2007 Fishing News Archive

October 15 - Final Report

Marlin? What marlin? Exactly the reason this is the final report of a lousy season.

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I'm not gonna lie to you ... it's been tough to write reports this season. So few fish, so little to talk about. So it's probably time to pull the plug and let this season die peacefully.

There are still a couple of boats out looking for that last fish of the season, and certainly any one that is caught at this point could well be the final one. But the water temps are dropping (down to around 66F on the Avalon Bank), and we keep getting these wannabe winter storms forming, so it's certainly time for the fat lady to do here thing.

Amazingly enough, the party boats are still catching tuna. I can't imagine who's paying for the ride, since there can't possibly be a freezer in SoCal that isn't plugged with three kinds of tuna right now.

The Cabo tourney season kicks off this week with the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament; next week is the first of the Bisbee's events. Be sure to check out the Offshore Fishing Forum for updates on the events, as I've bribed several MNAC members who are fishing the events to provide on-the-spot reporting. For the rest of us, I guess there's nothing left to do but break down the tackle, ruminate about the lousy fishing, and pray that it's better next season ...

Since this is the last report, it's a good time for my "thanks and no thanks" rant. First, as always, thank you to each of our MNAC members whose support keeps this place going. There are times when I'm feeling down or are suffering from some kind of writer's cramp, and it's the knowledge that you guys are out there that fires me up and keeps me going. That said, there is one area where our membership came up weak this season.

For these reports to be successful, three key things have to happen. I need to be on the water, since the best information will always be that I can collect myself, either by witnessing it or hearing it first-hand on the radio. The second thing that has to happen is I need to pound my regular sources pretty hard to make sure that whatever information might be available makes it into these reports. Finally, our membership - you guys - needs to take the time to file a Trip Report after every - every - trip offshore.

Now, to be certain, I failed in that first category, as I only got offshore twice during the season and didn't get close to seeing any action. My contacts ponied up the dope as they always do, which leaves the Trip Reports - or lack thereof. We have over 100 members who hail from SoCal home ports, and I'd guess that a total of maybe 10 filed a TR - and the vast majority came from just 2 members. All I can say is thank God for Bob Hoose and Greg Stotesbury, who not only file complete reports but are usually in the middle of the action.

Filing those Trip Reports is optional, of course, but helps so much. It doesn't matter if you catch fish or not, or if you have mad writing skills or not. All you have to do is say we went here, and this is what we saw - or didn't see. I just know that there's at least 25 MNAC members on the water every weekend of marlin season - imagine if even half of them provided a Trip Report describing their action! What a resource. Now, I know that filing a TR will never bring you the ego-boost as posting it over at Bloody Decks or Allcoast, but those posts will never bring the respect you'll get here. At least the people who read your TR will appreciate the information and understand what it is you're talking about. Think about it for next season, OK?

October 8

"It's not that the wind is blowin' ... it's what the wind is blowin'."

- Ron White

The wind was a-blowin' here at the Home Office ... did the marlin fishing blow as well? And why are they still catching tuna - don't they migrate? Must be time for the Fishing News ...

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With the end of the local tourney season, the money boats have headed south or headed home. That leaves only the hard-asses ... er, hard-heads ... to try and find the fish. Always interesting to see how the fleet does once most of the talent has fled ...

Yeah, that's right - no Thursday report again. Hey, when no one is filing Trip Reports and I'm not hearing of much action, I figure I might as well save the words ...

The Home Office staff wants to send along their best wishes to a friend of SCMO who's on the mend. Ron Johnson, captain of SHOWDOWN, is recovering from heart surgery having had a couple of arteries cleaned out. Like too many of us, he waited until he felt the pain before finally going to the doctor - and they sent him straight to surgery. A lesson for us all. Ron's the one who tagged me as "Ol' Dot Com" - a much better name than some that were suggested by others in the fleet - so he'll always have a seat at our table. Get well soon, Ron!

Oh yeah ... the fishing. It's not that there are no marlin out there any more - heck, WAIT-N-SEA got three last week working outside the 182. It's just that there 1) aren't a lot of them, 2) aren't many boats out there to find them and 3) they aren't biting much. But they are being seen. Probably the most action is happening around the 182 - after all, everyone loves to fish where the fish were, rather than finding out where the fish are. But marlin were also seen as far north as the Avalon Bank, and boats chasing the still-present tuna reported seeing and/or catching marlin as incidental catch among the tuna - just like the beginning of the season all over again!

In addition to the marlin action on the 182, that's been a good spot for yellowfin tuna as well. There's a bizarre mix out there right now, as both warm water and cold water tuna are available - long after both should have long since departed. OF course, that could also explain why it's been such a crappy marlin year - good tuna years usually are, since the conditions each prefer are pretty much mutually exclusive. Of course, it could also be all those Mexican boats that caught 10,000 marlin each ...

As the season winds down, there will inevitably be a last report. Sometimes, I'll take the time to write a dedicated final report, but sometimes the season just peters out and I realize that the last report is really the last report. So let me take a moment here to thank all of you for your continued support. The emails, the Trip Reports, the Release Reports - they all help me stitch this together, and the thank-you messages keep it all going. Lord willing, we'll do this all again next season.

October 1

Sharp-eyed viewers will have noticed that we missed an update last week - and thanks for the helpful (and not so helpful) email reminders of that fact. We try hard to not make this place seem like a one-man operation, but that's the reality. Sometimes, life jumps up and bites you in a painful spot, and priorities must be assigned, and you don't get an update. Sorry, but deal with it.

With that, we're off!

With the end of the local tourney season, most of the boats have either headed south for Los Cabos and more tournament glory, or tied up for the winter. Some hearty souls are sticking it out, though, even with little evidence that there'll be a late season bump.

Those boats that were out were split between two fleets - one working near the 289 between Catalina and San Clemente, and another that headed down the ridge towards the 182. From the limited reports I've received, I'd say the folks who opted for the ridge took the right path. A lot of marlin were seen on the 182, and even more further down at the 9 Mile Bank, but not a lot were caught.

How tough was the fishing? Sunday was the inaugural California Billfish Series championship. According to the folks at Bisbee's, GAMBLER was declared the winner "based on their performance in the previous three events." Does that mean no one caught anything, or they just said, "there's no fish out there - screw it!" ... :-)

Of course, bad fishing is only bad fishing unless you happen to be WILD BILL. Jim Kingsmill needed to kill some time as BAD COMPANY made the transit from Catalina to Cabo, so he was out on the family yacht this weekend. Putting to rest once and for all any thought that the new ride couldn't catch fish like the last one (or the one before that), they released seven marlin for the weekend - 3 on Saturday and 4 more on Sunday. They were working the 182 and points south, although the last one was caught on the 312 as they paddled north. All baitfish, naturally, and all on circle hooks - yeah! Jim's got another couple of weekends before he has to head south to catch up with BC - hopefully, he'll leave a few for the rest of us ... or at least find them for us ... :-)

For those of you with plans for the weekend, you should know that Tropical Storm Juliette has stalled west of Cabo San Lucas. It looks like she'll be downgraded to a tropical depression in a day or so and start to dissipate, but the remains could drift this way and impact the local weather ... stay tuned ...

I'm going to go back in time for a minute to the Pesky. By now, everyone knows the story of how I ended up on the beach rather than the water. I've included a couple of pictures in this update that illustrate my dilemma. The first is of MNAC member Rob Espinosa reminding me that, even though I wasn't there, I was still Number One ... at least that's what they told me. The other is a shot taken from a beach in San Diego on Saturday the 22nd - Day 2 of the Pesky. Look close and you'll see a total of seven waterspouts in different degrees of formation. I rest my case.

One last thought on the Pesky. We didn't have the usual awards, since I wasn't there, but I'd say the Hard Luck Award has to go to the Gunters - Warren Sr and Jr. If you've ever fished the Pesky, you know that releasing the fish is only part of the challenge. Based on the theme of the event, there's a series of things you have to do during the fight to achieve bonus points to go with the release points. Often, it's those bonus points that makes the difference between a first place fish and a fifth place also-ran.

The Gunters ended up fishing JEWEL LURE with just the two of them on board, and that put them at a serious handicap if they caught a fish, since there was no one along to deal with all the Pesky eccentricities. As fate would have it, Warren Jr hooked a baitfish on Friday in tough conditions. They got the fish, but weren't able to deal with all the costume changes, etc, and it cost them bonus points. They showed class, though, by admitting their inability to score the bonus points - something I suspect not everyone in the event would emulate, if they were in the same position. So, congrats to Warren Jr for the baitfish and to Warren Sr. for the character ...

Since the season's down to the short strokes, I don't know how many updates we'll have left. Makes it appropriate to run this survey ...

September 25

The frustration is palpable here at the Home Office, but it's time to shake it off - it's a new week, there's new tourneys to cover and a new edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

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Normally, I'd start this report with something like, "Sorry it's a day late - I was hung over from the Pesky." Don't have that excuse on that one (more in a minute); instead, I was hoping to get some better reports from the weekend. But whether it was the weather, the hangovers or just plain embarassment for the lousy performances, information is pretty hard to get. So here's what we have ...

Let's start with the Pesky. As you may know - or, may not - the weather that we alluded to in our last report caused several teams to pull out of the event - including our own Team HOOKER. I respect the decision, but it'll take me a while to get over the disappointment. I'll spare you the waterworks here, but if you want to read the whole story, you can do so over at the MarlinBlog.

In the end, though, nearly 40 teams headed into the teeth of uncertain weather conditions to do battle with what has thusfar this season been an elusive foe - the striped marlin. As you might expect, some boats ran to the last known spots, and other opted to fish in the relative safety of the lee of Catalina - and both options worked. Congrats to Shane Melton, who released the winning fish while fishing on WAIT-N-SEA down by the 181. The weather conditions made radio reception so poor that most tourney contenders didn't even know WNS had released a fish until after the end of the event. Also releasing fish under tough conditions were WHISKEY SAUER and HAULIN ARC. The storm we all feared finally blew through the Catalina Bight on Friday night, making for wild conditions in Avalon. Nearly an inch of rain fell on slopes around town freshly denuded by this summer's fire, and several parts of town had to be evacuated due to mudslides. For the fleet on anchor, the mud dirtied up the harbor waters to the point that most boats had their bait die over night. My favorite story comes from Rob Espinosa on PESCAHOLIC, who mentioned that on Friday, the run from the 181 to Avalon was downhill - just the opposite of normal.

Of course, the rain had blown out by the time the festivities began on Saturday night, and I'm told a good time was had by all. I can't really say for sure, of course, since out of 40 boats, none have filed a Trip Report ... grr ...

But there's no time to cry over spilt watermelon shooters - Monday saw the beginning of another tournament. The Hatteras Catalina Classic saw over 70 boats idling outside Avalon waiting for the starting gun. Once it went off, most of the boats headed south towards the 209 - and that's where the only action of the day was found. Three fish were released there, all before noon - one each for FIRE HATT, SEA JEWEL and LUCKY K. No marlin were brought to the scales, although lots of sharks were caught.

The action today was just as grim, and only 4 marlin were released. The bite today was further up the ridge towards Catalina, and it was a morning bite - the last fish was released at 8:19! BAD COMPANY, ERIN MARIE, GOOD KARMA and BREAKWATER each released a marlin, and three more were killed but did not meet the minimum weight requirement.

We've talked about this tourney in the past, and the "overtime" methodology they use if no one catches a qualifier. The event should have ended today, but since no qualifying fish were killed, they'll have an extra day tomorrow to see if someone can kill one big enough. The release division, however, ended today. Frankly, if these guys were at all serious about conservation, they'd just give the first prize to the leading release boat - which I think will be FIRE HATT. But hey - there's just no publicity as good as a dead fish hanging next to a sweaty angler and a pretty girl ... isn't that right, Wayne?

The Classic is the last of the traditional tourneys, but there's one more this year - an "all-star" event made up of the top eight boats from the three previous money events. The California Billfish Series Championship (or "CBS") will be a one-day shootout this Saturday. That's a deviation from the other events, which run on Monday and Tuesday, and gives the average Joe a chance to watch the fishing elite in action. It should be interesting.

OK, that's it for now. If I hear any stories from the Pesky - and you just know they're out there - I'll be sure to pass them along!

September 20

"Ooh, I hear laughter in the rain ..."

There's no change in the fishing, but a scary change in the weather. Full wrap up of the Zane Grey and a preview of the Pesky - all that and more in this get-out-of-town edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

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This will be a quickie, because we're heading out later tonight to pre-position for fishing tomorrow. But there's so much to squeeze in ...

Before we return to the tourney trail, we need to talk a little about the weather. In SoCal, you have to take weather reports with a grain of salt. All it takes is one drop of rain on the windshield, and the TV weather folks shift into "StormWatch". So when they talk about a rare, severe storm, you have to wonder if they're serious.

This particular storm is coming out of the north - just like those we would see in the winter, except that it's September. It's bringing rain, and snow to the higher elevations, and a lot of wind. Most worrisome to those of us who plan to spend the weekend on the water is the warning that this particular storm will probably spawn waterspouts over the inner waters of SoCal. That's something you don't see often here, and you damned well don't want to be around. If you're planning to head out this weekend, be sure to keep a close eye on the weather reports, but put your trust in your own judgment to do the right thing. Better to stay on the beach than get pounded unnecessarily.

OK, back to the tourney coverage. Yesterday saw the wrap up of the Zane Grey Invitational after three tough days of fishing. As reported here on Monday, BAD COMPANY was leading after Day One, but it was a short-lived lead.

Day Two saw boats once again running south to the very edge of the grid - so far south, in fact, that the Tournament Control had to repeatedly remind teams of where the line was and that any fish hooked south of it would not count. They had to give their grid numbers, but not the actual location. However, my spys tell me that the fishing was happening between and just outside the 181 and 138 spots.

The fishing was much better on this day, with a steady pick through out the morning and early afternoon. A FEW BUCKS opened the action with a release shortly after 8AM, followed a little more than an hour later by GAMBLER with the first boated fish of the event - a striped marlin that weighed in at 169-lbs on Rosie's scale on the Green Pier. SCRAMBLER had a pair of releases, and CHIQUELIN and GAMBLER each released one before noon. In the afternoon bite, GOOD KARMA and NIRVANA (now that's a happy pair!) each released a marlin before OHANA boated the second fish of the tourney, which ultimately tipped the scales at 175-lbs. AFTER MIDNIGHT ended the day's action with a release shortly after 4PM.

At the end of Day Two, OHANA and GAMBLER topped the leaderboard with their boated fish, with BAD COMPANY in third. But it was GAMBLER that cleaned up financially, taking all five of the daily pots for a total of $67,150. Were this like most events, this would represent the final standings. But the Zane is a three-day event, and the boats had to head back out on Wednesday for one last shot at glory.

Day Three was a tough one for fishing, but the leading boats all managed to improve their scores. OHANA, CHIQUELIN and GOOD KARMA each released an early morning fish before BAD COMPANY released both fish of a double just before 10AM. That ended the scoring for the tourney, but not the action as FIRE HATT hooked and released a fish late in the afternoon. Unfortunately, they were unable to reach port before the deadline and the fish was disqualified.

As they had on Day One, BAD COMPANY swept the dailies, but it was OHANA that took home the title. GAMBLER was second, and BAD COMPANY remained in third despite their Day Three double. But save your tears for Team BC, as they once again cashed the biggest check of the weekend.

The tournament schedule tends to bounce between weekday money events and weekend club tourneys. That means this weekend is time for the next club event - and it's a wild one. If you've never fished in The Pesky, there's really nothing I can do to describe it. It's great fishing and great partying, plus it's a theme event - with all the chaos that comes with it. This year, the theme is "Dangerous Catch" - a salute to the Alaskan crab fishing reality show. Being the Pesky, there's theme-based costumes for the angler and skipper to wear while fighting their fish, plus the famous Pesky Bucket - this year renamed the "Trap O' Crap" filled with a mixture of useful and humorous products, including the famous bagels. Wind or not, we're gonna have a great time - look here on Monday for a full wrap, and in the MarlinBlog next week for our 2nd Annual Pesky "Awards They Should Have Given" entry.

That's it for now - if you're going to be out this weekend, be safe!

September 17

Anglers make long runs for short results as the tournament trail continues. The Masters is done, the Zane is going, and the Pesky is coming - and we've got it all right here in this edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

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As I mentioned earlier, yesterday was the final of two fishing days in the Balboa Angling Club's Master Angler Billfish Tournament. With no real "bite" to chase, anglers and crews were left to scratch their heads and consult whatever sources they could find - SST charts, swordfish dope or Ouija Boards - to try and decide where to fish. When lines in came, however, it was clear that the vast majority of the 57-boat fleet was headed south - far south. The MABT grid map dipped deep into Mexican waters, and several of the teams were determined to fish right on the edge.

Unfortunately, those guys overran the bite, which materialized inside the 209. The Masters is a line-class event, featuring some of the best light line fishermen on the West Coast. Unfortunately, that also means a lot of fish lost - several of which cost teams a shot at the title.

NON-TAXING opened the scoring with a marlin just before noon on Friday, but the fish died - no points! Scott Kingsmill released a marlin on 12-lb tackle from WILD BILL just before 4, followed quickly by a 30-lb release by BILL JOY and and 20-lb fish for PROVIDER, which closed out the fishing on a tough Day 1.

Day 2 saw fishing conditions just as tough, and the fish just as scattered. BILL JOY struck first, as Jim Sieminski successfully released a marlin on 12-lb. It was part of a 12-lb double - imagine how hard that would be! COHO released a marlin at 3, and REEL TIME angler Dave King closed the scoring with a 16-lb release just before 5PM.

With the light line in play, lots of fish were called in before they could be identified, and several chagrined crews had to report their marlin had morphed into a mako shark or yellowfin tuna. But that just adds to the pressure of the event, and the minute you assume you don't have a marlin is when you get burned.

A total of 7 fish were released for the event out of maybe a dozen marlin hookups and another dozen that turned out to be the wrong kind. When the numbers were totaled, Scott Kingsmill was the 2007 Master Angler with his 12-lb release, BILL JOY was High Boat with two released marlin, and the Tuna Club was the High Club.

This is really a great event - certainly the preeminent club marlin tourney in SoCal. As a BAC member, I intend to find a way to fish it next year. You heard it here first ... :-)

Frankly, I don't know how some of the boats and crews keep their heads straight as they transition from one tourney to the next with less than a few hours sleep between the two. Take today, for example. Yesterday, the Masters concluded with two days of fishing, most of it far to the south. The boats had to race back north, head into Newport for the event banquet, then bomb across the channel to be on site for a dawn shotgun start for the Zane Grey. It's crazy - and I envy the hell out of them!

Under the greylight cloud cover, 27 boats roared out of Avalon in search of marlin as the Rivera Zane Grey Invitational kicked off their first day of fishing today. With a limited field competing for a first prize of over $50,000, little fuel was spared as skippers ran to their favorite secret numbers. Since many of the boats had fished the Masters only a day earlier, it's no surprise that many of the top teams started their tourney with another run south.

Following up on their Avalon Billfish Classic victory last week, CHIQUELIN was first on the board with a release at 10:24. BAD COMPANY released one at 10:59, followed almost immediately by OHANA at 11:02. BC scored once again in the afternoon, and their 2:45 release guaranteed them the Day One side pots and the overnight lead.

Both BAD COMPANY fish, as well as the release by CHIQUELIN, came in Grid J7, which includes the 181 - 138 ridge. OHANA released their marlin in Grid K4, which is just north of the 209.

BAD COMPANY leads the standings with 200 points, with CHIQUELIN and OHANA following with 100 each. BC's Day 1 jackpot winnings total $67,150. Not a bad day's work. If there is a Thursday report, we'll have a tourney wrap there; otherwise, look for the final standings in the War Room Wednesday.

OK, this is officially your final chance to sign up for The Pesky ; the kickoff is Wednesday night at the Villa Nova, and if we don't have your name, you don't get your bucket of crap. C'mon - you don't really want to have to listen to us tell all our stories after the event knowing you missed it, do you? Check out this MarlinBlog entry from last year's event if you want to get a feel for how we roll ...

I could talk about albacore or dorado or yellowfin tuna or yellowtail right about now, but hey - do any of us really care when it's tourney season? I didn't think so ...

That'll do it for now. There may or may not be a Thursday report, depending on when I leave for the Pesky. If there's a report, we'll have a wrap on the Zane Grey along with full coverage of the Pesky pre-party. Otherwise, check in the War Room for the ZG, and you'll just have to catch me in Avalon for a Pesky update. Personally, I'd start at the Watermelon Bank ... :-)

September 13

Bad weather makes for bad fishing, and a surprisingly bad performance by BAD COMPANY. Is it bad karma to keep with this bad theme? Stick around for a hopefully good edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

The SoCal tourney trail rolls on, with events just completed and others about to start. For many boats and crews, that means maybe a day to clean up, fuel up and ready yourself between events. Hopefully, they'll use part of that day to check out the results here ...

Monday and Tuesday saw the contesting of the Avalon Billfish Classic, an all-release event. Twenty-four boats participated in the shotgun start at dawn offshore of Avalon. Several interesting things about this event. First, they added an "amateur" division, giving an opportunity to those who want the experience of fishing in a big-time tourney without having to go head to head with the best of the pros. Second, the new title sponsor, Contender Boats, brought in a fleet of their own, stocked with East Coast pros and their techniques. It made for an interesting outcome.

Knowing that the majority of the fish over the weekend had been caught outside and below the 277, most boats correctly guessed that the fish would pop up at the 289. EL DIABLO opened the event with the first released marlin of the day, followed by a pair by CHIQUELIN. By day's end thirteen fish had been released, with SNAKE DANCER and CHIQUELIN leading the way with three each.

Day Two saw a big change for the worse in the weather, and it impacted the fishing. CHIQUELIN added one more release, but the big achievers of the day were GAMBLER and CONTENDER WEST with three releases each. In the end, CHIQUELIN took the award as the leading boat in the pro category, joined by leading amateur EL DIABLO. The hard luck award goes to GAMBLER, which placed 4th with their three releases, but had a fourth fall off late in Day Two.

For those of us who've followed West Coast events for the last few years, it's no surprise to see Mike "The Beak" Hurt bring another victory for CHIQUELIN. But where, you might ask, was the dominant BAD COMPANY team? They were in the event, but only managed a single release on the first day. I hear that hot stick Jimmy Kingsmill wasn't on board, which doubtless impacted their success ...

Good news - our San Diego reporter has resurfaced, so we can provide some coverage of last weekend's Invitational Light Tackle Tournament, presented by the San Diego Marlin Club. Fourteen boats competed in the event, which ran last Friday and Saturday. Fifteen marlin were released in the tourney, with a pretty even distribution - 5 boats released two fish each, and 5 more released one. A drawing was used to pick a winner from the top five boats, so congratulations to OLD BLUE for both their fishing luck and their drawing luck. Most of the fish in the ILTT came from below the Mexican border between the 371 and 425 spots.

This site provides a lot of opportunities for people to provide commentary on what we do. From the Guest Log to the Release Reports to the Offshore Fishing Forum, no one can say their voice isn't heard. One of the places that inevitably makes me smile are the comments provided by some of our visitors to the MarlinBlog.

Today was one of those times, as I found the following comment added to a blog entry about Kathy Griffin's "suck it Jesus" commentary"

"Uh, I googled this as a marlin blog. Is there anything marlin here?"

I can understand his confusion - after all, the MB is only surrounded by marlin stuff! Hopefully by now, you all understand that the MarlinBlog is where you can go to find all the pithy commentary that used to be sprinkled elsewhere in the site - including this report. Just look at the example below from 2004 - there's a lot of stuff other than marlin there. We've developed a loyal core of followers over at the MB - mostly people with as perverse a sense of humor as mine - but the rest of you are always welcome to join the party. Oh, and my friend above who was apparently disappointed at the lack of fishing info in the MB? How serious can you take a guy who's email addy is "but2mouth@yahoo.com" ... I'm serious!

Hopefully by now, we've piqued your interest in tournament action, so why not take the next step? It's not too late to sign up for the 18th Annual Los Pescadores Next To Avalon Invitational Not So Light Tackle Billfish Derby, better known "the Pesky" or "Those Bastards With The Bagels". We fish hard, we party hard, most people survive with their memories and dignity intact, and a good time is had by all. It's a themed event; this year it's a riff on "Deadliest Catch". Since it's our 18th year, I suggested we go with a "finally legal" theme - you know, make the angler dress like a slutty Lindsey Lohan clone. They never listen to me ... *pout* Anyway, you can read all about it here; be sure to tell them I send you - it'll only cost you an extra $25 ... :-)

Next up for the tourney teams is the Balboa Angling Club's Master Angler Billfish Tournament, which will be competed on Friday and Saturday. This elite team event attracts the best of the local anglers and traditionally highlights some spectacular light tackle angling. If the weather continues to be an issue, that will be quite a challenge to anglers prepared to catch marlin on 12-lb test ...

For reasons I can't begin to fathom, the albacore continue to hang out on the Butterfly, Mushroom and Cortes Banks. Makes no damned sense to me, but the boats just keep coming and going. You'd think everyone's freezers would be plugged by now. Those looking for the light tuna should check out the 371, where school-sized yellowfin are being caught. No additional reports on those 100-lbers ... damn!

That's all for tonight. Weather reports look promising, so good luck to everyone in the MABT fleet tomorrow - enjoy that ride down to the 289 ... and the ride back up! See you Monday ...

September 10

It was the first big tourney weekend and hey - there were actually fish to catch! The first big money event of the season is underway - guess who's winning (I'll give you a hint - it isn't BAD COMPANY!)? And I finally got out on the water, but it wasn't on HOOKER - what's up with that? We recap the weekend's events and more in this edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

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This was a big weekend for club tournaments, so let's jump right in. The Tuna Club held an event on Friday and Saturday, and a full fleet was working the dacron hard. The fleet battled the elements just inside the 277, and in the end it was KELSEY LEE that reigned victorious. BTW - if there is a prettier sportfisher in the world, I'll be damned if I know where. What a beauty! I'd tell you all the boats that caught fish in the event, but that little scrap of paper I was scribbling names on seems to have gone through the wash. Some reporter I make. I can tell you that Greg Ragatz released one from PROSPECTOR, but only because they took the time to file a Trip Report. As for the rest of you, well, it's your own damn fault if you don't get the credit you deserve ...

Overlapping with the Tuna Club event was the King Harbor Marlin Club's annual Marlin Tournament. There was a twenty-something boat fleet fishing this event in pretty much the same waters as the TC. The highlight for Friday was provided by Zane Stotesbury fishing on MNAC member and Dad Greg's KAWAKAWA. Zane released a striped marlin on 20-lb tackle late in the day during some pretty snotty afternoon chop that provided a challenge for angler and crew. Unfortunately, their celebration was cut short by engine trouble early Saturday that forced them to be towed home.

Saturday saw a couple more releases, with the most significant being a pair of releases on 50-lb tackle by the crew of QUALITY TIME. This was a family affair, as the owner has his brothers and father as the proud crew. Had a single angler released both fish, he'd have won the high angler award, but the crew had to settle for the high boat award. Zane Stotesbury was able to jump on the shuttle back to the island in time to pick up his high angler award.

The third event of the weekend was the San Diego Marlin Club's Invitational Light Tackle Tournament. Unfortunately, my embedded reporter hasn't filed his dispatch yet, so we'll have to save this for Thursday.

Has it really been six years? It seems like yesterday, and yet so many things have changed. Remember when you didn't have to worry if you were wearing clean socks when you flew? The world is a far different place than it was on September 10, 2001.

I'm one of those folks who feels we should spend whatever it takes to hunt down every bastard who had even the slightest involvement in the 9-11 attacks. I believe that if we don't fight them over there, one day we'll have to fight them over here. That said, I think we need to do a much better job of picking just who and where to fight, and to have something that resembles a plan for success before swinging the first punch. But these days, far too much of the discussion is about Iraq and too little about why we went there in the first place.

Tomorrow, there'll be the standard teary-eyed tributes, and perhaps a few specials on the engineering aspects of the towers' collapse. But there won't be anything to remind us of the rage and anger we felt on that morning - and that's a shame. If it were up to me, tomorrow would be all about the horror - in graphic color - that was 9-11. The rubble ... the destruction ... the bodies. I've got news for you pal - that isn't office furniture you see falling in the picture at right. Feel the pain ... feel the revulsion ... feel the anger. Remember why it matters - as much today as it did on that day.

There are many ways to remember 9-11. For me, it will always be a day of mixed feelings. I remember the horror of the day and the attempts by a few to strip the many of their liberties. But I also remember 9-11-04, a day when I exercised those very liberties by releasing three marlin off Catalina. To me, that's the perfect way to give the finger to those bastards - go out and do all those things they would try to take away. And most of all - never forget.

I was scheduled to fish in the King Harbor event on HOOKER, a tradition that stretches back to the first event in the early '80s. Unfortunately, circumstances conspired to keep the boat in the slip, and my butt on the beach - or so I thought. I was saved from a weekend of working on the roses - not to mention a whole lot of pissing and moaning - by Rob Espinosa, who offered a ride on his 45-ft Viking PESCAHOLIC.

I've been fortunate enough to fish marlin for hundreds of days over the years, but only on HOOKER. This was actually my first time fishing my home waters on a different boat and with a different crew, and it was an interesting experience. Rob first came to SCMO as a novice a few years back, but he's quickly learned his business and it showed. Everything about the trip was first rate, and a good time was had by all. We even managed to have a couple of marlin Alpha Males on the same boat without arguing about tackle and tactics. We didn't score in the event, but it was a good time and I'm grateful to Rob and the crew for a great experience.

Today was the first day of the Avalon Billfish Classic Pro-Am tourney, and 24 boats headed out in search of marlin. This is the second year of the event, but the first with the new Pro-Am format. I'm not sure what inspired the new format, but somewhere, Afishinado's John King must be pissed ...

Most of the fishing appears to have been down towards the 289, based on the radio traffic and the grid map. Thirteen releases were recorded today, lead by CHIQUILIN and SNAKE DANDER with three each. Notable among the others is QUALITY TIME, which backed up its pair in the KHMC tourney with another release today. We'll have the final results in the next report.

Believe it or not, there are still albacore being caught out on the Butterfly and Mushroom Banks. I also heard a rumor of several boats finding them on the Cortes Bank, but that's as yet unconfirmed. Dorado and yellowtail remain under the kelp paddies to the south, but they're pretty hard to find. There was also a persistent rumor over the weekend of 100-lb class tuna - either yellowfin or bigeye - just south of the border.

That's it for now. We'll wrap up the ABC Pro-Am on Thursday, and if my reporter escapes capture by the SDMC we'll talk about the ILTT as well. So long until then!

September 6

No report - fishing the King Harbor Marlin Club tourney!

September 4

It was a long weekend, but a short trip - stick around and you'll know why. The holiday's over and we're all back at work - and that means a new episode of the SCMO Fishing News!

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The weather this weekend was damned hot, and you'd like to think the fishing was just as hot. But you'd be wrong - other than a little flurry of action out of San Diego, the marlin fishing is pretty tame.

By the time you read this, Hurricane Henriette will have come ashore in Cabo San Lucas. As hurricanes go, Henriette is on the small size - barely a Category 1. But even small storms can cause damage and distrupt the fishing. Early reports indicate that there is no significant damage beyond some flooding. Keep your fingers crossed.

Most boats looking to get an early start on the weekend started out Friday pounding the spot off San Onofre that was successful last weekend. But, demonstrating once again why fish have tails, there was nothing to be found - just dead water. There were scattered reports of fish being seen on the Upper 9-Mile Bank and the 178 just north of it, reports that were confirmed when MIRAGE released a pair of marlin on the latter spot. That was enough to attract boats from both the upper and lower fleets, although the only folks finding success there were the San Diego based ones. Lots of fuel was burned by boats out of the northern ports for naught.

We were one of those boats looking off Onofre on Friday, and we got what the rest got - nothing. After realizing the two fish caught on the 178 were talent fish and not indicative of a real "bite" we headed up to Catalina - and ran into some of the nastiest weather I've seen in years around the 277. You'd think there's only so much pounding you can do in a 46-ft Hatteras, but we had anchor chain flying and wheels coming out of the water. That and the lousy fishing were enough to make us call it a trip early on Saturday.

There was a report of one marlin being released on the 209 Saturday, and a boat working a double off of Avalon on Sunday. Unfortunately, they backed over one of the fish (ouch!) although they did get the other. For the most part, though, the northern spots were frighteningly quiet - particularly considering the number of tournaments that will be contested in those waters in the next few weeks.

The holiday Monday was remarkably quiet, which could be attributed to folks heading in early, or maybe the heat. In any case, the only reports were of several San Diego boats scoring on the upper 9-Mile Bank.

The only news from today was of a couple marlin lost on the southern banks, and DONNA C releasing one in the shipping lanes on a Petrolero EAL.

Great line of the weekend: On Saturday, a small powerboat developed a leak down by the 230 Spot in Mexican waters. The VHF crackled with reports of the Coast Guard and various private vessels working together to rescue the crew. The boat, however, was a total loss and was last seen floating bow up.

After the event has completed, someone from Coast Guard Station San Diego got on the private boaters channel to thank everyone for their help, and I quote: "Thanks for all your help in saving the guy with the hole in his Trojan - his wife is really relieved." I couldn't make this stuff up, folks ...

Like any good newsman, I have tools that I use to get the job done. Over the years, the fish have been caught at a lot of different places in SoCal waters - some well known and others not so well known. To keep myself from going crazy, I have a couple of charts on the wall of the Home Office marked up with all of the various named spots that have been referenced in our reports. It's a good trick you might want to consider as well.

Why do I bring this up, you ask? Well, most of the fishing action lately has been happening to the south, at spots out of San Diego and in waters just south of the border. I have those spots marked as well (that's the lower chart in the picture), but every once in a while someone comes up with one I've never heard of. It happened today, when Jeff Acampora refered to the "101" in a Trip Report. Turns out it's between the 425 and the Rockpile - and now it has it's own little flag on the chart!

Tuna fishermen continue to enjoy success both near and far from shore. Out on the Butterfly and Mushroom Banks, anglers are finding good scores of albacore, and they're even finding some closer to San Clemente Island. The weather out there seems to be turning rougher, though, so we'll have to wait and see how that impacts the fishing.

If yellowfin are your thing, rejoice - the southern banks are all producing well. The 425, 371 and 390 all seem to be holding, so you can assume those further south are as well. Yellowtail and dorado continue to be found under the kelp paddies, but the combination of fishing pressure and warm water makes finding one to fish quite a difficult chore.

I'll be fishing the King Harbor Marlin Club Marlin Tournament this weekend with Rob Espinosa on PESCAHOLIC, so no Thursday report. Hopefully, though, we'll have a great Trip Report come Sunday!

August 30

No report - gone fishin' (finally!).

August 27

Hoot-hoot!

It's tourney season here at the SCMO Home Office, and we have the latest on the in-process Church Mouse Invitational. We'll talk about upcoming events, and cover another good weekend of marlin fishing - all here in the Monday edition of the Fishing News!

(cue theme music)

We indicated in the last report that Hurricane Dean might blow through during the weekend, making a possible mess of our weather. Sho 'nuff. For guys on the beach like me, the damage was limited to spots on a freshly washed car (dumbass!). But for the folks on the water it was far more serious.

Let's first back up to Saturday. The numbers from the weekend before were well-known by Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning saw boats from both the north and south fleets converging just offshore of the San Onofre powerplant. Marlin might have fins, but these ones opted not to use them, and there were plenty available. Among many succeeding in the morning were RASTA FISH and WILD BILL, each with a pair of releases. The afternoon breeze didn't result in the expected tailer show, though, so those who arrived late missed out.

Sunday was a different day. The unsettled weather had most anglers realizing it would be a morning bite or nothing. Several boats, in fact, opted to stay in the harbor as lightning strikes were reported throughout the north San Diego county region where the fishing was happening.

Those who tempted fate were rewarded for their bravado, as PROSPECTOR, DOUBLE D and LEGEND all released marlin. WILD BILL and their all-star crew picked up right where they left off on Saturday and released 4 marlin in the morning before calling it a day. Man ... talent shows, especially when armed with Frazer-Volpes. There were also several marlin released further south off of Mission Bay.

Today was the first fishing day (of two) in the Church Mouse Invitational. If you were on the water today and aren't sick of that whistle yet, congratulations. As had been the case over the weekend, most of the action is happening down off the nuke plant. AFTER MIDNIGHT is leading the way after Day One with three released marlin, and REEL CRAZY, RUCKUS, REELY HOOKED and MAGELLAN each releasing one marlin.

He may not be placed in the event, but the happiest guy in the event has to be Russ Armstrong of THREE DAUGHTERS. Armstrong, who owns the great Armstrong's Seafood Restaurant in Avalon, landed a swordfish estimated to be around 250-lbs. When last heard, they were on their way to the scale, but I'm betting rather than the one on the Green Pier, that fish is headed for the scale at Armstong's ... you can probably order a piece for dinner ... :-)

Speaking of tournament fishing, it's still not too late to sign up for the SCMO staff's favorite event - the Pesky! You've heard all about it - the good and the bad - and you surely must be wondering what it would be like to fish it. So why are you waiting? Visit the tourney site now for details!

For those of you who aren't into fishing the tourneys, or are perhaps anti-social and just can't handle running in the fleet off of San Onofre, there still good news. The albacore run at the outer banks is still going, with boats finding fish at the Butterfly, Tanner and Cortes Banks. There is also said to be a decent amount of fish due south of San Clemente Island, down towards the SCI Basin Buoy. There are yellowfin tuna mixed in, but they're smaller ones.

If you're really interested in the bigger tuna, you might want to head south. Several reports say that the larger yellowfin tuna have moved into the banks just south of the border, including the 390 and 425. The water has been running pretty warm for quite some time now, so does this mean we'll see an epic run of 100-lb plus bigeye tuna later this season? Stay tuned ...

One thing we heard repeatedly over the past week is the incredible amount of life in the water right now. Not only are the targeted species such as marlin, swordfish, tuna, and dorado appearing in larger numbers, but also blue whales, grey whales, Rizzo's dolphins and even killer whales are making an appearance. Life of any kind is always a good sign, but this is a rare display. There's even a resurgence in the number of mako sharks in the area, as demonstrated by the number of Sevenstrand EALs lost to them in recent weeks ...

Which brings me to ...

As I prepare these reports, I scour a lot of different sources - first hand contacts, our Trip Reports, and other online sources. While researching this week's report, I came across a posting by Steve Ross, a sometime visitor to the SCMO waters. His boat, BAD DOG, is slipped in Ensenada and he gets to fish some pristine waters.

This weekend, he made several trips offshore with unremarkable results. What was worthy of mention, though, was this picture he claims is of a fin slicing through the waters off Ensenada. I say "claimed" because it look so large and fake that I have my suspicions, but we'll assume the best until we hear otherwise. Assuming it's the real deal, anyone want to take a guess at what the hell it is? Anyone? Bueller?

Good news, at least for me - there will be no Thursday report this week. Why? That's the good news - I'm finally going fishing! Four days offshore out to bake out the last of whatever this is running amok in my system, and give me a couple of shots at getting on the board as well. Wish me luck, and if I do anything, you'll read about it in a Trip Report. If you get out, make sure you file one too!

August 23

Anyone got a voice they're not using that they can loan me? We're on Day 9 of ThroatWatch here at the SCMO Home Office as we continue to look for my voice. It's as annoying as hell - almost as annoying as the lack of Trip Reports we've been receiving. But I'll save that rant for another time. For now, it's time for the Fishing News!

(cue theme music)

It's the middle of the week, so there aren't that many boats out. Those that are, though, are seeing and in some cases catching marlin. The great run of swordfish sightings continues, and they're still catching albacore on the outer banks, although it may be starting to slow.

The weather has been pretty nice for the last couple of days, with the heat and humidity breaking a bit, at least at the beach. This could significantly change this weekend, though, as the remnants of Hurricane Dean blown into our region from the south. As always, a prudent mariner should keep one eye on the weather ...

Most of the action that was reported since Monday was from the 14-Mile and Avalon Banks, including one released today on the latter. Now does that mean these are the hottest spots and you should start there this weekend? Or does it mean that boats were straight-lining from Newport to Avalon and took little side trips along the way? Only the Shadow knows, and he ain't talking. With water off the east end of Catalina running above 73 degrees, you know that will be a good place to start - we've all had success off Church Rock, right? But also look for the loners to check out the Mackerel Bank and back towards the 499 and Osborn - especially if it looks like the water up there is warm. And of course, after the run of success the hot dogs found last weekend offshore from Oceanside, you know that there'll be a big fleet from both north and south sniffing around looking for tidbits ...

Breaking news of a form for anyone whose weekend plans includes a ocean swim anywhere near Malibu. I only heard the headline and haven't had a chance to run it down, but apparently a great white shark was captured live off Malibu. I heard a story a couple of days ago about a small GWS being kept live in a pen anchored in the lee of Point Dume by the Monterey Bay Aquarium - these may both be the same story. In any case, I'd think twice about that cooling dip - particularly if you look like a seal ...

It's tourney time here in SoCal, and if you haven't got anything to do next Monday and Tuesday, may I suggest the Church Mouse? It's a great little event, run by fishemen for fishermen for the love of the sport. Best of all, all of the money goes to local island charities - even the winners are encouraged to donate their winnings to the charities, and more often than not they do. You'll be able to find them on the water this weekend - just listen for the "hoot-hoot" ...

The good news is that the number of dorado being caught under the kelp paddies seems to be rising with the sea surface temperature. The bad news, of course, is that warm water tends to break up the paddies, and there are fewer to be found. Remember your manners if you have a chance to fish one, particularly if you're not the first one in. And if you are, be courteous and let the other guys share the wealth - remember, they belong to us all!

If you're going to be fishing anywhere near the Isthmus on Catalina this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for paddleboarders. Sunday is the annual Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race from the Isthmus to the Manhattan Beach Pier, and hundreds of boarders and support vessels will be working between these two ports. If you think pulling on a marlin is hard, just watch these guys - and girls - at work!

That's going to do it for an abbreviated mid-week report. As always, if you see something, hear something, smell something, whatever - be sure to tell us! We need those Trip Reports, and remember - the more reports we have, the fewer jokes I have to tell in this space. And while my jokes are just fine, we all know you'd rather be reading about fishing! And if you have any old family remedies for speeding the return of a lost voice, feel free to pass those anong as well ...

August 20

Still have no voice, but I've still got fingers, so we still have the Fishing News!

One more weekend playing sick on the beach meant having to listen to everyone else catch fish. It wasn't as spectacular as I had expected, but still a damned good weekend of offshore fishing in the Catalina Bight. And hey - you could be dodging Hurricane Dean right now ...

I'm still nursing this stupid virus, and my voice is still little more than a croak. You know how that kind of a weekend goes - you want what you want, and you damned well don't want to clean up after yourself. So, I had a little cleanup to do before I was able to get to this report. At least I found the computer - now if I could only get the Cheese Doodle stains off the keys.

Unlike the previous weekend, the fleet was spread out much further this weekend. Sure, there were certainly boats on the 14-Mile Bank, and that made some sense considering the success of the past. And yes, several marlin were released there on Saturday.

But I think marlin fishermen in general are lone wolves, and would rather fish alone or in a small pack than crush themselves together on a high spot. As a result, we saw boats running south to the 182, out to the Mackerel Bank, and up to the 125 - all to find their own levels of success.

On Saturday, there weren't a lot of boats initially on the 182. That all changed, however, once Steve Lassley of MIRAGE arrived on the scene. Demonstrating once again why he's one of the best, Lassley's crew released at least three marlin, and had so many swarming the boat that they called in others to share the wealth. Steve was simultaneously running the boat to facilitate his anglers and pointing out where the fish were to the new arrivals. An amazing performance!

Further north, JERAMAR released one Sunday between the 14-Mile and Avalon Banks, and NO ESCAPE did the same just outside of Oceanside. There were also several reports of boats heading further offshore for the albacore having groups of marlin attack their tuna feathers. No successes, but some great stories to share.

In the constant search for new areas of fish, several boats opted to head west of Catalina towards the 125 in search of marlin. I didn't hear of any being caught or released, but several were hooked, and I'm told the area was really fishy - lots of bait and birds. It's natural for the fish to slide west along the backside of Catalina as they move northward, so maybe this will be the next big spot.

Stan Miller Yachts held their fifth annual Cabo Hatteras Shootout over the weekend, and they contributed another 30 or so boats to the fleet. I'm told the anchorage at White's Cove looked more like an in-the-water boat show as all those expensive battlewagons looked for a place to drop the hook. In the end, CAZADOR was Top Boat with a pair of marlin releases. This was the first of many tourneys we'll see hosted in our waters over the next two months. The Tournament Schedule has been freshly updated if you're looking for an event to enter.

A pleasant surprise awaited those anglers who opted to stop on the kelp paddies sliding downhill from the islands. For several weeks, yellowtail have been hanging out in the weeds, including some really nice ones. Now, however, they've finally been joined by the dorado making their way up the coast. Still pretty small for the most part, but at least they're here. One problem is that there seems to be a lack of paddies this season. Someone call Al Gore - I'm sure he has an answer.

For those still looking to stock the freezer, the amazing albacore run out at the Butterfly Bank continues unabated. A lot of the talk on the radio over the weekend was overexcited skippers screaming about breezing tuna and foamers - usually while trying to chase off any interlopers. That was actually a pretty common theme this weekend, unfortunately, as there were several incidents of people throwing on fish being worked by others or stickboats poaching another's target. Let's all try to get along, shall we?

Speaking of swordfish, there's still a lot of them out there, and a lot of anglers had their shots before turning the fish over to the pros for processing. EL JEFE brought a 188-lb swordie to the scales at the Balboa Angling Club, after 6 (!) different anglers had pulled on the fish. C'mon fellas - six anglers? Next time if you can't lick the fish, stop by Trader Joe's on the way home for some filets ... :-)

OK, that's it for now. I need to get some nice soothing tea for my throat and see if I can accelerate my recovery, as I found out today I have to start a new series of classes next week. Great ....

August 16

You'd think someone who talks as much as I do couldn't be taken down by ... talking ... wouldn't you? More on that in a minute.

We're playing catch up for Monday - hell, we're even behind Western Outdoor News. But we're worth waiting for, because the only thing we recycle here are the jokes - never the reports. That's right, it's time for the SCMO Fishing News!

(cue theme music)

I'll be honest - I still feel like crap, and I've been pretty much out of touch with everything and everyone for the last week. But I don't want people thinking I've fallen and can't get up, so we'll try to slap together something that passes for an entertaining report.

The billfishing right now isn't great, but it's better than good. Each day this week, several striped marlin were taken, and today a pair of swordfish were caught near Avalon as well. The interesting part of it is that there's no real concentration of fish - it's as if wherever the boats decide to go, the fish are already waiting there. I wish it worked that way for trailerboats sitting in the driveway, but I guess that's just greedy.

As for last weekend, by now you probably know better than I just how good the fishing was. Friday and Saturday were outstanding on both the 14-Mile and Avalon Banks, but there was such a spread of fish that as many were caught by boats transiting from one area to another as by those actually working the high spots. Lots of boats got one marlin, including a lot of first timers - not uncommon when the fishing is so close to home. Among those with two for the weekend were our own HOOKER, which got one on Friday and followed that up with a second release on Saturday.

So when we last spoke, I was finishing up a two-week series of training sessions for users of my software. The product, called "Velocity", is a web-based shop floor control system - basically, it allows you to build whatever it is you build (in our case, satellites) without all of the paper you normally would see cluttering up the manufacturing floor . No more build packages, drawings, specifications, etc needing to be printed - you get all your instructions from a computer screen, and do all of your data collection and certifications there as well.

Anyway, every employee who is going to use the system has to go through a 4-hour training class. I have a training room where I can train 12 new users at a time, and when we're getting ready to go into a new section of the factory, it can be a very busy place. In this most recent case, I had 70 users to train - at 12 per class, that's six classes assuming everyone shows up for their training ... which they never do. To make things that much worse, we don't have anyone else who can teach the classes. In the end, I had to do nine four-hour classes over a little more than a week.

By last Thursday, my throat was pretty tired. The nature of the class is that I have to talk for about 3 of the 4 hours, so you end up putting a lot of miles on the vocal chords. Fortunately, I only had one more on Friday. Friday morning dawns, and my tired throat has gone from tired to damned sore - you know, that feeling like someone practiced on your throat with a cheese grater. But while my voice sounded like a cheap whiskey singer, I soldered through and was done by noon. Happy and tired, I took Friday afternoon off.

Around 2pm, my cellphone rings. I look at the display and see it's one of my team, so I open the phone and say, "This is Stan" - or at least tried. All I got was this feeble gurgle - I had no voice whatsoever. Now, had that been the extent of it, I'd have just rested the voice for the weekend and been good to go. But much like an AIDS patient with a weakened immune system, my tired throat had given some crappy little bug the opening it was looking for. By Saturday morning, I had the whole chills and headache thing going, and was clearly a mess. Even now, five days later, my voice is still just a croak and I've got that post-sick clammy thing going on. All from talking too much - go figure. Relay this story to your daughter next time she runs up the cellphone bill ... :-)

The high pressure dome that has superheated SoCal for the last week has made for rough conditions offshore, although I heard today the seas had calmed somewhat. Boats running out to the west wing of the Butterfly Bank for albacore reported the swells to be under 5 feet, which ain't bad for out there. I'd expect those conditions to last through the weekend, although if the high pressure bubble bursts, all bets are off.

We're moving rapidly towards the first local tourneys of the season, and we'll talk about some of the best next week. This is where I should be telling you about the Pesky and inviting you to visit the website, but I haven't updated it yet (**blush**). We'll talk more about that next week as well; for now, I need to get some rest!!

August 13

Sick as a dog - no report. Just go to the 14-Mile Bank - you'll figure it out from there.

August 9

It's taken me a lot of years, but I think I've finally figured out what it takes to succeed at marlin fishing in SoCal - you need to be rich, or in the industry. If you're rich, you can fish whenever you want (or at least can set your own hours). And when they tell you the newest hot reel costs $700, you can just smile and say, "I'll take four." If you're in the industry, you work for a boss who clearly understands both the desire and the need to go fishing - heck, it's like free advertising. And, of course, you get your gear for free.

For the rest of us who don't get that time off and have to pay for our own tackle, it's catch as catch can. Of course, at least it guarantees there'll be someone around to write about all the success the others are having. After all, those who can do, and those who can't blog about it.

(cue theme music)

Normally, I'm having to scratch pretty hard to find info for the midweek report - not this time! Those rich tackle reps referenced above all realized it made a whole lot more sense to be on the water than on the beach, and they were rewarded with some nice weather and great marlin fishing.

If you're familiar with how the currents flow in the Catalina Bight, you know that at this time of year, the warm currents from Mexico hug the coastline as they move northward, displacing the cooler water and pushing it offshore. This tends to continue until the warmer water reaches around San Mateo Point, where it bends offshore towards Catalina. Marlin follow this warm water freeway north, and pundits like myself try to figure out where they'll appear next.

The points along this stream of warm water have become famous fishing grounds, and you can watch the catch records to see the fish slowly march northward. Last week, we saw action 302 and 182 out of San Diego, followed by marlin being caught at the 267 just offshore from Dana Point. It would make sense that the marlin might next be seen at the 14-Mile Bank, except that many times the water bends west south of this seaknoll, leaving it a dry hole

Not this year! The last two days have seen some really good marlin fishing at the 14-Mile Bank, made all the better by its proximity to Newport Beach (hello ... fourteen miles ...). Makes for an easy day trip, or even a sundowner.

The action started yesterday, as several boats released striped marlin on or near the 14-Mile Bank, including Michael Fowlkes' VINTAGE, which released one west of the high spot. But it was today when the number of boats really went up, as did the number of fish caught. The fleet was working right on the numbers, but most of the fish came from boats on the periphery - isn't it always that way? Among those getting releases today in that general region were BRAVADO, PROSPECTOR, and PESCADOR - twice!

Just because there was action on the inside doesn't mean that the bite we saw last weekend has turned off. Rather, it's just that most folks would rather run to the 267 than the 289 if they can get fish at either spot. But there are always those anti-social types who want to stay away from the crowd and blaze their own trails. If you're one of those, you can take solace in knowing that LEGEND released a marlin near the middle of San Clemente Island today. Of course, if the weather holds, there may be enough boats out there to cause your blood pressure to rise as well ... :-)

Buried by some of the good billfish news is the fact that the tuna fishing has really picked up in the last week and is in fact some of the best we've seen all season. Both party boats and private boaters are running out to the Butterfly Bank and finding a nice grade of albacore (25-lb plus) in good numbers - most boats are getting their fill and leaving them biting. One surprise is that they are finding both warm and cold water tunas mixed together - both bluefin and yellowfin tuna are making for a pleasant bycatch.

The offshore paddies are starting to produce good numbers of yellowtail, and they have some size. I saw one report of a boat with two anglers getting 4 yellowtail all in the 20 to 25 pound range from a single paddy. I haven't as yet heard of any dorado catches, but it's just a matter of time.

I still have this dream of marlin fishing this season, but so far it's been just that - a dream. The project I manage is behind schedule, and we're having to push harder than ever. If I wanted to be truthful, I'd say that it's not that we're behind schedule but that the original schedule - which we were meeting just find, thank you - was accelerated on us ... but the reasons don't really matter. In order to fish the family boat I need to be able to string together a block of fishing days, and that's never going to happen. Now I'm even having to turn down offers to fish weekends with MNAC members because of our Saturday catch-up sessions. On the bright side, if the fish keep hanging out at the 267 and 14, they're in day trip range. Maybe I can borrow JD's dinghy ...

I've taught 26 hours of software classes in the last week, and I have another 4 hours tomorrow, so I gotta get some sleep. But you just know I'll be dreaming of screaming reels and greyhounding marlin. If your dreams come true this weekend, be sure to share them with us, won't you?

August 6

Deep breath ...

"Marlin to the left of me, swordfish to the right. Here I am - stuck on the beach with you."

(cue theme music)

Oh, lawdy ... where to start. So many reports - so little space! I guess I'll just dive right in.

Congrats to Rich Hamilton and the MIL-SO-MAR team for one of the best striped marlin weekends we've seen in quite a while. Working well south of Punta Colnett towards Isla San Martin (you can do that in a big beautiful beast like that!), they found and released a pair of marlin on Friday. But that was just a warmup for Saturday, when they released an impressive 12 more. Even taking into consideration the warmer water that far south, it makes for a damned fine day of fishing.

Further north, at least from Colnett, there's a pretty good bite going on at the Lower Finger Bank. Back in the days of the 91-Day Marina, this was a favorite spot and is still popular with the San Diego fleet. BAD DOG was among several boats that found success there.

Considering the successes of last weekend, and the fact that there were two clearly defined and widely separated spots to consider (the 267 and the 289), it's not surprise that the fleet was spread thinly over a very large area. Usually that means that one or two find the fish and everyone else come a-runnin'. Not this weekend.

On Friday, anglers either played hookey or took advantage of the afternoon, after work opportunities to fish the 267, as its only a few miles out of Dana Point. But it was the boats from further away that found success. Dennis Orcutt's 1ST THINGS 1ST came down from San Pedro looking for action and thy found it just above the 267. Dennis was the angler on a marlin that ate a pink lure. Later, MNAC member Bill Morris released a baitfish while fishing on Ed Selich's FAST EDDY. It's worth noting that Bill was using circle hooks - just what you'd expect for a member of the WCBRT's "Committee" ...

Like the action to the south, Friday was just the opening act for the weekend when marlin were seen, hooked and often caught just about everywhere there were boats. As is often the case early in the season, a lot of those fish were caught by first timers and others who are not frequent marlin fishermen. The waters around Catalina were particularly fruitful, as RAMBOAT released a marlin Sunday morning near the East End of Catalina, followed by SEA GULL and EGGCESSIVE, which each released one on the Avalon Bank Sunday afternoon.

While no one has been able to tackle one of them yet, there are also some pretty impressive swordfish prowling in the Catalina Bight. Several boats working the marlin inside of San Clemente found fish high and dry, but no one was able to get one to go. Remember, if you're gonna try to tango with a 350-lb swordfish, you're going to need a lot more than your standard marlin gear. Try baiting one on 30-lb string, and all you're going to do is end up with a lost day and a sore crotch ... :-)

With all of the marlin action, you may or may not be interested in tuna. If not, I fully understand, and will wait while you move on to the next item. For the rest of you, the news is promising. Even though warm water is flooding into SoCal (73 degrees in some places) and all self-respecting albacore should have long since left, there were several reports of solid numbers of albacore caught between the Butterfly Bank and San Clemente Island. The further you run out and down the better it gets, of course, with the west wing of the Fly having the most tonnage, but good numbers were found just outside the 43 as well. We heard of several boats that kept the feathers in as they ran back up the canyon to SCI and got jigstrikes the whole way. Maybe you shouldn't pack up the canner just yet ...

The latest event in the seemingly endless series of Bisbees tourneys, the East Cape Offshore, wrapped up over the weekend. The winning team was fishing on TRES HERMANOS and boated a 418-lb blue marlin. Of course, we won't show you that, but instead will show you what happens when you try and lasso a similarly sized blue by the tail. Let's just say it doesn't have a happy ending. Fortunately, Chris Badsey of REELAXE had a moment to get a shot of the speedster before he snapped the line.

Probably the best marlin action of the weekend (not counting MIL-SO-MAR's Mexican foray) came from a wolfpack of four boats that worked the inside of San Clemente over the weekend. Using the impending marriage of Steve Behrens as an excuse for an on-the-water bachelor party - marlin fisherman style - JOKER, CHARISMA, KAWAKAWA and MAKAIRA met up and headed towards Greg Stotesbury's numbers from his success last weekend. Jack Rainwater on CHARISMA was able to release a marlin Saturday several miles off the mid-island radome, and Bob Hoose, enjoying one of the last trips on Alex Samios' MAKAIRA before a pending change in ownership, was able to release a baitfish on 20-lb tackle. He wants to remind us that it was a Petrolero EAL that sucked the fish in, though ... :-) Sunday saw Dara Stotesbury, fishing on the family's ride KAWAKAWA, release a baitfish on 20-lb tackle. You just knew it wouldn't be long before "Dropback Dara" got into the game.

I know there were more, but hey - if you don't make the report, don't expect me to tell the world about it. Get the credit you deserve and file a Trip Report to tell us about how you did - or didn't - do the next time you go out. And if you do find success, be sure to register your release using our Online Gamefish Release Reporting System!

August 2

You think your girlfriend gets pissed when you leave her at home to go fishing? That's nothing compared to an MNAC member scorned ...

(cue theme music)

You probably think you're job has you spread too thin - heck, everyone does. But I bet I can top your story, and since we don't have much to report today, I have plenty of time to tell you all about it!

We tend to get two kinds of people who sign up as MNAC members. The first are usually long-time visitors to the site who want to do something to help support our works. They sign up for MNAC the same way you might make a contribution to your local PBS TV station - doing it because they believe it's the right thing to do. They also participate in the site year-round - drop by the Marlin Club during the dead of winter, and you'll find them engaged in conversation. Not by accident do these tend to be the giants of the industry - they're

The other type of member has a different agenda. They're looking at this strictly in terms of value for dollars - do I get my $25 worth? Not coincidentally, they tend to be the ones who only show up and pay their membership right at the beginning of the local marlin season. Once the fish are gone, so are they. Frankly, I don't care for this kind of member, because it's so far from who I am. Yet, they are still my customers and I do my best to meet their needs.

Now, I do periodically get complaints from our members, and usually it's that last group pissed because they think they're not getting their money's worth or that I'm not working hard enough to keep their business. So it wasn't a big surprise when I got a couple of emails from members complaining because I hadn't published the Monday report on time. Problem is, I did. I distinctly remember writing a nice report talking about the marlin that had been caught over the weekend and even included a funny picture of a dog getting a suntan. As a result, I was pretty irritated at the members in question, and set about crafting an appropriate email response - something that would voice my irritation and general disdain for their methodology while not making them want to quit and ask for a refund ... :-)

At the last minute, my spider sense began to tingle - I'm not sure why, but I decided to check the site. Sure enough - no Monday report. I looked into it, and that's when I realized I was spread too thin - I'd written the report, and forgotten to upload it to the site! It reminded me of the Ron White bit where he's arguing with the guy at Sunglass Hut over why a pair of glasses costs more than a 27-inch TV from Wal-Mart "that decodes a digital satellite signal from outer f&%$ing space."

"But it turns out the glasses get basic cable and I felt like a real dickhead" ... :-)

So, I'll apologize to the membership for the late report, but I'll be damned if I'll apologize to the two troglodytes who first complained ...

Very little action to report, as you might have guessed. One marlin we didn't report earlier was brought into the San Diego Marlin Club back on last Thursday. It was landed by M ANGELINE and took a little over 5 hours on 40-lb string. Not quite sure how a 146-lb marlin can possibly take 5 hours, but it certainly explains why it couldn't be released. Another small marlin was released 8 miles out of Dana Point on Saturday, but I haven't heard anything since those and the two mentioned on Monday.

Meanwhile down south, the Bisbee's East Cape event is underway. So far, over sixty marlin have been released but only THE BOTTOM LINE has brought a fish large enough to qualify to the scales. That blue marlin weighed in at 313-lbs and took the first two days' pots. Tomorrow is the last day of fishing.

Once again, work has me pinned down on the beach, so if you get out (lucky bastards) do me a favor and tell me what you find, OK?

I'm still bent out of shape from the whiners, so I think I'm gonna just shut it down here ...

July 30

Game on!

Four flights later, my trips to Seattle and Reno are behind me. Hopefully, that'll end my travels - at least for a few weeks. The good news is that I brought home some smoked salmon from the Pike Place Market in Seattle that is to die for. The bad news is that while I was gone, the first local marlin were caught. Wait a minute - I guess that's also good news!

I've been out of touch for the last week while flying all over the west coast. However, unless you've been sunning yourself on the beach like our friend here, you know that the fishing picked up over the weekend. Dave Elm, fishing on Greg Stotesbury's KAWAKAWA scored the first released striped marlin for the "northern fleet" on Sunday when got one to take a bait on 20-lb tackle fishing just above the 289 Spot. This area has probably seen the best signs in the last few weeks, and I know several boats hit it hard last weekend. I guess you just had to be there on the right day!

Never one to miss an opportunity, WILD BILL was working the same area and were able to release their first marlin of the season shortly after KAWAKAWA. They also had a shot at a swordfish in the same region, but were unable to get it to go.

It's just a guess, but I'm going to assume that my inability to contact a lot of the folks I look to for info is a good sign that a lot of people played hookey today. You and I both know where they're going ... :-)

Unfortunately, that leaves me without much info, since my handheld doesn't get the local fleet from Seattle. But if you need to know how the salmon bite is up there right now, well, I'm your man ...

You know, they say you can only get jet lag from traveling east and west, but I'm absolutely beat from my north-south travels ...

Those who've followed these reports over the years know I'm a huge Tour de France fan. Like many, I was enthralled by the Lance Armstrong years, but I've followed Le Tour back to the days of Greg LeMond. As much as I love the event, I find myself with at best mixed feelings in the wake of the conclusion of the year's tour yesterday in Paris.

As I blogged earlier today, I am disgusted by the controversy that has enveloped the sport of professional cycling and the lack of personal character on the part of the riders. It was thought that the heroic story of Armstrong would be enough to put the memories of the Festina scandal behind the sport and make for a clean break. Yet Armstrong wasn't even settled into the retirement life when Floyd Landis was stripped of his victory last year in the Tour. This time, the controversy is so thick and the expulsions so frequent that even those who love the sport question its ability to survive.

I can't answer for the future of cycling or Le Tour. I know that they need to clean up their act in a very serious fashion or face extinction - or worse, irrelevence. For now - or at least until he fails a drug test - let's celebrate the victory of Alberto Contador of Team Discovery. Perhaps he will lead a renaissance in the sport. One can only hope ...

July 26

Good news - back from Seattle. Bad news - off to Reno! See you Monday.

Be sure to check the War Room and the Trip Reporter for the latest info.

July 23

No report - off to Seattle; back Friday.

July 19

And now, for our report:

 

(crickets)

 

Exactly.

Let's face it - I've got nothing. The tuna bite's gotten spotty, and the weather is making the fishing ugly. No one's caught any marlin and the few reports we get aren't reliable.

Like I said - nothing. I'm not even going to bluff my way through it. On the bright side, there should be lots of people on the water this weekend. If you're one of them, and you just happen to see something - or better, do something - you'll be kind enough to tell us, right?

As part of our ongoing effort to remind folks about parts of the site they haven't visited in a while, this week we'll talk about the SCMO Marketplace. Now, the selling of site swag is a proud tradition on the internet, and it's how lots of sites make money. Unfortunately, like most business ventures, it takes money to make money. Since SCMO is basically a one-man venture, we don't have a lot of operating capital laying around for things like printing t-shirts by the thousand. Fortunately, there are solutions that allow us to offer quality merchandise just like the big boys - we just don't make any money at it.

CafePress is a company that specialized in point-of-use manufacture - that means they don't make it until you order it. Using CafePress allows us to offer the same quality products other larger sites can (and sometimes, even better), without the upfront investment required to create and maintain inventory. Of course, there is a price to pay - and we pay it. Those other sites are probably paying $5 when they make their shirts by the hundreds, and they sell it for $15. We sell our for $15, too - but we only about a buck.

In the end, though, it's not about making money - it's about giving you the opportunity to show your support for your favorite website by proudly wearing SCMO Gear. Of course, if enough of you wear the gear, we'll get more visitors, which means better advertisers, and more MNAC members, and more revenue for SCMO. And that's not a bad thing, right? You can reach the SCMO Marketplace by clicking on the "Marketplace" link in the navigation bar - or just click on the pic at right!

I'm off to Seattle on Monday, so there probably won't be a report. I'll be updating the MarlinBlog regularly, though, and anything I hear will make it into the War Room. Of course, you're all welcome to post your reports there as well - after all, it's your forum!

July 16

Someday soon, you'll come to this report and read wonderous tales of marlin and swordfish.

Not tonight.

Wait a minute - that's how I started the last report. Even if it's true, I should show a little more originality than that.

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel gypped. I mean, we had the first swordfish and the first marlin caught on the same day - the same freakin' day! I just assumed it was the beginning of an epic season. "Not gonna have to work this year," I thought. "The Fishing News will practically write itself!"

Right.

Let's go ahead and get with what facts we know. Marlin - no new catches, although there's a rumor that ERIN MARIE got one over the weekend somewhere down south. Swordfish - the stickboats are getting good numbers between San Clemente and Catalina, although the private boaters haven't gotten any more. Tuna - the albacore bite is scratchy at the 182 ... definitely down from the high a week ago. We're still waiting for them to move northward from the Butterfly in some kind of numbers; folks will periodically get one on the troll to the north but nothing resembling a school. Furthest reports north I've gotten was the 209 and between Pyramid Head and the 289.

Not a whole lot to pass along.

Since no one's catching anything, there's obviously not many new pictures to share. I had to dip into the SCMO archive to find this shot of a marlin taken from a different angle.

So here's my strange sports story for the day. Scott Olsen is a pitcher for the Florida Marlins who has potential but often undermines his ability with his temper. You know the type - break your hand on the dugout wall when you get a loss - that type. Anyway, yesterday he's pitching for the Fish against the Washington Nationals when the time comes to pull him for a relief pitcher. He didn't do anything special on the mound - otherwise, it'd be all over the media - but he must have said or did the wrong thing later. Today it was announced that the team had suspended him for two days for "insubordination and conduct detrimental to the team". Oops.

Oh, and if you - like me - thought the Cubs were out of it a couple of months ago, look again. They're only a couple of games behind the Brewers (who had to put their best starter on the DL today) and they just picked up catcher Jason Kendall for some veteran leadership. Looks like they're playing for the long haul ...

I'm obviously a big Mac guy, so I was thrilled when the iPhone was released and managed to live up to most of the hype. Those same media outlets who claimed it would tank are burning out their gearboxes having to back up so fast. But I also appreciate that not everyone in the world is an Apple aficionado, and that there are other opinions out there. If you're one of those, then have I got something for you!

Apparently, there's a company out there called Blendtec that makes a series of tough blenders - really tough blenders. Now, they could demonstrate how the blenders work by mixing up a batch of smoothies, but where's the fun in that? So they established a website called "WillItBlend.com", where visitors recommend items to drop into a Blendtec to see, obviously, if it will blend.

Last week, it was a can of Cheez-Whiz (yes, it will blend - can and all). This week? A fully functional iPhone - with the video running! As you can see from the shot of it at speed, it lasted for a few seconds. You can check out their video, but I'll spoil the ending for you - it ended up as a cupful of black dust. Now that's a blender!!

Sound like I'm struggling to fill the inches today? Damned right. I can't get out on the water for another couple of weeks, so could someone - anyone - get out there and catch some fish so I'll have something to talk about? Pretty please??

July 12

Someday soon, you'll come to this report and read wonderous tales of marlin and swordfish.

Not tonight.

The fact that most of us have jobs didn't stop the PB fleet from taking on the tuna this week. The same can't be said for the weather, which took a turn for the worse today. We'll have to wait and see how that affects the weekend.

Oh, did I mention that they got another marlin today? All that and more in this edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

(cue theme music)

With the tuna as close to shore as they have been lately, it's no real surprise that a lot of San Diego anglers opted to play hooky and take their shot. For those who went Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the bet paid off handsomely, as there were decent numbers of fish to be found on the 182 - all you needed to do was take a number! As you might expect, there were a lot of boats out - if you could somehow have converted all the hot air being broadcast on Ch. 72, we could all stop worrying about global warming. The numbers sounded to be running around 10 fish per boat, with the majority being albacore.

Here we have an example of the aforementioned albacore. As you can tell by the look on his face, he's none too happy. It's just dawned on him that he's a tuna not a marlin, and that they guy pulling him is more likely to be a regular at BloodyDecks rather than MarlinNut - so he's pretty much screwed. Fire up the canner ... :-)

I spoke with the crew of HOOKER earlier this evening at the end of their third day working the tuna. They indicated that the weather had rolled today, making things much more like typical tuna weather (read: snotty and cold). The most interesting tidbit they passed along was a report of a marlin being caught on the Lower 9 Mile Bank - on a Rapala CD-14! Sometimes, you just get lucky. Add that to the report we got on Wednesday of two marlin hooked on the 182 - both lost - and there's reason for the couch-bound billfish anglers to stir.

I haven't gotten any reports from anyone who ventured out to the outer banks in search of tuna, but with them on the 182, I guess there's no real reason. I still expect them to pop up off of Pyramid Head before long.

Marlin fishing in Southern California is cyclical, and so are marlin fishermen. Much more predictable than the return of the fish to our waters is the return of the fishermen to the site - and the questions they bring with them. Chief among them are ones questioning the content of the site - or lack thereof:

"How come there are only five chapters in the Marlin Tutorial - when are you going to write some more?" ... "Hey, aren't those the same five chapters that were in the Marlin Tutorial last year?"

The irony isn't lost on me that the vast majority of our visitors never make it past the Marlin Club, and those that do are the ones that complain. Nevertheless, the complaints are valid ones. Frankly, when I started the Tutorial I never imagined that I'd have to be the author for all the chapters. With the level of expertise that lurks in the SCMO waters, I thought I'd have no problem finding guest authors to create an chapter or two.

Right.

The truth is that while I'm not as prolific as I - and, apparently, at least some of our MNAC members - would like, there are some new chapters in the pipeline. Whenver I create new material for the site, the last step before publishing it is to have it proofread. My friend who checks it for me doesn't know a damned thing about marlin fishing, but she's got an English degree, and that tends to make up for it. As we speak, she's proofing two new chapters for the Tutorial - a comprehensive Tag and Release chapter that goes miles beyond our original T&R Primer, and the long awaited EAL Autopsy. Yes, I really took a Dremel tool to a working Sevenstrand Electronic Acoustic Lure, and I've got the pictures to prove it ... :-0 .

I found out today that I have to spend the week of the 23rd through the 27th in Seattle. Now, I love Seattle as much as the next guy - even if the Mariners will be out of town - but the real problem is the timing. You just know that's when the season's gonna pop ..

A big part of the challenge now for marlin anglers - and wannabe marlin anglers - is trying to figure out where the fish will appear. We have some real reports, like those from the 182 and the 289, and we have lots of maybe reports from all over - reports that could be marlin, but just as easily could be mako sharks or sunfish. With diesel fuel running as high as it is right now, heading off in the wrong direction can be a very costly mistake. About all you can really do is make like our friend here - get into your favorite zen position, find your happy place, and look for inner peace - at least until the reels start screaming.

Wow - I owe Vlad Guerrero an apology. I gave him and his fellow All Stars a lot of grief on Monday for their performance - or lack thereof - in the first round of the Home Run Hitting Contest. They all showed me just how much of a difference the sun position makes, though, as they began to light it up just as soon as it set. Mea culpa, boys ... mea culpa.

Earlier, I mentioned the Marlin Tutorial and my mistaken thought that I might get help with some of the chapters. By now, you've had time for the guilt to set in and are doubtless wondering how to make it up to me. I have a handy suggestion for you - contribute an entry to our Fish Tales section! Fish Tales are just that - stories about fishing. They can be true adventures or fictional stories - heck, we even have some poetry in there!

I guess that's it for now. I keep staring at the Zen Girl's rack, and it makes me forget what it was I was going to ... uh ... oh, never mind!

July 9

It's Monday night, but there's not a lot of news other than the tuna run. This might be brief ...

Tuna - lots. Swordfish - few. Marlin - none. Thank you and good night.

OK, maybe that's a little too brief.

BTW, as I type this, the MLB Home Run Derby is on, and guys are getting ready to drown some balls in McCovey Cove. So if you see me sprinting away from the keyboard, that'll be why.

Justin Morneau just hit 5, including a monster to the top of the left field bleachers.

The tuna are definitely on the move, and the numbers are up as a result. Previously, there were two distinct groups of fish - one inshore and one offshore. The offshore batch were on the Butterfly Bank, and haven't moved too far. But the inshore group has moved up from the 371 to the 182 - putting them squarely in the site of the mosquito fleet out of San Diego.

You know, this might be the worst coverage ever of the Home Run Derby. I don't know if it's a conscious effort on the part of ESPN - always too happy to whore themselves out - or just an attempt to liven up a weak contest, but twice in 4 hitters they've spent the entire time focused on interviewing someone rather than on the guy at the plate. First it was Peter Gammons with an incredibly self-serving interview with Barry F'ing Bonds while Magglio Ordonez was hitting, and now they're doing the same to Albert Pujols by interviewing Alex Rodriquez. There was actually a time when ESPN came across as a professional sports network. Not any more.

The concentration of fish near the 182 are getting thicker, but it's still not bait-stop thick. If you get a jig strike and can get a scoop of sardines in, you'll have a chance at a baitfish or two. However, I haven't heard yet of anyone getting a school to hang under the boat.

Hmm ... Prince Fielder was my pick for the contest, but he just flamed out ...

Verrrry little striped marlin info coming in still - I think most folks are still chasing the tuna, and marlin sightings are just incidental. The one exception to that is Bob Hoose and PROSPECTOR who was out sharking this weekend - but I'm not going to even dignify that with a comment ... :-) They did get a shot at a marlin and a swordfish near the 289, but couldn't get them to go. I got a late report from the 4th of someone releasing one near the 43, but it was a single report and you know how I feel about those.

Jeez ... Vlad Guerrero only got 5 dingers in the first round - and that's enough to move to the next round. What a stinker of a contest.

One piece of good news regarding the batch of tuna currently hanging out above the Butterfly. The albacore have some size to them, running 25 to 30 pounds, and the bluefin tuna that are mixed in are getting bigger as well - some running as big as 60-lbs. I keep expecting to hear about them moving up closer to San Clemente Island, but not yet ...

No new pictures so ... no new pictures! If you guys don't send me something soon, I just might have to go catch something myself ... :-)

OK, that's it. Not much news and no way to sugar coat it. Hopefully things will blow open soon.

July 5

With Independence Day falling midweek, folks weren't sure what to do - fish the weekend before and Monday through Wednesday, or Wednesday through Friday and the weekend after, or just say screw it and make Wednesday a one-dayer. Whatever the reason, there's not a lot of news ...

We haven't received any striped marlin or swordfish reports here at the Home Office since MIRAGE and REEL FAST hit the Daily Double back on Saturday. In fact, with the holiday schedule the way it is, I'm not even sure of any boats that are even fishing midweek other than HOOKER, which has begun its pattern of only coming back to the beach when forced to. Hopefully they'll bring back some fresh dope.

Once upon a time, the folks at CoastWatch pretty much had a monopoly on the sea surface temperature data. Sure, you could write your own software the way Jeff Gammon at Terrafin did, or purchase a commercial package for crunching the data (in Windows format only - bastards!), but for most of us, the CoastWatch online chart generator was the best option we had. They cranked out pretty good charts, too - so good, in fact, that for several years we posted our own charts on the site for all to see.

No more. About 18 months ago, they tossed out the old interface and provided a slick new user interface for the data. Lots more options - too many, in fact. They lost sight of why folks came to CoastWatch in the first place - they don't want to be chart makers, they just want to know how hot the water is!

Fortunately, Terrafin and their competitors do a great job of crunching the data and making usable charts. But I kinda miss being able to make my own. Look, I design user interfaces for a living. CoastWatch - give me a call!

One interesting fishing story of note was the Blue Marlin World Cup Championship, which was held yesterday. This is one event that can truly be called a "world" event, as boats from around the planet were entered and fished for blue marlin in their home waters. It's a kill tourney - and you know where I stand on that - but I respect both the tradition of the event and the unique format. The winning fish came from the waters of Bermuda; it was a 728-lber caught by QUEEN OF HEARTS. I'm thinking that the brain trust that came up with the World Championship Billfish Release Tournament could do something like this but without the dead fish. Just a thought ...

I stopped being interested in movies when it became obvious that Hollywood hadn't come with an original idea in about 30 years. I mean, Transformers? C'mon - a second-rate cartoon about a third-rate toy? That's the best they can do??

Every once in a while, though, something catches my attention. There were those shows I remember from childhood that they try and bring to the big screen, and I can't help but look. Usually, I'm disappointed (see: Thunderbirds). There's one coming up that's piqued my interest - not for the movie or the actors, but for the key prop - a car.

Speed Racer was one of the first cartoons from Japan that eventually came to be known as "anime". The story of the title character, his father Pops, his girlfriend Trixie, his unknown brother Racer X and of course Chim-Chim was a huge hit. But we all know why we watched it was for the amazing Mach 5 - Speed Racer's wonder car. Well, the first publicity stills of the car for the movie have been released, and they look pretty good - and faithful to the original. Best of all, other than the "Yokohama" on the tires (and I guess that makes a certain sense on a Japanese car), there's no logo anywhere - finally, no product placement. Go Speed Racer ... Go!

Have I mentioned that I could really use some new fishing pictures to run here in the Fishing News? I'm reduced to running shots of the Mach 5, for God's sake. Help me help you have a better reading experience ... :-)

The tuna bite is pretty much unchanged. The best spots seem to still be between the 390 and 371 spots and at the Butterfly Bank. It remains mostly albacore with some bluefin tuna mixed in, with the fish in the 20-30 lb range. No real indication that the fish have moved north from either of those areas, but again we'll have to wait and see what happens when a few more boats get on the water.

Since there's not a whole lot of news to cover tonight, I'll burn a couple of paragraphs talking about one of the features of SCMO you might not know about. The Chat House is a real-time conferencing facility that is available to our MNAC members. Chat rooms have gotten a bad rap over the years as a home for pedophiles and scammers, but they're also a great place to share stories and tip and dope. It's everything your favorite watering hole has - without the water, of course.

A couple of years back, we held regular chats with some success. I'd be happy to host them again if there was sufficient interest. If you think this is something you'd like to try, let me know or post your interest in the War Room. It's not the same as meeting face to face, but it's damned close ...

July 2

As my father would say, "the season is upon us ... "

From last week's report:

"Just wait until we get the first report of a billfish hooked - marlin or sword - and that'll get us off our asses"

Consider my ass officially in gear.

(cue theme music)

By the way, this report is brought to you this evening thanks to a generous supply of Full Sail Amber Ale. We all do what we have to do to combat writer's block; Hemingway had his tequila, and I have my microbrews. Only you, dear reader, can judge if the ends justify the means ...

A funny thing happened on the way to the tuna grounds - a striped marlin and a swordfish were caught! As is often the case, the first of the season is pretty much a happy accident, and it sounds like that was the case with both of these fish. The rare thing, though, is that each was the first report I'd seen of a fish being hooked - you usually don't have success with that first one.

The marlin was released on Saturday afternoon by the stickboat MIRAGE while working on the inside of San Clemente Island. As most of you know, Steve Lassley runs MIRAGE when he's not driving BAD COMPANY to another tourney victory, so it's not like he's your typical swordfisherman - he knows what to do when he sees a marlin. In this case, one of the crew pinned a sardine on an outfit rigged for White Sea Bass and said the appropriate prayers. In this case, they were answered and they successfully released the large marlin.

Meanwhile, REEL FAST was on of the many small boats that opted to brave the weather for a shot at the tuna. They got to the northern edge of the Butterfly Bank where they saw a patch of breezing tuna. Their initial disappointment upon realizing it was bonito changed to glee as they saw a swordfish attack the school. They first caught one of the bonito, then hooked it to a 40-lb bait outfit better suited for marlin. You make do with what you have, and once again the angler's prayers were answered. The two anglers on the boat took turns battling the fish, which was brought on board in just under two hours. At the Balboa Angling Club scales, the swordfish weighed in at 210-lbs - not bad, guys, not bad at all!

A little breaking news as I write this report - it appears that Lewis I. "Scooter" Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Cheney is going to, well, scoot on his prison time. President Bush this afternoon commuted his sentence, meaning that while his conviction for lying to a Grand Jury will remain, he won't be doing any time.

Frankly, I have mixed feelings on this one. He outed a CIA agent for political gain - at a time of war, no less - just because the Administration was irritated by the things her husband - a former ambassador - was saying. That's a pretty serious thing to do. At the same time, Scooter is just a pawn in the deal, a political staffer doing his job by taking a bullet for his boss. I may be a registered Republican, but I'm long since tired of the kind of crap that Dick Cheney seems to think his office gives him the permission to do. It would have been better if Congress has given Scooter immunity in return for testimony - but then he'd have just perjured himself once again, I guess. There's no one out there I really like as a president, but I'm so ready to pull the chain on this bunch ...

Based on the signs, I figured we had about 3 or 4 weeks left until the first marlin would be released. Like most of you, I have a standard list of things that need to be accomplished before the season arrives. And, also like most of you, I tend to wait far too long to get started on them. I learned years ago that if you start too soon, you get all excited to catch fish and then have to wait, all flustered, until the marlin arrive. So now, I treat it like I did term papers in college and tend to wait for the very last second. But when the season up and surprises you like this one did, you basically get caught with your pants around your ankles. In my case, I haven't started in on the stack of lures I need to rig and - as you can see at left - it's gonna be a long night ... :-)

Oh, and the answer is "26" ...

In the last report, we talked about how nasty the weather reports looked. As it turned out, the crew of HOOKER opted to stay on the beach rather than pound through the weather for a couple of tuna. It's always frustrating when you stay off the water and the weather is as beautiful as it was this weekend. But as any experience mariner will tell you, a beautiful sunny day on shore often means nasty condition at sea. On Sunday, I drove around the Palos Verdes Peninsula to my father's house to celebrate my birthday (48 - yikes!), and the water was flat with just a slight ripple. But I could clearly see Avalon on Catalina, twenty-some miles away, and that's a dead giveaway. Once settled in at Dad's, I could hear the boats on Ch 72 and they were all saying the same thing - they were getting the snot beat out of them.

How bad was it, you ask? DONNA C - at 125 feet, easily the largest sportfisher on the West Coast - ran south on a largely unsuccessful tuna run over the weekend. On the way back up to Newport, the passengers sat on the fantail and listened as the contents of the cabin crashed about - on a 125-foot boat! In some ways, the guys in the 23-ft runners had an advantage - they can ride up and down on the swells, and they're used to being wet anyway ... :-)

We tend to forget about the tuna pretty quick once the billfish arrive, but those guys stupid ... er, brave enough to head out did scratch out a few. I didn't hear of any big numbers, but there was a pretty wide distribution and most boats were able to get a half-dozen or so albacore on the troll. For some, there were the occasional bluefin tuna as well.

Marlin fishermen tend to be pretty tight-lipped about where they're fishing - a bane of my existence - but not so the tuna slayers. If they're not calling one of the Fish Talk radio shows to work on their "pub", they're blasting out their locations to anyone who'll listen to them on VHF. A few numbers I was able to harvest in only a few minutes of listening yesterday: 03/45, 03/30, 06/40, 04/44, 06/39, 06/49, 06/48, 07/47, 04/46, 07/49 ...

You get the picture. Most of those number plot inside of the 390 and south of the 371. There was also talk of tuna being taken on the Butterfly Bank, although I'd seriously question the sanity of anyone who ran out there in that slop! I heard a single report of a boat getting albacore 10 miles south of Pyramid Head, but I need to see more before I'll drink that particular flavor of Kool-Aid.

One potentially bad sign for the tuna guys is the fact that they're already catching albacore as far north as Oregon. Usually once they get as far north as Morro Bay, our season is winding down. The fact that the main body of the tuna is already so far north makes you think we won't get more than a dusting of the cold water tunas. On the bright side, that could also mean we're in for a great marlin and yellowfin tuna season ... maybe even some big ol' bigeyes ... :-)

Another piece of news I just saw - Derek Fisher of the Utah Jazz asked for and was given a release from his contract today so that he can focus on his 11-month daughter, who is fighting cancer in her left eye. He's not saying that he's retiring, just that he would only consider playing if it was in the city where his daughter ultimately receives her treatment.

As the point guard for the Lakers during their three consecutive championship seasons earlier this decade, D-Fish showed himself to be one of the classiest guys in the game. Never one to look for the spotlight - which was fought over by Kobe and Shaq - it was Fisher who was the spark plug that fired the engine. He opted to cash out with the big contract to go to Golden State, a decision he came to regret, but which you have to respect considering he poor treatment he got here when his contract came up. Hopefully, it'll be LA that he ends up with, but that's not even a concern for him right now - nor should it be. Our prayers are with you, Derek ...

For those of you who correctly predicted "Before July 1" as the date for the first marlin catch in our previous poll, congratulations. Oh wait - that would be no one ... :-) Fear not, folks - we have a brand new poll. We like to roll this one out once the first fish is caught - how many do you think will eventually be released?

June 28

It's the Fourth of July weekend ... or it would be, if the damned thing had the good sense to fall on something other than a Wednesday. Anyway, normal people will be tossing shrimp on the barbie ... unless it's that farmed Chinese shrimp they're recalling for all the bad stuff in it. Anyway ... we're not normal, so we'll probably be fishing ... except it's forecast to blow like a mother. So you have a decision to make ... and it was said best by SFPD Inspector Harry Callahan:

"You've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"

(cue theme music)

The good news is that there are tuna north of the Mexican border, and by this weekend there could even be some decent quanties. The bad news? It's gonna be scorchingly hot on the beach - and that usually means it's gonna blow like hell offshore. How much? Lets ask the NWS:

.TONIGHT...NW WIND 20 TO 30 KT...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 6 TO 8 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS. PATCHY DENSE FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH LOCAL VISIBILITY 1 NM OR LESS.

And it's gonna be like that until at least Tuesday ...

It looks like you'll have a choice this weekend. San Clemente Island will be open - a rarity in our post-9/11 world - and it sounds like there will probably be tuna along the ridge leading north to Pyramid Head. But you'll be a long way from shelter, and coudl find yourself pinned down at SCI for a while. How bad to you want your tuna?

The bite itself is still scratchy, but is moving slowly northward. It's come far enough that the 1-day boats out of both San Diego and Dana Point are reporting albacore and bluefin tuna counts. I'm somewhat surprised that no one has found any concentration of fish yet, but I guess that'll come this weekend. If it's you that finds them, I trust you'll let us know ...

We talked about it over at the MarlinBlog, but tomorrow the new Apple iPhone goes on sale. I'm no seer, but I'll bet it does for the lowly cellphone what the iPod did for the MP3 player. The phones don't go on sale until tomorrow night, but folks have been lined up outside Apple stores all week. This guy is at the head of the line at Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. Seriously.

The stickboats continue to get good number of swordfish working both inside Catalina and between the islands. I haven't heard of anyone who has hooked one yet on rod and reel, but I don't know of anyone who's actually trying, either. Most of us are just now pulling our gear out of storage and starting the process of preparing for the season. Just wait until we get the first report of a billfish hooked - marlin or sword - and that'll get us off our asses ... :-)

If you're like most people, you're probably reading this sometime on Friday. If that's the case, then congratulate me - the software project I've been overseeing for the last two years went live this morning. That probably means I'm busier than the proverbial one-armed paperhanger right about now, hopefully without too many teething pains to have to solve.

It does mean that I'll have a lot going on in the next month or so. You as a reader will probably see the overall number of words I generate on a weekly basis decrease, between here and the MarlinBlog. But rest assured - you may not get quantity, but you'll always get quality!

It's always a shame when the Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday, since it effectively prevents the holiday weekend. Sure, you can take a couple of days off work, but that means you need your whole crew to do the same, and that can be problematic. It also means that, at a time when the number of boats on the water should be at its highest, we won't be getting the valuable Trip Reports that drive so much of what we do. I had this grand plan to get out on the water this weekend, but work and weather got in the way. If you get the chance to get out for an extended holiday trip (lucky bastard), be sure to let us know what you find.

June 25

Gentlemen ... start your engines!!!

That's right - after having to struggle to fill these reports as we cooled our heels waiting for the fish to arrive, I'm happy to report that there are offshore species in SoCal waters! Sure, there's not a lot yet, but think of them as the vanguard of a much larger invasion. It's that wonderful time of the year when we know the fish are close, but don't know just how good a season it'll be. Much like my friend here, the season is filled with promise, but just out of reach ...

Actually, I'm in a doubly good mood this evening. As you know if you follow the banner ads, Roddy Hays and Legend Lures has come on board as a sponsor here at SCMO (thanks, Roddy!). Today, I got a care package from NZ filled with hand-picked goodies. If there's anything I like as much as fishing, it's trying out new lures, and now I have a whole bunch to try out. Of course, if you are interested in supporting SCMO and getting some good exposure for your product, you might want to consider becoming an SCMO sponsor as well!

This isn't a tuna site, of course, but we love albacore as much as the next guy - and I suspect you do, too. So you'll be happy to hear that there is a wide distribution of albacore with bluefin tuna mixed in. Most of the southern banks are seeing at least some action, although it doesn't sound like anywhere is wide-open.

Where you choose to look for fish will probably be dependant on your home port. If you're coming out of San Diego (or choose to launch there), then you're definitely looking south. Both the 425 and 302 have albacore, and probably saw the most action this weekend. Of course, the fact that they're just beyond the Coronado Islands and, therefore, the most accessible, might have something to do with it. I didn't hear anything about banks further south, but if you're seeing fish puddle on the 425, I guess you probably wouldn't be wanting to run any further.

Boats heading out from ports further to the north are most likely looking further offshore. You know already that you're gonna have to run for your fish, so why would you want to get stuck in the mosquito boat fleet that you know is going to swarm the spots inshore. Fortunately, the fish appear to be on the outer banks as well. The eastern edge of the Butterfly Bank was one of the first places to report fish mid-last week, and it too has a mix of albacore and bluefin. Reports say there's lots of bait as well, which could pull in more fish. If you really feel like running, we got reports of action at the 60 Mile Bank, but as the name implies, it's a bit of a run.

One of the most interesting reports we heard was of a swordfish boat getting an albacore over the weekend. Now you know they aren't running south, as the picking has been pretty good around both Catalina and San Clemente Islands. Assuming the worst, they'd be working the lee of Clemente, but even that's damned close to home. We'll have to see how that pans out.

As I mentioned, the stickboats are seeing good numbers of swordfish, and several boats have been able to work the Avalon Bank. I did get one report from a swordboat of a marlin being seen, but I think it's a little early for that. Feel free to make me a liar, though ...

They nailed another of those longlining bastards with a full hold of marlin working off San Jose del Cabo; I'm told that the picture at right is the boat's captain. Sure, the boat was impounded, but that won't bring the marlin back. If that doesn't make your blood boil, then just put it into practical terms: every marlin that dies in a Baja gillnet is one marlin that won't be released off Avalon this fall. The last boat had 10,000 dead marlin - how do you think that's going to affect your fishing this year. Damned right ...

Earlier I talked about our SCMO advertisers, and this is probably a good time to remind those of you with advertising budgets to spend that SCMO is a great place to do just that. You can find bigger sites and more popular sites, but you won't find another site that attracts the serious offshore fisherman the way SCMO does. And face it - one offshore fisherman will spend in a weekend what a dozen calico bass anglers will drop over a season. This is the kind of targeted advertising that others dream of - and it's right here waiting for you.

As it happens, the beginning of our local season usually means a turnover in advertisers. New advertisers come to the site as the fishing heats up, so that's usually when their contracts start. It also means that's when their contracts end and, if they were slugs about renewing, it means there's a spot that's opened up in our banner pool. Unlike most of those other sites that'll happily whore themselves out and force you to see a dozen banners before you see what you're looking for, we deliberately limit our number of advertisers and run only a single banner per page. We think our visitors appreciate that, and show their appreciation to our advertisers. To see if that's true, you should consider becoming an sponsor; you can get all the information you need here.

One last shot at the InstaPoll - sounds like it might be sooner rather than later!

June 21

Well, this week has lived up to it's billing, and I'm beat. I've been teaching software classes all week, and I have a whole new appreciation for the education profession. If your wife is a teacher, give her a kiss for me ... ;-)

That's all well and good, but hey - you don't care. You're here for one thing, and that's the news. So ...

(cue theme music)

Today's the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere, but the fishing certainly isn't very summer-like. By this point, if the tuna weren't being caught by the local private boaters they would at least be close enough to think about. Not this year.

So far, the tuna are still at the outer range of the day-and-a-half party boats - two hundred miles plus. I haven't looked closely at the water temps, so I'm not sure if there's a particular reason they're moving sooooo slowly. But if you read the historical report at the end of this update, you'll see that we should be whacking albies by now.

Just saw Kathy Griffin on The Larry King Show. Poor Larry - he never had a chance. If there's a funnier woman on the planet, I'm damned if I know who.

Fortunately for those who are still there, the striped marlin are still biting in Cabo San Lucas, as demonstrated by this shot of a greyhounding striper that arrived at the Home Office just minutes ago (the shot, not the striper, wise-ass). Unfortunately, it also came with word of a commercial fishing vessel being boarded that had 10,000 marlin on board. That's right - 10K. Worse yet - they had all the proper paperwork, so they went on their merry way. If you haven't taken a stand against Norma 029 yet, you'd better do so quickly, or there won't be anything left to save.

Here's another indication we might be in for a slow season. Usually by now, I'd be getting lots of reports of supposed billfish that ultimately turn out to be false. So this season, though, I haven't gotten a single billfish-like report - not even the "false positives" of mako or thresher sharks. Not a good sign.

With the arrival of summer - and summer weather! - there should be a lot of folks on the water, poking about to see what they can find. Hey, here's a novel thought - file a Trip Report when you get back on the beach! If you find something, great - share it with us. But even if you see nothing but empty water, that's still good info, too.

June 18

One of the responsibilities that comes with being the guy who develops software is being the guy who has to teach others how to use the software. Unfortunately, that's me this week. I'm teaching classes all day all week, so I'm taking a mulligan on this report - just like Tiger wished he could yesterday. I won't be near anything that will be able to tell me how the fishing is, which is probably just as well since there's no real fishing to talk about, anyway.

There are lots of good threads brewing over in the Marlin Club, though, so you'll have plenty to do. I'll also try and get a MarlinBlog entry in every so often as well.

Only real fishing news I heard I got the long way. My brother had dinner at Armstrong's in Avalon Saturday night, and they mentioned that one of the local boats had brought in a swordfish that day - and they were having it for dinner. I'm told there's some pretty good stickboat activity over by San Clemente Island, but I haven't been able to confirm. That's always one of the good early season signs that the rod-and-reel fishing isn't far off.

June 14

What? Thursday already?? Man ... time flies when you're not catching fish ...

As the pelagics linger just beyond our reach, taunting us with their presence, we wait patiently for their arrival in the Southland. Well, we try to wait patiently ...

All of the real action remains to our south, where the spring round of tourneys was recently completed. The favorite of the Home Office staff was the 2nd Annual World Championship Billfish Release Tournament. Last year's event was wildly successful, especially coming with only a few months prep time. They set a pretty high bar for themselves, but it would appear they topped it.

It's a big ocean out there but every once in a while, it seems like the fish are all packed into a single acre. There was a decent band of fish towards Los Frailes, but with this many competitive boats and crews - and quick throttles - you can end up with a lot of boats pounding a group of fish. That was the case at left, where a desperate striped marlin runs from one boat right towards another. I guess he didn't get the memo about "all release" ...

In the end, a total of 454 stripers were hooked, with 335 released and 0 killed. Pretty amazing fishing, especially considering a full moon fell during the event. Captain Steve Lassley and BAD COMPANY picked up right where they left off after their incredible 2006 season by releasing 33 marlin over the three days, 21 by tourney high angler Pete Groesbeck. They were equalled at 33 by CHIQELIN and Captain Mike "the Beak" Hurt, whose earlier release served as the tiebreaker for High Boat. GET OVER IT, a local Cabo San Lucas team, released 30 marlin to lock up third place.

One classy move by the top teams was to donate a portion - or, in the case of BC, all - of their winnings to The Billfish Foundation's Norma 029 Fund. We'll talk more about this disasterous piece of south-of-the-border legistation in future reports.

File this under "Right Idea, Wrong Day": Tournament organizer Chris Badsey used REELAXE to give a group of volunteer tourney observers some rod time the day after the event ended. Naturally, they hit it big to the tune of twenty releases ...

It's funny ... when I was doing these reports last year, I complained that my job was keeping me so busy that I never had time to dedicate to putting the report together the way I wanted to. The only solace I had was that I would be "over the hump" by Christmas. Now we're in June, and I still haven't reached the damned hump! If anything, the hill is higher than it was last fall, and the cliffs on both sides far more steep. And just to make things even more interesting, I "get" to spent two weeks in Atlanta next month - got a hunch I'm gonna learn why they call it "Hotlanta". I keep telling myself it could be worse - I could be my friend to our right. Come to think of it, I spend a lot of time feeling just like that, and he doesn't have my appointment calendar ... lucky bastard ... :-)

The fishing might be rocking in Los Cabos (and even further south, based on the reports we're seeing in the Marlin Club), but it's pretty slow here. I alluded earlier to the fact that a couple of tuna have been taken, but they were way down - like 60-Mile Bank down. There's an unconfirmed report of a pair of albacore coming from the Butterfly Bank, but you know how those early season reports are - a little too much like Bigfoot sightings. I fully expect to see the "look a marlin - oops, a shark" sightings to start up soon. But you can't be too hard on those who are just excited to get things going ...

Don't forget - this weekend is Father's Day. Take the old man fishing - remember, it's probably his fault you fish, anyway ... :-)

As I'm writing this, the San Antonio Spurs are celebrating the 2007 NBA title - on Cleveland's court. Oops. Amazing that they've won 4 titles in 9 seasons, but never two in a row. Look for that to change next year. LeBron showed talent and leadership, but I think King James is still a Crown Prince. His time will come, though.

Just a thought ... how many rings does Robert Horry have now? He's won them with Houston, LA and San Antonio. Pretty soon, "Big Shot Bob"'s gonna be looking for "one for the thumb" - the second one!

I'm going to close with another fabulous shot by Chris Badsey from the WCBRT. No fish, no fishing action, just battlewagons heading out for the day. It really is the perfect analogy for where we are right now - no success, no failure, just anticipation. We don't know how we'll do this season, but we'll get our shots - and in the end, that's the most important thing.

If you do get out this weekend, make sure to take a moment to file a Trip Report. Yeah, you probably won't have much to say other than talk about beautiful weather and high fuel prices, but it'll get you in the habit ... :-)

See you tomorrow for the Eye Candy ... it's going to be an interesting look into the life of a runway model. You don't want to miss it ... trust me!

June 11

"Guess what - I got a fever ... and the only prescription is more cowbell!"

- Bruce Dickenson

Dust off the keyboard, plug in the amp, chill the Red Bull and cue the theme song! Yes, it's time - time for the 2007 edition of the SCMO Fishing News!

Five years ago, Rich Holland gave me grief in his Western Outdoor News column for pulling the plug on my regular fishing news updates. Rich is one of those rare guys who can give you a complement and piss you off simultaneously, and he did both in that particular issue. Fortunately for all, it spurred me to find a way to make the updates work. This marks the first update of the sixth season since that column was published, so since we're still at it, you should thank Rich ...

Of course, the offshore season hasn't started yet in SoCal. The striped marlin are still far south, and we're just now hearing the first rumblings of tuna on the outer banks. That makes it a perfect time to kick off these reports. Obviously, we don't have any photos of local action to share with you, but remember - it's a big world, and someone's catching something somewhere. In the example to the left, it's a feisty blue marlin in Cape Verde.

Each year, the first and last updates of the season are the toughest. The last one is a challenge, because you don't really know when to stop making updates. You want to stop once the action stops, but you really don't want to have things heat up right after you stop.

The first one is even harder, though. Sure, you have the advantage of watching the fishing action and trying to gauge when to start, but you also have to find a way to shake off the rust of the offseason. It ain't easy being creative on demand. One thing working in my favor is the MarlinBlog; now that I'm making daily entries, it's not so hard to start up the Fishing News again. Of course, it does mean that many more words to write ...

Speaking of the MarlinBlog, I was cruising the Marlin Magazine website the other day and noticed that they have a new feature - a series of updates from Editor Dave Ferrell called - you guessed it - the Marlin Blog. I outta sue. Of course, I'd happily settle for having Ferrell - long known at SCMO as Scarlet Pig - come out and play ... :-)

Personal Appearance Update: I'll be at the King Harbor Marlin Club meeting Wednesday night to listen to Mark Wisch tell us where to find white sea bass. Actually, I think it's one of those things where once the holes are fished out they share them with you, but we'll see. I quit the KHMC several years back after they demonstrated an inability to do basic math, but if MNAC member Rob Espinosa gets roped into being the next president (and they're lubing him up as we speak), I may have to rejoin as an act of solidarity. Anyway, the meeting is at the Redondo Beach Yacht Club at 7 - if you see me, feel free to buy me a beer.

I can't believe it's time to do these updates again - I haven't checked a fishing report in months. I can tell you that the usual early season suspects are present. There's a decent white sea bass bite going on the backside of Catalina, but you gotta be on the spot long before greylight. Once the sun starts to rise, forget it - time to go home.

As the news media have been reporting - well, at least when they're not covering the Paris Hilton debacle - we've also got a run of giant Humboldt Squid off of Orange County. These are the big red mothers that run 6 feet long and pump water like a fire hose. They're damned fun to catch, and I'm told they're good eating - not like I'm gonna find out ... yeech ...

By Thursday, I'll be back in my rhythm of scouring sources for news. We'll talk about the upcoming season, and we'll also share some reports from the recently completed World Championship Billfish Release Tournament. I'll be checking out some of the other sites to see what they're saying - and saying about us. We respect our competitors, but as Darth Vader reminds you, we're number one ... :-)

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Note: These reports are copyright © 2007 by Southern California Marlin Online. They can be reproduced elsewhere provided they are not edited and credit is given to SCMO as the source.