September 2023 Newsletter What an interesting week we had leading up to the Big Fish Tournament! Each and every day I monitored the hurricane, as well as our wind and wave forecasts, and updated all tournament entrants that things appeared to be a go. The day of the tournament, what did we have? Great water conditions, and very little wind after 10:00 am. It was certainly the Calm before the Storm! Not only did some anglers get shy about participating because of the storm, but so did the fish that were closest to it! I’m talking about the Coronado Islands and down at the 425. I cannot tell you how perfect the 425 was for ideal fishing, but … nobody home! After no bites in either location, we went to the IB Pipe and ended the day with some nice bass. But then I hooked into what I thought was going to be my largest Sand Bass ever landed! This thing was heavy, and had some great headshakes. I kept waiting for the white with grey stripes to show, but instead, I got camouflage - a 11.11 pound Lingcod!! One thing I can tell you, I’ve never been disappointed about catching a Lingcod, but I sort of was that day!! First, a large Halibut in July when Halibut wasn’t even the sidepot, and now the Big Fish Tournament where Lingcod wasn’t eligible. What’s next, a large White Sea Bass instead of whatever other fish the next tournament will be for??!! A big shout out to Luc Ofield from Angler’s Choice for his generous donations to our tournament, as well as being our guest speaker at the Big Fish Seminar. Talk about a quiet room … everybody was tuned in!! Please support Angler’s Choice by going there for your next purchase, and while you’re at it, thank him for his support of the club! Be sure to take your name badge with you, so you can get an instant discount on your purchase. The full list of our sponsors is in this newsletter. Be sure to support them and thank them as well. M&M Custom Rods stepped up, donating two great rods to help us raise money to take kids fishing! We’ll have a Silent Auction for one of them at our September 7th meeting. We’ll be having another great raffle table and at least FOUR awesome Silent Auction items, so be sure to show up with cash or a credit card! Lastly, tell your friends to Join Now… It’s our ½ yearly sale for all New members!!