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.

Luckily the storm seemed to abate somewhat and my friend Mike and I hopped out of the car and began to unload the equipment. First the rods and reels, then the pier cart, the bait cooler, misc. bucket, small cooler, and tackle box.

About that time three fishermen walked by, all equipped with pier carts and a variety of rods and reels, nets, buckets and “necessary” accouterments. True “pier rats” who knew the needs of those who seek the big ‘butts, stripers, sharks and rays from California’s longest pier (and the first WCB pier in the state). No way you’re hand carrying all that tackle out to the end of the 3,000+ foot-long-pier!

Illcatchanything (Brian Linebarger) setting up for the cooking

“How was the fishing” was the question and the “regulars” said,  “wet.” But seven legal halibut was the report on the pier, one a nice fish of 45”, and about 12-13 striped bass. Not great fishing but also not bad, but the time of the day and the rain had taken its toll; it was time for them to leave.

Brian

Mike and I headed out to the pier where we stopped for a short visit at the restroom. While there, the rain began anew. Mike headed back to the car while I continued out to the third cleaning station and the gathering.

Mike Granat

The crowd at that time was approximately 30-35 people but it would grow and see an eventual group of 62 people. Included were a mix of long time PFIC regulars together with some newbies. At the main table were Brian (Illcatchanything2) and Hans (Sofa King) while nearby saw some oldies but goodies—Robert (Redfish), MikeJonesJr, and West Coast Dave (from Sacramento). Sitting by a tent were Bob (Side Stripe Chaser) and his wife Kim, next to them was Big Rich. Two poles away were Matt Shockley and a group he had brought down from Reno for the event. Peter (surf samurai) and V were there as was Phishnpat, Fin Prints and The Orion. Eventually James (GDude) would show up with his son Warren. Others, and I didn’t get all the names, were there and as said, the group would grow.

GDude — James Liu

To make a long story short, I had a great time even though I didn’t land any bat rays and though I was very, very cold. I did get to witness a great fight between Kim and a 49-pound bat ray, a fight that including crossed lines and bait buckets. People helped her out and made sure she was able to land a nice fish. They then made sure the fish was returned safely to the water. Soon after Bob landed a small bat ray but that was the extent of fish fights for me. My buddy Mike was freezing and asked if I minded leaving early and since I too was cold I said that it was OK. I would have liked to have been able to stay but had had the chance to meet everyone (I hope) and share a least a few hours at the pier.

Warren Liu

Mike and I headed back to the car at 9PM while Brian, Hans and James continued on with the derby, awards and raffle. I’ll have to leave the fuller report of this derby to Brian, Hans and Robert.

The number of caught mud marlin (bat rays) was low but this happy lady angler got one of them

Berkeley’s Master Angler Songslinger likes to say it’s all about the fish but I have to disagree. The Mud Marlin Derby is as much about the chance to see old friends, perhaps make a few new friends, and share a few hours in a sport we all love. For derbies such as this, and the Get Together at Catalina, the camaraderie of the group is as important as the fish.

I was TRYING to stay warm

Driving back to the motel in Oakland, Mike said he was amazed at the number of people at the event given the weather. He was also impressed at how the people worked together and the expertise evident in the group. Lastly, he was amazed at the equipment he saw at the event. Mike is a former Shimano representative, one who had the entire South American continent as his territory, and has seen and still has a lot of equipment. Like many he knew little about pier fishing until I got him interested. I had told him about the event—and the quality of our angers—but I think he didn’t really believe it until he saw it first hand.

 Big Rich and sidestripecatcher (Bob)

Big Rich and little old me

Sidestripeseeker (Bob) and a mud marlin

West Coast Dave

It got just a TAD BIT cold!