2006 Halibut Derby

Greetings from the Anglers Chair,

Over 60 SYC anglers and their guests hit the water April 22-23rd for the 8th Annual Shoreline Yacht Club Halibut Derby. This was the largest turnout for an inter club tournament in the history of the club.

This year’s event ran two days and included a special bass division.

Day one found anglers spread from the local bays to as far away as Catalina Island.

Fishing was slow locally as anglers searched every square foot of the local halibut grounds. A few short fish were reported throughout the day, but no keepers were reported until late in the day. Vince and Pam Markese fished with me on my bay skiff, “Backlash”. We tried every known spot for very slow action. We tried several techniques with no success. High winds in the afternoon didn’t help much either. At the weigh-in dock Tom Lorenz’s boat “Tommy Rot” showed up with a 34”, 13 lb. 5 oz. Halibut caught by Sherman Mohnike at Catalina. This would be the top fish for the day.

Day 2 started with high hopes by many including myself. The previous night’s rain did not change the water conditions excessively, so we thought that this was the day to put that big fish on the leader board. We caught one short halibut early in the morning, so we felt that we finally found the fish, but that was not to be. We fished hard before calling it a day and retired to the weigh-in dock for the final results. Howard and Pat Lund presented 2 halibut caught by Pat on “Tuna Time”, the largest being a 28” 7lb., 15oz halibut that Pat caught at Catalina Island. Next to report in was 12 year old Danny Delgado Jr. with a 25 ½ inch halibut that weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz caught on my friend Matt Swan’s boat, “Going Bendo”. 

Barry Lloyd fishing on Fred Johring’s “Picante” weighed in a sand bass at 1 lb., 5 oz’s.

All the anglers retired to the clubs bar for final awards and raffle prizes. 1 st place for the halibut division went to Sherman Mohnike who won prizes worth over $1,000.00. Sherman was expectedly, very excited to win prizes that included a Penn International Reel valued at over $600.00. Pat Lund who is no stranger to podium finishes took 2 nd place and won prizes that include an Accurate Boss Magnum Twin Drag reel that was donated by SYC’s very own Jack Patterson and a ton of other goodies. 3 rd place went to 12 year old Danny Delgado Jr. who won prizes worth over $700.00.

In the bass division, Barry Lloyd took top honors that won him prizes that included one of the new Penn Graphite Rods and a box of other prizes. We also held a raffle and gave away artwork from artist Dr. Guy Harvey, hooks from Mustad and boat care products donated by SYC’s John Peoples. It was an exciting end to a great event.

I would like to thank the companies who helped sponsor this years event: Penn Rods & Reels, Albakore tackle, Mustad Hooks, Eagle Claw Hooks, Dr. Guy Harvey, Jack Patterson-reel, John Peoples-boat care products, Sea Tow, Claim Jumper, Izorline fishing line, Seaguar, Tempress Products and Ande fishing line. Also a special thanks to my wife Beverly, who along with Jeri Johring held down the fort, took radio reports, coordinated the weigh-in and refreshments, put up banners, weighed fish and basically ran the show so I could fish for two days. Thanks Beverly and Jeri! You are hired for 2007. Also a big thanks to Victoria Stevens who kept the bar open for all the thirsty anglers. She did this without anyone’s asking and I appreciate her dedication.

FYI: Next year will be bigger and better. Please send me your comments on how we can improve this event, as this is your club and your event. Thanks to all who participated in 2006.