YELLOWTAIL SHOOTOUT 2012 HEAVY PICS & NOVEL-SIZED REPORT

[nunyabizness1]

This is my first post on BD and the YT Shootout was my first fishing tournament. I am super excited that my team placed 4th, but I am also super impressed by the volunteers and sponsors of this event. What a blast! People are missing out if they didn't participate. I look forward to more fun events like this. Thanks everybody.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful people I have met in the fishing community here in San Diego and who have taught me so much. Rob, Steven, Elliot, and Dave at San Diego Boats - thanks for helping me get my boat set up for fishing and saving me from myself while I have been learning how to operate and fish my boat. Captain Ron Baker (Point Loma) and the crew on the San Diego (Booger, Stinger, George, Renee, Mike, Darrell, Matt, Chris, and Amado) especially have shown me patience and taught me how to fish for yellowtail, tuna, and more. They have also made it lots of fun! Thanks to all those fellow anglers who have put up with me while learning. Thanks also to Blue Water Tackle for setting me up with my first rod and reel (the one I used to catch our 30.8" YT) and to the guys at Squidco (Joey, Joe, Josh, Kyle) for always steering me in the right direction. Thanks also to Duane at Dana Landing Market for giving me last minute pointers and confidence before the Shootout. Most importantly, thanks to my teammate, Kenny, for sticking with me through this journey (from finding our boat, keeping it running well, and happily sharing his wealth of knowledge about fishing and boating with me). Thanks for keeping confidence in our little 2-person tournament team. We did it! BTW, Kenny was amazing in distracting the sea lion chasing down the YT and gaffing it while the sea lion came within a foot of the fish that saved our day. While we didn't make it to San Clemente Island as originally planned, things worked out even better. We learned A LOT and can't wait to get out there and fish some more.

Lisa,

It was nice to meet you at the Captain's Meeting and hear that this was your first tournament! What a great finish for you to place in the top 5! There are a lot of great people in our fishing community that are eager to help others learn this sport. Welcome to BD and congratulations on such a successful finish!

[kusleryachts]

Great job guys looked like fun, sorry I missed it.

[TRC]

Rode the airport shuttle bus with a guy who was wearing a T-shirt from last year and needed to check out the date for 2012.