2004 PFIC/UPSAC Mud Marlin Derby, Berkeley Pier

April 1, 2018 by kenjones

Submitted logos for the 2004 Mud Marlin Derby

May 16, 2004 — To: PFIC Messsage Board — From: gyozadude — Subject:  MMGT2004 — Summary

 “Perhaps one of the most laid-back get togethers I’ve been to in a while…” Pierhead said to me on the way out last night at around 1am or so as we all headed back down the 3000+ feet to the foot of Berkeley Pier.

With RSVPs topping well over 100 prior to the event yesterday, the 3rd Annual Mud Marlin Get Together was looking like it would test the capacity of the last dozen lights. And while we had about 30% no-shows as predicted, we also had 31 sign-ins/walk-ins last minute, putting the official total registered in the MMGT at 101 in the Derby, and I counted at least two spouses on the list, plus children and family members adding another dozen and a half to top out at about 120 participants that arrived during the evening.

In anticipation, we decided to occupy the last 14 lampposts, adding two more additional sections over the planned dozen light posts we had predicted we’d need. And Derby anglers spread themselves out this year, rather than crowding just at the end, although a very conspicuous tent had already be set up to block the back wall by some young and eager anglers trying to get a jump on the action.

But there seemed like no annoyances, obstacles, or logistical barriers that our participant crowd could not overcome this year. Anglers spread themselves out well. They pulled up lines quickly. They brought food and drink, dropping it off at our make shift command center in loads to share for free. I’ve never fished with such a big crowd before, and I’ve never fished with such a cooperative bunch of folks either.

I strolled a section of the pier at night just after 1am and was amazed at how well folks had cleaned up around them, leaving few if any bits of evidence that we’d just set PFIC records with such a large turn out.

The Junior Division

And befitting of such a Derby, the winner won by single large bat ray. James Nolan, a lurker on the board (Twigger?) walked-in and demonstrated his patience and skill in landing a massive 70 lb., 46.5-inch bat ray, female, and thick. Some of the organizers of this Derby had wanted to pay tribute to the late Bat Ray master Stan Low who passed away suddenly last year at a very young age. And it was so befitting that it would a “Stan” sized ray that would win the Derby and the top trophy.

In all, we had 14 rays landed, numerous other sharks and other finfish caught, and surprisingly, a kingfish landed on 5/0 – 6/0 hook! But unlike previous years, these rays have become smarter. No longer did anglers enjoy as high of a landing rate as in the first MMD. A quick survey of even our veteran Mud Marlin Derby anglers like Salty Nick, Battman, Nufo, and others indicated that quite a few rays had been “Farmed” last night. In fact, that quick survey indicated that roughly 2 of every 3 solid hookups resulted in break-offs because the rays would head for the pilings. Gyozadude – Proud UPSAC Member   “Yes — I can roll potsticker skins”

Posted by gyozadude — Participants and Raffle — Help we got this year. And I must apologize for not remembering all the fine people that brought food, schlepped stuff, volunteered as staff, worked as Judges, Donated prizes for the raffle, supported the cause of Pier and Shore Anglers by buying tickets for the raffle, and all the great folks that met and talked with other folks, putting names to faces.

We had some special treats too. Ken, our skipper, and his Publisher showed up with cases and cases of his new book. Amazing. The first -Pier Fishing in California- was already an authoritative and excellent work at a little over 213 pages and listing for $16.95. But the 2nd edition, unveiled at this event topped all expectations at 516 pages and listing for $29.95. Adjusting for inflation since 1992, one has to wonder at the amazing value of such a reference textbook. Ken sold out nearly 3 cases of books to buyers and missed a few more sales while wondering down the pier to chat with Pier Rats.

Did I mention the help? From schlepping stuff the 3000 feet out to the command center, to the cleanup, to the cooking duties, to the messengering service to the food? And I must not forget some of the sponsors of prizes. We even got help from Mother Nature. Waking up yesterday at 7am, I glanced out our bedroom window and saw the treetops whipping back and forth. Bad news I thought and decided to pack extra clothing. But the extra clothing ended up not on my back, but actually doing it’s job as padding and non-slip surface between all the layers of gear of the 1/4 ton of materials we hauled out to the end. Yes, indeed the weather was beautiful, and mild by Berkeley standards.

The raffle was another central gathering point for us. And I must apologize for not over communicating to some folks that it would happen at 7:30pm, while still daylight and hopefully before the looming derby deadline. But we had some very cool prizes chased down by fellow pier rats who volunteered to hit up their local shops for gear. We also had previous winners donate stuff, and pier rats give up new stuff, all for a good cause of supporting UPSAC. The Grand prize for the raffle, a custom Bat Ray rod and reel combo that I built, couldn’t have gone to a more grateful and gracious winner — GrayBeard — a volunteer to be judge that was so dutiful, he remained at his post as Judge for the midsection of our phalanx, and only received his prize well after it turned dark. And we won’t mention that Graybeard is a veteran of get-togethers both north and south and travels perhaps farther than most to get to any of these gatherings from Delano, CA.

Posted by gyozadude — Derby Official Winners List—The table below provides final tally results for the night. Weights provided are the net weight (total minus the weight of the hoopnet/landing device). Looks like for couples, the ladies OUTPERFORMED their male counterparts!

Rank — Name — Pier Rat Name — Total Wt. — Number — Wt.

1. James N — Twigger? — 70 lbs. — One bat ray, 70 lbs. — 2. Kathy R — Mrs. Battmann — 43 lbs. — Two bat rays, 16 and 27 lbs. — 3. Joe R — Sportguy33 — 29 lbs. — Two bat rays, 17 and 12 lbs. — 4. Jeff G., Sr. — Rockfish — 22 lbs. — One bat ray, 22 lbs. — 5. Josh S — Prometheus — 20 lbs. — One bat ray, 20 lbs. — 6. Helen L — Mrs. GrapeApe168 — 19 lbs. — One bat ray, 19 lbs. — 7. Tim M —Sturgeon King — 17.5 lbs. — One bat ray, 17.5 lbs. — 8. Jeff G. Jr. — Son of Rockfish — 16.5 lbs. — One bat ray, 16.5 lbs. — 9.  Kyle R — HalibutBP — 15.5 lbs. — One bat ray, 15.5 lbs. — 10. Dave V — Lurker — 10 lbs. — One bat ray, 10 lbs. — 11. Monte W — Eelmaster — 9.5 lbs. — One bat ray, 9.5 lbs. — 12. Kevin L — GrapeApe168 — 5 lbs. — One bat ray, 5 lbs.

Total rays landed and released 14; Total aggregate weight of rays 277 lbs.

Top father/son team: Rockfish and son, two bat rays, 38.5 lbs. (22 + 16.5 lbs.). Top spouse team (in both cases the wives outfished the hubbies): Battman + wife: 43 lbs. total (0 + 43 lbs.) — GrapeApe168 + wife: 24 lbs. total (5 + 19 lbs.)

Bat Ray (Angler names? — and I should know)

Prizes: 1st Place—Big trophy; 2nd Place—Small trophy; 3rd Place—Smaller trophy; 4th-8th Place—1/4 scoop of live bait coupon.

Bat Ray chronology: 1. 7:00pm — Joe R (Sportguy33), 17 lbs. 25.0 inches — 2. 7:10pm — Kevin L (GrapeApe168), 5.0 lbs. 21.0 inches — 3. 7:20pm — Tim M (Sturgeon King), 17.5 lbs. 27.0 inches — 4. 7:27pm — Jeff G. Jr. (Son of Rockfish), 16.6 lbs, 28.0 inches — 5. 7:34pm — Helen L (Mrs. GrapeApe168), 19.0 lbs. 28.0 inches — 6. 7:41pm — Dave V (Lurker), 10.0 lbs, 28.0 inches — 7. 8:00pm — Jeff G. Sr. (Rockfish), 22.0 lbs. 32.0 inches — 8. 8:10pm — Josh S (Prometheus), 20.0 lbs 29.0 inches — 9. 8:30pm — Monte W (Eelmaster), 9.5 lbs 22.5 inches — 10. 8:56pm — Joe R (Sportguy33), 12.0 lbs. 25.0 inches — 11. 9:00pm — Kathy R (Mrs. Battmann), 16.0 lbs. 25.0 inches — 12. 9:09pm — Kyle R (HalibutBP), 15.5 lbs. 29.0 inches — 13. 9:43pm — James N (Twigger), 70.0 lbs, 46.5 inches — 14. 10:00pm — Kathy R (Mrs. Battmann), 27.0 lbs. 30.0 inches.

Posted by gyozadude — Helplist —MMGT 2004 Staffing and Help List — Hope I’m not forgetting folks. And we want to know who dropped off the awesome sausages, both massive boxes of polish and smoke Louisiana sausage, the Italian, and Fried Chicken — Yum, Yum, Yum, Delicioso!

1. Ark and Josephine — for bringing lots of Pizza; 2. Battman and KattWoman — propane, chowmein, eggrolls, sauce; 3.BCooney and Family — providing son Shane as raffle picker; 4. GordoGrande — Video Production; 5. GrapeApe168 — Donated raffle prize — crab ring; 6. GrayBeard -—Judge, Grand prize winner; 7. Jerry Wong — Roadie, raffle staff, schlepper, cook’s assistant; 8. Ken Jones — Book Signing, raffle Staff; 9.         Matt2d — Donated raffle prizes: rod holders and bait buckets; 10. Pierhead — Picking our grand prize raffle winner; 11. PJRamirez — Donated two Pole Pack rod bags from his company and had biggest group of guests participant; 12. Raidersfan1 — Roadie, security staff, Schlepper, beverage supplies; 13. Red Fish -—Judging, Core MMGT Consultant; 14. Rita001 and Family — Provided skirt steak, dogs, fajitas, and skills of master chef Eric; 15. Rockfish Jr — Thanks Jeffrey Jr. for all the back/forth comms w/ your scooter; 16. Rockhopper — Judge, Camera man, Lanterns; 17. SongSlinger — Core MMGT Consultant; 18.  StripedSideChaser — Judge, Coffee Pot; 19. theCrw -—Core Organization of “Gentleman’s” Activities; 20. TomAurand — Core MMGT Consultant, 1st Place Trophy;  21. ???? — Delicious marinated pork loin that Eric cooked; 22. ???? — Delicious 2 boxes of smoke Lousiana Sausages and Polish Sausage; 23. ???? — Delicious pack of Italian Sausage; 24. ???? — Delicious two boxes of Fried Chicken; 25.  Everyone with Nets — Thanks for the hoopnet support; 26. Everyone — Thanks for the Raffle support for UPSAC

Bat Ray

Posted by gyozadude – Who are you? There’s still some gray areas yesterday when things happened and I can’t remember who the heck it was that helped.

1. Who’s cup-cake mini choc-chip cookies were those? Just awesome and innovative in design. 2. Who dumped off two boxes of fried chicken? Those evaporated in about 15 minutes and someone loved the drumsticks! 3. Who’s marinated pork loin was that? It didn’t last long4. Who’s Kielbasa and smoke sausages from Smart and Final? Those were awesome too. Not a sausage left at the end of the night. Was that you Alabama? And Was it Adrian or Will_fish who dropped of the Italian sausage? 5. How many folks forked out $20 for the raffle? Geez, I did a recount and based on unique entries, I’m averaging roughly 13 tickets per entry into the raffle. Guys, sorry not everyone could win, but the prizes went to a good cause. 6. Who is Mike Nicol? Was he with you MrJonesJr? Because I know you were present, signed-in and you bought tickets. I saw you, but you walked off before I could give you your rod. Contact me at my email address below for delivery. 7. Who lost the top half of a spinning rod, black, 5 ft, glass (for a 10 ft rod)? You hooked a tree on the way out to the parking lot. Gordo found the top half hanging there and thought it was ours and gave it to us. But it ain’t ours. Do other folks have a funny or cools Who’s Who incident? Please post and let us know!

Posted by will_fish — I dropped off the Italian sausage. Attsa Nica! and grazie to StripedSideChaser . Gdude you must’ve missed out on his AWSOME chili.

Posted by gyozadude  — Yes… I did miss out… he’d better bring some…to the next impromptu fishing excursion out there at BP. I had the chance to pick some up last night on my hike down there, but forgot to get some. And I saw the coffee percolator setup too. I went shopping today with the wife at Wallmart and stared at a couple of models on display in the camping section. Thanks for the Italian sausage. Folks near the front of our section chowed it down in minutes.

Posted by graybeard — The sausages and tortillas I brought. Really wanted hot links, but my store was out.

 Posted by gyozadude — You didn’t get some of my Costco hotlinks? I brought a bulk pack of them Louisiana hotlinks, and they were the first ones I grilled! Note the first post in this thread and embedded image. Those were the sliced sections of the links I brought. I guess you must not have had any (and they didn’t last long).

Posted by gordo grande — THE TOP HALF OF THE ROD BELONGS TO… (drumroll)….none other than the Pierfisherman himself, KEN JONES!!!!! (You’d thing that after all these years he’d be able to hold on to his gear) Gordo Grande  Support UPSAC!

KJ and Minnow Magnet at the sign-in table

Posted by battmann — Kattwoman brought to cookie’s along with the egg rolls and chow mein. Hope you all got a chance to enjoy.

Posted by Adrn —I dropped off the chicken. Glad it was consumed.-Adrian

Posted by gyozadude — Raffle Donations List — Just to re-iterate in case I forgot some folks instrumental in providing Raffle Donations.

1. StripeSideChaser — hitting up local shops for -and- getting tackle; 2. Adrn — for donating rods; 3. GrapeApe168 — hoopnet/crab ring; 4, PJRamirez — rod holder bag; 5. Matt2d — rod racks and bait buckets; 6. Jim Holloway — livebait coupons for 1/4 scoops at Berkeley Live Bait. 100% of proceeds went to UPSAC to help finance the interests of pier and shore anglers in CA. I’d like to applaud their generosity in these regards. Gyozadude – Proud UPSAC Member  “Yes – I can roll potsticker skins”

Posted by  Nufo — Well I must give a big thanks to Gyozadude for taking over all the responsibilities and organizing everything. You did a great job! I don’t think I could have handled it as well this year with my new career under way. I had enough anxiety the past two years so this year with 100+ people would have did me in. It was a great night out on the pier hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones as well. I had a great relaxing time. I did manage to get skunked though.

As for the derby, I did put together a little late night derby (biggest fish any type) from midnight till 2am. Scooter fish had it locked down with a 1.6 lb smoothhound, till Redfish Hooked up with the sure winner at 1:50. This 30lb(ish) Ray gave Red a run for his money. We thought for sure that Red was going to lose it but his fishing skills prevailed and at 2:02 he had him on the deck and collected his winnings. I tried to talk him in to buying us all breakfast with his winnings but alas he had to head home. At 2:30 or so we headed over to Emeryville to finish off the night with a little more fishing while I waited for my Salmon Charter (more on this later). I managed to catch my first ever shovelnose guitarfish.  See you all next year, Nufo

Posted by  pierhead — the most laid-back event ever! I got lucky…. due to some last minute schedule shuffling and Gordo Grande’s generous assistance I was able to make to this year’s MMGT and was finally able to meet many of the BP regulars that I have been reading about for the last 2 months … what a treat

Ross and I arrived in Oakland mid-afternoon and checked into a Motel 6 on the Embarcadero with it’s own vest pocket pier (San Antonio Fishing Pier). Ken joined us shortly and we made our way up to Berkeley arriving around 4pm. I had attended the first Mud Marlin event so I was looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the Pier.

The first thing we noticed was the number of anglers unloading their gear in the parking lot … it looked like a small invading army and they were all from PFIC! Such an array of pier carts and heavy duty tackle … these people were seriously into mud marlin fishing!

The pier cart of — gyozadude 

I was especially interested in the various methods by which they proposed to retrieve their catches … I saw any number of large hoop nets attached to long (10-15″) sectional handles. Any doubts I had about their utility were resolved after I watched the first few bat rays being landed. Those rays were in the 20+ pound class and were brought up without any apparent difficult which convinced me that I had found the answer to the problem I had last week in landing halibut from the Rincon rockwall … those nets could have handled even the biggest of the fish I lost.

The second impression concerned the recent architectural changes at the foot of the pier … with the superstructure above the restrooms removed the pier looked like it had been abandoned and was in the process of being disassembled … the rest room building itself resembled a cargo container that had been overlooked and left behind. Not at all attractive and certainly conveyed the feeling that the City no longer cared about the pier. That, combined with the deplorable condition of the notorious windbreaks, was very discouraging … if it hadn’t been for the enthusiasm of the assembled anglers it would have been very depressing indeed. Seems to me that a little paint and elbow grease could make a drastic difference … perhaps something could be done on our part to help the city recognize what a valuable recreational resource they have in BP.

This year I finally bit the bullet and left all my tackle at home … I was much more interested in just getting out and meeting all the fine folks who took time to show up. Past experiences convinced me that I am constitutionally incapable of fishing and getting to know my fellow anglers at the same time :) Still it was even more difficult than I had imagined and by the end of the night I realized that I hadn’t taken even one picture yet nor had made any notes in the legal pad that I brought along for that purpose … but I came away with many new friends and wonderful memories of far-ranging conversations … the two hours I spent with Monte (Eelmaster) stands out in particular.

And I finally had a chance to meet Fishoff, I See Fin Prints, Minnow Magnet and RR who have figured in so many of the recent posts … Ken has assured me that the situation with the ‘BP kids’ has been resolved and shortly we should begin to hear from them in their own words instead of indirectly through the posts of others … it’s about time and I am looking forward to their contributions. Hopefully we have all learned from that experience :) As Red Fish so eloquently reminded us … “There’s enough room on the pier for everyone.” I agree.

And a special thanks to Gyozadude for all of his efforts to insure the success of the gathering … he and Eric (and others) contributed to an extravagant buffet that sustained body and soul through the long night … though personally I am glad that I stayed away from the chile … the hot links that I overindulged in were more than enough to remind me that ‘discretion is the better part of valor’ :)

Early in the evening I ran into a non-PFIC family fishing by themselves towards the restrooms. I stopped and asked them how they were enjoying the evening. The father, Nolan, perhaps thinking that I was just another tourist, began to wax eloquently on the joys of pier fishing with his family and how much it meant to them. Since he was beginning to sound like one of our Autobiographies I stopped him and pointed out that he was not alone in his feelings … that in fact there were over 100 people on the pier that night that shared his enthusiasm. He responded … ‘You mean we are not alone?” It didn’t take long for me to bring him up to date on PFIC and he promised to log on as soon as he got home. Looking forward to his first post!

And that’s what it is all about … Thanks everyone and see you next year! Pierhead
Proud Supporter of UPSAC

Posted by sportyguy33  — What a blast! What a great way it was to spend a evening fishing with a bunch of Berkeley Pier’s finest fisherman as well as a couple soon to be Legends John and Kyle. It was nice to see a couple of my fishing buddies, Mel and GrapeApe, as well as the Bay Area’s other contingent of expert pier fisherman—Redfish, Alabama, RockHopper, TheCrw and SurfCaster. Also it was a pleasure being able to meet and chat with both 2d, Gordo Grande and StripesideChaser who BTW sure knows how to whip up a heck of a pot of Chile. The Derby couldn’t have started out better for me, being the first to hook into and land a Mud Marlin sure does wonders for those nerves. As fisherman/women we all know how being skunked around all your fishing buddies can be hard on your ego. In between catching my two Mud Marlins I also landed four small sharks and lost three other good size fish. My Uncle, who I brought along to participate in all the fun, lost three really big ones due to leader malfunction. Gyozodude, you’re a good man taking over for Nufo to keep this great event alive for all us “Norcal Pier Rats.” Fish On— Sportyguy33

Posted by Red Fish — Sportyguy, you are a top-notch angler… along with “Twigger.” Twigger reminds me of a young Roland Martin. He was even gracious enough to share his secret mud marlin bait .

Posted by RaidersFan1 — G-Dude..  Great job in organization! Being my first major event since joining the site this was an awesome display of organizing skill and people pulling together.  Looking forward to the next event perhaps in Goleta!  RaidersFan1Support UPSAC

Posted by tomaurand — WOW, sorry, I missed the event. sounds like a great one. James, You definetley deserved the trophy as a 70-pounder truly is a Stan sized ray…. G-dude, words cannot say enough for your efforts. I only wish I could have done more to support all you have done for such an event. Can’t wait till next year,  Tom   Proud Supporter of UPSAC.

Posted by lucy — Damn, wish I could have gone! Glad everybody had a good time and it all turned out so well. Excellent job all around by those who organized and helped out. Congratulations, all!

Posted by gyozadude — You could have ridden w/ PopoTheWonderDog! One of the most notable new names on the msgboard has to be Reed, aka Popothewonderdog. Interesting fellow and good to talk with. And he lives in the City. I also came up and over the Bay Bridge last night after the MMGT. We had the remnants of what looked like a moronic 3-car major injury accident on the left hand side, and then bridge maintenance closing the right lane, leaving just two lanes moving in the middle. Glass fragments were strewn across the bridge. But still we got through the mess after only a 10 minute pause. I guess another reason to stay away from “Gentlemen’s” beverages if you gotta drive. In any event, you may have had several options for rides home. Next time, let some of us know beforehand’ it’s not far out of our ways.

Posted by lucy — Couldn’t have gone anyway Unfortunately, I had made other plans and wasn’t available to go to the MMGT.

Posted by baconmojo — Striper. Shortly after arriving, I witnessed a striper hooked by ‘og’. He played with the good sized (?) fish for awhile before it free’d itself, just shy of the crab ring someone was holding beneath it. This was before the actual start of the derby. I was hoping to get a ray on the deck, but got a skunk. Didn’t get to meet as many rats as I had hoped.. Was a great time.

Posted by thecrw — Congratulations to …. (drum roll please)  to Jeff Sr. aka Rockfish for taking the Gentlemen’s Wager with a winning ray of 22 lbs. He landed it early round 8pm and thought he lost as he heard an unfounded rumor that the 70lbs ray took the prize, good for him that the biggest bat ray wasn’t in our wager. For the rest of us down at the end, we knew that even a medium size ray could claim the pot, so we were still gung ho til the very end. The total pot came to $260 from 13 pier rats at $20 a piece. btw ~ this is Jeff’s 2nd time for taking the money prize in the last three Mud Marlins. Jeff, can we have a few words…~Elric aka TheCrw

 

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2013 PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together

March 31, 2018 by kenjones

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2004 PFIC/UPSAC Seacliff Pier Get Together

March 31, 2018 by kenjones

The 2004 Get Together at the Seacliff State Beach Pier was one of the first gatherings of the PFIC “Pier Rats” but as always was a day filled with good cheer, good food, and the opportunity to actually put a face to the names people saw on the PFIC Message Board. We’re still looking for the text messages that go with this derby and will revise when they are available.

Dave

Ark

Kyle

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2009 PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together (2)

March 30, 2018 by kenjones

James (GDude) and a nice bonito  from the Mole

Posted by Mahigeer — Date: April 30, 2009 — The following report is about the trip, rather than the fish count. The trip preparation for me actually started a month before the event. I usually get all of my fishing gear out and go through them. Then I decide what to take and what to leave. I had to get goodie bags from Marty Golden at NOAA, and get prizes from Bass Pro Shops etc. etc. Then over-pack as usual. This time I had to build a new cart as well, which worked fairly well. It needs some reinforcing for the next year.

Wednesday April 22nd — Pre-trip —I had my roommate to be, Santa, drop his gear at my house so we could pack the car. This way we were able to leave early on Thursday morning. He also helped me rebuild my Penn reel. After sharing a light supper with Santa, and the Jones’s it was on to bed for an early rise and departure on Thursday.

Thursday 23rd — The Trip — We (Santa and I) stopped at the Paul’s Bait and Tackle in San Pedro to pick up bait. They gave us $ 240.00 worth of bait free.

Next it was on to the Catalina Express Terminal where we found the Skipper and his wife Pat along with Rita and Kyle. Catalina was having a special “flying fish” season so I took a picture of everyone wearing their flying fish hats.

Mike (Santa)

We went to the line to get on the boat. I was first in line, and Santa saw the attendee, giving a dirty look to my “four wheel” cart. To his amazement I pulled a couple of pins out and it  met the requirement for a “two wheel” cart. On the way down the ramp to get on the boat, I did not see a protrusion, and the top heavy cart went flying. Fortunately Santa and Skipper helped me to upright the cart and Mrs. Jones took my clothing bag thus, reducing my load. We got on the boat and stored our gear at the stern of the boat. There was a clothing bag on top of this cart before the incident. I was proud of my cart and wondering if I looked liked a professional “pier rat”, but I was told by some visiting Floridians that I look like a homeless person with all of his possessions in tow!!

I was relaxed and happy to be on board. I decided to take a look at the dock to see what was going on. I suddenly see my jacket and the rod holder tubes still on the dock. When the cart went over, I had put them down to work on the cart. Then I forgot to take them. Fortunately the Captain was right there and he allowed me to go get my jacket and rods.

Derby Pics #1

Cabrillo Mole

The ride to the island was smooth for the most part. I took a pill and put on my wrist bands. This helped me recover, with no sea sickness. Upon arriving at the island, we decided to go to the Green Pleasure Pier (GPP). They had moved the floating dock and the ramp to one side, so there was plenty of railing space to fish from. One problem though, the entire back area was closed due to the construction going on. It happened that the man in charge was a “ham vatan” countryman in Farsi. Whether because I made friends with him or Skipper talking to him or to the Harbor Patrol, they provided us with a place to fish from for the duration of the weekend. Good thing, otherwise the Skipper would have been unbearable to be with. He looooves that pier.

The hotel was nice enough to let us check in early and after unpacking and a quick lunch, Skipper, Rita, and Kyle, went to the GPP. Santa and I went to check the Descanso Beach, for a possible surffishing site.

Derby Pics #2

SteveO and a barracuda

Rita with a bonito

Giant Kelpfish

After we returned to the hotel, I went to the GPP, and Santa went to the Casino jetty. Kyle got some good-size opaleye and sheephead, Skipper got his usual variety, and I got some short bass and medium-size opaleye.

We decided to meet later at Antonio’s with Gordo and Baitfish and family. I was the only one left at the pier when I saw the party of Gordo, and his guests arrive at the island. I used my small binoculars, and tried to wave at them. They waved back, but I am not sure if Gordo was waving one or five fingers!! After a nice dinner and conversation, everyone but me went to bed. I walked around with a powerful flashlight in hopes of seeing some thing, like a lobster, or flying fish.

Derby Pics #4

Eugene with a kelp (calico) bass

Rebecca (Roosterqueen( with an opaleye

Friday 24th — Pre-event —I wanted to meet Adam at the Mole around 5:30 AM, but did not set the alarm correct. Around 6:20, while I am washing up, my cell phone goes off and there is a picture send by Adam holding a 2-1/2 lb. bonito, and smiling. As though he is saying “see what you are missing by sleeping.” By the time I got to the Mole he had caught and released four bonito. We fished till it was time to meet others at the Jack’s for breakfast.

After breakfast, I had to take care of some organizing business and did not get to the Mole till afternoon. People started to show up and we fished the Mole. In the afternoon, some of the gang went to see the famous Tuna Club. I fished till it was time to clean up for the dinner at the Mia Casita’s. After dinner I again went for a walk at the GPP, where I saw Minnow magnet getting fish after fish.

Derby Pics #5

Scott and Steve waiting for bonito

Adam (Baitfish)  with a sheephead

Hashem (Mahigeer) with a bonito

Saturday 25th — the main event —I was at the Mole around 6:00 am, having set and worn my wristwatch, and having my cell phone next to my pillow in bed. The first bonito of this trip was landed around 6:30 or so. This time Adam was sleeping late. I fished till 9:00 am, at which time I went to the hotel to get all the necessary items for the “main event” By this time more and more people were arriving and setting up at the Mole.

After the derby, lunch, raffle, and distribution of the trophies, we took a group picture and then everybody went back to fishing or packed up to go home. It was dark when we left the Mole to clean up at the hotel and meet for one more dinner at the Antonio’s.

This time it was Baitfish and Rosterqueen, Santa, Gordo, SoCalNewb, and yours truly. We had a nice dinner and lots of laughs. After dinner I went for my after dinner walk, and checked the GPP. While there, Steve-O hooked in to something big. He will report on that I am sure.

Derby Pics #6

Mike (Santa)

Friends—Rita, Ross and Kyle

Adam (Baitfish) and James (GDude)

Day 4, Sunday 26th — The Saddest part of the trip! — After another breakfast at Jack’s we said good–by to each other, and went back to the hotel to pack and check out. Santa and I were on the 6:00 pm boat, so we went to the Mole, where we met Scooterfish and Steve-O. They were in their usual form of slaying bonito after bonito. We fished and had tourist fish with our gear, re-organized our stuff and cooler full of fish, etc. At one point while Santa was removing hook from a bonito, Scott, Steve, and I had a triple hook up on bonito.

The ride home was smooth as silk with no problems except the weight of the cart. We arrived at the Long Beach Terminal to find my wife waiting patiently for us. As with all good things in life, this event had to have an end. That is the sad part. Now I/we start to count the days to the next one.

Derby Pics #7

Jimbojack with a sheephead

James (GDude) with a bonito — background support Eugene and Adam

Barracuda

Here are some side notes: I mainly bought the “wave cast” reel for this trip. It did not disappoint me. I even had veteran casters such as baitfish and Scooterfish, cast some with it. They seemed to like it too. It is not the ultimate reel by any chance, but it will do for me. While cleaning the bonito at my house, two of them had hooks in their throats. The 1/0 hooks are still in pretty good shape, with no sign of rust.

In Conclusion, I would like to thank Scott, Adam and Rebecca for coming such a long way to fish and visit with us. Thank you Gdude and family for the food, and the prizes donated. Thank you Gordo for collecting donation instead of fishing, and putting up with my singing! Thank you everyone who endured long drives and perhaps some monetary hardship to come join us and making this one of the best gatherings yet. Thank you to all who attended from far and near. Without your participation it would have been just a fishing trip, rather than a Gathering.

Derby Pics #8

Rita with an ocean whitefish

Bonito

Cole with smallest fish award (sheephead)

Posted by Scooterfish — Date: April 30, 2009

Another Catalina event comes and goes! As I expected, this was another spectacular year for fishing and for catching up with friends. This report contains no pictures because I was too busy fishing to take many… I will post the pics I did take later once I have processed them. Steve-O is having trouble logging on the board for some reason, so his pics will come later (including a couple of a real monster!)

I left my house Friday morning at 5:00am CST, and arrived at Long Beach Airport at 12:55 PST. Steve-O was waiting for me after flying down from San Jose, and we grabbed our shuttle to Long Beach Downtown Terminal for the Cat Express. Upon arrival we noticed a fellow fisherman already waiting, which turned out to be SoCalNewb and his lady friend. Took our seats up in the Commodore Lounge, had a beer or two, and before we knew it we had pulled into the harbor at Avalon.

Derby Pics #9

Adam with a bonito  

Cole with an opaleye

Barracuda

Upon disembarking, the usual suspects were fishing the Mole… Quite a few Bonito had been caught just before we arrived, so we high-tailed it to the room, checked in, loaded Bonito gear and headed back to the Mole. Fished for a couple of hours for nothing but jumbo mackerel before it was time to return to the room and then head over to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. Dinner was good, drank Raki in moderation washed down with a few beers, and then back to the hotel.

Rigged up a pole with a Big Hammer and headed for the GPP for some nighttime Calico action. I managed a couple of legals and several dinks on artificials before calling it a night.

Following morning (Saturday) I woke up at 4:45, loaded up and headed for the Mole to secure my favorite spot for the derby. Caught two nice bonito before the derby started at 10:30. Once the derby started, I got focused and really hammered the fish!! Most of the bonito were nice sized, with an occasional 5-6lb’r mixed in. Fish number 5 was a killer for me Sad I have fought and landed lots of fish on my G-Loomis, and this one was no different. I usually land these fish by reeling down until my rod is pointing straight down at the fish, then I pendulum swing the fish onto the Mole. This was a slightly larger than average bonito and I did my standard swing landing with very little load on the rod (mostly on the line) but when I reached the apex, the top half of my rod just snapped loudly in two! I was bummed for a minute, but since it was the middle of the derby, I went to my backup rod (8.5’ G-dude special) immediately and kept catching fish. I landed 11 bonito during the derby, officially counting 10 towards my score. (One fish that was caught near the end of the derby was returned to the water before I could find someone to record it.) The Loomis will cost $50 to replace with the lifetime warranty.

Scott and a bonito

After the derby and raffle concluded, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. Napped for a couple of hours, grabbed some dinner at Antonio’s, then grabbed our heavier gear and headed for the GPP to soak some bait. Using whole fresh squid we landed a couple of 10-12lb horn sharks, which is something like fighting a wet blanket… Pretty boring fish to catch, although cool to look at! We jigged up some nice 8” Jack Mackerel and threw them in as live bait. I was first hit, on my Ugly 7’ Tiger with a Penn 965 spooled with 50lb PowerPro and a 50lb mono leader. The fish took two long smoking runs against max drag before breaking off the 50lb leader halfway up. Steve-O was up next on a Jack Mackerel he had just tossed out. Steve was rigged with a 10ft MedHvy Ugly Stik with a Shimano BR6500 loaded with 65lb braid. The fish took the bait slow, Steve set the hook, and the fish headed seaward at a steady rate. 5 minutes later and nearly spooled, Steve got the fish turned around, it came in very slowly, lots of pump and grind kept it moving in. Halfway back to the GPP, the fish broke off the 65lb mainline. Whatever it was, it was huge! We had a couple of small hits after that, before calling it quits and getting some much needed sleep at 1:30am.

Fish On! — SteveO and a big one on the line

Sunday was a mellow day… we fished the Mole all day, picking off bonito at a steady pace, with the occasional mega-mackerel thrown in. We were the only fishermen out there most of the day. Capped off the day with another dinner at Antonio’s and decided to save ourselves for Monday’s fishing.

SteveO with a nice-sized bonito

Monday we slept in a little, but still hit the Mole by around 8:00am. Bonito were sporadic early but still present in good size and numbers. Early afternoon was epic! At some point, seemingly out of nowhere, the entire Lover’s Cove area lit up with a huge school of giant mackerel chasing smaller bait up against the beaches, and all of the associated Seagulls and Pelicans taking advantage of the situation. I wish I had my camera with me at the time, as it was incredible to watch. This continued for quite some time before the macs headed offshore a bit and the birds followed. We caught more jumbo macs (16-19”) than we could count, with quite a few bonito mixed into the bunch.

Scott with a kelp (calico) bass

We also met a fisherman named Harold at the Mole Monday afternoon. He was on the island for a fishing day trip. This guy knew his stuff from top to bottom, and was an expert at fishing the Mole. He limited on big Opaleye, and caught two Calicos that were at least 4.5-5lbs (with a couple of other nice ones for a limit of Calico). He also had a heavy lever drag rig that was loaded with 150-lb braid. He threw a big 9” smelt on as live bait and threw it just past the kelp. 10 minutes later the smelt was picked up and the clicker started a slow deliberate crawl. Harold waited patiently for about 12 seconds before setting the hook hard on the fish. He was instantly pinned to the Mole railing by the fish surging out to sea!! After a very long, dogged battle though the kelp, this MONSTER ray appears… in the water it looked bigger than it was, but we taped it at 58” or 59” wide with a massive head and body… Steve-O has the pics, which will be put up later… I had never personally seen one this big, and certainly had never seen anything that size landed through kelp like that!! The two huge calicos were also very impressive fish!

Nice bat ray from the Mole

We fished Monday to the point of exhaustion, and headed back to the hotel. We stopped by the GPP and found it was closed off at the end again, so our plan for night fishing there was cancelled, and we decided on a good night’s sleep instead after a final dinner at Antonio’s.

Woke up, finished packing and checked out for our 8:00am departure. Arrived at the Mole and realized we had no time left to fish, so we snapped a couple of pics and jumped on the ferry home. 28 hours 4 shuttles and 4 flights later I arrived on my front doorstep… Long story short we had mechanical failure in Phoenix that kept us on the runway for 1.5 hours, causing me to miss my connection in Denver, resulting in a free hotel room in Aurora, Colorado, followed by two more flights (Denver–>Charlotte, Charlotte–>New Orleans), My luggage came in on the wrong airline so I had to go through hell to find and claim it…. Woo Hoo!! I was so exhausted when I got home yesterday, but I promised my wife I would take all the baby feedings, so STILL no sleep for me, and I’m back at work already….

The trip was awesome as usual… Great to see and catch up with all of you! I look forward to next year’s event. Thanks to all that helped organize, prepare food, prizes, etc… Now just counting the days until next year! Scooterfish

Derby Pics #10 — The Food

Posted by minnowmagnent — Date: April 30, 2009

My dad and I drove down Friday and arrived at the ferry terminal at about 5:00pm. I fished a while around the ferry terminal with jigs and missed two hits and saw a guy catch some undersized sand bass. We got on the ferry at 7:00pm and arrived at the island just after 8:00pm. To my surprise there were still many garibaldi under the docks. We stopped at the hotel and my dad went to bed and I came out to the Pleasure Pier at about 8:45 pm. I started catching calicos one after another using jigs as soon as I got there. within the first 45 minutes I caught at least 10-15 with two about 12″ and one at 14.” After that the calico bite slowed down a bit and a few others joined me. I ended up catching a total of 27 calicos and a scorpionfish. I also saw some big fish that started surfacing just after midnight. I stared getting these soft hits on my big rod and then around 1:30 am I finally hooked one, I took off running and I could feel head shakes. It was not a bat ray, it jumped a couple times a couple hundred yards out then broke off. I ended up leaving around 2:00.

I got up around 6:00am on Saturday and was at the Mole by 6:45 am. I set up on the corner and started catching calicos and small opaleye on peas, then around 8:00 the wind picked up and I moved down to another spot. There I started catching lots of fish on peas including opaleye, calicos, smelt, sheephead, mackerel, halfmoon, blacksmith and wrasse.

Minnow Magnet with a nice–sized opaleye

After the derby started I continued my method of fishing for opaleye with peas and caught a few opaleye in the derby along with many other fish all caught free-lining a single pea with 4-lb fluorocarbon. That method came through for me and I ended up getting second place overall and the award for the most fish. I moved back to the corner and continued catching macks and opaleye. Then I caught a nice garibaldi about a pound on free-line ghost shrimp.  A little while later I caught a nice opaleye about 2lbs.

Minnow Magnet with a garibaldi

I caught a few more fish before we caught are ferry at 7:30pm. We ended up driving all night to get to the Sierras to fish for trout. We stopped a few times and got to our first spot around 7:00am. We fished all day and I ended up; spending a lot of time stalking some suckerfish that were very difficult to catch. I ended up catching five of them up two about 2-lbs and eight trout all around 2-lbs. The suckerfish fought real hard and I could not get the to hit on 6-lb line and had to change to 4-lb fluorocarbon, they fought like carp and jumped when hooked.

Posted by santa — Date: April 28, 2009

FIRST Catalina Get Together, FIRST time fishing on island, many new FIRST time species caught, and the best FIRST was meeting many new friends/anglers, (as well as renewing ties to dear friends).

Some visiting Aussies!  

Highlight of my trip was having a dad and three young daughters work together and reel in a decent Bonito (near right knee of girl in middle of pic). I had just hooked off the Mole. They were visiting from Australia and were watching us fish while waiting for boat to mainland, gave him my UPSAC business card and told him to E-me and I’d send them a pic. Great food, great friends, great time. Kudos to Hashem for all his hard work in setting up and coordinating the overall event. Thanks to all the folks who, worked, donated time/food/prizes/money, made suggestions, shared a meal/drink/laugh/conversation, and just being there. Whew! Still unwinding from trip. Talk about your getting back to the REAL WORLD shock.

Mike (Santa) and a bonito

Mike (Santa) with an opaleye

Posted by SoCalNewb — Date: April 27, 2009

Alright, so my report: I played hooky from work so my girlfriend and I could catch the 2 pm ferry from Long Beach on Friday. While waiting I spotted the only other two people carrying rod cases, with a suspicion they were pier rats. Once we got in line, my suspicions were confirmed, and I met scooterfish and steve-o for the first time.

After a couple rum and cokes, (sorry, I’m bad with time…) the ferry reached the Mole. As tempting as it was to just start fishing, I decided to check in first (I didn’t want to have to unpack all my gear out on the pier) before heading down to Vons for some frozen shrimp and peas before going to check out the fishing. I’m guessing by then it was sometime around 5.. I settled into a spot near the corner where scooterfish and steve-o had set up casting for bonito and met Mahigeer who wasn’t too far away, and soon after met Gordo and Santa, and later Mr. Ken Jones himself. I met a few more forum members that night, but at the moment I can’t recall who I met on Friday and who I met at the derby. (hint: too many margaritas that night) but I’m pretty sure I met everyone there before it was over.

Derby Pics #11 — The Raffle

Ross (GordoGrande)  aka “Raffle Master”

The water quality was incredible — my photos can’t do it justice. There was only a mild swell and so I decided to set up a high-low and drop straight down between the pilings. My bait was stripped many times until I figured out just the right size to cut it for it not to be stripped — the peas were just hit or miss. My first catch was a seniorita — unfortunately it had somehow been foul hooked deeply through the side… Not a nice way to start the trip. A few minutes later I picked up a decent-sized (about 6 inches) blacksmith perch, followed by another seniorita and a nice sized garibaldi (6-7 inches, but fat.), which was promptly returned to the water. I was using an 8′ ugly stick 8-20-lb. for those hookups, with spinning reel outfitted with 20-lb. braid, and 8-lb.-15-lb. leader, varying between high-low and single surgeons loop.

My bait continued to be stripped for some time before I hooked up with another garibaldi — again it was promptly returned. For a change, I was busy spending more time talking with the people around me than paying attention to my rod, and so I lost a few hook ups after. I decided to switch to my Sabiki rig while the others were getting their gear packed up to get ready for the dinner. I was using a 20 dollar 5′ Ugly Stik kit with 6-lb braid, and a size 12 circle hook Sabiki. Jigging produced nothing, so I switched to a 1 oz weight and tried my luck casting. Immediately I began to hook up with small jack mackerel and a few good-sized Pacific mackerel, keeping a handful of them for bait. Once it got dark, I packed it up to go to dinner myself.

Derby Pics #12 — The raffle

Hashem (Mahigeer) wins a  prize

SoCalNewb wins the “Grand Prize” — GDude hand wrapped Rod and a Reel

I came down to the mole later, with some glow sticks and bait hoping to hit some more mackerel, but, no takers for two hours before I gave up and went back to my room at the Hermosa Hotel.

Saturday morning I hit the Mole a couple hours before the derby was to begin, and took up the same spot near the bait board between where Hashem had taken up residence, and the corner that Scott and Steve-O were sharing… which happened to end up directly in front of the lunch/raffle table.

My luck before the derby was just decent — a couple jack mackerel, my first calico, a little 4-5 inch thing, and a garibaldi. During the derby I didn’t do much better — a seniorita, a jack mackerel, and another, smaller calico if I remember right. Scooterfish and Steve-O were slaying the Bonito, and I spent more time just enjoying watching their battles over paying attention to my own line, making for some good photos. I remember seeing a massive sheephead pulled up, and a nice barracuda being landed, and watching G-Dude wrestle in some nice bonito of his own. Some kid and his dad were trolling in a boat, and everyone enjoyed the show as a kid landed a 32-inch or so barracuda out in the area where the bonito were being caught from.

Derby Pics #13 — Awards

Jimbojack

Rita

Robert

Lunch was great, and Gyozadude’s potstickers were incredibly good. After the derby, the winners received their trophies, and a few goody bags were handed out. I won a few small prizes at the raffle — a couple towel clips, some tackle, some nice lead-free split shot that I later put to good use.. After all the other prizes had been awarded, the big draw came up; most of the numbers pulled had been much higher than mine, and the competition was pretty fierce. it must have just been beginners luck, because the final ticket just barely fell into the low end of my spread… I’ll post a couple close ups of the details on the rod, it’s a piece of art. yet another thanks to G-dude for donating it, and the Daiwa Excel reel he paired it with.

I had gotten pretty sunburned after my girlfriend had borrowed my jacket against the wind (the swells were like a washing machine, snags were unavoidable, though I only lost 6 hooks and 3 sinkers including a “snag free” sinker) so I decided to head back to my room to rest and recover, as well as to safely stow the new rod, despite the temptation to use my spooled light reel on it for the time being. (after watching and hearing Scotts rod break, I had bad visions in my head…) After a late second lunch with my girlfriend, I returned to the mole for some late afternoon fishing with Scott, Steve-O, Hashem, and Ross, and got to chatting with Adam and Rebecca. Towards sunset as everyone began to pack up, I decided to toy around with my cheapo 5′ rod again, and sure enough began picking up mackerel. I had decided because of the time I was only going to cast as long as they were biting, or until I caught a dozen… that only took me 7 casts, and so I managed to catch up with everyone else on the way back to the hotel.

My girlfriend had received some tough news regarding a family emergency and wanted some alone time so I tagged along to dinner at Antonio’s with Hashem, Ross, Mike, Adam and Rebecca, for some good food and better conversations. The dinner was a blast, and lasted til long after they had stopped seating customers.

Derby Pics #14 — Awards

Minnow Magnet and Kyle

Adam (Baitfish)

Award Winners

I decided to call it a night and rest my back and legs rather than night fishing  and on the way back Hashem received a text regarding horn sharks at the Green Pleasure Pier if I recall correctly, which tempted me, but with my sunburn sleep beckoned.

I woke up early, and went down to the Green Pleasure Pier Sunday morning around 6:30 to get some photos, where I found Mr. Jones in the corner with his lines out. After getting some photos of the casino and the harbor, I retreated to let him fish in the morning peace. The crowds were still in their hotel rooms, and the bay was still and quiet, perfect for photos and fishing. I made my way out to the Mole to get more photos before returning to my room. My girlfriend and I decided to pack early to get it done with, and so I only left my 5′ rod out, with one of my mini-trays with artificial baits and that Sabiki that had been working wonders.

Leaving our gear in the room, I took the rod with just a 2-inch pumpkin seed grub on a 1/16th oz jig head, and my girlfriend and I walked down to the pier. I tried jigging it a couple times, nothing, so I cast out as far as I could underhand with such a light jig, not far. I let it sink for a couple minutes until I guessed it had reached bottom, and began a slow retrieve. I got a couple nibbles the first couple casts, then nothing. I promise my girlfriend one last cast and of course then I catch my first fish from Green Pleasure Pier, a 7 inch or so calico. After returning to the room to store my gear, we ran into Mr. Jones on the way out and I heard about some bat rays he’d hooked up with that morning.

Derby Pics #15 — Group Pic

United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC) Banner

The 2009 Catalina get Together Pier Rats

My girlfriend wanted some food, but it was still a couple hours before the breakfast the others had invited me to, and so I indulged her, deciding that I would go to the other breakfast at 9 am anyways… I got back to my room around 8, and returned to the Green Pleasure Pier thinking I’d just get a couple casts in. After a couple more small calicos I realized it was already well past 9 and that I’d likely missed the breakfast.

We got our gear and decided to head to the mole, just in time to see Adam, Rebecca and Ross about to get on the ferry before I could exchange any words—unfortunately. I set up beside scooterfish, steve-o, mahigeer and santa and proceeded to get skunked at the Mole while waiting for the ferry. A big thanks to Mike for rigging up a strap for my wide brimmed hat , without it I would have had to retreat to the benches in the shade, rather than being able to enjoy everyone’s great company while waiting for the ferry, even if I did get skunked.

I sure hope I can make it to the get together next year, whatever happens I know the next time I head to Catalina, I’m arming myself with those launcher floats and heavier gear so I can target those Bonito myself!

Posted by gyozadude — Date: April 25. 2009

So much to report, but sooooo Tired … with a capital T. Smile It was a great time to fish with all of you and what fishing it was! Perhaps the best bonito fishing of any year I’ve attended was Scooterfish’s opinion and I have to agree. We really hooked up this year and my arms, back, legs are slow, cramped and burning as proof. More to come as I process the images.

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2009 PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together (1)

March 30, 2018 by kenjones

Date: May 3, 2009 — To: PFIC Message Board — From: Ken Jones — Subject: Another Catalina Report—‘09

I always find the journey over to Catalina to be one of intense anticipation and this trip would be no different. Riding the gentle waves, watching an occasional pod of dolphin, sipping on a hot cup of Joe, and recalling past visits to the storied isle: all part of the short, one-hour ferry ride. Then the island and its hills come into focus. Sometimes the canvas is a brightly lit, sun-shined mural, but this day will see low clouds surrounding the island.

I find the cloudy days much more appealing. Why? Well, I guess I still retain that ‘60s belief in fantasy and am thinking I’ll see King Arthur’s Castle poking out amidst the hills that line the island’s coast. This trip those hills still showed the effects of the winter rain—a swath of green along the arroyos that crease the normally brown hills, like veins dropping down to kiss the salty waters of the Pacific. Of course you then see the harbor of Avalon and the fairly new condos that have disfigured the hillsides to the right of the city. Tis a bit sad to this romantic mind.

But there’s still a second anticipation, that of seeing what now seem old friends, and once again partaking of the fishing in this magical isle, will more than make up for a non-existent castle, or even a round table for that matter. We will have our own knights and conquer our own foes; at least that is what we thought at the start of the trip.

Day 1, Thursday — After arriving at the Catalina Express office in Long Beach and checking in, we were soon joined by Rita and her son Kyle. A short time later Hashem (Mahigeer) and Mike (Santa) arrived with about a thousand pounds of equipment and we were wondering if his cart would survive the trip. Boarding the ferry Hashem had a little trouble with the cart but he made a couple of McGiver fixes and everything was soon safely stored at the rear of the ferry.

Apparently Avalon was celebrating flying fish during the year and the landing supplied us all with “flying fish hats) which were hidden away until Hashem said we needed a picture. Amidst considerable enthusiasm (not), we took a group picture.

KJ, Pat, Mike (Santa), Kyle, Rita and Hashem (Mahigeer)

Soon the ferry was in the open ocean waters where we enjoyed a smooth and fast trip to Santa Catalina Island and Avalon.

As we entered the Avalon Bay Hashem mentioned that the front of the Green Pleasure Pier (GPP) seemed to be open, the dock normally anchored out front seemed to be missing, and we wondered what was up. Then, as we traversed the walk around the bay, we got a better look at the pier. Sure enough the GGP was open but it was also obvious that some sort of construction was going on. What would we find?

We soon arrived at the foot of the pier and Rita and I decided to walk out to the end. Sure enough workers were working, construction supplies blocked the end, and roping sealed off the end. #*##***##*! Rita and I both said this is BAD, why hadn’t they let us know it would be closed?

The group then headed on to the hotel with several people in a very FOUL mood. After unpacking the bags, and a quick lunch at Antonio’s, it was time to fish. I was at the pier at 2 P.M. and would find a spot to fish. Soon I ran into the Harbor Master and explained our predicament. He said the end was supposed to be closed until June but he would see what he could do. Still in a foul mood I found a small corner next to the dive shop that was fairly open to the water and soon after began to catch fish. Rita and Kyle arrived soon after and located on a spot just a little bit down the pier. Neither spot was perfect but if you knew how to cast the areas were fishable—and still full of fish. Rita and Kyle also began to catch fish.

I soon managed a couple of nice-sized opaleye on ghost shrimp, a garibaldi on the same, an unending number of bass (on cut bait and ghost shrimp), rock wrasse (whenever I used the lug worms I had brought from Big Fish), and senorita (on whatever).

KJ and a garibaldi

Then I pulled in a blackperch, the first I had seen at the pier after 32 trips. All right, a new species for the pier! Kyle was also pulling in fish, especially after he decide to bait up a Sabiki with peas. He managed two opaleye and a keeper sheephead on the vegetables. This trip was starting to look interesting even if the pier was a mess. Eventually Hashem also joined us and he too managed to catch fish (including an opaleye) so we were a semi-happy troop catching fish (including some jack mackerel that decided to join in the fun) but still wondering what we would be catching if we were out at the deeper waters at the end.

Hashem (Mahigeer) and an opaleye

Soon after, the Harbor Master walked over and explained that he had talked to the construction crew and that they were going to open the end for us Friday afternoon. They would move their supplies back and allow us to fish the area during the weekend. Hallelujah! We fished until 6:15 and then headed back to the rooms before once again heading down to Antonio’s where we typically have dinner the first night

Dinner at Antonio’s — clockwise from left — Mike (Santa), Hashem (Mahigeer), Adam (Baitfish), Rebecca (Roosterqueen), Pat, KJ, Ross (GordoGrande), and Rita

The results the first day showed the fish were still there but the number of halfmoon and sheephead seemed a little down. I was hoping that they would be more evident out at the end of the pier when it opened (and they were, but both would indeed turn out to be in lesser numbers than the prior two years).

Day 2, Friday—Most of the day would see fishing at the Mole but I managed a 6-8 AM visit to the GPP, a visit that yielded kelp bass, rock wrasse, sheephead, Pacific mackerel and yet one more blackperch.

The breakfast group — clockwise — KJ, Adam, Rebecca, Ross, Mike, Pat and Hashem

A short breakfast at Jacks ensued before heading out to the Mole where I fished from 10:50-3:05 PM. I was targeting new species, and still trying to find a moray eel, but only had luck with the former when I caught a small spotted kelpfish. People (including Scott and GDude) were catching bonito right and left but I wanted variety and I did find it getting 12 different species—kelp bass, garibaldi, giant kelpfish, opaleye, halfmoon, spotted kelpfish, scorpionfish, sheephead, treefish, senorita, jacksmelt and kelp bass.

By now people were arriving from a variety of spots and it was time to prepare for our Friday night “Get Together.” However, before dinner we had one more place to visit. I had arranged a private visit to the hallowed grounds of the Avalon Tuna Club, a normally inaccessible spot. A group of us including Pat and myself, GDude, Adam and Rebecca, Mike (Santa), and Rita trekked down to the club where we were amazed by the pictures, equipment, and historical fishing artifacts that we found. We only stayed one hour but it was amazing. [BTW, the Tuna Club was the world's first marine conservation organization when it was founded in 1898. And interesting was the comment we heard while we were there. Members are not allowed to fish in any tournaments for money; if a member breaks that rule they lose their membership.]

Mike (Santa), Adam (Baitfish), Rebecca (Roosterqueen), Rita, KJ, James (GDude)

That night would see our annual group dinner this time at the Mi Casita restaurant. As always there was good cheer and fun and everyone had a good time.   At the conclusion, a couple of people talked of heading back down to the pier (or mole) for a little night fishing; I headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

Ross (center) and Rebecca (right)

Rita (left) and Mike (right)

Eugene

Hashem, Scott and Steve

Warren Li

Amanda Liu

Dora and Elaine Liu

Ross (left) and Robert (right)

Kyle

Group shot #1 — clockwise from ed on table — Hashem, Rita, Mike, Eugene, ?, Ross, Rebecca, Adam, KJ

Group shot #2 — From left clockwise — Scott, Steve, Kyle, James, Dora, ?

Day 3, Saturday—This would be the day of the derby so once again most of the day would be spent at the Mole. But, once again I slipped out to the GPP for a 6-8 AM visit. This visit would produce kelp bass, senorita, rock wrasse, salema (a first for the pier), jack mackerel and two more big opaleye. Not a bad start to the day

Back to the room, pick up Pat, and head out to the Mole for the festivities. The fishing itself would now take a back seat to the other activities even though I did have a pole in the water part of the time at the Mole and managed a decent amount of fish including kelp bass, senorita, garibaldi, blacksmith and an ocean whitefish. Only problem was that Pat and I were both feeling a little under the weather (and a cold wind didn’t help) which made the day a little funky.

As mentioned in several earlier reports the bonito were the highlight of the day and provided most of the big fish. However, just before the derby started Redfish pulled in a nice barracuda just one inch short of being legal.

Robert (Redfish) with a barracuda

He then followed that up with a 6+ pound sheephead during the derby that won the big fish award. And, shortly after the derby was over a legal barracuda was caught.

Robert with an 8-pound sheephead

Without repeating the reports of Hashem, GDude, JimboJack, Scott and others, just let me say the time together was great, the food (as always) was plentiful and delicious, and the drawings for gifts were a lot of fun (as well as making a few needed bucks for UPSAC).

The official prizewinners (based on a point scale for different types of fish) were:

1st Place: Scott; 2nd Place: Minnow Magnet; 3rd Place: SteveO; Awesome Angler Awards: Kyle, Adam, Rita and JimboJack; Big Fish Award: Redfish; Smallest Fish Award: JimboJack; Most Species Award: Minnow Magnet

Derby Winners

Group Picture

After the derby, the festivities, and a final group picture, many chose to stay and fish the Mole. I decided to head back to the GPP which was now open at the end and which is always a little warmer and less windy than the Mole (did I mention the windy conditions that confronted us off and on at the Mole?). A 5:30-8:45 P.M. visit produced kelp bass, jack mackerel, Pacific mackerel, senorita, blacksmith and rock wrasse.

However, I was on a mission. One of my goals was to catch a flying fish, interesting creatures that inhabit Catalina’s inshore waters (including Avalon Bay). I figured a Sabiki baited with lugworms, and fished under a float, just might yield a flying fish (since they so closely resemble jacksmelt). I might have been right except that jack mackerel kept hitting the rigging (darn them!).

Not only did I not catch a flying fish but I also missed what had to be a really nice fish when I baited up my heavier outfit with a lively jack mackerel. I had a hard hit, struck hard—and missed the fish. I pulled in a mackerel devoid of much of its skin on both of its sides.

Day 4, Sunday—Again I was up early for one final visit to the pier, this time from 5:25-7:55 AM. The visit would yield kelp bass, jack mackerel, Pacific mackerel, senorita and rock wrasse but the news was the fish I lost.

Looking toward the Mole at Sunrise

I baited up my heavy pole with squid and cast out to the deeper waters while I fished my light pole by the pier. I managed to lose what had to be three big fish. The first was within ten minutes of baiting up when something hit my heavy pole, started to peel off line at a tremendous rate, and then saw the line go dead. When I reeled in it appeared the 30-pound braid had simply been cut in half. Never saw the fish but assume it was a big shark (big threshers, makos and blues are fund in these waters).

A half hour or so later another big fish hit the squid. This time the fish took the line but I was able to hook it and play it for about fifteen minutes before it tangled in something on the bottom and eventually managed to break free. The fight was that of a typical bat ray, a big one, but not as big as the bat ray that kept showing up in the waters next to the GPP. That ray seemed at least six foot across (so probably was only five) but kept swimming around the pier for over an hour. I did try some squid by the pier but the ray ignored it.

I did however manage to farm one more fish—on my light line. After baiting up some cut mackerel for some mac action, something simply inhaled my bait and took off on a steady journey headed out of the harbor. It wasn’t at a spectacular speed but just a steady speed that did not even slow as I tightened up the drag. As I neared the end of a spool of brand new 8-pound P Line, Halo line, I decided enough was enough and finally cranked it down and the line broke. If I have ever hooked a black sea bass this might have been the time but I don’t know what a large fish like that would have been doing grabbing my fairly small bait. Whatever it was though was big and strong and not a bat ray.

Later, after talking to Scott and SteveO about their battle with a huge fish from the GPP, I wondered if that huge bat ray that was visiting the pier Sunday morning might also have been what they hooked? It was certainly the largest bat ray I have ever seen but they felt their fish wasn’t a bat ray. Whatever the fish we all hooked, it proved there are some really big fish to be had in these waters and the need for some heavier gear next visit.

I hated to stop fishing but had to get ready for the ferry, check out of the hotel, and visit friends for a final breakfast. But I wished I could have stayed and had a chance to hook another big fish.

Some stats—new species for the piers—GPP/blackperch and salema—Cabrillo Mole/spotted kelpfish. I’ve now caught 18 different species from the GPP, 24 species from the Mole. Total fish for the trip = 234 fish (my fifth lowest total for the 8-year history of the “Get Togethers”). Most of the fish were returned excepting a few sheephead and opaleye that made it to my dinner table.

Notes—

• Return of the mackerel. This was the first time we saw large numbers of jack mackerel and Pacific mackerel at the “Get Togethers” since 2003 (and that year saw Pacific mackerel, jack mackerel and Pacific sardines). Both were in evidence in large numbers during this trip and may help explain the number of large fish that were seen and/or hooked.

• Big fish—2007/2008 saw several huge fish swimming around the Green Pleasure Pier and the Mole. The biggest was a black sea bass that easily exceeded one hundred pounds that placidly came swimming along mid-water by the GPP. Another large fish was what looked like a large angel shark. As noted, this year on Sunday morning a huge bat ray was swimming back and forth around the GPP. A similar huge bat ray was seen Saturday at the Mole and a huge bat ray was caught Sunday from the Mole (and seen by Scooterfish and SteveO). Given the number of large fish seen, and lost, during 2009, it would seem wise to bring along a heavy duty reel loaded with 100+ pound braid next trip. There out there, can we catch them?

• Kudos to: (1) Brian Bray, the Avalon Harbor Master who made it possible to fish the end of the GGP most of the weekend; (2) Hashem who coordinated the event this year and did his usual excellent job; (3) GDude who once again provided much of the delicious food at the derby; (4) My friend Gary Graham who set it up so that we could visit the Avalon Tuna Club. Gary runs Baja on the Fly and is a great guy (and very knowledgeable). If you ever want to go fly fishing for sailfish, dorado, roosterfish or other fish in Baja visit bajafly.com; (5) The good folks at the Hermosa Hotel who provided a 10% discount for UPSAC members and provided their usual friendly and efficient service; (6) Paul’s Bait and Tackle in San Pedro who supplied live ghost shrimp, frozen anchovies and frozen squid for the anglers in the derby; (7) Big Fish Bait and Tackle in Seal Beach that supplied some live lugworms for the event.

(Cool All who traveled to Catalina during these hard times. It was especially good to see Scott (all the way from Louisiana) and Adam and Rebecca (all the way from Florida) but given today’s economic conditions it was a real commitment from everyone who made it over to Catalina. Thanks!

End of Part 1 — Main derby pictures and other Reports in Part 2 — 8th Annual PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together — 2009 (2)

 

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