MBK DERBY! September 16, 2023

Had an awesome time. Thanks for Adam and MBK for puttin on the event. Was nice to see new faces and familiar folk with all around good vibes. I fished in 60ish FOW and then shallow in front of the hotel. Scattered bait. Occasional rockfish and some bites that didnt stick. Congrats to the winners! You earned it! Tough bite but was nice to be out again. I got lucky with the raffle at got a new hawg trough. Ill see yall out there!

What a great weekend.

First: Adam, MBK - thank you so much for hosting. What a blast.  The event was awesome - caught my first legal lings from MB (errr. CPR my first legal SIZED lings form MB) used my  pricey descender a bunch, chatted up a bunch of folks, met with old and new firends, camped with Pat and Joe at Laguna Seca...and even saw some PCA racing (and a wipe out) at the track.

I know it's a ton of work for your and your crew to put this on, but SOOOOO appreciated - Thank You!

And a big thanks to Pat for all the fresh Blue Fin he brought to our camp - dang we ate well!

Thanks for putting on the tournament Adam and MBK.
   I went down to the hotel then on the way back found a big fish on a frozen anchovy. Heavy with big head shakes up from 80’ to about 20’ then a handful of heavy but short runs down.  Good gaff shot at the boat but it was heavy and woke up when I was getting the stringer in.  Big washing machine action, gaff out but I got it back in. Got the stringer and paddled back with it on the front of the kayak. Couldn’t fit it in the kill bag and didn’t want to try and lose it.  It was a go home fish.  This thing was a beast, it weighed in 39.39 lbs and 44.5”. Biggest fish let alone halibut I ever caught.. Still so happy I didn’t lose it at the boat
     Thanks again Adam and MBK, amazing day. Lots of great prizes out there, y’all went big this year. I like the new way to do the raffle.
-Nick

2023 Derby Results
We had 89 people sign up and and 67 showed up. We had great weather. Calm winds and sea. Everyone left with a participant package which included items from our sponsors. The top three largest fish were all Ca Halibut. The bite was a bit slow. There was a large pod of dolphins that many were able to see. Due to the new DFW regulations no one was able to keep any rockfish, cabezon, lingcod, or greenling. Many had caught these fish but all were safely released. Overall around 10 halibut were caught. All were of the larger variety.

All proceeds from the event went to Kayak Fishing For Beginners. KFFB is a Non Profit aimed to help veterans, kids, and people with disabilities get into the sport of kayak fishing safely

Raffle was a big hit with many participants buying extra tickets. We had plenty of hot dogs and other food for participants and their families. Since it was a potluck some participants brought something to add. A big hit was the Cheesecake bites!

Placement:
1st Nick Rose-Rankin: 44.5 inch 39.39 lb Ca Halibut
$900+ in prizes. Rod Gloves, Soft Plastics, 3 Hats, Ketch Board, Apollo Rod from QI Fishing, Yak Attack Gift Cert $80, NRS Chinook, Aqua Bound Paddle, Branson Package, Swag, and a Custom Gaff from NCKA (Hojoman)

2nd Oscar Ramos: 37.5 inch 23.08 lb Ca Halibut
$450+ in prizes. Rod Gloves, Soft Plastics, 3 Hats, QI Fishing Olympix 801 rod, Yak Attack Gift Cert $40, Fish Bag, Branson Package, swag, and NCKA measurement board.

3rd Andy Li: 35 inch 19.75 lb Ca Halibut
$300+ in prizes. Rod Gloves, Soft Plastics, 3 Hats $20, Rays Fishing Raptor Rod, Yak Attack Gift Cert $40, Branson package, Swag, and NCKA measurement board.

Raffle:
Over $8,000 in prizes! Many items were raffled off with the main raffle prize being a brand new Old Town Malibu 2 Classic with paddles and PFD’s.
Package #1: Rinse Kit Sport and Rinsekit plus
Package #2 Studio Abachar   2 draws, Ling cod with frame, Halibut with frame
Package #3 J&M Sportfishing 2 draws, 2 packages for 2 anglers each
Package #4 Danco Pliers kit which included a Net, plier kit, lip grip, shears, towell, Hat, knife kit, Drifter pliers
Package #5 Werner Paddles Camano or Shuna paddle
Package #6 Crafted Fishing Rods Custom Gaff
   
General Raffle:
Mystery Bag
Ketch Board and ID
2 Stohlquist Trekker PFD’s
2 NRS Chinook PFD’s
J&D Auto Daiwa 7ft Salt Rod
Zpro Lithium   1 12v 10AH
Sail Monterey Sunset Cruise
Package from Lost Anchovy including a framed photo, soft plastics and stickers
Sleeping Bag

Special Thanks To Our Sponsors:
Rinse Kit
Studio Abachar
QI Fishing
Rays Fishing
Old Town Kayaks
J&M Sportfishing
Danco Pliers
Werner Paddles
Bending Branches
Crafted Fishing Rods
Ketch
Stohlquist
NRS
J&D Auto
Tackle Box Salinas
Zpro Lithium
Sail Monterey
XCEL
VRX fishing
Big Hammer
Branson Baits
NCKA
Buff
Lost Anchovy

Congrats to the top three, and especially to Nick!! What a monster that first place fish was!! 

Huge thanks to Adam and MBK for keeping this event going!!

I had hoped to come down and participate, but a combo of family commitments (county fair), a nasty non covid cold, and wearing a heart monitor that I gotta keep dry kept me away this weekend.

Hopefully next year I will be able to make it down to fish, or at least chill and see everyone.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

wow amazing event, congrats to all, esp to Adam for pulling it off.  Nice podium fish

Thank you Adam and MBK Team for putting this great event together! Had a fun time fishing w/ friends and fellow yakers. definitely will join again next year! 

Thank you Adam for your hard work putting on this event. Nick congrats on the fish, wish I saw you at the event. I got to caught up in the slow halibut bite catching rocks and undersized ling  and missed the reward ceremony.