Today I was reminded why I love spending time on the Parker. 

Alex Groesbeck (Pete’s son) has wanted to take a San Diego bay bass trip for a while.  Today Alex, Pete and Kasey (Alex’s friend) met me at the landing at 10:30 am (high tide) for the last trip of 2008.  It is almost a must that the tide is flowing in order to have success catching bass in San Diego bay.

Alex and Kasey proposed that we should have a tournament, Alex and Kasey versus Pete and me.  Well, considering that my teammate is a member of the top marlin tournament team around I was feeling pretty confident?  I was sure that a couple of seasoned veterans could surely take down a couple of young guys.

Rules for the tournament were any bass caught between 1 and 3 lbs would be 2 points, 3 and 4 lbs would be 4 points, and over 5 lbs would be 5 points.  We used a digital scale to keep things honest.

The tide had just started to move a little around 11:00 and we hit a structure spot to warm up on some spotted bay bass.  The weather was beautiful and it promised to be a great day.  The fishing started out extremely tough and we only landed two fish for 3 drifts. 

At noon the tide was flowing better and we started hammering the rocks in front of Shelter Island.  Certainly this would prove to be better.  Each team conceded 2 points to the other team for short fish just to get the ball rolling.  The next fish was caught by Kasey and it weighed 15 ounces, just short of the 1 pound minimum.  No more freebies.  Fish would now have to meet the weight.  We picked away at a slow plunker bite and each team added 2 more points to their total.

It became apparent that we would have to find a better area.  We moved to the mouth of the bay and set up our first drift.  We started to get a few bites and hanging an occasional fish.  The fish we better sized and the points started to add up.  It was a see saw battle and both teams remained within one fish of each other.  The bite improved and we were catching fish on every drift.  As we approached the end of our day Pete and I took a 2 fish lead and the boys started to squirm.  Pete encouraged them to press on and not give up.  On the next two drifts the boys added two fish to tie up the tournament.

We were out of time but no one wanted to end in a tie, so it was decided that there would have to be a sudden death drift.  Each angler would only have use of one rod.  Which ever team caught the largest fish on that drift would be the winner.  Within one minute Pete hooked a fish which felt like a qualifier.  At about the same time Casey hooked something on the light rod but it got him in the structure.  Next I was on and things were getting very interesting.  Pete’s fish went 1 lb 3 oz.  My fish felt a little better and I landed it before Kasey landed his.  Mine went 1 lb 13 oz.  Things were looking very good for Pete and I.  It was then that we saw color on Kasey’s fish.  It looked like a better one but it was barely hooked in the lip.  We got the net to insure that it made it to the scale.  His fish went 2 lbs. 3 oz. and put the boys over the top.  It was truly a magical way to end a great year of fishing. 

We had some good laughs and caught some fish.  It is always a treat so see the young guys having a great time.  When I think of all the yellowtail, bass, barracuda, dorado, tuna, albacore, and marlin that we caught on the Parker this year, it is hard for me to think of a trip that was any more fun than today.  Sometimes getting back to simple innocent basics can be extremely rewarding.  I am so lucky to be able to enjoy the boat, the friendships, and the fishing experiences.

I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year filled with many special days on the water like the one we had today.

Doug