California Offshore Challenge: Reflections
Trophy Bass: Late Fall through the winter months are some of the best months out of the year to head to the islands in the hunt for giant Calico Bass!
Fast-forward to January 9th and 10th of 2009, the 1st annual Catalina Offshore Challenge is set to go off at Two Harbors, Catalina Island . The weather looked good with the exception of a 24-hour period of strong Santa Ana winds on Saturday. I headed over Friday morning with a great fisherman and friend, Chris Hurley. If nothing else, I was looking forward to spending a weekend fishing with Chris and hanging out with my other friends from the SWBA.
Captain Jimmy Decker and Tracy Viloria of team Disco Punk, 2009 California Offshore Challenge Winners! Two-day total of 45.92lbs. Tracy also landed the big fish for day two, 7.43lbs!
We arrived at Catalina mid-morning and fished our way up from Long Point all the way up to Two Harbors. Shortly after our arrival at Two Harbors, the 29-foot Everglades pulled up with the Inside Sportfishing crew. Over the next few hours, more and more teams started pulling in to the harbor. The staff at two Harbors was extremely nice and checking everyone in went as smooth as possible. Even though we all had a big tournament starting at 4 am the next day, everyone met up at the bar for dinner, drinks, and an all around great time. It was fun to be hanging out with 40 friends and talking fishing over on the island. It felt more like a group vacation rather than a serious tournament.
The weather kicked up on Saturday, which made the channel crossing to San Clemente Island a bit rough, but it didn’t impede the tournament or make it any less enjoyable for those who were competing. Saturday night at the bar was even better than Friday, as all of the teams were present. Being that the tournament included a dinner and awards event Saturday night, all of the teams gathered to hear tournament director James Shamblin review the events of the day and hand out prizes. Shea Mcintee and JT (Inside Sportfishing) were there to capture all of the festivities, and everyone seemed excited to be a part of the event.
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