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Aftco Presents: |
Some Thoughts on the Tournament Season |
- By Mark Wisch
- Published 10/13/2008
- Fishing Reports
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Rating:
Marlin Fever and More...
A couple of days ago, I backed my van into a favorite parking space at the beach, opened the back, got out my beach chair and settled in to eat lunch and feel the warm sun work it’s magic. It was a beautiful fall day, one of those flat calm, you can see forever type of days and it was having the desired effect. I picked at my salad, lost in the endless cadence of the surf as I casually watched the few boats that were out...until one in particular caught my attention.
There is a special magic about the well-proportioned sport fisherman, they just look deadly efficient and made to hunt for fish. I watched this rig go flying by, first drawn to the obvious speed and flat running angle. Then, as it got a bit closer yet just on the edge of distance where I could see enough details, it all clicked and I knew the rest of the story. On it’s way home from a boat show, this was the Tiara 3900 we had done extensive custom work on in preparation for the season, the one I’ve been privileged to drive this summer, the one with “Pacific Edge” on the transom. Watching it heading south at high cruise brought back a flood of memories.
Through the ’96 season, I had fished the marlin in SoCal hard for many years and had a lot of success. Then there was a long layoff, for ten years I didn’t fish them at all. But in ‘06 my friend Rob Webster got me to join Rob Espinosa on the “Pescaholic” in the Peskies tournament and we caught a fish during and another on the way home. I fished with Rob on his boat “Magellan” the next year and we took fourth in the ChurchMouse tournament and then the damage was done.
Marlin fever is an insidious disease. The hunt for the fish and thrill of the catch grabs your reality and shapes you in ways you would have not thought possible until a full case hits you hard. It helps to define who you are and keeps you in touch with that atavistic part of our personality that doesn’t get used much anymore. You can sometimes try to stuff it away in a dark corner of your mind and try to pretend it’s gone...but it will never be over!!!
A phone call earlier this spring combined with a little reminder from the past two seasons brought that point home all too clearly. I got the word the Tiara 3900 at the Crows Nest dock was going to be mine to run this season, for both some local trips as well as putting a team together to fish some of the marlin tournaments. Oh boy...here we go again!!!
We started the season on the EPYC open house weekend in mid-August. We did some kelp paddy fishing on the way to Clemente and then spent the next two days in pursuit of the first marlin on the new rig. We did get a couple of jig strikes and a few jumps out of one of them but we were denied.
I officially got my season started in the Church Mouse Tournament on the Magellan, Rob Webster’s 35’ Cabo. We fished up west, on the Osborn Bank, an area with which I’m very familiar. It was just Rob, John King (Fish Catalina.com) and I and we got lucky with a strong start and held on to our lead to wind up in first place over 81 other boats. We had five fish for the two days and it felt good to be back in the saddle again.
Next up was the Avalon Billfish Classic, the first of three money tournaments. We got the ball rolling with the first fish of the competition, a sleeper John King found over a mile away in the gyros. Doug Kern cast the first bait and was bit instantly and the fish was released a short time later. But that was it for us that day. We had some more shots but couldn’t get it together.
On day two we found a small spot of fish away from the fleet and had some shots but again no love. I burnt valuable time on that sector when the other area had started to go off and that cost us. We ultimately did get in there for a phenomenal tailer show and three fish released but it was too little too late and we just missed the money with a fourth place finish. Thanks to my team of John Lee, Ray Hsieh, John King, Doug Kern and Mark (Kram)Warner...I had a blast!!!
We got in on Wednesday and I had barely enough time to get settled down and shift my gear back to the “Magellan” to fish the Masters with Rob, John King and Keith Provin. The Masters is the premier light tackle tournament and is consistently won by a select few of our most skilled light tackle experts. We started in an area that looked good on the computer but it didn’t feel that way when we took a look for a while that first morning so we relocated about ten miles north. We were just getting up to the numbers when we greeted by a full-on Indian attack that left us with a double on jigs on 20#. We caught both of those and had a few more shots for the day but no more fish.
Day two found us right back on my numbers and I liked the setup. The break was a bit sharper with more bait and better color and enough signs to keep it interesting...it looked tasty. We got a jig bite in the morning that Keith caught that one for his second fish on 20#, three fish for the boat...not too bad. About noon we find a sleeper in the chop and toss a couple of baits and we’re bit again...Keith on 12#.We get that one in just over an hour and now I don’t want to think about it but Keith is looking good for high angler. He backs that one up with another bait fish on 16# and we get a crushed bait back from another shot just minutes before lines out at 6:00 pm. Running back to Avalon on a flat calm evening, we’re stunned as the good fortune starts to sink in.
But there were fish going on other boats that could change the outcome so no celebrating just yet. We got the word well after dark that Mike Stotesbury, fishing with his brother Greg on the “Knock Down”, unfortunately lost their fish and so it looked like we were in good shape. By the way, Keith was schooled by the Stotesbury’s on the art of light tackle fishing for marlin and their lessons paid off for him. Their congratulatory phone call was well received by our team and Greg and Mike...you guys are the best!!! At the awards dinner we found out we had a clean sweep in the Masters with high boat, high angler and high club.
During that week, the fish showed up in another area. We had been fishing outside Cat Harbor down to the area outside the Vee’s and that school seemed to work west and another bunch showed above the West End on The Boot with scattered fish stretched from the 172/175 across to the 270 and 286. The guys in the Zane Grey tournament had good fishing in tougher conditions as the weather got up for a while. But none of the fish made the qualifying size of 84”, so all the money went to the hotly contested release division. Once again, Capt Steve Lassley and the rest of Team Bad Company took top honors with 12 releases in three days of fishing.
We didn’t fish that one and didn’t get out till Thursday to catch bait for the Peskies and the big one, the Catalina Classic. When John Lee and I took the Tiara off the dock, one big change was noted, 20-25 knots of west wind were cracking around the headlands at Dana Point and a change was in the air. But bait making was good and we caught what we needed in short order.
By mid morning the next day, it was obvious my plan to look through some different water for some bigger fish wasn’t going to play out. The wind was on the water in a big way and conditions for looking were going downhill fast. Some of the fleet was up west taking a pounding but finding good action but not for us. The whole day just didn’t feel right and not because of the weather...that’s just part of the game. Oh well!!! Day two was better weather and fair fishing up west and we had our shots. But again no fish... I’m not happy with some bad calls in judgment and even the fun and craziness at the Pesky party did little to dispel my funk. Back at the boat later and I’m greeted with a tank of dead bait ...talk about adding insult to injury!!!
The next day was a blur of trying to catch a tank of bait, getting fuel, swapping out the lighter gear for the heavier stuff we were using in the Classic. I never even made it to the kickoff party in the afternoon. But by 7:00 am Monday, we’re in the lineup for the shotgun start and trust me... watching a full complement of SoCal’s finest hit the throttles and ten zillion horsepower get busy pushing these awesome rigs towards their chosen hotspots is a sight you’ll never forget. And to be a part of it...WOW!!!
We ran up to the west, to near the area where we fished a couple of days previous. But watching that the area had moved a bit given what I saw on Ocean Imaging and that the tournament boundary was the 33-38-000 line that we couldn’t cross, we were checking some new water. But hookups started being called in from east of us as the fleet got on a new area and we needed to relocate. It was mostly run’n’gun fishing, trying to get on fast feeders chasing sauries. We found plenty of fish but no biters until a fateful mistake rocked my world...I crossed the line.
One of my crew saw a big bunch of birds over the port side and called it out. I took a look and saw the feeders and turned hard left and punched the throttles, totally blanking on how close to the line we were. A harsh reminder brought me back to reality when I heard “Pacific Edge, check your GPS”. At first it didn’t sink in, as I didn’t figure we ran that far. But a quick look at my track line and the numbers told a sad story; one I could barely believe was true.
Others had done so previously and ran back, amid a storm of controversy. Remembering those incidents and having witnessed others that went unmentioned, I called tournament control to acknowledge my mistake and to get an official ruling. Without question, the words “Sorry Mark, but you are disqualified for the rest of the day” were some of the most crushing I’ve ever had to listen to and bear the consequences of. On a personal level it was tough, but what made it all the worse is I deprived my team of what turned out to be a fantastic afternoon of marlin fishing, with lots of fish caught. I owe a tremendous debt to my team for their understanding. Thanks John, Ray, John, Doug and Mark.
For a short while on day two I felt like we were going to get with the program. Ray had one fish early and we hooked another for a double. We released the first one and got busy on Mark’s and then brand new 40# broke about thirty feet out, for no apparent reason. We saw a bunch the rest of the day and could not get another bite even though the guys all around us did. That day probably ended up as one of the best ever in tournament history and I was thrilled to be there but I’m left with the knowledge I should have fished it better.
As I write this, I’m down by the beach watching a big northwest blow a steady 20-25 knots, piling up the whitecaps, turning the water. I can feel those last fish still up on the Boot, the 270 and wherever else getting twitchy and on the move, going down, heading south, the end of the season near.
For me personally, I had a blast this summer. To have had the opportunity to fish the new “Pacific Edge” was an awesome experience .To come back from such a long layoff and win the ChurchMouse and the Masters...unbelievable. And thanks to all that made this possible. Yet those events were balanced by my mistake in the Classic and I’m well reminded of the old sports adage “The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat”, it is so true!!!
I’m looking forward to next year. I’m planning how to catch a bunch of seabass and yellows on my Parker this fall and winter. And for next season, I’m already starting to think about a crew, more time on the water, maybe another new boat and a renewed focus on one of my true loves...fishin’ marlin!!!
There is a special magic about the well-proportioned sport fisherman, they just look deadly efficient and made to hunt for fish. I watched this rig go flying by, first drawn to the obvious speed and flat running angle. Then, as it got a bit closer yet just on the edge of distance where I could see enough details, it all clicked and I knew the rest of the story. On it’s way home from a boat show, this was the Tiara 3900 we had done extensive custom work on in preparation for the season, the one I’ve been privileged to drive this summer, the one with “Pacific Edge” on the transom. Watching it heading south at high cruise brought back a flood of memories.
Through the ’96 season, I had fished the marlin in SoCal hard for many years and had a lot of success. Then there was a long layoff, for ten years I didn’t fish them at all. But in ‘06 my friend Rob Webster got me to join Rob Espinosa on the “Pescaholic” in the Peskies tournament and we caught a fish during and another on the way home. I fished with Rob on his boat “Magellan” the next year and we took fourth in the ChurchMouse tournament and then the damage was done.
Marlin fever is an insidious disease. The hunt for the fish and thrill of the catch grabs your reality and shapes you in ways you would have not thought possible until a full case hits you hard. It helps to define who you are and keeps you in touch with that atavistic part of our personality that doesn’t get used much anymore. You can sometimes try to stuff it away in a dark corner of your mind and try to pretend it’s gone...but it will never be over!!!
A phone call earlier this spring combined with a little reminder from the past two seasons brought that point home all too clearly. I got the word the Tiara 3900 at the Crows Nest dock was going to be mine to run this season, for both some local trips as well as putting a team together to fish some of the marlin tournaments. Oh boy...here we go again!!!
We started the season on the EPYC open house weekend in mid-August. We did some kelp paddy fishing on the way to Clemente and then spent the next two days in pursuit of the first marlin on the new rig. We did get a couple of jig strikes and a few jumps out of one of them but we were denied.
I officially got my season started in the Church Mouse Tournament on the Magellan, Rob Webster’s 35’ Cabo. We fished up west, on the Osborn Bank, an area with which I’m very familiar. It was just Rob, John King (Fish Catalina.com) and I and we got lucky with a strong start and held on to our lead to wind up in first place over 81 other boats. We had five fish for the two days and it felt good to be back in the saddle again.
Next up was the Avalon Billfish Classic, the first of three money tournaments. We got the ball rolling with the first fish of the competition, a sleeper John King found over a mile away in the gyros. Doug Kern cast the first bait and was bit instantly and the fish was released a short time later. But that was it for us that day. We had some more shots but couldn’t get it together.
On day two we found a small spot of fish away from the fleet and had some shots but again no love. I burnt valuable time on that sector when the other area had started to go off and that cost us. We ultimately did get in there for a phenomenal tailer show and three fish released but it was too little too late and we just missed the money with a fourth place finish. Thanks to my team of John Lee, Ray Hsieh, John King, Doug Kern and Mark (Kram)Warner...I had a blast!!!
We got in on Wednesday and I had barely enough time to get settled down and shift my gear back to the “Magellan” to fish the Masters with Rob, John King and Keith Provin. The Masters is the premier light tackle tournament and is consistently won by a select few of our most skilled light tackle experts. We started in an area that looked good on the computer but it didn’t feel that way when we took a look for a while that first morning so we relocated about ten miles north. We were just getting up to the numbers when we greeted by a full-on Indian attack that left us with a double on jigs on 20#. We caught both of those and had a few more shots for the day but no more fish.
Day two found us right back on my numbers and I liked the setup. The break was a bit sharper with more bait and better color and enough signs to keep it interesting...it looked tasty. We got a jig bite in the morning that Keith caught that one for his second fish on 20#, three fish for the boat...not too bad. About noon we find a sleeper in the chop and toss a couple of baits and we’re bit again...Keith on 12#.We get that one in just over an hour and now I don’t want to think about it but Keith is looking good for high angler. He backs that one up with another bait fish on 16# and we get a crushed bait back from another shot just minutes before lines out at 6:00 pm. Running back to Avalon on a flat calm evening, we’re stunned as the good fortune starts to sink in.
But there were fish going on other boats that could change the outcome so no celebrating just yet. We got the word well after dark that Mike Stotesbury, fishing with his brother Greg on the “Knock Down”, unfortunately lost their fish and so it looked like we were in good shape. By the way, Keith was schooled by the Stotesbury’s on the art of light tackle fishing for marlin and their lessons paid off for him. Their congratulatory phone call was well received by our team and Greg and Mike...you guys are the best!!! At the awards dinner we found out we had a clean sweep in the Masters with high boat, high angler and high club.
During that week, the fish showed up in another area. We had been fishing outside Cat Harbor down to the area outside the Vee’s and that school seemed to work west and another bunch showed above the West End on The Boot with scattered fish stretched from the 172/175 across to the 270 and 286. The guys in the Zane Grey tournament had good fishing in tougher conditions as the weather got up for a while. But none of the fish made the qualifying size of 84”, so all the money went to the hotly contested release division. Once again, Capt Steve Lassley and the rest of Team Bad Company took top honors with 12 releases in three days of fishing.
We didn’t fish that one and didn’t get out till Thursday to catch bait for the Peskies and the big one, the Catalina Classic. When John Lee and I took the Tiara off the dock, one big change was noted, 20-25 knots of west wind were cracking around the headlands at Dana Point and a change was in the air. But bait making was good and we caught what we needed in short order.
By mid morning the next day, it was obvious my plan to look through some different water for some bigger fish wasn’t going to play out. The wind was on the water in a big way and conditions for looking were going downhill fast. Some of the fleet was up west taking a pounding but finding good action but not for us. The whole day just didn’t feel right and not because of the weather...that’s just part of the game. Oh well!!! Day two was better weather and fair fishing up west and we had our shots. But again no fish... I’m not happy with some bad calls in judgment and even the fun and craziness at the Pesky party did little to dispel my funk. Back at the boat later and I’m greeted with a tank of dead bait ...talk about adding insult to injury!!!
The next day was a blur of trying to catch a tank of bait, getting fuel, swapping out the lighter gear for the heavier stuff we were using in the Classic. I never even made it to the kickoff party in the afternoon. But by 7:00 am Monday, we’re in the lineup for the shotgun start and trust me... watching a full complement of SoCal’s finest hit the throttles and ten zillion horsepower get busy pushing these awesome rigs towards their chosen hotspots is a sight you’ll never forget. And to be a part of it...WOW!!!
We ran up to the west, to near the area where we fished a couple of days previous. But watching that the area had moved a bit given what I saw on Ocean Imaging and that the tournament boundary was the 33-38-000 line that we couldn’t cross, we were checking some new water. But hookups started being called in from east of us as the fleet got on a new area and we needed to relocate. It was mostly run’n’gun fishing, trying to get on fast feeders chasing sauries. We found plenty of fish but no biters until a fateful mistake rocked my world...I crossed the line.
One of my crew saw a big bunch of birds over the port side and called it out. I took a look and saw the feeders and turned hard left and punched the throttles, totally blanking on how close to the line we were. A harsh reminder brought me back to reality when I heard “Pacific Edge, check your GPS”. At first it didn’t sink in, as I didn’t figure we ran that far. But a quick look at my track line and the numbers told a sad story; one I could barely believe was true.
Others had done so previously and ran back, amid a storm of controversy. Remembering those incidents and having witnessed others that went unmentioned, I called tournament control to acknowledge my mistake and to get an official ruling. Without question, the words “Sorry Mark, but you are disqualified for the rest of the day” were some of the most crushing I’ve ever had to listen to and bear the consequences of. On a personal level it was tough, but what made it all the worse is I deprived my team of what turned out to be a fantastic afternoon of marlin fishing, with lots of fish caught. I owe a tremendous debt to my team for their understanding. Thanks John, Ray, John, Doug and Mark.
For a short while on day two I felt like we were going to get with the program. Ray had one fish early and we hooked another for a double. We released the first one and got busy on Mark’s and then brand new 40# broke about thirty feet out, for no apparent reason. We saw a bunch the rest of the day and could not get another bite even though the guys all around us did. That day probably ended up as one of the best ever in tournament history and I was thrilled to be there but I’m left with the knowledge I should have fished it better.
As I write this, I’m down by the beach watching a big northwest blow a steady 20-25 knots, piling up the whitecaps, turning the water. I can feel those last fish still up on the Boot, the 270 and wherever else getting twitchy and on the move, going down, heading south, the end of the season near.
For me personally, I had a blast this summer. To have had the opportunity to fish the new “Pacific Edge” was an awesome experience .To come back from such a long layoff and win the ChurchMouse and the Masters...unbelievable. And thanks to all that made this possible. Yet those events were balanced by my mistake in the Classic and I’m well reminded of the old sports adage “The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat”, it is so true!!!
I’m looking forward to next year. I’m planning how to catch a bunch of seabass and yellows on my Parker this fall and winter. And for next season, I’m already starting to think about a crew, more time on the water, maybe another new boat and a renewed focus on one of my true loves...fishin’ marlin!!!
5 Responses to "Some Thoughts on the Tournament Season" 
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said this on 13 Oct 2008 7:53:18 PM PDT
Mark,
Whay an incredible season for you. A couple big wins in some top events, a strong finish in the ABC, and perhaps the classiest move ever in a tournament when you followed the code of ethics and called yourself out of bounds. as disapointing as that must have been, you and your team deserve a great deal of respect for doing the right thing. Many other teams would not have had the courage to make that call, but you did. Hold your head high, you upheld your honor, much more valuable than any tournament win. |
Author/Admin)|
said this on 15 Oct 2008 9:01:41 PM PDT
Hey Mark,
It was great to read your words and re-live the tournament experience. I greatly enjoyed my time on the Pacific Edge with you and the guys. I respect your ability as a captain and a fisherman. I'll see you soon. Doug |
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said this on 26 Oct 2008 8:50:54 PM PDT
Very insightful and written in a way i could understand. Cant wait for the next one!!!!
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said this on 29 Oct 2008 9:18:45 AM PDT
Team Pacific Edge is back! Congratulations on a trememdous season! Now go get some Seabass!
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said this on 29 Oct 2008 10:57:58 AM PDT
Hey Mark, you should have followed me and the fish South! Just got back from Cabo fishing the big money tournaments. Unfortunately, the luck did not follow South, but in between tournaments we fished for Stripeys and had some incredible days on the Finger and the Golden Gate Bank. Maybe next year we can extend our tournament participation South as a team. Nice write up, good memories and some great fishing.
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