2003 Fishing News Archive

November 13 - Final Report

OK, so I thought I would be feeling better ...

I'm over the cold/flu/whatever the hell it was that had me down. That's the good news. But bad news is that my back is really trashed - maybe permanently. More on that in a minute.

The important thing is that the marlin keep sticking around the SoCal Bight. In spite of predictions by other websites and at least one captain with whom I fish that the season is over, the fish have settled in around Catalina, of all places. While not screaming hot bite, there's enough fish that most people are getting some, and some are getting a lot.

When the history of this season is written, it will be duly noted that this year represented a comeback of sorts for lure fishing. Frankly, I think that's great, since it gives a lot more people a shot at a marlin. The Catalina bite demonstrates this in spades. While the local bait hot dogs are getting some feeders and tailers to go, the real numbers are being put up on lures.

There are a lot of great stories to be told off this late season action, but none better than the weekend had by Bill MacCorkell on AGITATOR. I spoke earlier this season about Bill, and about how happy everyone was when he got his first fish in several seasons. In a sport dominated by million-dollar sportfishers, AGITATOR is a little Skipjack that probably cost less than your last car. With years of patience and care, though, Bill has turned it into a baby battlewagon capable of chasing the marlin wherever they roam. Well, this weekend, we all leaned just how capable team Bill and AGIGATOR can be. On Saturday, he released three marlin, and backed that up Sunday morning by releasing another off Long Point. The punchline? He did it all singlehanded. A big tip of the SCMO hat, Bill!

Normally, by this time of the year we're looking for the first big storms of winter to kill the fishing. So far, though, the storms we've had do not seem to have had an effect. The water temperature is holding around 65 to 66 degrees - on the cool side for marlin but not so cold as to chase them off. With fish continuing to be caught on the Avalon Bank and off the Slide, I'd figure we still have a couple of weeks of fishing left.

Unfortunately, I won't be a part off them, and this is going to be my final report for the 2003 season. As I mentioned at the start of this report, I've been having a lot of pack trouble for the last few weeks, which makes a lot of things very difficult. High on that list is sitting down at the keyboard - a real problem, since a large part of my two jobs - and this site - depend on my ability to use a computer. Since I can't give up the real jobs, I'm going to cut back on my efforts here. I normally file the last report around Thanksgiving anyway, so this is just a couple of weeks early. Hopefully, with rest my back will recover, but I have the nagging fear that they might have to do some cutting this time. In the meantime, anything I learn will be posted in the War Room, and I encourage all of you to do the same. I'll be back later with a season wrapup, so stay tuned ...

November 6

I'm back - at least most of the way back ...

They talk about death and taxes being the only ones, but here's two other absolutes. One, I will catch both the first and last bug going around during cold and flu season. The other is that my back will go out a couple of times a year, most often at really bad times. Well, this time I got both. For the last 10 days or so, I've been a mess. Either affliction would be enough to make me miserable, but you just haven't lived until your back forces you to crawl to the bathroom so you can barf from the flu.

I'm better now, but by no means back to normal, I am, however, well enough to take a stab at an update. Obviously, my knowledge is pretty limited right now, but at least I have my sense of humor ... :-)

Anglers continue to scrape out striped marlin, most notably around the east end of Catalina. This is that tough time when everyone knows the next marlin could be the last. It sounds like the bite is mixed between jigs and bait, and is pretty much centered off Avalon. Just head out and use the radar to find the fleet.

The really interesting note is the invasion of yellowfin tuna. These are considered warm-water tuna, and it's been anything but warm lately. But they're here. The hot ticket has been to check under the porpoise. Best areas have been the 267, 277 and 209, but some have been seen as far north as the 14 Mile Bank.

Having been laid up for the last few days, I had a front-row seat for the fires that ravaged SoCal. While I live far from any fires, the whole thing turned personal for me when the one firefighter to perish did so on the 29th in a little place called Wynola. Now, most of you - even those who live in San Diego - have probably never heard of Wynola. If Julian, with a population of 3,500, is called a mountain hamlet, then Wynola and its population of maybe 150 is just a wide spot in the road. But it's a spot I know well.

Every summer, from before I can remember through my college days, I spent two weeks at my grandfather's apple ranch on Wynola Road. Those days represent some of the best of my life, and I love that little place. The Manzanita Ranch, Tom's Chicken Shack, the ranch itself - I smile just thinking of the memories. Grandpa Les is gone now, and all of those landmarks of my childhood long ago changed hands as the whole Julian region became yuppified. Now, it's probably all gone, and I grieve. Last I heard, my step-grandmother, from whom I am regrettably estranged, still lived on Hwy. 78 within yards of Orchard Lane, where the firefighter died. I pray for her, along with all those whose lives were horribly disfigured in this tragedy.

I hope to have my strength back in time for a comprehensive weekend wrapup on Monday. Until then, good fishing and keep those Trip Reports coming!

October 27

I know you come here for the latest marlin news mixed with a little humor. Tonight, you'll get the news, but with all the tragedy going on around me in Southern California, we'll be a little thin on humor ...

There aren't a whole lot off boats out right now, but they continue to catch a couple of marlin each day. Most of the activity continues to be based inside of Catalina Island. Groups of feeders are being seen on the Avalon Bank, and several marlin have been caught off the East End. Most of the fish are being caught on jigs, but there are some bait fish, as well. The inner banks - the14-Mile Bank off Newport Beach and the 267 off Dana Point - have held some fish as well, but I've not heard of any being caught there. For those with a tuna jones, small yellowfin are being caught on the 209.

Contrary to popular belief, the world is not coming to and end in Southern California. It is, however, pretty bad. We thought we had it tough when the transit workers and grocery clerks went on strike, but that's nothing compared to the Hell being dealt out all across the Southland

At last check, there are 10 separate major wildfires burning between Ventura County and the Mexican border. At least 1,00 houses have been destroyed and over 400,000 acres of land consumed by the flames. Worse still, thirteen fatalities have been confirmed.

Probably the worst part is that, as bad as it is, it could still get worse. While there are over 7,000 firefighters on the lines, that's all there is - the reserve tanks are dry. As a result, they are forced to try and limit damage and direct the fire away from populated areas, but can't really do anything about putting it out. Quite honestly, these fires could be burning for several more weeks.

As you can see from the picture, the fires affect a lot more than just those in the path of the flames. Most of Southern California is under a thick pall of smoke (for example, the SCMO Home Office is on the southern edge of the bay shown in the center of the picture). I'm told that breathing the air around here is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Just what I need. There's so much smoke over Catalina, you can't even see it in the picture. Folks are having to hose the ash off their boats even though they're 25 miles offshore.

Over 40,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, and another 30,000 are at risk, The American Red Cross is doing a yeoman's job of taking care of them, but they need help. I used some of the MNAC funds to make a donation today; you might want to do so, as well.

In happier news, the Bisbee's Black and Blue Marlin tournament wrapped up over the weekend. With the slow fishing they've had lately, there was a serious concern that this year's event might be a bust. As we reported last week, SENOR MOMENT led the way on Day One with their 442-lb blue marlin, one of only two fish that met the 300-lb minimum weight. Day Two was even worse, as no qualifying fish were brought to the scales. Late on the final day, though, there was a flurry of action as several boats roared in with what they hoped would be the winning fish. When the dust - and diesel exhaust - settled, QUE SERA took first place with a 569-lb blue, followed by JACKPOT with a 474-lber and AFTER MIDNIGHT, who tipped the scales at 444-lbs. The SENOR MOMENT fish from the first day took fourth place.

The Black and Blue bills itself the worlds richest billfish event, and it lived up to that this year. By taking both the second and third day side pots along with the first place prize money, the crew of QUE SERA pocketed over $1.1 million - quite a haul. Also notable was the third place of AFTER MIDNIGHT, who, after sweeping both of the big SoCal marlin events, drove the boat down and almost scored a three-peat.

Start spreading the news ... the Florida Marlins are the 2003 World Series Champions!!!

Say what you want about curses, billy goats, fans or whatever - the fact is that we went into hallowed Yankee Stadium and beat the best team money can buy twice on their home field. We won the last three games against the Yankees, after winning the last three against the Cubs and the last three against the Giants before that. No matter how you slice it, we earned this championship.

Speaking of slicing things up, it is the fervent hope of this lifelong (well, at least for the lifetime of the team!) Marlins fan that we won't see a repeat off the "gutting" that happened the last time we won it all in 1997. Then-owner Wayne Huizenga, sensing that he'd gotten all out of the team that he wanted, sold off all the decent players of the team before the last champagne corks had been popped in the championship celebration. I'm still suffering from the emotional shock of that move.

I have a hunch we're safe this time. Unlike '97, when the team was comprised mostly of high-priced players brought in to try and quickly win a title, this year's Marlins squad is primarily younger players who don't make the kind of money that would force their sale (the Marlins payroll - $54 million - was less than a third of that of the defeated Yankees). That means we should be able to enjoy this bunch for many more years. Make your playoff reservations now!

As the local marlin season starts to wind down, so will these reports. We'll continue to give you the news when it happens, but sometime soon we'll switch to a once-weekly format until the end of the season. But that doesn't mean you won't get the very latest info - check the War Room for updates and the news off the water as it happens.

October 23

We've got marlin news ... and Marlins news ...

Good news - marlin are still being seen. Better news - they're still being caught. It was midweek, so there were fewer boats out, but several marlin were caught and released. The spot with the most action was several miles off the Slide on Catalina. Year in and year out, this is one of the most reliable marlin hot spots in our waters, so it's no surprise to see it produce now. At least one marlin was taken there on each of Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. Another marlin was caught ten miles east of the 181, more or less on a line to Pyramid Head. Several other marlin were reportedly seen in the same general region.

The weather has been generally nice over the inner waters, although I'm told it's been getting snotty on the back side of Catalina (hence the fishing on the front side?). There's a Santa Ana condition forming, however, and it looks like a big gone. That usually means nor'easters, which can make for a lot of change in the local conditions. Be sure to drop by the Weather Center before you head offshore this weekend.

They always hope for great fishing in the Bisbee's Black and Blue - after all, it's the world's richest billfish event. The signs weren't good after last week's Los Cabos tourney, and the weak fishing has continued. Yesterday, Senor Moment lead the way with a 442-lb blue marlin, followed by Gato Negro with a 312-lber. So far today, I haven't heard of any coming in that met the 300-lb minimum weight standard. Not too good for a 165 boat fleet. We'll have to wait and see if it improves. At least the hurricane that was headed their way has dissipated ...

Well, the World Series is all tied - 2 games each. This weekend, we're off to New York to settle things, and later tonight, we'll see who gets to make the flight north with a 3-2 lead.

Last night was one of those games that you hold up as an example when you try and describe what makes baseball great. Roger Clemens, in likely his last career start, puts a fastball right under the bill of Miguel Cabrera, who was barely a year old when the Rocket made his first start in 1984. Cabrera stares, steps back in and, two pitches later, puts it in the bleachers. Clemens gets a strikeout with his last pitch, and a standing ovation from the Florida crows - and the Marlins bench. The Yankees tie the game with a two-out, two-strike, two-run triple in the ninth - and the Marlins win it with a walk-off home run by Alex Gonzalez in the twelfth. Oh, baby!

Of course, not everyone can see the beauty. One Chicago-based writer for a national sports web site (which will remain nameless, but is the web version of a popular sports cable channel), referred to last night's game as having been won by "Alex Gonzalez's cheap home run". I guess he forgot that it was just a week ago that those "cheap" hits drove the Chicago Cubs out of the playoffs and running home whining to their mommies. I think the writer had better crawl back under his mother's skirt ...

This time of the season, it's especially important to have good information, so if you do make a trip this weekend, be sure to let us know what you see - or don't see ...

October 20

I hate this part of the season. On one hand, you feel like it's pretty much all over, and would just as soon sit back and watch football. But on the other hand, you just know there's a few more lurking around out there. In the mean time, we'll keep bringing you the news ...

Most of the "action" this weekend was around Catalina Island, as a fleet worked off of the west end of the island and another off of the East End Light. While marlin were seen in both areas, few were hooked and fewer landed. The only confirmed reports I received were of Michael Alley releasing one on SEADUCTIVE on the Avalon Bank Saturday, and another being released by Jerry Troyer, although I don't have the details.

The conditions remain good, as the waters seem to have cleared up in most of the fishing grounds. The Avalon Bank was reported to be 67 degrees, but I heard that several parts of the backside were as warm as 71. There doesn't seem to be many people trying the other areas, although some were on the 181.

The good news is that, while the marlin are scarce, there are still a lot of fish out there. Yellowtail are under many of the kelp paddies, and yellowfin tuna aren't uncommon, either. I haven't heard of many swordfish reports in the last few weeks, although the stickboats continue to work the areas.

One of the more interesting reports we've gotten lately is of a possible world record bonito caught on the 181. For those of you not familiar with them, bonito are a tuna-like fish often found around harbors and piers, but also mixed in schools offshore. Normally, a 5 or 6 pound fish is the norm, but this monster weighed in at 21 and a half! There's some concern about whether the fish will qualify due to some IGFA rules, but we'll keep you posted.

The Cabo tournament stretch got started in earnest last week, with the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament going down. Unfortunately, the fishing was less than stellar. 59 boats competed in the event, but only 3 qualifying marlin were brought to the dock - PICANTE'S SALSA had a 397-lb blue marlin, REEL AND DEAL a 333-lber, and GAVIOTA VII a 301-lb fish, just over the 300-lb minimum weight. We'll see how the later events go, but Hurricane Patricia is headed for Los Cabos, so stay tuned ...

I'm pissed. When the Marlins were fighting for the wild-card, everyone said it should be the Phillies. When we beat the Giants in the first round, everyone said the wrong team won. When we staged one of the greatest comebacks in post-season history to knock out the Cubs, everyone blamed The Curse. Now we're going toe to toe with the Yankees, and all everyone can talk about is the Yankees. What does a team have to do to get a little respect around here?

Tomorrow, we have Josh Beckett going against the Yanks. You remember Josh - he threw a 2-hit, complete game shutout against the Cubs last week (and knocked Sammy Sosa on his ass along the way), then followed that with 4 innings of clutch relief in Game 7. The Yankees will be lucky to get the bats off their shoulders. Hmm ... the next three games are in Miami - wouldn't it be nice to send the Yankees back to New York by themselves - and without the trophy? I like that ... :-)

I rather doubt there's be a lot of folks out this week, but if they're there, you'll here about it here. The Cabo tourney season continues, with the Bisbee's Black and Blue starting tomorrow. We should have some coverage of that for you on Thursday as well.

October 16

This was something of an off-week, so there's not much to report ...

The water that was cold on the 499 and 267 for the last few weeks is now really cold - and lifeless. In fact, the sea temps look like a more typical pattern, where the cold water seals in the warm pocket inshore. As a result, most of the marlin sightings have been much closer to the beach.

I ran a fresh chart of the SoCal waters a little while ago, and pushed the contrast as hard as possible to show the temp breaks. You can see that everything outside of the islands is cold. But a couple of interesting pockets of warm water appear, and correlate some of the reports we've received.

Most of the boats working this week have been plying the waters around Catalina, both inside and behind the island. We received several reports of marlin seen in the lee of Catalina several miles from the West End. Looking at the chart, you can see that this is one of the warmest areas. Another area where marlin were seen is between the Avalon Bank and The 14-Mile Bank, so you might want to consider a twilight run.

A couple of things stick out to me as I look at the chart. The warmest water is in a small pocket south of Santa Cruz Island that looks to be near the 153. Earlier this season, several boats made runs up their in vain, but this might be the weekend for someone to score, as this area has been a good producer in the past. Another warm area is in the lee of San Clemente, and we all know how good that can be.

The really intriguing item on the chart is not a spot of warm water, but a band of cold. If you notice right off the coast near La Jolla, there is a long band of much colder water extending from the coast out about twenty miles. I don't know if this is an anomaly or some short-term phenomenon, but if it's for real, it could serve to lock in the warm water - and the fish in it - up by the 267. I think that's the first place I'd look.

I know you probably want to keep talking about marlin, but this week the real story isn't the marlin but the Marlins - my beloved Florida Marlins. You can blame The Goat, The Curse or The Fan, but the Marlins completed an amazing comeback by beating the Cubs last night for the third game in a row and are World Series-bound. I'm bouncing back and forth between the keyboard and the TV to see who is going to be the competition - right now the Red Sox are up 4-1 in the sixth inning. In the end, though, it doesn't matter - we'll take either one!

I could wax poetic about the Marlins at length, and probably will during next week's reports as the Series plays itself out. For now, just know that the Fish are living up to their namesake - tough fighters, and a thing of beauty to watch. You might want to think twice about fishing the next week, since if the first two playoff series are any hint, this should be a barnburner of a World Series. Of course, if you fish the front side of Catalina, you can get TV reception ... :-)

October 12

C'mon - you knew it couldn't last forever ...

The good news is that the marlin fishing is as good as it was a month ago - maybe even better. The bad news is that it is a mere shadow of what it was last weekend - or for the last three weeks.

There were fewer boats out this weekend, and the fleet was scattered as boats sought the marlin that had been so easy to find only a few days earlier. There were some marlin caught between the 499 and 267, but nothing like earlier. Of course, that didn't stop WILD BILL, who managed to pull out 5 for the weekend. At least one was on an EAL, so maybe even the best need help sometimes ...

Most of the other action was scattered around the backside of Catalina. REELY HOOKED released a marlin on the Farnsworth Bank Saturday, and a lot of sleepers and tailers were seen all the way from Cat Harbor around to the East End, which had a pretty impressive tailer show this afternoon. The real question at this point is whether the marlin are moving to a new area, or simply moving out. I'm worried after hearing that they had been gorging themselves on sauries at the 499 - that's similar behavior to whales who pig out before starting the big migration. Hopefully, we'll know more by Thursday.

Hey - the Marlin Club is up to 31 dead marlin! Hip, hip, f'ing hooray ... :-(

Here's a tip - if you find yourself around porpoise, you might want to swap out your long shotgun lure for a tuna feather. Several folks caught yellowfin tuna on the 499, and I've heard reports they're inside Catalina - possibly as close to shore as the 14-Mile Bank!

Speaking of whales, have you ever seen as many whales as we've had migrating through the marlin grounds this year? I'm used to the occasional gray whale loping downhill as it heads for Scammon's Lagoon to calf, but this year it's been a veritable cetacean superhighway. There have been so many whales that at times you could see a group of gray whales headed south being passed by a pod of larger blue whales heading north. And with the glassy sea conditions of the last few weeks, it's been possible to see literally dozens of whales at a time - sometimes surrounding your boat!

Man might think he's the toughest thing to walk the planet, but he not the largest. That distinction goes to the blue whale - the largest creature to ever exist on Earth. Until you see one of these behemoths, you don't realize just how big they really are. If you should find yourself looking head- (or tail-) on to one, you quickly realize what a small arc of a much larger cylinder is shown - and how massive the girth must be.

We had an interesting experience on HOOKER several weeks ago. We were working the backside of Catalina and had seen several blue whales in the area, but had no idea of where exactly they were. As we were trolling along, one of the smaller ones (fortunately) decided to surface and blow right along side the boat - so close it was inside the tip of the starboard outrigger. Needless to say, that seriously rattled the crew, and we spent the rest of the weekend driving away from the spouts. Personally, I think they're smart enough to know what they are doing, and this one probably just wanted to take a peek at who we were. I'll say this, though - few things a foul smelling as whale breath - whew!

I'm pissed. More than that, I'm hungry and pissed. As you probably know, we have a supermarket strike in California. The union decided to strike at Von's, so the management locked them out at Ralph's and Albertson's. Since the grocery industry has gone through the same condensing as so many other business sectors (remember Safeway? Lucky?), that means that 60% of the markets are being struck. At least that's the official numbers; in my part of the world, it's closer to 95%. So I have a choice - be a bad guy and cross the picket line (and spend my whole time shopping wondering what pithy sayings are being scratched into the side of my car), or go to the one market within 5 miles that isn't being struck - and stand in a 2-hour line. I respect the workers' right to strike, but I wish they'd respect my right to eat. Just because those jackholes can't get together and hammer things out, I have to go hungry. Screw it - I'm getting a pizza ...

It looks like the hurricanes have cleared out of the waters off Cabo San Lucas - just in time for the start of tourney season. According to the reports I've seen, the only lingering affect of the storms that battered the tip of Baja is some patches of brown water. The muck has been scraped out of the streets, the bars have been restocked ... time to go fishing!! The striped marlin are hitting in decent numbers, and the blues have moved in recently as well - much to the delight of the event organizers ... :-)

The string of events starts with the Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore tourney on the 17th, followed in quick succession by the Black and Blue, Pete's Sake, and WON Tuna Jackpot. Since I obviously won't be there, I'm looking for correspondents willing to supply the SCMO community with news from the Cape. If you're going to be in any of these events, and are willing to make daily email updates of the goings on, I'll reward your service with one of our new SCMO ball caps. Email me if you're interested.

It will be interesting to see what kind of local reports we get in the upcoming days. Now that the "Big Bite of 2003" has ended, a lot of folks will be back on the beach licking their wounds ... and crying over their fuel bills. Those of you who do get out, be sure to file those Trip Reports - they really help all of us get a better understanding of where the fish are - and aren't. It's just like being a king ... or a Kingsmill ... for a day :-)

October 9

It's Thursday night and, for a change, I'm not running off to catch a boat. Of course, that's only because the bite's somewhere you can't catch the boat ...

What, like you need me to tell you where you should be fishing? Haven't you been paying attention?

All together now ... 4 - 9 - 9 ... 2 - 6 - 7 ...

At least that's where the fish have been. You'd better get in on it while you can, though, because I have a hunch it's just about over.

Being the middle of the week, there were a lot fewer boats working the 499. Those that were their, though did well. The Wood boys, fresh off a 5 fish day on OFFSHORE Sunday, jumped on Andy Crean's DONNA C and helped them get four more marlin on Tuesday. PACIFIC PIONEER also got 4 Tuesday - two on jigs and two on bait. By Wednesday, the fleet was larger, but the fish less hungry. WAIT-N-SEA got 2, PESCADOR and BILL JOY 1 each - all baitfish. FISH TALES has a quadruple jig strike and got 2 of them - talk about your Chinese fire drill! Several boats got one, but the conditions were clearly changing. The number of jig strikes were down (with the obvious exception of FISH TALES), and the bite had moved west towards the 267. More importantly, the wonderful weather we'd enjoyed for over a week broke, and was replaces with large swells and an afternoon chop.

With all the marlin that have been caught recently, we've been getting some really great pictures to share with you. On the left, SOUND INVESTMENT released a marlin; just below that, FINNSEEKER leaders one. If you get a great shot, email it to us so we can share it with the world. Also, keep your eyes on La Galeria del Pez, because as soon as it slows down a little, I'll be posting all the pics there.

We've enjoyed an outstanding season of swordfishing, and it continued this week as several were hooked and fought. Dave Denholm, who landed the 455-lb monster just a few weeks back, tied into another one on Monday while fishing the 499 onboard ESPADON. Unfortunately, this one was lost after 7 hours - payback perhaps for the much easier fight he had on the larger fish. As we mentioned Monday, GADZUKES was wrestling with one Monday afternoon, but it was lost during the night. Swordfish are tough critters - making the success we've seen this season all the more amazing.

How 'bout those Florida Marlins! Yeah, I know they got whacked by the Cubs the other night, but they're so far above expectation it doesn't even matter. We sent Barry Bonds home for the winter, and now we're bringing October baseball back to South Florida, where 65,000 screaming fans will be waiting. Can it get any better than this?

It's official - Arnold is now the Governator. Well, at least, he's the Governator-elect. The people have spoken, and what they said is that they really didn't like Gray Davis. Fishermen in particular were angry with him, what with license fee increases and area closures. It will be interesting to see where the new governor stands on the issues important to offshore anglers. By the way, if you want to join the Schwarzenegger cabinet, you can do so here. In the mean time, my girl Mary Carey pulled down 10,113 votes - 10,114 when you include mine. Quite respectable, I'd say!

I know ... you're waiting for me to tell you where to fish this weekend, right? Well, I don't know. Yeah, you should probably start at the 499 or 267, but be prepared to move. The marlin have been gorging themselves on sauries there for a couple of weeks now, and it's starting to look like they're getting full and are preparing to move. If so, the real question becomes where? Keep an ear on the radio, and of course be sure to check in at the War Room for the very latest information available.

October 6

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when jigstrikes were common, and everyone got marlin ...

If you've been fishing marlin in Southern California for at least a decade, you remember how it used to be. You could drive around with a full spread of marlin lures and, assuming you were in the right place and were a little lucky, you had a good chance of catching a marlin. You didn't have to spot marlin at three miles, and you didn't need to be able to throw a mackerel three boat lengths. All you had to do is catch the fish, which is supposed to be the hard part, anyway.

Well, for at least one weekend, the past became the future once again, as remains the 499, although reports have been received here at the Home Office of marlin by the dozen were caught on the 499. Even better than that, lots of boats got fish - even ones not called WILD BILL ... :-)

The 499 is not know as somewhere that usually holds marlin - at best, it's a rest stop along the way. But the marlin have been there since before the Catalina Classic two weeks ago, and they seem to want to stay - and play! You knew that if the weather held, it could be epic marlin fishing, and that's just how it turned out. A conservative estimate would place the number of marlin released over the weekend at 30, and it could easily be as high as 50.

Several marlin were caught on Friday, but it was just a hint of what would occur the nest two days. The first sign came just after 7 in the morning when WAIT-N-SEA released one, followed in quick succession by WILD BILL and SHOWDOWN. The fleet was just getting warmed up, though. Save s small late morning lull, there were boats hooked up pretty much sunup to sundown. When the fleet finally broke away to hunker down at Cat Harbor, TIGHTLINES had released 5, WILD BILL 3, SHOWDOWN 2 and many others had released a single fish.

As good as Saturday was, Sunday might have been even better. The fleet had thinned out somewhat, but the marlin had not. Once again starting the day was WAIT-N-SEA with a pre-8AM release. Soon the radio was abuzz with hookup calls, and everywhere you looked you saw boats fighting fish. Like Saturday, it was an all-day affair. In the end, OFFSHORE had released 5 and SOUND INVESTMENT 4. Many boats released at least one marlin, and it was so hot that when we only released one on HOOKER, we couldn't help feel like we'd failed.

The big difference between this weekend and the previous weeks was the water color. The water on the backside of Catalina had cleared considerably, and the 499 was a pretty blue. There were several areas of dirty brown water, and Randy Wood on OFFSHORE said that they had had their success by working the blue edge of those patches. The water was still incredibly cold - in the 62 - 64 degree range - but the marlin didn't seem to care. The vast majority of fish came on jigstrikes, in some cases coming two or three at a time. A lot of hookups came from mackerel being dropped back to a marlin in the jig pattern, but very few were traditional baitfish, as the marlin seemed preoccupied chasing sauries that were plentiful in the region.

A couple of solo achievements stand out from the pack. Bill MacCorkell on AGITATOR released a singlehanded marlin late Saturday afternoon. Bill is the guy who got my father interested in marlin and, by extension, is responsible for my love of the sport. Also, Craig Durbin, fishing on his 22-ft cat MAS TEQUILA, released two on Saturday - one baitfish and one jigfish. Not only did he get the job done on the fish, he had the presence of mind to snap the picture at right!

Several club tournaments took place over the weekend. The Dana Angling Club's Lady Angler Marlin Tournament was won by Lynn Jasper on WAIT-N-SEA, who released the first marlin of the tourney in which no one caught more than one fish. Notable in their achievement was the crew of WILD BILL, who released three marlin - one for each of the three lady anglers on board.

Also this weekend was the Tuna Club's Linen One, in which members capture the spirit of the past by fishing with pre-World War Two-style tackle. That means bamboo rods, linen line and some godawful reels! Congratulations to Punky Langston on DOUBLE HOOKUP who released a marlin on 9-thread tackle, which I believe translates to something like 27-lbs. He was on the fish for several hours. A couple of other marlin were hooked but lost, reminding all of us why we don't use that stuff any more!

Don't forget - Tuesday is Election Day here in the wild California recall. Get out early, 'cuz the crowds should be intense. Remember - vote YES recall and YES Mary Carey. We all know the Terminator will get the nod, but if you vote for Mary you not only get the conversational icebreaker of having voted for a porn star but just in case Arnie pulls a Gray you can say, "Well, I didn't vote for him ..."

Hey, remember when I promised to give the SCMO Ballcap a real field test? Most of you thought the most strenuous challenge it would face would be surviving the Pesky afterparty. Surprise! Check out the shot at left - notice the chapeau? That's right ... going where no cap has gone before, it's our prototype - perched on my dome as I release a tagged marlin Sunday afternoon on the 499. We both survived the experience, drenched but thrilled. I'm just wrapping up the details, but look for our new SCMO shop to appear in a couple of weeks. Hats, shirts, mugs, sweatshirts - even goodies for the ladies - we'll have it all, and MNAC members will get special discount pricing!

I made some comments about the Tuna Club last report that resulted in several emails that provided a spirited defense of the club. While I stand by the comments, I respect both the organization and its members' willingness to defend it. After all, the Tuna Club reflects a time when ethics and gentlemanly behavior meant something. Remember when you used to fly a "hookup" flag while fighting a fish? When's the last time you saw someone with a red pennant up. You're a lot more likely to hear someone announce over Channel 65, "Hey, asshole off my bow - stay clear, we're fighting a fish." And how about hook and hand? There are folks out there who are perfectly willing to throw the mackerel and wait for the marlin to pick up the bait before handing the rod off to someone else - and declare that the second person is the angler. At best, they're dancing on the ragged edge of IGFA rules, but a person of integrity wouldn't even find themselves in that position. And you don't even want to get me started about people whose idea of fishing is to hook the marlin, run like hell, grab the leader and yank. If you feel like I do, we can talk about it over in the Marlin Club - I'm betting I'm not alone. I guess I was just born too late - I should be out there fishing with Charles Holder and George Farnsworth ...

October 2

This'll be another quickie, because I'm off to chase the marlin. This makes four straight 3-day fishing weekends. I gotta tell you, I'm pretty happy about that. Of course,. I'd be happier if I had more to show for the trips ...

The hot spot remains the 499, although reports have been received here at the Home Office of marlin being seen between the Farnsworth Bank and the east end of Catalina. BILLJOY was up on the 499 yesterday and baited between 15 and 30 marlin (depending on who you talk to). No matter what, it was a bunch. Problem is, none were biting. The crew reported the marlin were chasing sauries, and just weren't interested in the mackerel. The water was reported to be blue, but not completely clear.

ESPADON saw a bunch of marlin between the Farnsworth Bank on the backside of Catalina and the east end. No word on whether the water was clearing, but if the marlin are there, who cares? The real news from ESPADON came on Tuesday when Dave Denholm landed a monster swordfish that weighed in at 452 pounds! The beast was found by the 499 and was so excited to see the mackerel that it jumped out of the water to hit it. Surprisingly the fish only took 2:45 to land. Apparently, it was initially hooked in the mouth, but the hook slipped and rehooked itself near the lower caudal fin. As a result, the fish was dragged backward and died. Dave still had to winch the dead fish to the boat on 80# - no small feat! With all the swordfish being caught by the marlin guys, leave it to a true swordfisherman to set the bar. Perge', brother!

We'll be out on the 499 tomorrow and probably staying in Cat Harbor, so look for On-The-Water reports. And if you see anything, post it in the War Room or the Trip Reporter. This season is far from over, and I want to see as many of you get your shots!

September 29

Have you noticed how every time someone tries to stick a fork in this marlin season, we have another run of success? Could someone stick their foot in their mouth again and declare the season done, 'cause I'd like to see some fish for this weekend ...

Planning for this past weekend was a pretty much open-and-shut affair - we knew where the fish were, and we knew we'd get our butts kicked trying to get to them. But you gotta do what you gotta do, and a lot of us gave it a shot. After all, there were two events - the Tuna Club's Hunt and the King Harbor Marlin Club's Billfish Tourney - to be competed.

If you read the daily reports in the War Room, you know how it went. If you didn't - hey, what's wrong with you? Why would you wait until today to get the news when you could have it the same day! OK, just for you slow learners, here's the wrapup ...

It was rugged Friday, with some really nasty swells. The wind was tolerable, though, and the water was cold and blue - more than you could say for closer to Catalina, where it was puke green. POPEYE and PESCADOR each released a marlin just east of the 499 on Saturday, and GRANDER, JOKER and BILLJOY did the same on Saturday. BROADBILL and JEWEL LURE each took a marlin, since the dusty old Tuna Club rules require you to kill one in order to become a voting member. They probably require you to drag the women members around by the hair - oops, that's right ... they don't allow women members ... how progressive.

The most interesting story of the weekend came from ROCK IT, who hooked a swordfish at 3 in the afternoon on Saturday. Knowing the history of recent swordfish battles, we all smirked about how they'd still be there in the morning. Imagine our surprise when the fish was gaffed an astounding 50 minutes later! Only after the fish was weighed in (at 280-lbs) did the details come out. Apparently, the fish was foul-hooked in the dorsal, but wrapped itself in the leader, as swordfish tend to do. Normally, you couldn't even slow down a tail-hooked swordie, but this one managed to wrap the leader right through it's mouth and hog-tie itself! It practically came to the gaff sideways ...

I didn't really hear much about any marlin being found elsewhere, other than OFFSHORE who released one in the Lee of San Clemente Island. Several boats pounded the same spot on Sunday, but I heard of no one finding success.

Because off the short report on Thursday, I never got a chance to pass along the final results in last week's Catalina Classic Marlin Tournament. When the catching was all done, AFTER MIDNIGHT took first place for their 195-lb marlin and received $151,150 for their efforts. Second place was nailed down by GAMBLER with their 188-lber and was worth $127,650. ERIN MARIE and FIVE-A-DAY split third place money with a pair of 182-lb marlin. The fact that each team received a check for $9,350 shows just how much of the advertised prize money comes via the side pots rather than funds put up by the promoter. I've often heard that big money tourney fishing is essentially legalized gambling, and this would tend to support that thought. of course, you could argue that it was a worthy gamble for AFTER MIDNIGHT, who won both the Zane Grey and the Classic and collected a cool $274,275 for their week's work.

Unlike the Zane Grey, where everyone competes for the overall championship, the Catalina Classic banishes those anglers who release marlin to a separate division where they can win "fabulous prizes" - although doubtless far less fabulous than cash (more on that in a minute). Despite the fact that the tournament promoters make scant mention of it (while making sure you know how much the kill teams won to the dollar), I was able to determine that the high release team for the event was CAPTAIN HOOK II with three releases (just count the flags to the right). No word on whether the bikini-clad tourney queen became release number 4 ... :-)

With the completion of this past weekend's events, the tournament action now shifts south to Los Cabos, and many of the boats that competed in the Zane Grey and Catalina Classic have already left for the Cape. Much of the month of October will be dominated by the big Cabo tourneys, and we'll have complete coverage of them for you.

The end of the local season means it's time to day goodbye to Avalon, that tacky and terrific little town that has played host to many of the events of the past month. It's no secret that I have a love affair with the place, and if I could swing living there and making a buck somehow, I'd move across the channel in a heartbeat. Whether enjoying a teriyaki burger at Luau Larry's, savoring a Pacifico at Eric's on the Pier, or using the stinky (and all-too-public) bathroom at the Marlin Club, my year just isn't complete without tourney weekends spent there.

Speaking of the MC - good news ... the Marlin Club of San Diego is up to 14 released marlin! Unfortunately, they're also up to 26 killed. Still waiting for someone to explain that to me ...

The Marlins win the Wild Card! The Marlins win the Wild Card! The Marlins win the Wild Card! Sounds pretty good until you realize their reward is a date with Barry Bonds ... :-)

I'll close with a request for help on a couple of SCMO projects I have in the works. One of my goals for the offseason in to complete plans to offer SCMO merchandise. I've been working on this in a half-assed fashion for years, but I'm committed to getting this done in time for that critical holiday buying season *smile*. So if you have any ideas on what you'd like to see us offer (ie - what you'd buy!), please let me know.

The other project is a little more immediate. I was talking over the weekend to several anglers who had fished both the ZG and the Classic, and they pointed out that while a released marlin is awarded points towards the overall ZG championship (too few points, but points nonetheless), in the classic you simply get a token prize. I think that's wrong, and am drafting an open letter to Harvey Hunnicutt to get that fixed. In the meantime, I want to hear about the prizes awarded for released marlin. If you've released a marlin in the Classic and received one of Harvey's "fabulous prizes", email me and let me know what you got. I'm betting it wasn't much ...

September 25

Greetings from Long Point, where the gentle swaying on the anchor belies the snotty crossing.

So far this season, we've been very fortunate with the weather. It appears, however, that our luck has run out. The sea turned foul Monday afternoon, and was so big on Tuesday that many of the boats fishing in the Classic opted to fish less productive - but calmer - waters. I've heard several horror stories of green water coming over the bridge on 70-ft boats, and one competitor had to pump a thousand gallons of water out of their bilges ... by hand!

But if you want to catch the fish, you gotta go where the fish are. Normally, that would mean braving the rough seas and heading back to the 499 and 267. I've heard conflicting reports from the region - one report claimed that seven marlin were released there, but every one I've talked to - including three boats that worked the area yesterday - heard of no one who got any. You choose what to believe.

There are several events this weekend. The Tuna Club is having one, and I'll be fishing in the King Harbor Marlin Club's annual tournament. After last weekend's Pesky, it'll be nice to fish a slower event. Hopefully, I won't find my face on any posters in town ...

I'm not sure where we'll be tomorrow night, but I'll definitely be in Avalon Saturday, so look for an O-T-R report in the War Room. Wish me luck!

September 23

This report is a day late (Tuesday) so I could include the latest from the Catalina Classic. Good thing, too, because this Classic is a real classic!

I try to be eloquent and sophisticated when I write these reports, but there's only one way I can describe the just completed Catalina Classic Marlin Tournament:

W F O ... wide f'ing open!

As the old Carson show line went, "How open was it?" Judge for yourself - there were 45 marlin hooked, 18 released and 11 boated - and that was just Day One!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Those of us who remember Saturday night in Avalon after the Pesky recall talking with Classic crews that couldn't wait to get up to the 499, where the hot dope said marlin were waiting. Presumably this came from swordfish boats working the area. We had heard similar tales, but no one could have predicted the billfish explosion that resulted.

The first hookups were reported shortly after 9AM on Monday, and continued every few minutes throughout the day. The fishing was predominately between the 499 and 267, with the fishing sliding closer to the 267 later in the day. When all was said and done, AFTER MIDNIGHT held the Day One lead with a 195-lb marlin followed by ERIN MARIE and FIVE-A-DAY, both with 182's and REEL AND DEAL with a 168-pounder. CAPTAIN HOOK led the release division with 4 released marlin. The list of boats catching marlin was extensive - GAMBLER released 3, AFTER MIDNIGHT released 2 to go with their boated fish, and MIL-SO-MAR released 1 and boated 2. WAIT-N-SEA, OZZY, and HONCHO also got marlin.

So far this season, great fishing days have been followed by meager ones, but that was not the case this time. Day Two was windier than before, and some boats opted to fish calmer waters. But those that made it to the hotspot were richly rewarded. SOUTHWOOD boated a marlin that barely met the 84-inch minimum, and weighed in at 156-lbs. Later, GAMBLER hit the dock with a 188-lber. Among those releasing fish were OSPREY, FULL CIRCLE, GOING DEEP, MIL-SO-MAR, CHASER, CLICKER, BILLFIGHTER, DONNA RAE, REELY HOOKED, and STINGERAY ... whew!

Unofficially, it sounds like the AFTER MIDNIGHT fish is leading with GAMBLER leading the release division. I should get the official results later this evening, and I'll post them over in the War Room. Man, what a tournament!

Hey - what are you doing reading this, anyway - shouldn't you be headed for the 499? ;-)

Of course, the Classic wasn't the only event since our last report. Friday and Saturday saw Los Pescadores and friends invade Avalon for their 14th annual event. Considering the dismal results in the Zane Grey earlier (and having no idea things would explode only days later), we weren't optimistic about improving on last year's one-fish event. Nevertheless, at first light Friday the Pesky fleet headed for San Clemente Island, site of the most recent action.

MNAC member Mike Tikunoff started things off by hooking a marlin just after 8AM onboard Rich Palys' SOUND INVESTMENT while fishing about 6 miles off Pyramid Head. The fish was tail wrapped, and Mike had to struggle to get the fish to the boat. Meanwhile, new MNAC member Greg Hickman, fishing on HAUL N ARC, hooked a marlin at 10:40 - while Mike was still fighting his fish. Pesky tiebreaker rules dictate that the first points scored take precedence, so it was critical for both anglers to get the fish in as soon as possible.

Mike won the battle by releasing the fish at 11:42, but with no bagel - good for150 points. One minute later, Greg announced they had released their fish - with bagel - for 159 points. Both were wearing the necessary hookup garb of cleric robe and wooden cross (that's Mike modeling it at right) and flying the tourney flag - the traditional marlin flag flown in the upside-down "distressed" manner.

With all the swordies that have been seen lately, we all figured one would play a role in the event, and we were right. At 11:20, Jeff Wood, fishing on BOUNDER, hooked what seemed to be a smallish swordfish. Barely an hour later, he landed the fish, which weighed 206.5-lbs on the scales in Avalon. Shortly after that, Lynn Jasper on WAIT-N-SEA hooked a marlin. It took a while, but it was worth it. The fish was boated, and weighed 168-lbs. BUSHWHACKER was next, as Mark Mitchell released a marlin in only 14 minutes. Burt Moss, fishing on MNAC member Greg Stotesbury's KAWAKAWA, released a no-bagel fish at 1:58 to close out scoring for the day. Most of the first day action took place between 4 and six miles off of the lee side of SCI. The BUSHWHACKER fish came from the 499, though - foreshadowing the amazing weekend to come.

Day Two opened with a bang, with Reed Miller on SHOWDOWN releasing a greylight tailer at 7:55 after an hour long fight. Unfortunately, that was the only fish of the day, and we all headed for Avalon and the real festivities.

The hard luck story of the weekend goes to the crew of EUREKA, who hooked a large swordfish shortly after 3 in the afternoon on Saturday. Because of the decreasing radius rule used in the event, the fish was DQ'd as out of bounds. However, they continued to battle the beast into the night. In the early morning hours of Sunday, after an 11-hour fight and three gaffs sunk into the fish, it was lost. Never underestimate a pissed off swordie ...

In the end, Jeff Wood was the runaway high angler, followed by Lynn Jasper and those releasing fish. BOUNDER took high boat honors.

Often, the best part of the Pesky tends to be the after events. The awards banquet was held as always at the Descanso Beach Club, The irony is that while BOUNDER was fighting their tournament-winning swordfish, they had 250 swordfish steaks on ice below decks for the banquet. Prizes were distributed, a ton of raffle prizes were given away, and we headed to Armstrong's Seafood for the traditional passing of the Golden Bagel.

Like most things in life, some years the fishing in the Pesky is more memorable than others. The same is true for the after parties. Usually, if it's going to be a wild year, there's some kind of sign. One could argue that finding a bachelorette party sharing the bar at Armstrong's could be a sign. The bagel was passed, watermelon shooters were downed in honor off MIA Mike Blower and folks scattered to such nightspots as the Marlin Club.

Being a gentleman, I'm not going to detail too much of what went on afterwards. Let's just say that we ran out of Pesky tattoos, and at least fifty women woke up Sunday morning with tattoos in places they shouldn't have them, and no idea how they got there. If you catch me in person, ask me some time about little Nicole and here stunning display of tattoos and cleavage ... :-)

The casualties were minimal - we actually managed to get out of Armstrong's without damaging any of the mounted billfish. Brock Mitchell, or as he will forever be known in the future "Dirk Diggler" (that's his back with the bachelorette at right) was last seen under a bench. There was also an embarrassing incident when one crew (which will remain nameless, since the boat is owned by a MNAC member) got hammered at the dinner and made asses of themselves by howling at the women - most married to other anglers - and trying to steal one of the bicycles given as a raffle prize. If you're gonna survive an event like this, boys (not to mention be invited back), you really need to learn to pace yourselves. Now that's what I'm talking about!

I had a chance to meet up with quite a few MNAC members over the weekend, both old and new. To me, that's the best part of both the Pesky and the MNAC - I have all these relationships I've made online and finally get to meet the people in person. That's what makes the tournament weekends so special - whether there's fish to be caught or not!

All told, it's been an amazing week of billfishing. It seems like every time we're ready to stick a stake through the heart of it, it provides us with even more thrills. Obviously, the place to go right now is the 267, even if the water is still only 65 degrees. Remember, however, that the remnants of Hurricane Marty will roll into the southland this weekend, and that could change everything. Unfortunately, Marty continues to cloud the SST data - as soon as we have decent charts, they'll be available at the site.

I'll be heading out Thursday night to fish this weekend in the King Harbor Marlin Club event out of Avalon, so there'll be no Thursday report. Look for On-The-Water reports in the War Room, though.

September 18

This will be quick, since I need to catch the 5:05 boat to Avalon ...

When it was all said and done, there were only six marlin caught in the Cabo Yachts Zane Grey Invitational Marlin Tournament. AFTER MIDNIGHT got things started by catching what would turn out to be the only landed marlin of the tournament. It weighed 177-lbs and was caught somewhere near the Mackerel Bank. BUCK FEVER released one near the Dome on SCI, and NIRVANA released one (location unknown). There was at least one other marlin hookup, and CLUB TED lost a swordfish. There were only two marlin released on Tuesday, one by CHASER near the 289, and another by DONE DEAL between the Mackerel Bank and the Dome. AFTER MIDNIGHT closed out the event by releasing a marlin on Wednesday.

On the strength of their two fish, AFTER MIDNIGHT took the lion's share of the prize money, including two of three daily pots and the overall. Of course, if you have Steve Lassley, Jim Kingsmill, Pete Groesbeck and Russ Armstrong on your crew - all at a grand a day - you'd better do well ... :-)

This event only served to reinforce the total lack of cohesive marlin fishing this season. Other than the one day on the 138, there's been no real concentration of marlin, so no one really knows where to go. That will certainly be the case this weekend, as the Los Pescadores tourney goes down. If the conversation at the kickoff party was any guide, the fleet could end up just about anywhere! I won't be surprised to find a bunch off boats slow trolling off the Slide ...

Some housekeeping ... we have new SST charts up, but they're cloudy. I'm wondering if maybe this green water is affecting the charts, because the visible images do not show clouds, but the SST charts have data dropouts. Also, I should be filing On-The-Water reports from Avalon this weekend. Check the War Room, and if you see someone banging away on a PowerBook at Luau Larry's, that'll be me!

As I said earlier, this weekend is the Pesky, or the 14th Annual Los Pescadores Next To Avalon Invitational Not So Light Tackle Billfish Tournament, to be technical. This is always the highlight of my year, even if there are no fish. Count on lots of water balloon attacks, PVC tailers, and unusual radio calls. This year's theme, btw, is "Who's Your Daddy", and is a nod to the crisis in the Catholic church; if you pass a boat that looks like it has Father Guido Sarducci hooked up on the bow, that'll be a Pesky! I'll be in town Thursday through Saturday nights, so if you see me say hi. And if you see what looks like a lot of boats marlin flags in the harbor, don't panic - it's just those pesky Peskys!

September 15

Every season, it seems there is one weekend when all the really weird stuff happens. This might have been it. Everyone headed out looking for a weekend of good marlin fishing, and instead found the best rod-and-reel swordfishing in decades. One boat ran all the way to the 60-Mile Bank on a hunch - and scored, while another went all the way up to the 17-Fathom Spot - and didn't. A swordfish was lost after an epic battle, and someone caught the smallest billfish I've ever heard of. As I said ... weird.

This weekend saw the completion of two major events. I'm sorry to report that the Marlin Club of San Diego's Small Boat Tournament went without this year, as the largest fish caught by the 11 boats entered was a tuna. The 64-boat fleet of the Balboa Angling Club's Master Angler Billfish Tournament met with more success.

We could tell early on Friday that it wasn't going to be the great marlin weekend we'd hoped for. The vast majority of the MABT fleet was working the SCI triangle between the Dome, the 289 and Pyramid Head. Of course, this wasn't so much because that's where the fish were as much as the fear of being left out. Only a few adventuresome souls tried anywhere else.

There were some fish taken there - Jason Blower on PACIFIC PIONEER released a marlin on 12-lb test, and REEL TIME II released one as well, although it was later disqualified. The real surprise was the lack of fish seen. The spotting conditions were perfect, and the number of gyrobinos per square mile of water intense. Yet few fish were seen, and many boats didn't get a chance to even soak a mackerel. In what should have been seen as prophetic, several swordfish were hooked and lost, both in the lee of SCI and at the 209.

The radio talk early Saturday was about BILLJOY, which had slipped out of the anchorage around midnight for parts unknown. On Friday, POCO LOCO, PETE'S SAKE and others had headed north in search of happier hunting grounds. Even though PL made it as far as the 17-Fathom Spot north of Santa Barbara Island, they returned empty handed. The conventional thinking was that wherever BILLJOY had headed, the results would be similar. So it was quite a shock when Bill Urone contacted Tournament Control to let them know BILLJOY was hooked up. The location was a stunner - the 60-Mile Bank! Obviously they knew something, because soon Darrell Post had released a marlin on 20-lb test. They weren't through though, as they landed a nice yellowfin tuna and Aaron Grose caught a 15-lb spearfish! I'm working to get a picture of the catch, but until then you'll have to settle for this shot of Reed Miller and his spearfish of several seasons ago. I should tell you that Aaron's fish is a lot smaller and a lot more alive!

The crew of REEL TIME II was still stinging from the disqualification of their marlin on Friday as they started fishing Saturday morning. Seems the BAC has an ingenious rule to prevent the so-called "San Diego Tag", where once a fish is hooked, the boat runs on it and breaks off the line as soon as a portion of the leader is in the mate's hand. The event rule states that any fish released in less than 10 minutes must be successfully tagged, thus insuring you truly controlled your fish. RTII's time was 9 minutes, but no tag. Jack Patterson, the voice of Tournament Control was apologetic, but firm - sorry boys.

The fishing gods are a funny lot, though. Shortly after noon on Saturday, RTII angler Dave King hooked a swordfish on 50-lb tackle. Three hours later, it was on the step and off to Avalon, where the fish weighed in at 340-lbs. Quite a turnaround!

Not all swordfish stories have such a happy ending. Fifteen minutes after REEL TIME II announced their hookup, the crew of DOS PRIMOS reported that they, too had hooked a swordfish. Talk about unusual - two swordfish hooked simultaneously in a tournament. Who can remember the last time that happened? It was soon obvious that this battle would take a different path, as angler Richard Stoddard reported that 1), the reel was acting up and 2), it was a biiiiig fish. The battle continued through the afternoon and into the evening, as the rest of the fleet settled into the anchorage and listened to the radio updates. OFFSHORE, with the experienced Wood Brothers Tag Team aboard and drifting on the chute off of the Dome, stayed on contact with LOS PRIMOS throughout the night.

As the sun rose and the fleet stirred on Sunday morning, the radio crackled with the amazing news that Stoddard was still on the fish! LOS PRIMOS, which had been halfway between the Dome and the east end of Catalina, had been towed nearly 10 miles during the night. The fish had been to the boat repeatedly, and somehow, the tackle had held. The updates continued through the morning, and it was clear that something would force an end to the standoff. That something came at 10:15 with the report that LOS PRIMOS had lost the fish.

I can't begin to imagine what it would be to lose a fish after 21 hours. Hell, I can't imagine even holding a rod for that long. Our hearts and admiration go out to Richard Stoddard and the crew of LOS PRIMOS. You may have lost the fish, but you won many admirers.

I haven't pinged Dara for the final results, but I believe it's REEL TIME II, PACIFIC PIONEER and BILLJOY, with Dave King crowned Master Angler for 2003. I'll try and have the details in the next report.

Two other swordfish were taken over the weekend - one by BILLFIGHTER weighing 318-lbs and another by EMPRESARIO that tipped the scales at 185. That makes three landed and another lost after an epic battle - shades of 1977! If you're heading out this weekend and you don't have at least one swordfish outfit and a couple of rigged squids, you're nuts. Of course, there are those who think throwing on a swordfish - knowing you could be there for the better part of the next day - is nuts, too ... :-)

Today was day one of the Cabo Yachts Zane Grey Invitational Marlin Tournament, and the big boys are out there as we speak. On Saturday, I baited a tailer up by the Osborn Bank; we put it on the air hoping some of these guys would run up and check it out for us. So far, it sounds like there are two marlin released, one killed and at least one marlin and one swordfish hooked and lost. With all the success we were seeing only a couple of weeks ago, I was really hoping this's be a great tournament season. It's not looking that way, though.

A big shout out to the newest MNAC members - Behdad Khojasteh, Jim Squibb, Roy Megahan and Greg Hickman. You made it this far guys, now take the next step and let us know what you see out there!

For some reason, there's been very few satellite passes lately (the latest as I write this is two days old), so our SST data has been pretty spotty. As soon as they make new passes, though, we'll crunch the charts and get them online for you. Maybe they're routing the money to help build Iraq. But I thought the Iraqi oil was supposed to pay for that ... hmm ...

Should you stumble into me this weekend in Avalon, be sure to check out my head. No, I don't have some cool new haircut, but I'll be field-testing the prototype of our new SCMO ball cap! I have been asked for years (literally) about SCMO merchandise; I'm happy to say this is the first of the new line to reach fruition. I think you'll like these - they're lightweight 100% polyester (that means waterproof!), but they have the look and feel of cotton twill. Most importantly, they have the SCMO rectangular logo (the one you see at the upper left of this page) proudly silkscreened on the front. I intend to put the prototype through a thorough test this weekend, hopefully to include the sweat of at least one marlin battle... :-)

A few reports back, we reported on the loss of Alan Baron's MAGNANIMOUS after it ran aground on Catalina Island. To answer the myriad of questions from concerned friends and well wishers, he's published a letter and provided a large number of pictures for the Marlin Club's website. You can read the firsthand report here.

There are some serious lessons that anyone who ventures out on the water can take away from this mishap. The most obvious is the value of situational awareness. We've all had those moments where you're not really sure where you are or what's going on around you. You really need to know how to use those wonderful instruments we all have, and to make sure anyone running the vessel knows, as well. More important is the calm fashion in which Alan insured that everyone got into lifevests and exited the vessel. We may never need to face this kind of circumstance; if we can learn from the MAGNANIMOUS's misfortune, then some good will come from it.

Today marks the beginning of the heart of the local tournament season with the first of the big money events. The Cabo Yachts Zane Grey Invitational Marlin Tournament started today and will run through Wednesday; the other WBS-affiliated event, the Drambuie Catalina Classic Marlin Tournament is next Monday and Tuesday. Sandwiched in between, of course, is the Pesky, where you'll find a tenth of the money but a hundred times more fun! It's not too late to enter, of course - all you'll need to do is play hooky from work on Friday. With the fishing being what it is this season, you might want to enter just to have a shot when they have to raffle off the prizes ... :-)

Well, after about a dozen attempts, the ACLU finally found someone to block the recall election. Of course, it's the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the most-often overturned bench in the country, so don't throw away those sample ballots just yet. Frankly, I'm reaching the point of disgust with the whole thing. I still think Gray Davis is an idiot; I'm just not convinced he's a significantly larger idiot than those seeking to replace him. As much as I might enjoy seeing Governor Mary Carey's inauguration er, "gown", I'm almost ready to vote against the recall. It's all so sad ...

I have to catch an Express over to Avalon on Thursday afternoon to meet up with HOOKER, but I'll try to get some kind of report up. In any case, look for On-The-Water reports over in the War Room.

September 11

Once again, the silence is deafening ...

I'd be lying if I said I had a lot of news, so if all you're looking for is hot dope and you don't appreciate the fill I use when a report is a little thin, well, you can leave now. I haven't heard of a single marlin report since the end of the Rosie's tourney on Tuesday. The water is cold and green pretty much everywhere, and I can't say when that will change.

The one interesting element of our current fishing scenario is the large number of swordfish being seen and hooked. At least four were hooked last weekend, and I've heard that the waters between the 289 and Pyramid Head are holding a lot of them. With swordfish a legal (if uncommon) catch for most of the upcoming tournaments, someone might sneak one in and run off with an event.

Just when we count out the albacore for the season, they make a rare local appearance. Several boats reported catching albacore mixed with skipjack yesterday on the 499 north of San Clemente Island. This particular spot is famous for having fish one day and none the next, so I don't know if they'll be there this weekend. By then, they could be rounding Point Conception!

We're into the hardcore section of the local tournament season, with the Balboa Angling Club's Master Angler Billfish Tournament starting tomorrow, the Marlin Club of San Diego's Small Boat Tournament starting on Saturday, and the first big money event, the Zane Grey, kicking off on Monday. I'm thinking Avalon might be a wild town this weekend, but that's just a dry run for the next weekend, when the Pesky rolls in to bagel the town.

I've referred in the past to working in the "satellite factory." Technically, I'm a manufacturing engineer for Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, the world's leading maker of commercial and government satellites. We do have competitors, though, with one the biggest being Lockheed Martin up in Sunnyvale. So it was with a wry grin that we learned Monday that they had dropped a $275 million satellite due to improper handling.

Why, you ask, am I discussing a satellite accident here? Well, that satellite is NOAA-N prime, a weather satellite that was destined to provide us with, among other things, SST data. So not only did your tax dollars take a hit on Saturday, but so did your fishing. Of course, we'll pay all that money and it still won't be able to see through the clouds. Grr ...

One of the fishing success stories over the last few years has been the Sevenstrand Electronic Acoustic Lure, or EAL (otherwise knows as "ol' beepy" or "shark bait" to it's detractors). I have long been one who was skeptical of the new technology, and have said so here. In fairness, though, I decided to talk with a number of people involved with the lure from those who make it to those who tested it to those who use it today. As a result of those discussions, I acquired a black and purple EAL (from Mark Smith over at CharkBait.com) to test on my own. It's going to get a fair test, and I'll let you know what I think - good or bad. It's either tech or trick, and I intend to find out - stay tuned!

I'm excited about fishing this weekend, but that excitement is muted as I remember the anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon terror bombings. Hard to believe it has been two years. I wrote at length about this subject on the first anniversary, so I'll go light here (you can read last year's news here). I will say that I am amazed by how normal some things have once again become, and I am saddened at how quick some are to try and put the whole thing behind us. Often I hear people talk about how we shouldn't show images of the bombing on TV and should try to "move on." Well, while I respect the feelings of the families and loved ones who were most directly impacted by the event, I think we should be showing those images more often, not less. Yes, they're painful but it is a pain we need to feel. One of our greatest strengths as a country and a people is our ability to rebound from tragedy. But some tragedies should not be forgotten. There will never be "closure" on this one no matter what we do, so I think we should keep those traumatic images fresh in our mind like an open wound to remind us of the horror and maintain our resolve to do whatever must be done down the road.

The one thing the terrorists wanted to take from each of us was our freedom, and the best way to poke them where it hurts is to exercise your freedom to do the things you love. For me, that means getting offshore and catching marlin, and I'm happy to say that I'll be spending 9 of the next 17 days doing just that. Of course, that means on the water reports, so check the War Room. You'll either hear me crow about catching one, or whine about not. Either way, it'll be hot and fresh, and something you can't find anywhere else!

September 8

Welcome to the silly season ...

In motorsports, there is a point during the year when drivers are racing for one team while actively arranging their ride for the next season - often with a team they are currently competing against. Insiders call this time the "silly season." We have our own version of the silly season - it's called "tournament time."

About this time each year, anglers who have previously demonstrated full oral freedom suddenly develop lockjaw, particularly when it comes to discussing their fishing plans. It becomes most acute in the month of September, as we approach the money events. Well, we're there now.

You've heard me rail against this habit. You've read my editorials and tolerated my rants. You clearly know how I feel, so I'll save you the usual tirade. I will say this - someone actually refused to take my call this weekend, fearful that he might be quoted in this report. As tempted as I am to rat him out, I'll let it go. All I'm gonna say is man, that's pathetic ...

In spite of the lack of info, I've pieced together much of what went down this weekend. Between Saturday and Sunday, there were 4 marlin caught in the five tournaments that occurred. Three marlin were released in the Marlin Club's ILTT by KEY TO THE SEA, MARLIN MAN, and ENCOUNTER, and I believe the one fish released in the Tuna Club's dacron event was by DONNA C. The fishing conditions were sketchy at best, with the water continuing to be on the cold and green side, and the weather snotty, but clearing. Most of the activity was split between the 181/182 ridge, the 152/277 ridge, and the waters off Pyramid Head - I think ... :-) Today and tomorrow, Rosie Cadman will be running her yearly event in Avalon. So far, the only fish is a 198-lb marlin weighed earlier today by OZ.

One interesting note is the large amount of swordfish activity over the weekend. I'm aware of at least three broadbill that were hooked and lost, and another two that were "free-tagged" by frustrated anglers who couldn't get them to go. The activity was spread over a large area, so you might want to have a giant squid "popsicle" rigged and on ice when you next head out.

I have a sad note to report. Alan Baron, a past visitor to SCMO, lost his boat MAGNANIMOUS over the weekend when it ran aground and sank near Long Point on Catalina. The report I got was that the 42-ft Bertram may have been running with the auto-pilot on and gotten to the island a little quicker than anyone had planned. We've seen this happen several times over the last few seasons, and it's always a sad occasion. Here's hoping he's back on the water soon.

With all the talk of billfish, there are still tuna to be caught if you really want to make the run. Both the Dumping Ground and Airplane Bank are said to be holding a mixture of albacore and bluefin tuna, along with the aptly-named Sixty-Mile Bank. Somewhat closer, the 425 and 371 have produced catches of both bluefin and yellowfin tuna, although there's a lot of skipjack to fight through. There continues to be yellowtail under most paddies (assuming the partyboats didn't get them first), and dorado at increasing rates as well. It's worth noting that there was squid to be caught over the weekend at Pyramid Cove, so if you're there this week you might want to load up and stop on one of those paddies - it could be a wild time!

This morning, about the time I was rolling out of the rack, someone visited this site - someone very special. He didn't know he was special, of course, unless he happened to notice the visitor counter roll over - he was our one-millionth visitor. Unlike most sites, we only count actual visits - not page views - so this guy was truly the millionth unique visitor to the site.

Every time we pass a milestone, I tend to get a bit nostalgic, and this is no exception. It seems like yesterday that I first put this site up on AOL (extra credit to anyone who ever had to type in "http://members.aol.com/marlinnut"). It's particularly sobering to look at the screen shot of the original site and realize that the two people mentioned there (Helen Smith and Gary Jasper) have both passed on (you can click on the image to see it full size). This site - this community - that we have created is so much more than I could have imagined it could be, and I am in a constant state of awe. So, my thanks to those of you who participate, publicize, support or just visit us - without you, there would be no SCMO.

I always get my best information when I'm on the water, and that's just where I'll be for the next three weekends. Be sure to check the War Room for on the water updates, and go ahead - defy tradition and file a Trip Report!

September 4

This will be a very short report, since there's really not a lot to talk about.

The nice weather we enjoyed over the weekend disappeared Tuesday and hasn't been seen since. It's been very windy offshore, and no one's out there who doesn't have to be. Unfortunately, there's been a Tuna Club charity tourney going on, so those boats have braved the elements for the cause. The only reports we've gotten have been of a few jigstrikes and one possible marlin release near the 181. Glassing for fish has been impossible in the sloppy waves, so baitfish aren't a real possibility. We also have gotten scattered reports of marlin spotted on the 209, Avalon Bank, and in the lee (such as it is) of San Clemente Island.

The weather is causing the water to turn cold and green, so it's anyone's guess where the marlin will be. One tip to keep in mind is that there was so much mackerel on the Avalon Bank earlier in the week that the seiners were trying to wrap it Monday. If they know it's there, you can bet the marlin know, too. If I were going out (which I'm not - damn!), I think that's where I would start, if the weather permitted. Otherwise, I'd work the comfort zone between the Slide and Long Point and hope for a dumb one.

Hey - good news! The Marlin Club is up to ten released marlin. Unfortunately, they've also killed 22. Still looking for that explanation ...

There will be two more events in the next few days - the aforementioned Marlin Club of San Diego's Small Boat Tourney this weekend, and Rosie's annual event in Avalon on Monday and Tuesday. It's still not too late to sign of for a lot of tournaments, and it looks like there'll actually be fish to catch this year!

That's pretty much it. If you choose to head offshore this weekend, use your head and remember, it's a big ocean and you're in a little boat. In the meantime, head over to the Trip Reporter and read the report I filed for last weekend - it's a lot longer than this report, and a whole lot more interesting!

September 1

Another first for SCMO - your Monday Fishing News report is coming to you directly from the fishing grounds - or somewhere reasonably near! Although I'm writing this Sunday night at Pyramid Cove on San Clemente Island, I'll update it and upload as soon as I get within cell phone range on Monday afternoon -- when we'll be somewhere near the east end of Catalina. I can see it already - I need to get a satellite phone ... :-)

For the technogeeks in the bunch (and I know who you are, but I'll save you the embarassment of naming names ...), I've included a shot of the setup I'm using. The PowerBook is attached to the cellphone via a Keyspan adapter, and from there goes out to the world - once the world is in range. So far, that's been the most frustrating part of the experiment. Well, that and forgetting to bring the troubleshooting instructions for the internet connection and having to figure it out the hard way ... d'oh!

In our last report, we talked about the fishing near San Clemente Island, and most people planned their weekend assuming that'd be where the fishing would be. Late Wednesday, though, swordfish boats started spreading dope that marlin had been seen in pretty good numbers just below the 181. That was enough to redirect the San Diego boats along with several from the northern fleet. It was worth it, too, as there were at least 20 marlin caught there.

The action started early on Saturday, and by 8:20 AM, there were three boats already hooked up. Some early numbers: 32.47/117.49. As usual, the cream rises and by 9AM, WILD BILL had already released their third fish.The fleet was spread between the 181 and 182, with the center of the concentration being directly on the 138. A lot of boats got single fish, including PESCADOR, GADGET, LOVE OF MIKE and OFFSHORE. Some additional numbers: 46/54, 48/47, and 46/45. Happily, another of those getting a marlin was your humble host fishing on HOOKER. The details are in the War Room, and I'll save the story for the Trip Reporter, but lets just say that the picture on the right says it all ...

It's hard to say what was more amazing - the number (and variety) of fish, or the weather. One of the problems with fishing the 181 ridge is that it's a long way from anywhere. No matter what direction you run, the nearest shelter is at least 30 miles - Oceanside, Mission Bay, Catalina or San Clemente are all equally distant. If the weather goes bad, so can your day - and in a hurry.

With the remnants of Ignacio wandering about and the recent spate of nasty offshore conditions, one might expect that the ridge could be nasty - wrong! We had three days of absolutely beautiful spotting weather, and those who could, took advantage of it, By the end of Saturday, WILD BILL had released 6 fish, and on Monday OFFSHORE added one more to the pair the got on Sunday, giving them four for the weekend. Clearly, while lures are doing better than in the past, nothing can beat a good set of eyeballs.

Surprisingly, the Wood Brothers pair was the bright spot on Sunday. A lot of boats arrived early on the previous day's numbers expecting to score big and, while three fish were taken early, the day was basically dry until the second OFFSHORE fish late in the afternoon. By then, however, most of the fleet had scattered. As Randy Wood put it Sunday night in the anchorage at Pyramid Cove, "if there hadn't been bo many other boats running around, I never would have stayed long enough to catch the second fish!" He's glad now that they stuck it out!

In addition to marlin, several swordfish were hooked and lost in the fleet. Bill MacCorkell on AGITATOR landed a nice yellowfin tuna from under the porpoise, and SHOWDOWN caught the northernmost dorado we've seen yet this year. Of course, there was all the skipjack you could want - if in fact you wanted any ...

While most of the boats were concentrated in one spot, we did get scattered reports from elsewhere. Two marlin were released Saturday off the Dome and a third lost, and there were marlin seen (but not caught) off Church Rock Sunday. There was also a report that marlin were seen on the 277 on Sunday, but I'm not aware of anyone finding success there.

I heard a lot of people theorize that the fish had slid down from SCI to the 181 ridge and were headed south. I think that's crap. Basically, everyone got caught in the suction pump created by the swordfish dope and headed south. There were fish there, but I suspect the ones off the Dome never left and are still wondering what happened to all the boats ... :-)

If there was a downside to the weekend, it was the large number of marlin caught but not released. As I've said before, it's the angler's right to do what they want, but I simply don't understand why so many anglers from San Diego choose to kill their marlin. If someone understands this phenomenon better than I do, I'd be happy to listen. In the meantime, I'm including this picture of a marlin tag and release card for my southern brethren who've probably never seen one ... :-)

I'll close with a pair of interesting theories I heard this weekend. Did you know that a large majority of the marlin caught so far this season have been hooked during the run-up to high tide (versus the period from high to low)? What does it mean? I don't know, but it's an interesting point to ponder.

The other theory deals with the white sharks off of San Onofre. As you may know, there's been reports that a pair of great white sharks have been prowling just outside the surf line at San Onofre, one of the region's best surfing beaches. Since surfers and seals look alarmingly similar, there has been cause for concern. The theory requires us to go back to last season. If you recall, there was a whale carcass that was drifting off of Orange County last fall, serving both as a fish attracting device and a food source for sharks, Apparently, it eventually beached itself and was buried in place on the beach. The spot where the whale carcass is currently decomposing? Right - San Onofre. Coincidence? I think not ...

From both the personal and technological perspectives, this has been a very successful weekend for SCMO. I hope you guys have enjoyed getting a more real-time look at what's happening via the War Room postings and this news report. Let me know what you think - I always appreciate the feedback. Gotta go now - there are still marlin to be caught!

August 28

This will be a brief report, since a), I haven't heard a lot of news and, b), I need to get my gear together to head offshore this weekend ...

The good news for anyone hoping to fish this weekend is that Hurricane Ignacio died a horrible death over the central Baja peninsula yesterday. It had appeared for a while that he might make it (in some lesser form) into our waters, or at least influence our weather. But in spite of the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez, he lost strength and disappeared somewhere near Loreto. That is not to minimize the damage he did, as a lot of rain fell and caused significant mudslides and flooding. But things could have been a lot worse for all.

We received scattered marlin reports this week, as the traditional tournament season lockjaw is beginning to set in. However, our loyal reporters remain diligent, and I thank them for that. The first part of the week saw the Churchmouse tournament, a local Avalon event that has grown in popularity over the years. This year's edition saw eighty boats chasing marlin for two days, with nine marlin caught (of which five were released. Most of the marlin came from the neighborhood of San Clemente Island, although several were caught at Catalina.

After a couple of quiet days, we heard earlier today that one of the Bongo's boats caught a marlin between the 209 and 181 (roughly 4 miles SW of the 209). Also, a San Diego boat caught one and released another at the 181. Looking at the latest SST charts for the region, it does appear that there is a pool of warmer water in the area, although the warmest part seems to be closer to shore. However, given my choice between warm water and hot fishing, I'll take the hot fishing every time! I think the 181 might be worth taking a look, particularly for those of you coming from the south who don't really want to make the long run to SCI. BTW, I just checked, and it looks like all but the very northern tip of the island will be open this weekend.

I'm as big a fan of capitalism as anyone, since it's the engine that powers the economy that gives us all much of what we have. But, much like California politics (remember, vote for Mary!), sometimes it leaves me scratching my head.

Case in point: Bird Rock is for sale.

For those of you who don't know, Bird Rock is the guano-laden mass you pass to port as you enter the Isthmus at Catalina. Measuring roughly 150 by 350 feet, it is home to birds (duh!), seals, and a scrubby form of rose called that Mauro that even I couldn't love. The story goes something like this: Back in the early part of the last century, the Wrigley family, who at that time owned the island, sold the rock to three investors who intended to mine the layer of guano that had collected over the years. While the venture failed (surprise!), the rock remained in private hands, even after the rest of the island was given to the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy (which went to court in the mid-seventies to reclaim the rock, but lost). Now, the relatives of the original owner want to sell the "property". The amazing thing is that while the Los Angeles County tax assessor has valued the property at around $2,800, the selling price is $2.75 million. It's a bit sparse, I guess, but you gotta love the view! If you have a little extra cash, you can check out the listing here. Of course, if you have that kind of expendable income, you should be donating to your favorite website first ... :-)

Before you say it, yes, I know the email version did not go out Wednesday like I had announced. I'm having a few technical bugs I need to run out of the system. I hope to get it out next week, but it may have to wait until the week after, since I won't have much time to work it this weekend (see below).

I know you've already heard me say thing too many times this season, but I'm finally going to be on the water this weekend. Three days of nothing but the whir of the gyrobinos and the beeping of the EAL. Somehow, I think the founders of the sport approve. They wouldn't understand it at first, but once they found out that all the technological goodies help you catch fish, they'd be the first in line to plunk down the cash ... :-)

August 25

Another weekend in the books, and a fresh batch of success stories to report. The weather served to frighten off the weak-of-spirit, but for those who persevered, glory was waiting ...

When the fishing is as far offshore as San Clemente Island, it's always a risk committing to run for them - you just don't know what will happen before you get there. The fish could disappear or, worse, you could find that they've reappeared closer to shore and you've overrun them. This was the dilemma facing most of the boats this weekend. While there have been consistent sightings at most of the usual places, the only area that was really producing had been the triangle between the 289, Pyramid Head, and the Dome. Add to that the challenge of consistently snotty weather, and you understand the problem.

Several boats took the chance, and it paid off. MNAC member Greg Stotesbury took KAWA KAWA over to the island on Friday, arriving around noon. Almost immediately after putting out the lures, they had a striper nosing around the pattern (the power of the EAL??). After knocking around several of the lures, Greg's first mate Dara slipped a mackerel back to him and he wolfed it down. Because it was on 12-lb line, it took an hour and forty minutes and three times getting the leader to the boat. In the end, though, they were able to successfully release the marlin. Dara reports that they had several jig strikes on Saturday (also on the EALs), but couldn't get any to stick. As CWF put it, "EALs - don't leave home without 'em!"

Another crew that had a successful weekend was that of MNAC member Steve Bledsoe's NO EXCUSES. Although they were shut out on Friday, crewmember Wade Bledsoe (Steve's brother) caught and released his first marlin early Saturday morning between 2 and 3 miles east of the Head. A little while later, another marlin hit a lure and a quick-thinking angler slipped a mackerel into the pattern. The result - a jigfish/baitfish double. Steve handled the baitfish, which unfortunately came up bleeding profusely and had to be taken. Wade successfully released the jigfish, giving him two for the morning - not a bad start!

Steve reported that both jigfish hit Mean Joe Green Doornob D8 lures, and that things were almost too exciting for a while. "When we got the second jig bite, both Wade and Chuck got dropbacks in the water in a hurry. We got no pick up on the bait at first so I told Wade to get the jig fish. Wade put his dropback rod in gear, set it in the stern rod holder, picked up the jig fish and went to the bow. As he was going forward, I noticed that the rod he set in the rod holder was bent. I yelled to Chuck to pick it up, but he was bit too. I left the bridge and got the rod out of the holder and swung on the fish. For at least a moment, we had a triple going but Chuck's fish fell off."

Several other boats were successful over the weekend, including WILD BILL and ONO. While most of the marlin were caught in the green water near Clemente, a number of marlin were baited off the Slide and Church Rock at the east end of Catalina. With the uncertainty in our weather forecast (more on that in a minute), there's no telling where the marlin will be by this weekend. If you find out, I'm sure you'll let us know!

As the marlin counts continue to grow, the interest in tuna fishing tends to wane. That's probably just as well, since the bite we'd seen close to Clemente seems to have petered out somewhat. There were some nice school-sized yellowfin caught Saturday between the 181 and 182, along with some nice albacore in the 20-25-lb range taken down the ridge from Pyramid Head. But the best fishing remains further south at the 425, 371, 390 and Dumping Grounds.

In tournament news, today was the first day of fishing in the Church Mouse Marlin Invitational. Eight fish were caught for 80 boats, and, while I'm not certain, I don't believe anyone had more than one. As you might expect, most of the marlin were caught near San Clemente Island. The weather was the story, though, as it was highly nasty. We should have a wrapup report for you on Thursday.

Although they caught all their fish early in the event, Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club survived the challenges of others and held on to win the 44th Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. Rocky Franich was high angler with a 516-lb blue marlin. The Tournament Anglers team took second place with an all-release tally that included three marlin and a spearfish. Hard luck award goes to Brooks Morris of Area Rule Lures and the Laguna Niguel Billfish Club, who lost a potential tourney-winning marlin estimated an nearly 1,000 pounds due to a tackle failure.

We have a real wildcard for the weekend's fishing scene, and his name is Ignacio. He's a Category 2 hurricane currently churning up the east coast of Baja in the Sea of Cortez. George Landurm of Fly Hooker reported in the Trip Reporter that Los Cabos only took a glancing blow from this guy, as he veered east at the last minute. The forecasters have admitted that he's a strange one and that they can't accurately predict what he'll be doing next; however, the all agree that at some point, he'll cross over the Baja peninsula into the Pacific Ocean. While there's little chance that he'll arrive in SoCal with anything resembling hurricane strength, it's clear that he will arrive, and have a significant impact on our weather and fishing conditions. We should have a better idea of what to expect by Thursday's report. If something happens before then, look for it in the War Room.

In response to one of the most frequent requests we receive here at the Home Office, we're going to once again send out the Fishing News as a weekly email digest. It'll go out Wednesday night, and include the past week's news, along with any updates we have to add. This would be a good time to verify your email address with us, particularly if you haven't received anything from us in a while. I have a list of email addresses that have been bounced from our previous postings; I'll post them in the War Room. If you're on it, you need to get us your new address ASAP.

I'm going to end with some words sent to me by Captain Bart Miller of Black Bart fame. Bart clearly has the heart of a poet ...

"The first light of dawn appears as if by magic, at first dimly lit, then rapidly emerging into the sheer brightness of early mourn, colored as if set on fire. This very special time of day is known to fishermen alike as the birth place of new dreams, and new realities which later in the day bed down to darkness, and the memory of what was, or had just been. These are the energies that complete man and his endeavors to be what ever he wishes to be. We are all passengers trolling upon the many facets and textures we call the sea. Our ride is only complete when we master the time we spend upon her. Our lines are set with lures that echo our trust in them, the vibration and rush of prop wash sprinkle them with spice, these are the tools that invite the mighty ocean predators to visit our space, and time."

May you find the same kind of magic on your next trip offshore.

August 21

I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot of news for you this time around. This is due in part to this being a midweek report, but mostly it's because I just did the last one 48 hours ago!

The weather that plagued so many last week is beginning to break up, and we're seeing a lot more boats on the water. Most of the marlin boats were either working the lee of San Clemente Island, where many marlin have been caught lately, or the 289, where a major temperature break was bisecting the high spot. Both ideas seemed to work, as at least two marlin were released at each spot in the last two days. I haven't been able to run down the successful anglers, but I'll post them in the War Room as soon as I can. I do have a second-hand report that HOOKER lost a marlin yesterday off the Dome; it appears that I'll have to have a pep talk with the crew ... :-)

We've been saying that the tuna would move soon for a while now, and we finally have the confirmation. Several banks are said to be flush with a variety of both cold and warm water tunas. You can find albacore, bluefin and yellowfin tuna and yellowtail at both the 267 (outside of Clemente) and 289 as well as at the 43. At the 302, you'll find the same with the addition of a decent number of dorado. Large yellowtail continue to populate most offshore kelps, and you might find dorado there, as well.

Since it's looking like there's actually going to be a marlin season this year, it's time to start talking about tournaments. I just updated the tournament schedule with all the latest info, so if you're looking for an event to enter, you'll find one here. I heartily recommend tournament fishing as a great way to introduce yourself to the local offshore fishing scene. There are events for individuals and events for teams, big and small, formal and casual, expensive and cheap. Whatever your pleasure, you'll find it occurring in the next two months.

Of course, for me there's only one tournament that really counts - the Pesky. If you can only enter one event, this is the one. You've heard me talk about it before, but it is the best combination of serious fishing and serious fun you'll ever find. If you've fished it before, you know what I mean; otherwise, you owe it to yourself to stop by the tourney website to get a small taste of what it's all about. It's hard to describe, but I'm reasonably sure there are parts of it that are illegal is several southern states ... :-)

We Cali-centric types tend to deny it, but there are other tournaments held around the world, and one is going on right now. The 44th Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament began Monday, and boats will be fishing the Kona waters through tomorrow. After the first three days of fishing, the Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club of Wastonville, California is in the lead, followed by Tournament Anglers of the Big Island and Newport Beach of Japan. My own King Harbor Marlin Club is tied for fourth. We'll have all the final results for you in the next report.

As amazing as it must seem those watching from the outside, it looks like we're really going to have a recall election in California in another couple of months. Don't get me wrong - Gray Davis deserves everything he's gonna get. But how pathetic is it when nearly 200 people run to replace him, and the closest thing there is to a legitimate candidate is the Terminator? How do you choose from the motley bunch who've stepped to run the state? You just know in your heart that each one is harboring the same kind of deep secrets and past malfeasances that inevitably come up just after they take office. How can you find a candidate you can believe in?

Well, I've found mine. Mary Carey - porn star, stripper, candidate for governor. Now, I know what you're saying - how can you possibly think she's qualified to run the state? Well, when we elected Davis, it was said that he was the most qualified person to ever take over the leadership of the state - look where that got us. Clearly, qualifications are overemphasized, and if I'm gonna get screwed by a politician, I'd just as soon it was by a professional. As for the assets of the candidates, Arnold's big drawing card is the career he made on the size of his chest. Frankly, I'll put Mary's chest up against any of the other candidates. And hers is drug-free - can Arnold make the same claim? Finally, there's the skeleton issue. We don't know what embarrassing facts are going to pop up about each of the candidates, most likely when it will hurt them the most. Well, when you've danced at the Spearmint Rhino, it's unlikely that anyone can have any worse dirt, or that you are the kind to be embarrassed by their past. Governor Mary will be free to focus on the business of the state, and not have to defend her past, 'cuz we already know more about her than we'll ever know about the others! You can visit her campaign website here, and don't be afraid to leave her a tip - er, make a campaign contribution ... :-)

There are other candidates, of course - lots of them! I'm sure I'll get a flood of emails from supporters of that other serious candidate, Gary Coleman, as well as those others no one really cares about - Simon, Huffington, Bustamonte, and Ueberroth. But I've made up my mind - now it's time to make up yours!

August 19

First, some housekeeping. This report is a day late - more on that later. And, to take a page from George Landrum's playbook, this report is being produced with the help of James Taylor's CD "Sweet Baby James" and some serious painkillers. Finally, a quick shout out to our newest MNAC members - Brad Damm, Daniel Deinlein,, Bruce Masterton, Dave McIntyre and Stephen White.

I hope you're hungry, 'cause we've got a real fishing smorgasbord for you this week ...

The weather played a major role this past weekend, keeping a lot of people either off the water or fearful of going where the fish are. But while there were fewer marlin catches, a lot were seen in a lot of places. PESCADOR got the weekend started early by releasing a marlin Friday a couple of miles off the Dome at San Clemente Island. Saturday, they released another just east of the 289 before making the bold decision to check out the 499. It was for naught, but you gotta respect the initiative!

On Saturday, Jim Valentine, fishing on MARLIN MAN, released a marlin between the 181 and 209. It was hooked on black and purple Zuker and was part of a double hookup. Jerry Austin on GERONIMO released one on the 289 - presumably single-handedly - and KRYPTONITE landed one 6 miles above the 182.

More important than the fish that were caught were the ones that were scene. We received reports of marlin spotted on just about every bank from the 14 Mile Bank to the 302. The concentrations seemed to be in the lee of SCI from Pyramid Head up to Wilson Cove, down the ridge from the east end of Catalina to the 152, and between the 14 and the 267.

The report on the tuna fishing is particularly exciting. Not only have the tuna begun to move north in large numbers, but it is a wide variety of species. One good area was between the 371 and 390, which is closer but still along way. There were some reports of albacore taken downhill from Pyramid Head, anywhere from 8 to 20 miles. Probably the best bet for anyone willing to make the run was the Airplane Bank. Dave Brackmann spent Sunday and Monday there, hanging on the 'chute overnight. It was rough, but they got albacore, yellowfin tuna and a 50-lb bluefin - worth risking a few upset tummies, I'd say!

The exotics reports are becoming more prevalent. Yellowtail are being found under kelps on most of the outer banks, and they're nice ones - 20 to 30 pounds. Several dorado were caught on the 289, 209 and 181, and there was even a spearfish caught off Ensenada!

We continue to have beautiful weather here in SoCal, but that usually means it's windy offshore. It's supposed to be that way through the rest of the week, so I don't know how much info we'll get by Thursday. If we hear it, though, you'd hear it!

Several events occurred this week that made me see that it's time for one of my periodic talks about site policy - specifically, the differences (and relationship) between Southern California Marlin Online and the Offshore Fishing Forum. They're related, but they serve different purposes and, as a result, have some different policies.

The first event was a posting in the Trip Reporter forum entitled Million Dollar Marlin that included the results of last week's White Marlin Open from Maryland. The post included a picture of the winning fish, a 78-lb white marlin. While no one other than myself posted their concerns to the message itself, I received several emails questioning why the post was allowed to remain in light of SCMO's long-standing policy of not displaying pictures of dead marlin. The post remains, and I am hopeful it will spark debate on the policy of holding kill tourneys for species on the brink of extinction.

The second event was an email I received from the individual we reported about several weeks ago who caught a 200-lb blue marlin from a kayak. He included several pictures of himself and the fish, and was asking if i was interested in adding an article to SCMO about his amazing feat. While I respect the achievement, I had to let him know about the no dead marlin policy. When I mentioned this to another MNAC member, he questioned this decision in light of the Million Dollar Marlin picture, considering it to be arbitrary at best and hypocritical at worst.

SCMO, or the "main site" as I often refer to it, is about marlin fishing, with special emphasis on striped marlin fishing in SoCal and Baja. Early on, I established a "no dead marlin pictures" policy, and it remains in effect. note that it does not equate to no dead billfish, as there are examples of swordfish and spearfish to be found on the site. But I long ago explained why I feel marlin are special, and, to maintain credibility as a voice for conservation, I established the policy. I've had to turn down some amazing opportunities as a result, but it is a decision I can live with.

The Offshore Fishing Forum is a little harder to define. Initially, SCMO had the Marlin Club and, later, the Trip Reporter, as dedicated forums. Over time, however, we began to get posters from around the world and postings regarding all things fishing. I certainly wasn't going to turn the likes of Bart Miller, Peter Pakula and Roddy Hays away, so I created the OFF as a way to better serve the worldwide clientele we were receiving. OFF serves as a "holding company" for a group of forums. Several are integrated with the main site, as their appearance indicates. But there area also forums supporting other sites, such as the Chicks Talk forum for ChicksWhoFish.com and the Shark Tank forum supporting the now-deceased Sharkin.com. Other forums are simply a portion of the OFF, and are available to all who visit any of the sites.

Because the forums all appear under the OFF banner, and support multiple sites with multiple viewpoints, I decided that the policies that govern the main site would not be extended to the OFF. You can post whatever you wish there, and - with very rare exception - I will neither edit nor delete it. So, if you want to post a message saying that you think that SCMO is way off by declaring that there is no excuse to kill a marlin, you can. If you want to post a message telling the world you think Dara from CWF is a hottie, you can. If you want to post pictures of the three marlin you killed yesterday in the Photo Forum, you can. That's what free speech is all about. Of course, I'm going to post replies in defense of SCMO, and you can probably expect one from Greg on the hottie message ... :-)

I know it all sounds pretty arbitrary, and I suppose it is. I'm always willing to discuss the policies of any of the sites I run - all you need to do is drop me an email with your concerns. Who knows - you just might be right ...

Every hero has his Achilles' Heel. For Superman, it was kryptonite; for Spiderman, Mary Jane (the girl, not the herb), and for the big green guy it was anyone who pissed him off. Come to think of it, we all have that one ... :-)

For the MarlinNut, the weak spot is the back. For longer than I care to remember, I've had a bad back, one that flares up every six months or so. I'll be doing something perfectly innocent and - bang! - wickedly painful back. Sometimes, it'll flare up after a long day of bike riding or gardening. Sometimes, there's no clear cause at all. In any case, the result is the same - three or more days lying flat on my back, my life on hold, followed by several weeks of frustratingly slow recovery.

Of course, every time it happens, I give myself the same lecture - I need to lose weight and exercise. I swear that just as soon as I can sit up again, I'll be doing sit ups. The fact that I manage to add the requisite 5 to 10 pounds a year is testimony to the fact that I forget the lecture as soon as the pain goes away.

My reason for mentioning this now is that I'm in the middle of the latest round of aggravation. Friday, sitting in my office at work, I notice that my back seems to be getting tight. Assuming I simply need to stretch after a long session on the computer, I try to stand up - and I emphasize try, as my back was fully locked up. I managed to crawl home, but today is the first day I can even walk. It's also the first day I can type, hence the late - and short - report. I have no idea what I did, but my back is fried - and right in the middle of marlin season. It should be interesting to see how that shakes out, but if anyone has a favorite cure, wives' tale or herbal remedy, let me know ...

August 14

For those of you reading these words in New York City, Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, or any of the other dark cities tonight, I apologize for the small type - it must be a bitch to read by candlelight ... :-)

We in SoCal might not share the blackout being faced by the continent's east coast, but we had a power shortage of our own this week. After a stellar weekend of marlin fishing, I had assumed we'd see a lot of boats out in the lee of San Clemente Island picking up where the weekend fishermen had left off.

Wrong.

The weather conspired to keep a lot of folks off the water, and those who made it out found the conditions had changed significantly. A dome of high pressure stalled over the Four Corners regions and pulled a ton of tropical moisture into the region. Combine that with a south swell and 25kt winds, and the lee essentially disappeared. Fortunately, the conditions seem to be calming in time for the weekend. This is reinforced by the fact that PESCADOR and WAIT-N-SEA each released a jigfish at SCI today - the former on a Mean Joe Green and the latter on a black and purple. I suspect they were beeping ... :-)

I would expect it to be a parking lot off the Dome this weekend, but don't ignore the closer banks like the 181, 267, 209, and 277. As the warm water continues to flood into the SoCal bight, it is inevitable that there will be marlin on those high spots as well - and a lot less boats!

A pleasant surprise this week was the appearance of albacore south of Pyramid Head. We had expected to see them now that thy seemed to be moving north, and several boats were able to find decent numbers of fish between 5 and 10 miles down the ridge from the Head. Another interesting fact is that they are starting to catch skipjack tuna south of us, which could signal an appearance by the warm water tunas such as yellowfin as well as dorado. Stay tuned!

Last time, I asked for your feedback on the Fishing News. Boy, did I get it! Thanks to each of you who took the time to click on the link, and a particular thanks to those of you who took the time to send along your comments - both good and bad - on what we do.

Of course, feedback only has value if it is used to improve the product. Nothing is more frustrating than to be asked for your opinion, and then not see it acted upon. So, I'd like to address a couple of the points I received in the emails:

"I liked it better when you automatically sent it to my email each Thurs ...

For those of you who weren't here, back in the day I used to send a digest version of the weekly news out to the members of the FishNet mailing list. When we reestablished the Fishing News as part of the MNAC, this feature was not included. I don't want to spam our paying members, so I will set up a poll over in the War Room for the membership to vote on whether they'd like to see this idea reinstated.

"... it helps the hard working weekend warrior ...", "... wish the info could be updated daily during the season ...", "... wish there was more current info available, but it can only come from the members ..."

I've combined these points together, because they help to highlight the role and responsibilities of the MNAC and its members. There will always be those anglers who are plugged into the best possible information. A perfect example of this is WILD BILL last weekend. They were at San Clemente catching marlin before the rest of the fleet even knew there were marlin over there. Did they just happen to be there and stumble on them? Of course not. They knew the marlin were there from their information sources. That's how it is when you're a hot dog, and frankly, nothing we do here will ever rival that kind of immediacy.

But while we cannot rival the quality of their data, we can help to bridge the gap with the quantity of information we can collect on one place. Imagine if 20 MNAC members who were on the water last weekend were to have each posted a three-sentence report in the War Room telling what they did or did not see, what they heard on the radio and what they saw other boats doing. Just imagine the quantity of data we could have available. Imagine how accurate a picture we could have by distilling that data down for the Fishing News. It boggles the brain.

"... you're overboard on the kill issue. I understand your position, and I'm glad that a lot of people are releasing their fish, but I'm not going to take any flak over a dead fish ..."

You're right - I do go overboard sometimes. I have my opinion, and it is a strong one, but I try very hard to respect the fact that there are other opinions out there. There are times, however, when I err, and if I do, it will always be on the side of conservation. As for dead fish, it is important to understand that there are two kinds of dead marlin. Sometimes, things happen during the battle, and a marlin dies. This was the case last week where a marlin came up tail-first and couldn't be revived. It is an unfortunate byproduct of the fact that we are hunting marlin that some will die, and anyone who cannot accept this should join PETA. In a way, I see it akin to horse racing. We race horses for our pleasure, and work hard to insure their well-being. But sometimes, a horse will breakdown and must be humanely dispatched. Same with a marlin. You don't celebrate the fact, and you work to understand what you can do to keep it from happening again. No one who has this happen to them will get anything but sympathy from me.

It is the second kind of dead fish - and those who cause their death - that get my hackles up. As I say elsewhere in the site, to me, there is no acceptable excuse for deliberately causing the death of a marlin. Not for a trophy, not for a picture, not for food. Again, it is my opinion, but one from which I will not deviate. I accept the right of any fisherman to kill their fish, but that does not mean I must accept it silently. SEA TREK IV has already killed three marlin this season. I respect their angling achievement, but there is no way that I will not expose their behavior for the bullshit it represents. There is simply no excuse, and no one is going to convince me otherwise.

"I can't tell you how much I would miss you weekly reports and diatribes ..."

Frankly, I would, too. I'm still stinging from the tongue-lashing I got in Western Outdoor News the last time I ended them. It's still a pain in the ass and you'll probably still have to listen to me whine periodically, but they are an essential part of the SCMO experience. As long as there is an MNAC, there'll be the Fishing News.

I'm still running the show in the satellite factory this weekend, so someone go out and release one for me, OK?

August 11

"Game on!"

Those were the words of an MNAC member in describing the marlin action over the weekend. With the number of midweek marlin that were caught last week, you just knew that this would be a big weekend if the weather would just cooperate. It did, and it was. I was OTW and AFTK (Off The Water and Away From The Keyboard) this weekend, so I turned to several MNAC members to get the latest info. It's still coming in, but I can say this much for sure - more marlin were caught over this weekend than were caught all of last season.

As you'll recall from our last episode, marlin were being seen and caught on many of the inner banks - 14 Mile Bank, 267, 302, etc. Nothing had really been heard from the outer waters, so one can only assume that someone saw something or talked with someone who did, because a half dozen of the usual suspects ended up in the lee of San Clemente Island. The fishing was between the Dome and Fishhook, from about a half-mile offshore to 5 miles out. By the time the sleeper/tailer show had ended, most boats had something to show, among them WILD BILL with four, KAWA KAWA two and ONO one. It was an afternoon bite that just kept getting better, according to WB's Bill Kingsmill. Most of the fish were caught on bait, although there was a good showing on lures as well - most notably Ol' Beepy.

Like any good party, you can't keep out the crashers, and there were more folks looking to get in on the action on Sunday. The area didn't disappoint, as there were two marlin each for JOKER and TIGHT LINES and single for PESCADOR and DONNA C. So far as I know, all of the fish caught both days were released.

Lest you think that if you didn't get the word about SCI you got shut out, think again. A lot of different places had action, albeit more sedate than at the Dome. Several fish were taken on the 152 Saturday along with one from 7 miles west of the west end of Catalina. It really sounds like we might see the marlin make a run up towards Santa Barbara Island. You might want to keep a lookout for anyone who's been to the 499.

In addition to those caught, several were lost, most notably on the 209 and 277. To the south, three marlin were caught on the 302 Saturday - among them another killed by SEA TREK IV. Someone really needs to explain that to me. That same spot was said to be empty on Sunday.

With all the marlin reports, I haven't heard much about swordfish lately. We had a lot of sightings a month ago, and the stickboats were off to a strong season. But lately, all I hear is them complaining about all the marlin they see ... :-)

Most interesting report of the weekend is one stating that several dorado were taken outside the 181 ...

The albacore are still moving slowly to the north and are currently being caught near the south end of the 1010 Trench. We should hear more if they appear at any of the closer banks, but i don't really foresee a solid north-of-the-border tuna run for SoCal this season. C' mon, we don't need to be greedy!

I'll have to confess - I'm not in much of a writing mood tonight. You see, I have this love/hate relationship with the Fishing News. Like any creative endeavor, it takes a certain amount of effort to produce. So I tend to hate it when I sit down to write it, and love it when I finish. But that's how I feel about it. The problem is that I don't know how you feel about it. The truth is, I get very little feedback at all on the MNAC or its features. We have 130 members, so people must want something. But I see very few posts in the War Room, and I can tell from the access logs that few members ever visit the members area.

So what do you want? You gotta know that I'd give it to you if I knew what it was - I just don't know. So, I'm going to take a little poll to see how many MNAC members actually read the Fishing News. After all, if the number is only 5 out of 130, maybe I'd be better off putting the effort elsewhere in the site. So here's the deal: if you are reading this, click on this link. It will open a window in your mail program to send me an email. You can tell me what you like or don't like, what you'd like to see, or just say "I read the News". Either way, I'll know how many people actually read these words, and can go from there.

Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I'll bet I get very few emails. Of course, it could also be that I've just been on the beach too long ...

August 7

The good news just keeps coming. The sun is shining, the water is warm, and we're catching mid-week marlin. Oh, did I mention the tuna are moving north?

With the success found last weekend, you just knew there'd be some folks playing hooky to hit the water. For at least some of them, the decision was a wise one. On Tuesday, SWANEE released a striped marlin on the Avalon Bank, a jigfish caught on a Mean Joe Green. You know when they're starting to catch them in the comfort zone, the season is hot. Two boats scored on Wednesday - WAIT-N-SEE between the 209 and 267 spots and KEN-DAN on the 302. Lynn Jasper was the angler on W-N-S and took the fish, and KEN-DAN's was hooked by Harry Okuda on a black and purple Collector. It qualified for the Marlin Club of San Diego's First Release flag (I don't want to beat a dead horse - well, not too much - but the release flag is smaller than the kill flag. Tsk-tsk ...) Congrats to Marty Morris and the KEN-DAN crew for setting an example the rest should follow down there.

Even if they're not catching them, a lot of people are seeing marlin. There's a lot of chatter on the radio by swordfishermen complaining about seeing a swordie, only to have it become a marlin. This might be a pain in the a$$ to them, but it's a great sign to me.. The last few years, there were no fish to be seen, but this season the only challenge is getting them to bite. I'll take that challenge!

You'll recall that last Sunday, CAPRICCI was coming home from the 295 when they caught and released what they thought might be a blue marlin. Well, judge for yourself. Big stripe? Small blue? Check out a full-size version of the picture over at the Marlin Club and let us know what you think!

We also talked last time about how the albacore seemed to be stalled at the 238. Well, now it appears that they might finally be on the move, and are drifting to the northwest. Several boats reported catching limits on the Double 220 and near the south end of the 1010 Trench. No real concentration has been located, but the consensus is that they'll surface around the Butterfly or Mushroom banks. Of course, even talking about consensus amongst fishermen sounds silly ... :-) I haven't heard anything new from the Cortes or Tanner Banks, but I suspect it's just because the weather reports have everyone a little nervous. There is supposed to be a tropical pattern coming through, which could make things a bit windy through the next week or so. Be sure to check the weather reports before you go!

I was running a fresh batch of SST charts a little while ago and noticed a couple of interesting trends. For the last week or so, there's been a finger of warm water running up the coast from San Diego and deflecting towards Catalina once it hit Dana Point. This is often seen in better marlin seasons, and is certainly a good sign. But there is also a warm current running up the leeside of Catalina and heading northwest all the way to Santa Cruz. We've had some epic years when the bite ended up between Santa Barbara Island and Santa Cruz - remember the fleet cruising clockwise around the big yellow NOAA buoy? The signs are all pointing to just such a year, and if I was based out of Channel Islands I'd take a peek around the 153 or Footprint Bank - you just might be in for a surprise!

I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I am not a candidate for governor of California, which I suppose puts me in the minority of my fellow Californians. With a field filled with such dynamic and qualified candidates as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Coleman, Larry Flynt and Angelyne, there just isn't room for me. This would all be a lot more funny if it wasn't so serious. But I'm not going to let a good opportunity to have fun slide past. We've started two polls over in the Stan's Take forum - one on whether we should recall Grey Davis, and a second to pick his replacement. Remember, vote early and often!

Well, it looks like duty will keep me on the beach again this weekend, much to my great disappointment. As you might imagine, I am itching to get out and see first-hand just how many marlin are out there. On the bright side, I was able to run a test of the new wireless setup I'll have on the boat with me this season, and everything is finally working as it should. I'll be able to receive and answer your email, update the site and - most importantly - post the very latest information to the War Room. All I have to be is within cellphone range, which most of the marlin grounds seem to be. Of course, when in Avalon I can use the WiFi capability of my PowerBook to plug into catalinas.net's wireless network. Man ... beeping marlin lures and internet-capable fishing boats. The founders of the sport must be rolling in their graves ... ;-)

August 4

If you had any concerns that this would be a slow marlin year based on the catches in July, fear not - August kicked off the billfish season with a bang! This weekend turned out to be a nice opener, and provided tantalizing clues that we might be in for a good season ... for a change.

For me, weekends start with Friday, and the same turned out to be true for the crew of our own HOOKER. The boat headed out on Wednesday in search of marlin, and their patience was rewarded on Friday morning. They were headed from Catalina out to the 152, but a jigstrike kept them from ever getting there. A mile and a half off the Slide, a striped marlin estimated at 100-lbs hit a Zuker ZM 3.5 Bleeding Mackerel lure, and in eighteen minutes the happy angler Kathy Ecklund had the billfish alongside. The marlin was resuscitated, tagged and sent on its way - all before 9AM! This is what we like to call a high-dollar fish, because Kathy will collect a lot of hardware because of it. It is the first marlin for three clubs - Balboa Angling Club, Los Pescadores, and King Harbor Marlin Club. I'd like to tell you that I was there to chronicle the event in person, but I had to work. Maybe next weekend ...

The next boat to find success was SEA TREK IV out of San Diego. Fishing Between the 209 and 181 spots, Chuck Smith landed a 105-lb jigfish, followed later by Mark Harwood, who landed a baitfish. Chuck's fish claimed the first fish flag for the San Diego Marlin Club, and Mark's ... well, it's just dead. I admire their angling achievement and respect their right to disposition their catch as they see fit, but I just don't understand how, in this day and age, you can still smile proudly for a picture next to two dead marlin. I'm told that the Marlin Club still requires that you weigh the fish to qualify for the first fish flag. If you are a member of this site and of the Marlin Club, you should be actively working to have that arcane rule changed. By the way, the picture is upside down deliberately - I didn't want you thinking I was glorifying their actions.

I'm happy to say that those were the only two marlin killed this weekend. On Sunday, WILD BILL slid down to the same region worked by SEA TREK IV and released a baitfish. Also on Sunday, the crew of CAPRICCI got a big surprise on the way home from the tuna grounds at the 295. A 200-lb marlin hit a Mean Joe Green Zuker and was successfully released. According to the crew, it looked suspiciously like a blue marlin - unusual, but not out of the questions. With the wacky warm water we're seeing, we might even get one up here - if it can get past San Diego ... :-)

There are still tuna available for those who want them. The albacore continue to hang out at the 238, and boats continue to run down to get them. It really is an amazing bite, as it has been several weeks since they settled in there. I haven't heard of any commercial boats trying to wrap them, which is even more amazing. The scratchy bite between the Cortes and Tanner Banks and San Clemente Island got a workout this weekend due to the glassy weather. Allan Sheridan and COMANCHE reported getting the job done at 32.50/119.05, which is about 10 miles northeast of the Tanner.

I blatantly stole those COMANCHE numbers from JD's website, so I should repay him by giving him a shout out for his comments regarding the killing of marlin. I take a lot of heat for my stance on releasing all marlin (and I'm sure to see more after this report), but I welcome it. I know in my heart that what I'm saying is a belief shared by many anglers, even if they cannot bring themselves to admit it publicly. So it is always a welcome sight to see a statement like the one John Doughty made on his site today ...

"My opinion, on killing marlin- I have to ask the question,  are there 20,000 - 10,000 marlin here off the West Coast, from Central Americas to Northern Calif-  No- are there 5,000--- maybe, or is more like 3,000 or 2,000. When you look at the reports that come in daily from all the fishing resorts from Mexico to here there just aren't that many fish caught, how many young 40-50lb marlin have you ever heard of being seen, very view. Don't believe the scientific studies that are based off 5, 10 and 20 year old records, they are outdated and flawed. With the heavy longlining and gill nets working on the concentrated area off Mag Bay these past three years I have to think we do not have that many fish left, I hope I'm wrong. Recent tagging studies haven't proven otherwise though. In the past two years how many marlin were here off So Calif? A thousand, more like a hundred, does it make sense to kill marlin- I'm not in favor of it for any reason."

Well put, John ... and my buck is on the way!

You've heard me rant lately about the SST charts, and based on the emails I get, they're one of our more popular features. I'm trying something new this week by narrowing the range of temperatures displayed on the charts. Hopefully, this will cause those subtle temperature breaks we're all looking for to appear in a not-so-subtle manner. Check them out, and let me know what you think.

OK, time for the weekly feature plug. Now that we're seeing marlin releases, I want to remind you all to take advantage of our Online Gamefish Release Reporting System to register your released fish. Introduced last season after a couple of years of noodling, OGRRS gives you a way to get the credit you deserve for your achievement without the need to kill the fish. You can also check out how the others are doing around the world, as OGRRS is developing a following with anglers around the globe. Remember, you don't have to be the angler to register the fish - you just need to know the details. I'm thinking of developing a program that would present a certificate of merit to anyone registering their released fish, much like you might get from a recovered tag. Let me know what you think of that idea - if it's a good one, we'll do it!

I know I said it before, but I really intend to get out on the water this weekend. I have the gyrobinos, the laptop computer, the cable for the cell phone, the PDA and the iPod ... I'm ready to hit the fish with all the technology I can muster! Too bad technology can't make up for talent ... good thing for me most of the marlin being caught so far are blind strikes ... :-) See you out there!

July 31

This will be a short report, because I have little information and even less time. That means I'll spare you the typical humorous filler and stick to the (limited) facts. Of course, there are those out there who wish I'd always do that ...

I've heard of no new local marlin dope since the weekend with two exceptions. On Monday, MIL-SO-MAR weighed in a 129-lb striped marlin at the Marlin Club in San Diego. It was taken on a lure at the 302. Also on Monday, there was a single listing of a marlin in the party boat fish counts out of San Diego. I doubt that the one in the count was the MIL SO MAR fish, so we know there's at least two marlin that made it out of Mexico ... but won't make it up here.

Albacore continue to be taken in relatively large numbers below the 238. I'm not sure what is more surprising - that they have stacked up there the way they have, or that so many people are willing to run 70 miles to get them. Go figure. A few tuna continue to be scratched out just inside of the Cortes Bank, but nothing to get excited about.

For me, the real story of this young season has been the weather. We've had the usual thick marine layer, making SST chart data poor (although I did put up fresh charts this morning - such as they are). The interesting part has been the strange weather patterns we've seen in the last month or so. First, there was the remnants of Hurricane Claudette that make SoCal feel as wet and humid as Houston. Then, earlier this week, we got classic midwestern thunder and lightning storms. Finally, yesterday there was a tornado - yes, a tornado - in the northern Los Angeles suburb of Lancaster. I'm no weatherman, but I can't help but believe that there is a link between the strange weather and the strange fishing. Let me know what you think.

As I said earlier, I'm swamped with work in the satellite factory right now, and it's keeping me off the water once again this weekend. That makes it all the more important for me to use each of you as a resource. I need those of you who hit the water to file those Trip Reports, or drop a post in the War Room, or send me an email letting you know what you saw and what you heard. I'll stitch those together with the information I gather elsewhere to form the lovely mosaic we call the Fishing News. Best of luck this weekend.

July 28

It's deja vu all over again - doubly so, in fact ...

"Somehow, I just sense that the first marlin will go in the next few days."

That was me in this report last Thursday. You'll recall that I successfully predicted ... er, guessed ... when the first marlin was caught off Ensenada.

"Yesterday afternoon, Jim Kingsmill, fishing on the family boat WILD BILL, hooked a swordfish ..."

That was from this report as well, albeit a week earlier. History has indeed repeated itself. I bravely predicted the first local striped marlin would go over the weekend, and Jim Kingsmill was good enough to make me look like I know what I'm talking about. Fishing Saturday afternoon on WILD BILL, Jim successfully hooked and released a tailer just inside the 267. It was a small one, in the 80-lb range, but they all count the same when you release them! After they caught their swordfish, I spoke about the work ethic of the WILD BILL crew, and this fish is just another example. It was a late afternoon fish, caught after a lot of other boats had called it a day. But, that's why they're the best, and can take credit for the first swordfish and striped marlin of the season. Thank God they don't belong to a bunch of fishing clubs like the rest of us do - we'd never get to see any awards!

As should be obvious by now, this is the time to be on the water. As the Kingsmill fish demonstrated, the marlin are close to shore. This is good news for those based in Newport, Dana or San Diego, because you can (and should!) make those weekday sundowner trips to the 14-Mile Bank, 267 and 9-Mile Bank respectively. This is the time of the year when effort can be rewarded with success - and those first-fish flags!

I hate to admit it, but I think we're basically screwed on the tuna. They've stalled south of the 238, save a small group that are milling around between the Cortes Bank and the 267 (the real one, not the 279). With the warm water continuing to pour into the basin, I see no reason to believe we'll be seeing albacore any closer to the beach than that - their next stop is probably Pismo Beach ...

I've talked before about how I consider the marlin to be the ultimate athlete. I would be remiss if I did not take time to recognize the achievement of another ultimate athlete. Hours before Jimmy got his marlin on Saturday, Lance Armstrong was padding his lead in the penultimate stage of the centennial Tour de France. This insured that he would ride into Paris the next afternoon wearing the maillot jaune signifying the winner - and doing so for the fifth consecutive year. For those of you who followed the race (or kept track via our discussion in the Stan's Take forum), you know how difficult it was. Two crashes, one near miss, wicked heat and dehydration in one time trial and a driving rainstorm in the other. Even if you don't follow cycling close enough to appreciate this achievement, consider this: 200 athletes pedaled 2000 miles in 20 days - and Lance beat them all for the fifth straight year. All I can say to those who he beat is that he'll be back next year gunning for number 6 - and don't bet against him.

I'm not sure what my weekend plans look like, but if I have any say in them, I'll be on the water. I have some new toys I'm dying to try out, both for catching fish and for making reports back to you guys (and gals!). Look for my reports in the War Room - I'll certainly be looking for yours!

July 24

I have a good feeling about this weekend. Somehow, I just sense that the first marlin will go in the next few days. Unfortunately, I have nothing more to offer than intuition. Sometimes, though, that's enough ...

In the last few days, I've gotten a half dozen reports here at the Home Office about people seeing striped marlin. Two were seen at the 425. Another two were spotted at the 14 Mile Bank. One was baited on the 267, and another seen up by Northwest Harbor on San Clemente. Taken as a group, the reports fall into three basic categories: 1), I saw the fish, but didn't stop; 2), I didn't have any decent bait, so I trolled lures past and/or made a half-assed bait attempt with an anchovy; or 3), I baited it with a mackerel, but it wouldn't bite. Bottom line is we're still waiting for the first.

A big part of the challenge is that at the time when we need good information the most, the info we have is the worst. History shows that at least half of the "sightings" we get in the early season are something other than billfish., After all, you tend to see what you want to see sometimes. Another problem is the sea surface temperature data. For those who don't know how it works, we get SST data by bouncing a beam from a satellite off the surface of the water which can measure the reflectivity of the surface. Based on that measurement, the temperature can be determined. Unfortunately, the beam does not penetrate clouds. If it's cloudy, you get a chart like the one to the right, which is from earlier today. If you look reeeeal close, you'll see a little bit of color off of Avalon - obviously, the Chamber of Commerce has sold its soul for sunshine once again. Naturally, this is the cloudiest part of the year.

So, we persevere. We'll try and get out on the water this weekend, we'll take all that we know about marlin fishing, and we'll give it our best shot. Then, we'll come home to hear that someone with no experience at all stumbled onto the first marlin - and we will rejoice in their achievement.

The tuna continue their good news/bad news season. The good news is that we know exactly where the albacore are, and you can pretty much drive to the spot and catch your limit. The bad news is that the spot is the 238 or, more specifically, just south and east of the high spot. Maybe it's just me, but that's a long way - it seems so much easier to just head to the supermarket and grab a couple of cans to Chicken of the Sea ... :-). The surprise to me is that we've not heard anything of the warm water fishes, such as yellowfin tuna and dorado. Perhaps the water needs to stay warm a little longer before we'll see these angler-pleasers.

I'm going to wrap up this update with a little non-fishing information. Those who know me know that I have two true passions - releasing billfish, and growing roses. Now those might sound like very different interests, but both share the traits of providing great satisfaction and great frustration. Currently, I'm growing 52 different cultivars, which is not unlike dating 52 women, because you need to know their likes, dislikes and personality - and God help you if you get them mixed up! The jewel to the left is called Gemini, a new pink/cream blend hybrid tea. It's one of several varieties of rose that I grow to provide ratings for the American Rose Society, of which I am a member.

I mention this only because I'm developing a new web site to highlight my rose garden, the successes and failures, and the lessons I've learned. Much like SCMO, I hope to develop a community for those poor souls addicted as I am to the Floral Queen. If you're a rose grower, a rose lover, or just someone who's curious, drop me a line. I'd like to hear what you'd like to see in the new site, and any ideas you might have. I also want to hear about the rose experiences of others, because, after all, misery shared is misery lessened ... ;-)

Good luck to those of you who hit the water this weekend. Be sure to file those Trip Reports, and remember what I said about getting information back as quickly as possible for the War Room. Together, we'll make it an indispensable resource for every MNAC member!

July 21

The cork has officially been popped on the SoCal billfish season.

Yesterday afternoon, Jim Kingsmill, fishing on the family boat WILD BILL, hooked a swordfish just inside the 267 (279 to you newbies). Two hours later, they boated the fish, which weighed in at 162 pounds on the Dana Angling Club scales. An interesting fact was that the fish was foul-hooked, with the hook snagging the skin just above a pectoral fin. There's a lively debate over in the Marlin Club over whether that would make it easier or harder to land; in either case, it's an awesome catch! We'd been getting a lot of reports of swordfish seen and baited, and several had been lost in the last week. I don't think it's any real surprise that the first one goes to the hardest working crew out there. Thanks to Chris at Finnseeker for being on the spot for the great shots.

The striped marlin reports continue to trickle in, and you just know that we're tantalizingly close to the first SoCal marlin. Several were seen and baited on the 425 by folks looking for tuna, and we had a report from a swordfish boat of marlin hanging in tight off the Slide at Catalina. The water is definitely warm enough to support the marlin; now it's just a matter of time.

This is the time of year when people start the debate about just how the marlin migrate, and where they come from and go to before and after their visit to our local waters. The prevailing theory has always been that they move up and down the Pacific coast, and that the striped marlin we catch here are the same ones caught in Cabo San Lucas. This would tend to be supported by the sharp decrease in fish we've seen since longlines and gillnets have been places in the waters of Baja California. But the only real data we have is tag recoveries, and every once in a while a SoCal marlin will get caught in Hawaii. Go figure. Just goes to show you that when you're the big dawg in the seas, you can go wherever you damn well please!

Not a lot of good news on the tuna front. Private boaters continue to do reasonably well on albacore by running down the the 238. But that's a 70 mile run down just south of Punta Banda, which makes for a long trip home. Party boats running out of Marina Coral and Ensenada, and pangas out of San Quintin, make an attractive alternative for those willing to drive down. The long range boats are doing well on yellowfin tuna and wahoo at Alijos Rocks, which is a good thing since that's one of the few places they can still go in Mexican waters. But that's pretty much it for tuna. In a sense, it's a good news-bad news scenario. It's bad news that we're not going to have the kind of tuna season we've seen the last couple of years, but it's good news that we've been having such good seasons lately - 20 years ago, we'd have turned handsprings for the kind of albacore season we're having now!

I've had the pleasure of meeting most of the billfishermen in SoCal, and they're a great bunch. They're a diverse group, too, although there are some traits most seem to carry. Chief amongst them is an aggressive desire to succeed, something no doubt brought over from the successes they've had in their land-based lives. Unfortunately, many take that desire to extremes. It's not enough that they catch marlin - they want to make sure you don't catch any. That's why there's such a proliferation of secret channels and scrambled radios. I've made my feelings known about that before, so I'll stay off the soap box now.

Considering how successful Team Kingsmill has been in the last few years, you could easily assume that they must be amongst the worst offenders when it comes to protecting information. After all, WILD BILL can't possibly be that successful without using all the tools of secrecy, right? Wrong. I find it amazing - and most refreshing - that the Kingsmills are among the most open, honest folks out there. Ask them where they are, and they'll tell you. Ask them how they're doing and they'll give you the score. Most importantly, they'll share the knowledge they have on how to catch the fish. Jimmy is a popular feature at local marlin seminars, and will answer any question - no matter how detailed. They're also the hardest working bunch out there, too, and I believe that is the secret to their success. When everyone else is looking for an anchorage or enjoying a cocktail, WILD BILL is out fishing - and catching! It's no surprise that they got the first billfish of the season, and is a deserved accomplishment.

If you're a beginning marlin fisherman, you could look for no better example to follow than the Kingsmills. their combination of honesty and hard work are worthy of emulation. Of course, if you're one of the many experienced anglers I discussed earlier, well, then these guys provide a pretty good example of the way you should - but probably don't - behave.

Around 10:30 last night, several web sites, including both Allcoast and our own Trip Reporter, started receiving posts about the Kingsmill swordfish. Getting information like that barely 8 hours after the event is pretty impressive. But regulars to the MNAC War Room know that the same information was available there at 7:30 - three hours earlier.

Now, it's always nice to scoop the competition on an important story like this. But the real question is how important are those three hours? If you were looking for the first marlin flag of the season, getting information three hours before others might mean you were on the water trolling and glassing while they were still on the beach. It could make the difference between having success and just reading about it here.

That's the reason I push so hard to have the MNAC members take advantage of the War Room. Every piece of information I get will be posted there as soon as I get it. When I received the call about the swordfish on Sunday, I was already typing before I hung up. Now admittedly, that's a little extreme, but when you get back from a fishing trip you can take a minute to post a quick report. Heck, call the Home Office at (310) 374-2818 and I'll post it for you! It doesn't need to be a masterpiece of composition - like Joe Friday said, "just the facts, ma'am." You can always come back later and edit or add to it. The key is getting as much information as possible in one place. Imagine if every MNAC member posted a 3-sentance report every time the went out - we'd be awash in good information, and we'd all have much more success.

It's important to point out that there is a huge difference between what we do with the War Room and the actions of those who use scramblers and secret channels to share information. Those folks are looking to consciously exclude individuals by blocking their access to information. The War Room, however, is like a cooperative that welcomes all who want to participate. All we ask is that you give as well as take.

That's all for now. It's as humid as hell here in Redondo Beach - reminds me of Houston! Thank Hurricane Claudette for that, I guess. Perhaps the strange weather will bring strange fishing, as well. If it does, look for it in the War Room - or read it here Thursday!

July 16

Man, sometimes I'm so good ... er, lucky ... that it's frightening.

Remember from Monday's update ...

"The one thing I can say - based strictly on intuition - is that we should hear of the first marlin in SoCal or northern Baja in the next 7 to 10 days. Write it down."

Well, according to the San Diego Marlin Club, a 128-lb striped marlin was taken Tuesday off of Punta Banda. Boy, I shoulda gone to the track ...

To no great surprise, the marlin was taken on a cedar plug, meaning it was an incidental catch on a tuna trip. There is a unconfirmed report of an additional marlin release in the same general area, and several have reported marlin playing with their tuna lure spreads. It's probably still a little early to have too many folks out on dedicated marlin hunts just yet. But that day is coming soon - perhaps even this weekend. Whatever you're targeting, it might be a good idea to slip a small marlin lure in the mix - you could really spice up that long run to the tuna grounds!

Of course, not everyone is willing to wait for the fish to get here. A lot of San Diego boats continue to work the 238, scratching out albacore. It's nothing like we've seen for the last few years, but it's still worth the run. Others have found limited success working the edges of the Butterfly Bank and the San Clemente side of the Cortes Bank.

The real long distance award goes to the crews of ESPADON and RETRIEVER, both of which are fishing off of Puerta Vallerta right about now with great success. ESPADON has released several nice black marlin, but RETRIEVER has topped that with a potential world record yellowfin tuna caught by Martha Warlaumont. The fish weighed in at 309-lbs - and that's after being hauled all the way back up to Cabo. Nice going, Ms. Whirley!

If you plan to head offshore of SoCal this weekend, be sure to keep a keen eye on the weather. As you can tell from the picture to the left, we're about to be visited by the remnants of Hurricane Claudette. She was a little one, but has been a royal pain in the a$$ all the way from Louisiana. Currently, the main body of the storm is over southern New Mexico, and we're already seeing the leading edge now. If you're an experienced offshore skipper, you respect the power of the ocean and understand just how unpredictable weather can be. If you're not, this might be a good weekend to work on your tackle ...

Personally, I'm hitting the bike this weekend. Not only am I working myself into fighting shape for the season, but I always like to get out on the road while the Tour de France is underway. Tomorrow is the first big time trial - should be the first step towards victory for Lance and the beginning of the end for the rest of the peloton.

July 13

OK, I'm officially excited.

There comes a point every year when it dawns on me that the season has arrived. Different things can trigger it - the cry of a seagull, the smell of the ocean, a particularly exciting article in a fishing magazine. Whatever the trigger, it kicks me into high gear in preparation for the season and generally puts me in a really good mood.

This year, the trigger was a posting at the Offshore Fishing Forum, in the Chicks Talk forum. Dara Stotesbury, the "chick" of ChicksWhoFish.com, posted the results of her weekend fishing trip. What excited me wasn't the nice calico bass or yellowtail they caught but rather a shot of something that got away - a big fat swordfish spotted off Pyramid Cove (that's him/her swimming to your right). Combine that with two reports we received of anglers losing swordfish after long battles, and it's clear the game is on!

This is a tough time, because everyone wants to see a billfish so bad. Unfortunately, a lot of the people who believe they've seen one are really bad at seeing billfish! We've received a lot of marlin reports here at the Home Office, but none I could really call bona fide. Complicating things is the fact that the coastal fog has been heavy lately, making for poor SST data. As a result, we have iffy marlin spottings and no real way to correlate them using water temperatures. It's one of the frustrating realities of fishing for marlin in Southern California that at the time you are most desperate for data, the data is at its worst. Go figure.

The one thing I can say - based strictly on intuition - is that we should hear of the first marlin in SoCal or northern Baja in the next 7 to 10 days. Write it down.

The tuna action remains sketchy, primarily (IMHO) because of the warm water. San Diego boats continue to have scattered success below the border, and private boaters have done reasonably well at the 238 and Twin 220's . I just don't see a big albacore season happening, although if the water continues to warm, we could get a nice yellowfin tuna run later this summer.

The most interesting report I received came from several members of the King Harbor Marlin Club. They reported catching albacore in the 25-lb range 8 miles off of Pyramid Head. Several boats - all in the same tournament - got in on the action. The unusual thing is that we received no other reports from the region. You'd think that half the boats in SoCal would be there. I guess we'll wait and see what happens during the week. Hopefully, we'll have more to say on Thursday.

Normally at this point in the update I'd have something witty to say, but I'm just too darn tired. Remember to file those Trip Reports and use the War Room. War Lance Armstrong as the most amazing athlete alive (and props to Tyler "I'm still competing in the Tour de France with a broken collarbone" Hamilton), and I'm out!

July 10

"The white zone is for the immediate loading or unloading of fish only ..."

Yeah, you'd like to hear that, wouldn't you? There are places in the world where, right now, they're catching fish. Too bad this isn't one of them. We continue to wait patiently (for the most part *smile*) for the local offshore season to begin. Boats running out of San Diego and Mexican ports such as Ensenada and San Quintin continue to scratch out albacore, bluefin tuna and yellowtail. The fish have shown some movement to the north, but it's still at least a 60 mile run to spots such as the Mushroom Bank and even then there's no real quantity. Only those boats willing to make a multi-day trip into Mexican waters are having any real success.

We're still waiting patiently for our share of the marlin. They're catching them in Madeira and Kona and Oz, and soon it will be our turn. At least that's the hope. Reports continue to trickle in, mostly from boats that are targeting other species and stumble across the marlin. Unfortunately, that often leads to sharks, porpoise and everything else being reported as marlin. The one credible report I received came from a swordfish spotter plane who saw a marlin that he felt was far too large to be a striped marlin. We occasionally get a stray blue marlin off of SoCal - wouldn't it be nice to think there might already be one lurking around!

You guys all know that I'm a techhead, and I'm not afraid to go after the latest technology, particularly if it will help to support the efforts of this site. Two years ago, it was the Palm m500 PDA with a modem link to my cell phone for filing reports from on the water. Last year, it was the Canon digital camera and a PowerBook Pismo laptop computer. This winter, I added a WiFi network so I can do it all without the clutter of wires.

All of that wonderful technology pales compared to my new love - the iPod.You see, one of the challenges of our kind of fishing is that you spend a lot of time on an open flybridge staring at vast stretches of water. A distraction such as music can be welcome - if the rest of the crew can agree on the music! A couple of years ago, I started lugging a portable CD player along, but that was limited to one CD and had a nasty habit of skipping every time I moved.

Enter the iPod. It's an mp3 player (that means it plays songs saved as computer files) but more than that, it's an Apple. That means not only is the most functional player out there, it's wickedly cool, as well. Mine has a 15 gigabyte harddrive, and it currently holds 2,936 songs - enough to play for 8 days straight. All that in a package that's only slightly bigger than the picture to the right. Frankly, I can't wait to hit the bridge. I don't want to sound like too much of an Apple salesman, but you can get one here.

OK, time for my yearly pitch to support the MNAC War Room. Part of what you receive for you $25 is access to a members-only forum, the War Room. My hope was that it would be the place that members would post their information for the benefit of other members, but so far that hasn't happened. So let's talk about the power of numbers for a minute. We have around 125 MNAC members, with about half living and fishing in SoCal. During the season, some of you will hear things, some won't, but everyone is looking for the best dope. You can pay some 976 number and get one man's opinion, you can call your favorite fishing club phone tape and get whatever the members might have provided, or you can cruise the public web sites and find out what the insiders knew yesterday.

But, what if the MNAC members selected a single place to collect all the tips they get - somewhere that only they could benefit from the knowledge. Just imagine the best info from 60 different sets of ears, all in one place. That's what the War Room should be. If everyone who could use it would use it, it would quickly be one of the best sources of information available anywhere. And just think how many members could get a marlin this year with that kind of weapon. Just a thought ... :-)

I'll be posting information in the War Room between Fishing News reports, and I'd encourage you to check back often. And if you decide to post your own little tidbits, well, I certainly won't mind - and neither will the other members!

July 7

Yawn ... er, what? Oh, hello. I guess I must have dozed off waiting for some news of fish. That's pretty easy to do around here this time of year. Am I the only one sick of people justifying the lack of any early season fishing by saying, "yeah, but wait until July!"? Well, it's July, and the fishing still sucks ...

I don't want you to think I'm greedy or anything, but I guess maybe, like many others, I'm just spoiled. I'm complaining about the lack of any real albacore run, but it wasn't that long ago that we thought there would never again be an albacore run in Southern California. Perhaps this season is just destined to be a reminder of how things used to be. There are some longfin to be had, but it means a full day ride south, and even that bite is turning spotty. For those willing to take the chance and run a hundred miles more or less southwest of San Diego, there have been catches of not just albacore but yellowtail and a few bluefin tuna as well. But there is nothing that gives you the sense that it is the first wave of something larger.

Of course, if you assume that it is an abnormal tuna season then perhaps it will be an abnormal billfish season as well. Those of you who only picked up the sport in the last couple of years might assume those of us who talk about hundred of fish tagged over the course of a season or boats getting 3, 5 or more marlin in a single day must be delusional. But that's how it normally is here in SoCal - or at least had been until recently. I still can't say for sure what I feel is the real culprit for the crappy billfishing we've seen lately. Contrary to popular belief, I do not believe that establishing this site has jinxed the fishing. There are certainly pressures from overfishing that we haven't seen in the past, but I suspect it's just the natural cycle of things that has us at a low spot marlin-wise. Just to whet your appetite, we did receive one reliable (read - not a shark) report of a striped marlin spotted on the Avalon Bank.

One thing I thought might be a good sign was the appearance of Tropical Storm Dolores, which was spawned off of Baja over the weekend. We already know that the striped marlin have turned the corner at the tip of Baja to start their trip north, and patches of warm water are appearing in the local fishing grounds. Sometimes, a storm like Dolores can have the affect of accelerating the movement of both water and fish, but in this case, I suspect it was too far offshore to do the deed. However, it's already the fourth named storm (after Andres, Blanca and Carlos, for those of you who track such things), and this had been predicted to be an active storm season. Not good for our amigos in Puerta Vallerta or Cabo San Lucas, but perhaps a bounty for those of us in Southern California.

Fortunately, there are some places in the world where the fishing is worth talking about. This past weekend saw the 19th annual World Cup Blue Marlin Championship, a one day, worldwide event. This format makes catching the right fish on the right day essential, and three boats got the job done. Congratulations to Jim Bullock fishing on OPPOSITION out of Bermuda who landed a 648-lb blue marlin to take first place. runner-up honors went to HOLIDAY out of Kona, Hawaii (568-lbs) and third place was taken by DE MAKO, also out of Bermuda, with a 525-lber. Boats were entered from fishing grounds around the world, including Vanuatu, Madeira, Australia, the Canary Islands and the American East Coast, making this a most interesting format.

Speaking of tournaments, I don't want anyone thinking that I've forgotten about our own SCMO event. This past winter, a very lively debate was held in the Marlin Club about just how to run the perfect event for the SCMO regulars. I'm still hammering out the details, but it looks like it'll be a year-round event with a monthly best-catch contest and a year-end grand prize. I'll tap a group of esteemed SCMO regulars to judge the entries. In keeping with our policies here at SCMO, there'll be not dead marlin - release only. However, there will be other species eligible that you can kill, for those of you who just have to ... :-) If you have ideas on how such a thing should be run, be sure to let me know. Of course, if you want to donate items for prizes, well, we like that, too!

June 30

Ah, summer ...

Summer has arrived here at the Home Office, and you know what that means - steaks on the barbey, bikinis on the beach, and the return of the SCMO Fishing News!

I'd like to tell you that we're off to a great start for our offshore season, but that'd be a lie and I hate to start lying now - I need to save them for when they count ... :-) There's been some scattered albacore catches on the far south edge of our fishery (like 100 miles down), and I've heard rumors of swordfish spotted on some of the high spots. But, for the most part, we're off to a pretty slow start.

At least, we hope it's just a slow start. One of the big questions the last few years has been whether the lack of pelagic fish in our area is just a temporary, cyclical thing or is actually the result of some of the destructive fishing practices being used just to our south in Baja California. Last year, we had one of the worst marlin seasons on record. Not coincidentally, last year also marked the arrival of big time longlining out of Ensenada and miles of gill nets all over the southern half of the peninsula. The net effect (no pun) was that most of the fish that headed up the coast from Cabo San Lucas never made it here, either because of the abnormally cool water or the intense fishing pressure.

It's too early to know if the fish will make a comeback this year, but the signs are promising. Checking the SST charts (when the damn fog clears ...), you'll see that there are already patches of water as warm as 67 degrees. Once those patches link up, the "marlin freeway" will be in place. Another promising report comes from George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing in Los Cabos, who reports that the striped marlin appear to be stacking up at the end of the peninsula in preparation of their trip north. Let's just hope they make it ...

So, how did you spend your offseason? Some people were more productive than others. For example, Dara Fry of ChicksWhoFish used the time to marry MNAC member Greg Stotesbury. I don't want to get too far ahead of things, but when those two start having little ones, we're talking some pretty powerful fishing genes! A hearty SCMO congratulations to the newlyweds.

I was not nearly so motivated. Frankly, after a long season running SCMO and chasing marlin, all I want to do with my offseason is sleep. Somehow, though, I got sucked into a master's program at Loyola Marymount. One class down, and I'll be back in school at the end of August. Your condolences will be welcomed ... :-)

A couple of notes about the site for MNAC members. One of the big complaints we had last year was about trouble logging into the War Room forum. After trying to educated the members about different ways to smooth out the process, I bit the bullet and changed the links so it takes you to the lobby of the forum, rather than the War Room itself. This will allow you to log in normally and everything should be fine. I also moved the War Room forum up to the second spot on the list of forums - right between the Marlin Club and the Trip Reporter. Hopefully, this will remind members to use the forum to post information and other tidbits in a forum only the members can see. Remember, once I start getting tips on where the marlin are, they'll be in the War Room first!

I was just looking back at last year's Fishing News and realized I spent a lot of time talking about things other than offshore fishing. While still entertaining (IMHO), I hope this year's fishing will give me enough grist for the mill that I won't have to ramble quite so much - and I'll be you do, too!

I'm excited about the upcoming season. I think we'll have a good marlin showing, and good weather in which to fish them. Stay tuned and see how it turns out ...

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