On Saturday November 9, 2013 I participated in the Simply Fishing Tournament. The event was so simple that no fish finders were allowed, no bait and no scents. That seems pretty simple right? Well there were some more rules that made it even more interesting. You could only use one rod and the three lures that you could use would be given to you. If you ended up losing those lures, which did happen to some, you had to stop fishing and were not able to use your own tackle.
Luis and I decided to start the day early by driving to Doran Beach early to drop some crab traps. We left Vallejo around 3 in the morning and arrived in Bodega Bay a little after 4. We parked the truck in the overflow parking since the day use gate was closed and unloaded all the traps and Luis's new to him Cuda 14. We decided to just take one kayak off so that we could shoot up to Timber Cove fast. We wheeled the kayak down the road and Luis was the first one to go out. It was still pitch black so Luis wore a headlamp and I left a light on the beach for him to find his way back. Luis came back in after dropping his two pots and then I went out with my two. It was really nice to be on the water that early in the morning, on my paddle back in boaters started to come out of the harbor to start their day of fishing. We packed up our stuff, with all are gear still on and hopped in the truck for the drive up to Timber Cove.
One of the interesting aspects of the Simply Fishing Tournament was that the location was not given until 3 days before the event. Ruben the event organizer just let people know that it would be on the Sonoma Coast. I had fished Timber Cover twice and Luis once so we started to come up with a plan and realized that we would just fish and see what happens. As we arrived closer to the launch it was awesome to see the kayaks that were already on the water with lake like conditions. When we got to launch we were welcomed with a big smile from Ruben, there were already kayaks on the water and many getting ready to launch. The best part was that there was not much to set up on the kayak since minimal gear was allowed. It took Luis and I about 10 minutes and we were on the water.
Before we launched Ruben handed each of us our tackle box. The box included a Big Hammer swimbait with Andy1975 jig head, a BD squid, and a Promar/Ahi diamond bar. Luis and I both agreed that we would start with the B2 squid. We both launched out of the cove and after getting through the kelp decided to drop out lines. It was strange at first not know where the structure was without the fish finder, but it made it really fun. You really had to pay attention to what the bottom felt like when your lure hit. I started off the morning with a small black, that I decided to let it go and swim another day. Shortly after that Luis and I paddled a little bit more north and dropped our lines again. I dropped the squid again and got a hit, it put up a fight but I knew it was small. When it came to the top, it was a under ling. Luis took a picture and I gave the thumbs down sign and continued to fish. Shortly after I got another ling that was to short. Further up north I saw Scott (GB2) so I decided to paddle over and fish near him. On the radio I could hear everyone talking about how their Big Hammers were being attacked by the lings. So I decided it was time to switch. I dropped the big hammer and within a few seconds already had another fish on, again it was a under ling, so back in the water it went.
Then on the second drop, I got a big tug and the fish was on. I knew this had to be a legal ling since it felt heavy, and started to take some line. I reached for my net and when the fish appeared I realized this net was going to be to small. I was a little anxious because I started to think I was going to lose the fish. I decided to open up my game clip and try and see if I could get the fish on the clip. Finally I just reached over and grabbed the fish and through my leg over it to keep it from going over the kayak. I called Luis over on the radio and when he arrived I asked if I could use his fish whacker. Luis thought I had the winning fish, I knew it was big but thought maybe Third place at best, plus there were so many great anglers out there.
Luis and I continued to fish, I lost my big hammer and went back to the B2 Squid and then decided to go in at about 11:15, the weigh in was scheduled at noon. On the way in, I picked up another keeper ling and was headed in with a limit of lings. When I got back on the beach there were already some good looking fish and I knew that I wasn't taking home the jackpot.
After packing up the gear we headed up to the top of the launch where the awards ceremony, potluck and raffle would take place. I bought some raffle tickets, ate some lunch and really enjoyed the company and just hanging out with a great view of the Sonoma Coast. The raffle was held before the awards and there were some great items that were donated by the sponsors. There was a wheeleez beach cart, G-loomis fishing rod, waterproof camera and much more. I ended up winning some cool EGO fish grip tool.
Then came the awards ceremony and in third place was my good friend Naoaki with a ling weighing in at 13.7 lbs, second went to Jim "baitmaim" with a ling weighing 13 lbs 12 oz. The biggest fish in the tournament went to Scott "GB2" with a ling weighing in at 14 lbs 3 oz. After looking at the results my fish came in 12th place, my fish ended up weighing in at 9.7 lbs, and was 30" long.
This was such an awesome event and I am glad I was able to be a part of it. I look forward to many more like this. Keeping it simple= keeping it fun. At the end of the tournament I had caught a PB ling and was happy with that and an awesome day on the water.
Oh wait...
After the potluck and awards Luis and I hopped in the truck and drove down to Doran Beach to get our crab pots that had been soaking since the morning. We were hoping for limits, but also realized that we had dropped the pots in the dark and may have not dropped them where we would have liked. We got to the beach and found some other NCKA member hanging out. They offered us a beer and some food, one of the many reasons I love NCKA. I went out to get my pots and ended up with 3 jumbos and one at about 6.5". Luis came in with two and decided to leave his traps out there and return later. On the way home we had to stop for a coffee which allowed us to stay awake and talk about the day all the way home.
I can't complain the day was awesome!
-Victor "vwool"
(photos courtesy of Luis Romero)
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