MBK 2011 Results and PIX....Please post your pix here

Wow!  Another GREAT get-together at Monterey Bay Kayaks.  Conditions were friendly, little wind and a slight chop on the water, but very fishable.....

Yakhopper/Eric got the first radio fish I heard, a salmon ....that he lost at the boat.  DANG!  Later we heard of some WSB being caught by some PB'rs, but for most it was rockfish, lings (a lot), and at least one decent Halibut.

So, Winner # 1 , the first repeat winner in the entire History of this Derby.........E2G!!!!

Eugene Tsuji  used a whole squid to catch 14lb, 9oz Halibut, and take home (ANOTHER!) Trident 13 compliments of Ocean Kayaks and Tsunami's Mike Mowrey.

2d place?  This guy was the first one on the beach today, with two ling cod, the larger of which weighed in at 8lb 11oz.  Our own......Moochie Boy!!  Joel Lotilla.  Again the bait was whole squid that Joel pinned onto a WSB rig (dreaming big).  He went home with a new Werner 230, thank you Cass Schrock and Monterey Bay kayaks!

Close behind in third place was David Chang "Daviator," with a beautiful lincod that tiped the scales at 8lbeven.  Cass and MBK provided a nice pair of polarized shades for 3d place prize.

We saw a few other lings and plenty of RF, but only the one Butt, no WSB and no salmon (sorry, Eric).

The gathering was a blast as usual.  Special thanks to Scott Great Bass 2, and Ben for bringing grills to cook the mandogs, and to everyone who participated in this year's contest.

Way to go WINNERS!

Well deserved for all.

New dive boat Eugene!

SWEET!!!!!!!

Well deserved by Eugene, Joel and Dave!!!

WTG fellas!!

I was unable to make the tourney, but did stop by for an hour so in the PM....hung with Mooch, FM1 and Dr. Habanero and tried to submit a late entry for the tourney, but they found the spear hole and told me to take my eel and go home.

 

Congrats again to everybody who participated!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I was really bummed out that I couldn't participate in today's derby due to work. However, I made my way out there early morning to say hello to all my brothers and sisters and to wish em all success

Eugene, wtg on repeating the tourney win!!
Mooch, it's always great pleasure to see you. Wtg on landing 2 nice lings! Btw, I hate you too :p
Dave, I'm so stoked for ya placing 3rd!! I have been really impressed by your angling skills lately, keep on getting better Looking forward to fishing with ya soon

Looks like good conditions and a great time!

Congrats Eugene!  .....those Tangerine T-15s are money..... 

WTG Mooch and Dave - nice job fellas.

Sorry to have missed this one.

Congratulations guys.  A special congrats to fellow "Screw" Daviator.

Martin

Congrats to you all!!
I wish I could have hung out with my NCKA bruthas... but was racking up WAF points to fish another day.

I just get giddy when I see pics of NCKA events.  Another EPIC times I bet!

Thanks to MBK and Scallen for hosting such a wonderful event  Congrats to Eugene, Joel and Dave!!! This is the toughest of the salt water derbies and there were a lot of skilled anglers OTW so your victory was well deserved. Personally I was hoping Nathan would win, maybe next year. A good tournament year for the Sur crew. Maybe some of Ken and Aarons skill trickled down to the rest of us.  Thanks to all who participated in the auction for Aarons family and Ken for organizing.

Scott

A special big thanks to Allen, MBK and all those who participated in the derby. The proceeds from those who purchased Aaron's gear and graciously donated money totaled $1,500  . MBK donated a gift card with $100.00 on it. With some other contributions we will have raised around $2,500. I know his widow will be overwhelmed by the generosity. Aaron's kayak went to a new kayaker who was totally stoked. Lets hope the Aaron's fishing mojo goes to all those who knew him and have been so generous. 

Congrats to all.
Thought I was going to be able to make this one.
I am sure I would have had more fun there then renting a tow dolly, driving to Sac to drop a driveline on a 4runner and tow it home.
EG2...back to back....unreal. You got some great mojo workin' there.

Thank you to everyone involved in putting this together!

Drove in Friday after work in a bit of a hurry.  List of items that I forgot and had to replace:

Sunscreen - $6
Dramamine - $6
Net - $60
Booties - $30
Towel - $5
Ice Chest - $10
Ice - $3
------
Price of stupidity / bad memory: $120 

Stayed at the Monterey Oceanside Inn.  Wasn't completely ghetto but for $180/night I was shocked at how crappy it was.  The "continental" breakfast report from the wife was a single muffin cut in 4 pieces and coffee that tasted like they used the previous morning grinds.  I would not recommend this hotel in the future.

Woke up and drove to the Derby got registered then loaded up and hit the beach.  Got the pep talk and then hit the water with the rest of the armada.  Despite a brief overview of where to fish I quickly realized I had no idea on where I was going.  I have been to Monterey Bay Aquarium and saw people hitting the kelp beds out front, so decided that would be my ticket.  The water temp and conditions were absolutely perfect.  Could not have asked for better considering GMS5 and Albion conditions!

I went past the break walk on the SW and briefly contemplated throwing at it, probably should've but didn't.  Got to the NE border of the kelp beds as indicated by a barrel buoy and started around the edges.  Picked up a decent black but after 2 passes that was it.  Talked to someone (should've got handle, my bad) who gave the tip to go into the kelp a bit and drop vertical for Gophers.  I tried that and immediately picked up a Gopher...then back to blanks.  Switched back out to drifting the outside and got another black but it was a long time between bites.



Periodically I would hear radio call outs: Eric losing a salmon at the boat, a butt being caught, someone catching a lot of gophers, and PB WSB chatter.  Jelly fish were everywhere and some really huge ones were out floating around.  Seal activity everywhere with a few being more friendly then I would've liked.  Something about feeling eyes on you, looking over your shoulder, and seeing a furry face within a foot of your hand has a way of scaring the shit out of you!

Before I knew it the call came the call to return for weigh in.  Time goes fast when you are fishing that is for sure!  However since I was sporting 3 "nothing special" rockfish, I didn't bother going in for weigh in.  I still need a few more for dinner! 

I asked on the radio where the Gophers were and got a reply "By the Yellow Can".  Now this was actually spot on beta, the only problem?  I had no idea where that was, lol    Instead of doing the smart thing and asking for clarification, I said thanks and paddled aimlessly.  After finding the inner kelp bed just outside of the sail boats, I did some jigging and scrapped up another small gopher.  As I jigged other yaks were heading back in.  I asked one where they came from, "Yellow Can Buoy".  My ticket!  I asked where it was and it was pointed out. 

Headed out to Yellow Can and drifted by while dragging some squid and landed a decent verm.  That made my stringer 5 which is more than enough for dinner!  Another factor which kind of put the nail in the coffin for the day for me, I was out there by my lonesome.  And I mean there was no one between the shore, me, and the PBs way out there.  I do have an active imagination as well, so I started creeping myself out with the thoughts that I know everyone else also had lurking in the back of their minds...Is it still shark week???? 



Decided to go in and got the yak situated.  Somehow managed to overboard two of my favorite swimbaits  and didn't notice where.  Oh well.  Got my crap loaded then decided to try and clean my fish.  Asked around where the nearest cleaning station was....there isn't one   Little Riverman said he thought there might be one at the end of the wharf so I walked down there, no go.   I can not stand cleaning fish after I get home, it is either clean them there, or not keep them.  I was looking forward to fresh fish for dinner though so the hunt was on.

I grabbed a smaller plastic cooler I had and started walking north up the beach to try and find a secluded enough spot where there wasn't anyone hanging out to do the dirty deed...  For some reason I had the feeling I was doing something illegal (cleaning fish on the beach), and hell maybe I was!  Literally walked a good 1.5 miles if not further before I hit a stretch that was empty.  Hunkered down and fileted up the fish. 

Anyone who has watched my filet my fish knows I am TERRIBLE at it, but I was actually a bit proud of how quickly I got it done and that wasn't mentioning the less than optimal conditions!  At one point I had a beach combing cardigan wearing spectating couple who seems more interested in it then I would've thought..."Buffy, look at how he carves the meat.  Fascinating..."  OK maybe that was verbatim, but close I swear.  2 marauding dogs caught the scent and ran over.  I think the angry gleam in my eyes and the blood soaked knife I was wielding persuaded the owners to quickly get them back on their leash.     Finally finished it up, tossed the carcasses back in to be recycled and rinsed off my gear. 

NOTE:  It is fairly ridiculous with that much fishing going on in the area that there isn't a fish cleaning station on the wharf or somewhere in the vicinity.

Trucked back to the lot to find out that the BBQ was over.  LOL, I didn't even get any food   Oh well.  Called the Mrs to round up the kids and meet me back at MBK.  Put the fish on ice, changed into some fresh duds, and pointed NE to Vacaville.  A bit of traffic on the 101 but we were home soon enough.  Grilled up the fish and macked.  There is something about fish that never gets frozen and goes pretty much from the ocean to your grill that makes it a little slice of heaven.  The wife had mixed up some mango margaritas for us.  It was a great way to end the day!

Ingredients
    1/4 cup olive oil
    1 tablespoon dried parsley
    1 tablespoon dried thyme
    1-2 tablespoon chilli powder (depending on how much like chilli powder)
    1 tablespoon dried rosemary
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Preheat grill for medium heat. In a shallow glass dish, mix the olive oil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Place the salmon in the dish, turning coat. Squeeze lemon juice over each fillet. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Lightly oil grill grate. Transfer salmon to the grill, and discard any remaining marinade. Cook salmon on preheated grill over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.  I lightly salt it when I am done.

And for those who have no idea where to fish in MB, like me, here is the little map I drew up for next visit.

My thanks to MBK and Allen for another year's fun and trash talking  It was so good to see so many people I don't get a chance to talk and fish with. Congrats to all who won.......but just wait till next year My back and leg gave me fits most of the day and is still talking to me  I'm not listening...busy planning another outing with some NCKA brothers. I was honored to be able to get a few things of Aaron's. It was good to see some big hearts at work giving. It shows me what real class is and how fortunate I am to belong to such a great group of people. Thanks for putting up with me 

Migwej Jeyak;

Ebyekewabjeget

Thanks to MBK and Ocean Kayak for a fun event.  The last time I won, I felt like I cheated with a 3, three, THREE pound rockfish.     This win felt legit with the butt.  Still debating what to do with the yak but might make the new yellow boat Nathan primary, and get him out of his "run me over" green.

The butt chomped on a double hook sliding sinker rig in 65-70 FOW with a whole squid dragged around by the hotel.  I started to the south of the fleet, and as the fleet moved deeper, I went shallow.  Mr Butt hit hard once and then let go.  I fed line to him, and waited till I felt some load before setting the hook.  He came up heavy with head shakes, but went nuts when he saw my boat.  My first net pass ended as the fish did a U turn and dove down.  Brought him back up and in the net he went.  As I positioned him for the wood shampoo, he again went nuts and soaked me with massive sprays of water.  While in the net I boga gripped him, then put on the game clip then beat him in the head.  About a half hour later, he woke up for another flopping followed by another beat down.

I love the amount of meat I get off a halibut, and virtually zero waste.  We are eating well for many meals.

Eugene

Congrats to the HAC    (Hella Asian Crew) for dominating the MBK tourney

Many thanks to Ocean Kayaks and MBK for another awesome tourney! Also want to thank Allen, Ben and Scott for doing what they did to make this another good-time-gathering 

As far as fishing, I was looking for Halibut love but ended up catching 3 lings  - 1 was short and released - by the yellow can dragging squid. (Pat/Sin Coast = thank you for supplying me with bait). I wanted to join the fleet by the Hotel but as I made my way, I didn't feel that I had the strength to make it back so I u-turned and decided to fish close to home. Anyway, it was nice to be on the water again. Looking forward to next years event!!

Went by MBK this morning before I made my way home....dropped off some lingcod fillets for Cass (MBK's owner). And I also wanted to check out the cute red head that works there  I think I'm in love 

Got word from Jonesz - who went out and fished today. He caught a load of squid but no WSB. A few boaters got a few....

Congratulations on a successful event and to the winners. WTG Eugene, locals rule bruddah! Mooch! Daviator!