MBK Fishing Derby!

Thanks to Tedski for netting and helping me land my fish and to Moo for providing the video to tie a halibut rig. Helped me nab the 19lb 9oz fish that made the drive all worth it. Couldn't ask for more. I landed the fish only due to the kindness and help of ncka members.

Congrats man!

It was my first derby... didn't come close to winning, but still had a great time.

So many other firsts for me:
* First ling... ended up being an inch short, but still happy to catch and release it (fought like a demon since it was foul hooked)
* First mackerel (was trying to sabiki for anchovies and a couple of these lightning bolts came out of nowhere and lit shit up)
* First ocean whitefish (also fought pretty hard for its size, unexpected and pretty fish)

I'm also very inexperienced in the MB area, generally followed the herd of people but didn't want to follow too close, and just looked for structure where I can. I found a couple spots where I could very easily have limited out on rockfish... only kept 5 of the biggest though. No point being greedy.

Conditions seemed pretty nice. Is it usually that easy to launch at MBK?

Oh, p.s. Didn't catch the full name, but thank you to Jim who lent me his fish ruler out there so I could measure the ling. I already have one on order so I don't need to borrow next time heh.

My first tourney / derby.  My biggest lesson was that my Stealth didn't make me a better fisherman, but I looked good while not catching the winning fish.   

Congrats to the winners!

Oh man!  So great to see all the kayaks lined up ready to launch.  I'm batling diverticlulitis right now super painful and just a nuisqance.

Managed to make the pre-dawn drive in order to get all the weigh-in stuff to MBK and got to say hello to at least a couple brethren.  So happy we are finally in-person on the water doing it again. Fuck Covid!

I'm writing regular report for WON tonight and plan a separate story re MBK derby.if I can get some large-size photos of fish and winners and details from the weigh in.....scruzfishing@yahoo.com


Bushy

I had a good time and enjoyed fishing a new spot. It was nice to see people and have a kayak fishing event finally!

I definitely fished the wrong area, but caught plenty of RF, multiple undersized lings, and 1 ocean whitefish.

I didn’t bring the stealth, but I got super lucky in the raffle and won a paddle that matches my new stealth!! I’m super excited for that  Now I gotta get out and actually fish it.

Newbie question from someone who has never really gone out very far there at Monterey... is there a commonly used name for that main buoy where where a good chunk of us were congregating around? Is it just "the buoy" or "yellow buoy" or something?

Like I notice at HMB people refer to the "green can" and such

Trying to learn the lingo as I try new places.

Good times again. 
Thanks  Adam and the MBK crew .
I hit the road at 3am from Sonora to make the journey to Monterey. Beautiful conditions and weather were awaiting the 50+ Kayak angler's for a 7am ish launch.
Nice to see a good verity of fish being caught. Congrats to the winners and everyone else who caught fish.
Stoked to see a lot of peeps that I haven't seen in a couple  of years already... made my day even better.
Nice to meet some new dudes too.
My wife and I had a great time at this event. Can't wait for  more events and get togethers to happen and to get back on the water Kayak fishing.
Thanks again.
TW

I had a good time and enjoyed fishing a new spot. It was nice to see people and have a kayak fishing event finally!

I definitely fished the wrong area, but caught plenty of RF, multiple undersized lings, and 1 ocean whitefish.

I didn’t bring the stealth, but I got super lucky in the raffle and won a paddle that matches my new stealth!! I’m super excited for that  Now I gotta get out and actually fish it.

I love when things line up that way!  Good colors!

Camped with Brian and Pat the Rivereatcher. Prefished Friday and caught a barely legal ling. Saturday stayed in closer and had one probable hali bite then caught the largest fish I’ve ever caught out of a kayak - a 5’ Gray Smooth Hound Shark that fought hard and towed me around, making several runs. Pat netted it for me and held it for photos. It was a strong fish and I wussed out on holding it. Also released a copper and kept a whitefish. Mabel the wonder dog made everything more difficult, wanting to get a piece of every bait and fish caught. Disappointed the shark wasn’t a WSB but still pretty stoked. DFW website says largest recorded is 5’-4.25” so I wished we taped it. May have been a record.

Actually I think it was a Soupfin Shark and they get up to 6 ft or so.

This was my first kayak event and it was so good to chat with all the folks I've been interacting with here for nearly a year.  So much stoke.  So, since I had no idea what to expect going into this, I figure I'll just chronicle my experience in this post so future first-timers can get a feel for what this derby was like.

I booked a room at the Stargazer Inn and the wife wound up tagging along to spectate and enjoy the Monterey coast for a few hours while I fished.  This worked out well for this post since she got some good photos of the launch.  Huge thanks to Adam for the free boat storage!  We headed down Friday, dropped the boat off at MBK and went out to find a bite to eat and hit the rack for some much needed end of the week sleep.  Early morning, coffee chugged, to the MBK lot just before 6 am and started rigging up the kayak...



Adam and his crew had the check-in line moving along nicely, so it was in short time that I was walking out with raffle tickets and swimbait swag in hand and ready to head down to the beach...



I found a spot with some of the folks I've fished with a bunch up nearer SF and staged the boat awaiting the morning brief...



Adam kept the brief... well, brief, but informative and went over the rules and some important safety and regulatory topics.  With everyone on the same page, it was time to launch.  That was probably the coolest sight of the day for me.  Seeing that many kayaks launching at the same time was pretty neat.  A fishing flotilla. 




Here's a link to a short video of the launch:  https://i.imgur.com/HxKPHwB.mp4

I did some research on bathymetry data, currents, bottom structure, nautical charts, MPA maps, TLA's awesome tutorial, etc. before heading down, but this would be my first time fishing Monterey.  The plan was to follow the curve of the shoreline seeing what's home as we made our way to the Hotel and then out to the yellow can.  I've been stuck on getting a halibut lately and so I started off with the bounce ball towing a sardine along.  It wasn't long before I had a 23.5" ling onboard.  My buddy in Aptos needs some fish, so bonked and bled and in the fish bag with the bounce ball back down.  Not too much longer after that, a 22.25" lingcod on the boat, CPR'd and back down it goes to get caught another day.  And in short succession... another lingcod at 24.5" bonked and bled.  From there I figured I'd get away from the structure a bit and see if any halibut were in the sand hungry for a sardine.  With an hour of exercise and no halibut to show for it, I started to make my way back over to the yellow can to see how others were doing.  Just as I arrive, I hear Amer call out for assistance.  I asked what he needed and he says he's got a huge hali and his net won't do and no gaff on board.  He asks to use my net and I oblige by expediting a pedal over alongside.  I offer him the net, but he asks if I can net it for him.  Sure thing, scoop that fatty up and Amer lets out a big cheer.  I think he said it was his first ocean hali!  I mentioned that I wasn't sure if the rules covered assists, so definitely be candid when weighing in and he obliged (assists weren't covered in the rules, so the fish was weighed in).  I got out the camera and got some fresh kill shots of Amer with his hali...



At this point, it was nearing time to head back to weigh in, so the flotilla came cruising back to port.  Once on the beach, things were a bit of a whirlwind between stowing all the gear in time for the raffle and awards, but we got some sips of beer in between punchlist items and then it was time for the awards.  Sure enough, Amer's fish was 1st place.  So stoked for you, Amer... the way your face lit up was great.  It was super cool to share that exciting moment with ya!  Next up was the raffle and Adam went through the long list of prizes available thanks to the sponsors.  I wound up winning a Qi Fishing Ares series slow-pitch jigging rod... so stoked on that.  By far the nicest rod I've ever owned.  Some other folks won some really awesome art, other rods, and a bunch of other great prizes.  One last beer in the parking lot with 3$J, Sin Coast and Corey and then it was time to go clean some fish and get the boat rinsed and stowed. 

What a great time.  Thanks to Adam, his crew, and all that helped for putting such a great event on!  I can't wait for the next one!

WOW LOEBS WHAT A BOUNTY. You may not have made the weigh in on time but you sure hit the jackpot on fishing that day.

Joe what a catch with that shark. I was a part of the many kayakers drifting towards the hotel waiting for a halibut bite so wasn't sure if there was any big action that but I guess there was!

Adam, thanks so much for doing this, was great to bust out of COVID19 lockdown and meet up with a bunch of folks!

Tedski thanks so much for the awesome pix!!

Bushy

Thanks for the reports. Looks like it was a great day.

Al