatively affected much of the bay, was making its presence known and only 11 bat rays, 3 leopard sharks, 1 halibut, 1 jacksmelt and 1 surfperch were caught. Typically the list is led by a large number of jacksmelt so I think their absence more than anything else reflected the red tide.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere was upbeat, the kids were smiling, and even the weather cooperated for the most part (although just a tad bit windy).

Bat Ray Time

California Halibut

Once the fishing was completed, every youngster received a free hot dog lunch courtesy of the club followed by the announcement of the age group winners. Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones of Pier Fishing In California who was making his tenth appearance at the event.

Age Group winners:

5-Year-Old Winner— Eliza Jane Mills

6-Year-Old Winner — Yahir Salanic

7-Year-Old Winner — Zach Mitchell

8-Year-Old Winner — Lily Mitchell

9-Year-Old Winner — Reed Stewart

10-Year-Old Winner — Trevor Selle

11-Year-Old Winner — Brodie Guerraro

12-Year-Old Winner — Thomas Valdez

13-Year-Old Winner — Matthew Morimoto

14-Year-Old Winner— Kaden Choi

15-Year-Old Winner — Kiana Choi

Last but certainly not least was the raffle, which provided rods and reels for EVERY youngster that was in the derby. Al Petrocelli, the club coordinator for the event, raised more than $7,000 in donations that helped pay for the rods and reels.

There were many, many club volunteers to thank, those who assisted with registration, setting up the rods, reels and bait, the judges, and all the cooks and servers for the lunch. Unfortunately I only have three names, the three ladies who registered the youngsters—Jennie Petrocelli, Ann Marie Melanephy, and Katie Shurtz.  But we are thankful for all who helped make the day a successful event.

I also want to thank the Pier Fishing in California crew that showed up—Rita Magdamo (also a club member), Kyle Pease, Dave DeJong, Robert Gardner (Redfish) and Hans Jones. They rigged (and unrigged) rods and reels, helped judge, and took pictures. It was all appreciated.

A special thanks goes to Rich Reano the webmaster for pierfishing.com who flew all the way up from San Diego to film the event. He took so much film he will probably make two films, one of the club and one of the event.

A great event. Like Red Fish said, the weather was the best that I can ever remember for an MMD. wind was very lite, jackets, etc. did not even come out until around 10pm. We had 43 people that signed in, and I believe (probably due to the great weather) most all made it until midnight.

Our winners for 2012 were:

Bob G-StipeSideChaser- 1st Place with a 56#

Edwin H- (a guest)- 2nd place with a 40#

Tim Nguyen-Sfork- 3rd place with a 32#

There were also several breakoff’s leading me to believe there are some big rays at the pier right now (if you fish for them please handle them carefully and of you are not keeping them, please return to the water asap….)

Big Thanks to Sofa King for stepping up and pretty much handling all the pre-work when I could not. Also thanks to Big Rich for hauling all the gear to the pier, Chip and the rest of the guys from The City Of Berkeley for hauling all our stuff out onto the pier on the golf carts, Red Fish for donating that beautiful Striper pictured above for the potluck (nothing better than fresh fish fried up right on the spot, GDude for getting the trophy’s and all the other unsung work he does, everyone who donated for the potluck and to everyone who came out to fish, have a good time and show your support. At the end of the day, you, the members and guests are the reason we put in all this effort and do any event.

Posted by Red Fish — Another successful event! Good seeing all the familiar faces, some that have been there every year for 11 years! Thanks to Sofa King and son, ICA2 and sons, Gyozadude and son, Bigrich for putting forth a tremendous effort in sponsoring this event to make sure everyone had an enjoyable time. Congratulations to SSC (for protectin’ the Griffin rep) and all the other derby winners! Oh, and someone did high-stick at the end, and broke their rod at the top and the bottom as a powerful ray dove under the pier. I have never seen a rod so tweaked in my life (totally a wipeout). The best weather we have ever had at an MMD. Ken Jones, you were missed, but you were there in pierfishing spirit!

Posted by West Coast Dave — I had a great time this year, even though I only manage to feed the crabs (I also caught one of those bait stealers, a nice Dungeness crab that I released).

By the way my streak of Mud Marlin Derbies continued with this one being the 11th. I think that Redfish and I are the only people on the message board who have never missed a derby. And Redfish probably has three hours of derby time more than me, because one year I came three hours late at 9 P.M. from a wedding I had to attend in S.F. Is there anyone else out there that has also attended all 11 derbies?

The weather was great, but not the best at the derby. The first one back in 2001 and a couple others were held on windless warm days where it was so hot and humid on the pier, we were down to wearing t-shirts. Tight Lines, and I hope to see everyone next year in 2013!! And thanks to everyone who made this such a great event.

Posted by Ken Jones — Good job guys, wish I could have been there.

Eugene getting everything ready

Showing PFIC

Prizes

A thornback ray

Fishing was terribly slow today and the morning would’ve been forgettable had it not been for the great company! We had 28 participants fishing the outgoing tide, which provided very little current. A handful of fish were caught including smelt, lizardfish, perch, croaker, bat ray, and a turbot (sorry I don’t have the specific species names). A few pinhead anchovies found themselves snagged on a couple Sabikis and we all witnessed the crashing birds in the harbor, but the baitfish just didn’t want to make their way to the pier. Rich provided some excitement in the final hour when his rod went bendo and the line started to peel off his reel, but somehow it came unbuttoned (will wait for him to tell the story). Again, fishing was slow but sharing time with friends made this an enjoyable event.

Today’s winners: 1st – Josh W 2nd — Trevor G  — 3rd – Josh G

Overall winners (through 8 events): 1st — Rich G — 2nd Jose M 3rd — Tomas G

All of our sponsors came through for us again, including a few new ones specifically for today’s event: Vons, Sport Chalet, Foothill Optometry, and Avet Reels. Also, a big thank you to gyozadude for continuing to provide his custom wrapped rods paired with Daiwa Exceler reels. Lastly, thanks to Marty Golden of NOAA who provided pamphlets and goody bags for us. If you have a chance, please, please thank our sponsors for supporting us.

Posted by: Illcatchanything2 —Eugene, I would like to offer my most sincere thanks for taking the time out of your busy life to put these together all year long to benefit UPSAC. You have shown selfless dedication to the project. Glad you guys had a great turnout, sorry about the slow fishing, but like you said, sometimes slow fishing can be counterbalanced by good company….  Brian, ICA2

Posted by odogfish — I must say I did have a good time even tho I didn’t catch a thing … but I don’t expect to catch much at such events , I’m there more just to have fun and that I did … was good to meet some new faces … but some of the old faces … damn y’all are still ugly. To Ken and the UPSAC Krew … great job ! !

Ported by Arcadian  — I had fun, Great Company you guys Keep. Its Was AWESOME!! Too bad it was the last one I was just getting started.

Posted by Dwight Trash — I had a great time yesterday. It was my first fishing derby, and I couldn’t have been more excited to win. I had a huge smile on my face all day. The turbot that I caught was a diamond turbot btw. Thanks to all for making it happen. I hope to do many more in the future.

The highlight of my day was a long talk with Ken Jones. The icing on the cake was winning his book in the raffle and having him autograph it for me. I just started fishing in June, and have been pier fishing for even less time. I consider Ken Jones to be my mentor.

Posted by gordo grande — We all feel that way. Ken is everyone’s mentor! Wow! Oscar (odogfish) showed up! How cool is that, huh?

Posted by cappo5150  — Oh ya he showed up and made everyone know he was there.

Posted by Mahigeer  — I had no idea how “un-handsome” I am until I saw my picture with Oscar standing next to me.  Because we kind of look alike when he has a full beard.

Posted by — Not every one can pull that look off … ya needs to be a man’s man … plus I gots the b…s to pull it off if ya know wat I mean

Posted by Riplee781 — This was a great time, too bad the fish weren’t there for everybody. Trevor ended up giving me the polarized sunglasses. They are great, i might say! Thanks Trevor. Hopefully this wont be the very last one, at least the last one for awhile. Eugene did a great job as always, I know it’s hard to watch people fish when you cant. Thanks to Eugene for making sure we all had a great time and taking the time out of his schedule for us. Its always good to see Hashem as well. To bad Jellyfish didnt show up, thats what he gets for all his late night partying haha.

Posted by Ken Jones — Thanks Eugene, I hadn’t had time to resize and post those pics. BTW, you did a GREAT job setting up and running the derby. And, I believe those were $200+ sunglasses so they should work great. 

Posted by Dwight Trash —   Nice pics! But, you got the Josh’s mixed up. I’m Josh W, you have my pic for third place.

Posted by kelpangler — Sorry about that—fixed! Nice job on the turbot and bat ray.

Registration — Pat Jones, Ann Marie Melanephy, and Rita Magdamo (MR&G club member and UPSAC/PFIC member)

The day would see 69 “official” participants in the age 6-15 event as well as about a dozen “unofficial,” ages 5 and under newbie anglers. When combined with the parents, friends, and workers, the crowd was close to 180 people, one of the largest in recent memory. Given the warm weather, low tide conditions, and somewhat “dirty” air, the large numbers were somewhat surprising to some.

Although local towns produced most of the participants, a total of 25 towns were represented in the derby—Albany, Antioch, Berkeley, Brentwood, Corte Madera, Danville, Davis, Fairfax, Fremont, Kentfield, Mill Valley, Novato, Greenbrae, Larkspur, Oakland, Pacifica, Petaluma, Pittsburg, Richmond, San Anselmo, San Jose, San Mateo, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma.

The first fish — a baby leopard shark

The DeJong Family

Danika Wren and a small brown smoothhound shark

The Marin Rod and Gun Club and United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC) brought free loaner tackle and people to help out at the event while the club provided the free bait. Assistance for the (often) newbie anglers was available as needed.

 Luckily, the fish gods cooperated and the youngsters caught both a good number and good variety of fish. The various species were led by the sharay contingent (sharks and rays) —22 leopard sharks, 11 bat rays (including one reported at approximately 70 pounds), and 5 brown smoothhound sharks. Rounding out the action were 13 jacksmelt, 2 California halibut, 1 sardine and 1 crab. The action resulted in a lot of happy, smiling faces and excitement when large fish were hooked.

One notable moment occurred when a large bat ray had been hooked but was tangled on a piling. The fish was visible to the crowd of youth looking straight down through the cracks between the surface boards, which prompted the memorable shout—“Oh my God, a humongous fungus!” Not exactly correct terminology but it got the point across that it was something big.

Jacksmelt

Leopard Shark

Bat Ray (Mud Marlin) — Adam Gorczycki

Al Petrocelli and Family

It’s never too young to start fishing.

Once the fishing was completed, every youngster received a free hot dog lunch courtesy of the club, and new rods and reels from the club and UPSAC.

Rita Magdamo

In addition, each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy, an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones, and a rod and reel.

Age Group Winners: 6-year-old Vinny Podesta

7-year-old Sebastian Garcia 

8-year-old Parker Brock

9-year-old Shayda Citarrella

10-year-old (tie) Sean McConedough

10-year-old (tie) Dustavo Pretta

11-year-old Vincent DeJong

12-year-old Adam Gorczycki

13-year-old Ryan Etter

14-year-old Danika Wren

15-year-old Thomas DeJong.

Spearheading the efforts of the Marin Rod and Gun Club this year was Al Petrocelli assisted by many, many members of the club who performed a plethora of duties—serving as judges on the pier, cleaning and fixing rods and reels for the derby, cooking the hot dog lunches, and setting up and cleaning the auditorium and kitchen. A special thanks to Ann Marie Melanephy who helped with the registration of participants.

Representing UPSAC was president Ken Jones (who helped organize the event, took pictures, handed out individual awards, and announced raffle winners), Pat Jones (who helped at the registration table), Rita Magdamo (a club member and UPSAC/PFIC member who helped at the registration table and helped handing out awards, Robert Gardner (who helped rig the equipment and filmed the awards), and Kyle Pease (who helped with the equipment and worked as a judge).

The biggest thanks of course goes to the Marin Rod and Gun Club itself that has sponsored this event for 32 years but all of the various organizations and volunteers deserve a round of applause.