Ken Jones - Writer & Pierfisherman » Jacksmelt

Marin Rod & Gun Club — 31st Annual “Kids Day On The Pier”

kenjones — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 19:45:10 +0000

August 10, 2019 saw the 31st Annual “Kid’s Day on the Pier” at the Marin Rod & Gun Club on San Quentin Point in San Rafael, California. The event was co-sponsored by the club, UPSAC (United Pier and Shore Anglers of California), PFIC (Pier Fishing In California), and the IGFA (International Game Fish Association).

Although the number of youth was down from prior years, the event still saw an enthusiastic group of 37 youngsters and a crowd of roughly 110 people who thoroughly enjoyed the 74-degree weather and slight breeze.

Ethical Angling

UPSAC /PFIC members—Robert Gardner, Bob Griffin and Kyle Pease

Rita Magdamo and family

Interestingly, although the number of youth was down (probably due to school starting in two days), the participants continued to represent many different areas and towns (20): Marin County—San Anselmo, San Rafael, Novato, Larkspur, Kentfield, and Fairfax. Bay Area—San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Bruno, San Leandro, San Carlos and Hayward. NorCal and CenCal—Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Hidden Valley, Davis, Roseville and Fresno. Out of state—Bronx, New York.

Omar Medrano and a striped bass

Even better was that the kids caught a good number of fish— 124 jacksmelt, 17 striped bass and two bat ray. Less variety than normal but more fish, which meant a lot of happy, smiling faces.

Loaner rods and reels were available as well as free bait and assistance when needed. Combined with the fishing was a free hot dog lunch and every participant received a rod and reel from the club.

David Shigematsu and a striped bass

Adam Peltola and a jacksmelt

E. J. Stowe and a striped bass

Adam Peltola and a striped bass

Hans Jones Jr. and a striped bass

Kyle Pease and a bat ray

Club members

Robert Gardner and a jacksmelt

The Marin Rod and Gun Club, United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC), and Pier Fishing In California (PFIC) brought tackle and people to help out while the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) provided certificates for the winners.

Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy, a beautiful IGFA certificate, and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones.

Prizes

Audience

Rods and reels for the raffle

7-year-old-winner Axel Young

8-year-old-winner Sofia Medrano

9-year-old winner Hunter Rodriguez-Olson

10-year-old winner Abigail Wehm

11 year-old-winner E. J. Stowe

12-year-old winner Omar Medrano

13-year-old winner David Shigematsu

15-year-old winner Adam Peltola

Representing the Marin Rod and Gun Club were Chairmen Gary Colmere, Vice-Chairman Roy Jackson, John Evans and more than a dozen club members who performed a plethora of duties—serving as judges on the pier, cleaning and fixing rods and reels for both the derby and the raffle, cooking the hot dog lunch, setting up and cleaning the auditorium and kitchen, and helping announce the results of the raffle.

David Shigematsu and E. J. Stowe

A special thanks goes to club members Mary Ellen Smith (who helped at the registration table and with the cooking) and Rita Magdamo (who helped at the registration table and took pictures at the awards ceremony). Both stayed very busy!

Ken Jones and Gary Colmere

Ken Jones and John Evans

Raffle

Rita Magdamo

Representing UPSAC: President Ken Jones, Vice-President Robert Gardner, and Rita Magdamo.

Representing the Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) website family were the above UPSAC members as well as Melvin Kon, Bob Griffin, Kyle Pease, and Hans Jones. Special thanks goes to Barbara Ungersma aka Fishmom1 who couldn’t attend but dropped off several rods and reels for the kids to use prior to the derby.

The biggest thanks of course goes to the Marin Rod and Gun Club that has sponsored this event for 31 years but all of the various organizations and volunteers deserve a round of applause.

Marin Rod & Gun Club — 30th Annual “Kids Day On The Pier”

kenjones — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 17:36:42 +0000

August 15, 2018 saw the 30^th Annual “Kid’s Day on the Pier” at the Marin Rod & Gun Club on San Quentin Point in San Rafael, California. The event was co-sponsored by UPSAC (United Pier and Shore Anglers of California), PFIC (Pier Fishing In California), and the IGFA (International Game Fish Association).

The day saw an enthusiastic group of 67 youngsters amidst a crowd of 175 people. The weather was great and the kids caught a fine mess of fish, which meant a lot of happy, smiling faces.

Loaner rods and reels were available as well as free bait and assistance when needed. Combined with the fishing was a free hot dog lunch and every participant received a rod and reel from the club.

The United Pier and Shore Anglers of California (UPSAC) and Pier Fishing In California (PFIC) brought tackle and people to help out while the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) provided certificates for the winners.

Dr. John Evans and his heavy pole for the big ‘uns

Dave DeJong and a California Halibut

Jacksmelt

52-inch leopard shark caught by David Shigematsu

After the fishing, it was time to retire to the clubhouse for lunch (hot dogs and chips), the award ceremony, and the raffle.

Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy, a beautiful IGFA certificate, and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones.

The 5-year-old and under winner: Ryan Radomski

The 6-year-old winner: Owen Radomski

The 7-year-old winner: Tyler Green

The 8-year-old winner (tie): Vincent DeJong,

The 8-year-old winner (tie): Logan Jackson

The 8-year-old winner (tie): Lucas Strosahlortega

The 9-year-old winner (tie): Parvati Nag

The 9-year-old winner: (tie) Parker Thompson

The 10-year-old winner (tie): Michael Monteiro

The 10-year-old winner (tie): Kody Monteiro

The 11-year-old winner: Kiana Choi

The 12-year-old winner (and overall champion): David Shigematsu

The 14-year-old winner: Dylan Monteiro

The largest fish of the day was a 52-inch leopard shark caught by David Shigematsu and a total of 77 fish were caught by the participants. Included were three leopard sharks, two California halibut, one striped bass, one bat ray and 69 large jacksmelt (12-14 inches).

Raffle Prizes — Every participant received a rod and reel

All agreed that it was another outstanding derby.

Representing the Marin Rod and Gun Club: Chairmen Gary Colmere, Vice-Chairman Roy Jackson, John Evans and upwards of 20 or more club members who performed a plethora of duties—serving as judges on the pier, cleaning and fixing rods and reels for both the derby and the raffle, cooking the hot dog lunch, setting up and cleaning the auditorium and kitchen, and helping announce the results of the raffle. A special thanks goes to Mary Ellen Smith who was busy doing many things—helping at the registration table, helping to tabulate the scorecards, helping with the certificates, and helping to cook the lunch. She stayed very busy!

Representing UPSAC: President Ken Jones, Vice-President Robert Gardner, and Secretary Brian Linebarger.

Representing the Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) website family were the above UPSAC members as well as Melvin Kon (who took the pictures of the award winners and raffle winners), Kris Linebarger, Alex Poon, and David DeJong.

UPSAC Vice-President Robert Gardner

A huge thank you goes to the Marin Gun and Rod Club and the various other organizations and volunteers for putting on this great annual event.

Marin Rod & Gun Club — 29th Annual “Kids Day On The Pier”

kenjones — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 23:14:03 +0000

29^th Annual “Kids Day on the Pier” A Success

The Marin Rod and Gun Club, started in 1926, celebrated its 91st birthday this year and is one of California’s oldest and, in my opinion, best clubs in the state.

August 19, 2017 saw the 29^th Annual “Kid’s Day on the Pier” at the Marin Rod & Gun Club on San Quentin Point in San Rafael, California. The event was co-sponsored this year by UPSAC (United Pier and Shore Anglers of California), PFIC (Pier Fishing In California), and the IGFA (International Game Fish Association).

The day saw an enthusiastic group of 57 youngsters, a crowd of roughly 150 people, great weather (until the winds decided to be a little gnarly), and a very good number of fish.

Loaner rods and reels were available as well as free bait and assistance when needed. Combined with the fishing was a free hot dog lunch and every participant received a rod and reel from the club.

Marin Rod & Gun Club members worked at a variety of jobs

UPSAC/PFIC Members Brian Linebarger and Robert Gardner helped rig up the UPSAC loaner rods for the kids.

The pier was full of families enjoying the great outdoors!

Mother and Child!

Jacksmelt were the predominate catch of the day!

This was the largest striped bass of the day

Hans Jones Jr. with a bat ray — Photo courtesy of Hans Jones

Hans Jones and Hans Jones Jr.

Monteriro Family

Mel Kon from Pier Fishing In California

Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo

Fish On!

Leopard Shark — Photo courtesy of Rita Magdamo

Bat Ray — Photo courtesy of Hans Jones & Rita Magdamo

UPSAC/PFIC member Robert Gardner with a jacksmelt to be used for live bait

UPSAC/PFIC member Brian Linebarger with a Diamond Turbot

Each individual age group winner received a 1^st Place trophy, a beautiful IGFA certificate, and an autographed copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones.

The crowd waiting for the derby results to be announced

Ken Jones and John Evans announcing the results

Age group winners: 5-year-old and under: (Tie) Sierra Maeda and Liam Connell (2 time winner)

Sierra Maeda

Liam Connell

6-year-old: (Tie) Eva Orsi and Azai Handy.

Eva Orsi

Azai Handy

7-year-old winner Nicholas Yaitanes

8-year-old: Tyler Yerkey — No photo

9-year-old winner: Michel Monteiro (2 time winner)

10-year-old winner: Priscilla Villalpando

11-year-old winner: David Shigematsu

12-year-old winner: Micah Sweet

13-year-old winner: Dylan Monteiro (3-time winner)

14-year-old winner: Ethan Chu

15-year old winner: Emily Olewinski.

The largest fish of the day included a 25-inch striped bass by Eric Jamison Stone (who also caught a 15-inch striper and a 14-inch halibut), a 26-inch leopard shark and 15-inch striped bass by Liam Connell; a 39-inch bat ray and 19-inch leopard shark by Priscilla Villalpando; two large bat rays by Michel Monteiro; a 15-inch halibut by Michael Ng; a 16-inch striper by Alexander Yaitanes; a medium-sized striped bass by Cody Monteiro, and several large 13-15-inch jacksmelt.

Representing the Marin Rod and Gun Club: Chairmen Gary Colmere, Vice-Chaiman Roy Jackson, John Evans and upwards of 30 or more club members who performed a plethora of duties—serving as judges on the pier, cleaning and fixing rods and reels for both the derby and the raffle, cooking the hot dog lunch, setting up and cleaning the auditorium and kitchen, helping with the registration, and helping announce the results of the raffle.

Gary Colmere

Roy “Sarge” Jackson

Representing UPSAC: President Ken Jones, Vice-President Robert Gardner, Secretary Brian Linebarger, Board Members: Hans Jones and Rita Magdamo.

Representing the Pier Fishing in California (pierfishing.com) website family were the above UPSAC members as well as Melvin Kon.

A huge thank you goes to the Marin Gun and Rod Club and the various other organizations and volunteers for putting on this great annual event.

All unattributed photos, with the exception of the derby winners, taken by Ken Jones — Derby winner photos taken by Rita Magdamo

Jacksmelt

kenjones — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 18:47:13 +0000

Silversides—Family Atherinidae

Jacksmelt

Species: Atherinopsis californiensis (Girard, 1854); from the Greek words ather (a spike or arrow) and ops (like), and californiensis (in reference to the geographic area).

Alternate Names: Smelt, California smelt, horse smelt, blue smelt, silverside, pescado del rey, Peixe rey and Pesce rey. Called pejerrey mocho in Mexico.

Identification: Smelt-like shape and very similar to the topsmelt. They have two dorsal fins; the anal fin begins below the first dorsal fin. Their coloring is grayish-green above with a bluish tinge, silver below. A metallic band tinged with blue and edged with bright blue extends the length of the body. The cheek has a yellowish blotch.

Jacksmelt caught by Mike Granat at the Port View Park PIer in Oakland

Size: To 17 1/2 inches. In southern California, anglers catch both jacksmelt and topsmelt and most of the fish are small. Occasionally a few larger fish do appear, with almost all fish over 12 inches being jacksmelt. In northern California, the majority of smelt appear to be over 12 inches in length. The “official” California record was a fish weighing 1 lb 8 oz; it was caught near San Nicholas Island in 1998.

Range: From Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California, and the Gulf of California, to Yaquina Bay, Oregon. Uncommon north of California.

Habitat: Bays and shallow oceanfront water, especially near rocky areas like jetties where there is a good current to sweep food near the fish.

Jacksmelt caught by “Supersmelt” in Newport Bay

Piers: Jacksmelt are caught at virtually every pier in California. Larger jacksmelt are especially abundant at piers in bays, and even more so at bay piers adjacent to rocky points. Best bets: Oceanside Pier, Newport Pier, Huntington Beach Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Gaviota Pier, Pismo Beach Pier, Port San Luis Pier, Santa Cruz Wharf, Pillar Point Harbor Pier, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Berkeley Pier, Elephant Rock Pier, Fort Baker Pier, Lawson Landing Pier (Tomales Bay), Tides Wharf (Bodega Bay), Commercial Street Dock (Eureka) and the “B” Street Pier (Crescent City).

Shoreline: Sometimes taken by inshore anglers fishing near rocks or jetties.

Boats: Sometimes taken by boaters, especially those fishing Morro Bay and San Francisco Bay.

Thomas Orosco and a mess of jacksmelt from the Berkeley Pier

Bait and Tackle: Two main outfits are used. First is a simple snag line made with several small hooks, either left bare or to which colored yarn or cloth has been attached (like a Lucky Joe rigging). This is commonly used in southern California and the angler simply jigs the leader up and down trying to attract and snag the fish. In northern California, a leader is usually made up with six to eight small hooks spaced every six inches apart. A float or large bobber is attached above the hooks. Each hook is baited with a very small piece of pile worm, bloodworm or shrimp and the outfit is allowed to drift with the current. The result is often 3-6 fish caught at one time. Caution — In San Francisco Bay these smelt rigs are limited to three hooks.

Food Value: A tasty fish when pan-fried although there are a lot of bones and usually quite a few worms in the flesh.

Comments: For their size jacksmelt put up a terrific fight. Many anglers have been startled to have a jacksmelt hit a bait at full throttle and come to realize that a fairly small fish has put up such a terrific battle.

A jacksmelt from the Port San Luis Pier

A jacksmelt from the Elephant Rock Pier

If you catch one jacksmelt you are almost assured of catching more — Jacksmelt at the Candlestick Pier in San Francisco in 2008

Marin Rod & Gun Club — 25th Annual “Kids Day On The Pier”

kenjones — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 19:05:48 +0000

August 17, 2013 saw the 25^th Annual “Kid’s Day on the Pier” at the Marin Rod & Gun Club in San Rafael, California. Co-sponsored by the IGFA (International Game Fish Association) and UPSAC (United Pier and Shore Anglers of California), an enthusiastic group of 68 youngsters, and a crowd in excess of 150 people, saw great weather and a variety of fish species being landed by the young anglers.

Loaner rods and reels were available as well as free bait and assistance when needed

Loaner rods and reels

UPSAC members getting the tackle ready

Do you need a rod?

It’s time to fish!

Carrie Wilson and Mary Patyten from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife set up a display and handed out literature to the families.

The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge sits next to the pier

Windbreaks provide some shelter from the wind and the sun

Thomas Orozco and a leopard shark

He’s got a jacksmelt

He’s got a blackperch

Thomas Orozco has another leopard shark

It was finally time to end the fishing and though action was a little slow, all of the youngsters seemed to have had a great time and many indeed did catch fish. Species of fish included leopard sharks, brown smoothhounds, bat rays, jacksmelt, surfperch and (after the derby) striped bass.

Combined with the fishing were a free hot dog lunch and an amazing group of prizes (every participant received a trophy and a rod and reel). The lunch and prizes were all provided by the Marin Rod and Gun Club.

Every participant received a trophy and a free rod and reel

Following the raffle, the various age-group winners were announced.Each individual winner received a beautiful IGFA certificate and a copy of Pier Fishing in California by Ken Jones. Age group winners also received 1^st Place trophies for their catch.

Special award winners were: 1^st Fish Caught: Jack T Rex (leopard shark); Most Fish Caught: Thomas Orozco (nine fish); Largest Fish Caught: Thomas Orozco (23-inch leopard shark). Age group winners: 6-year old and under: Asher Sweet; 7-year old: Justin Eitter; 8-year old: Bainy Reier; 9-year old: Zac Wexler; 10-year old: Joe Beam; 11-year old: Ryan Wilson; 12-year old: Hans Jones Jr.; 13-year-old: Ethan Delmonte; 14-year-old: Thomas Orozco

6-Year-Old Winner Asher Sweet

7-Year-Old Winner Justin Eitter

8-Year Old Winner Bainy Reier

9-Year Old Winner Zac Wexler

10-Year Old Winner Joe Beam

11-Year Old Winner Ryan Wilson

12-year old: Hans Jones Jr.

13-Year-Old Winner Ethan Delmonte

14-Year-Old Winner Thomas Orozco

Co-chairmen from the club were Joe Morrison and Bob VanderMeer while the MC was Dr. John Evans. Representing UPSAC were President Ken Jones, Vice-President Robert Gardner, Secretary Brian Linebarger, and Board Member Hans Jones. Representing the Pier Fishing in California website were members Chris, Alex, and Preston. Representing California Fish and Wildlife was Mary Peyton who manned a booth and signed up kids to the California Fishing Passport Program. A big thank you goes to the Marin Gun and Rod Club for hosting this annual tournament and allowing UPSAC to be part of the event.

Marin Rod and Gun Club members Gary Colemere and Joe Morrison with UPSAC President Ken Jones