Wright and Kim top Jim Edwards Bass Tournament
An 8.34-pound calico bass scored big fish and anchored the winning 3-fish limit for the San Diego team of Anthony Wright and Matt Kim in Saturday's Jim Edwards Bass Tournament held out of Dana Landing in Mission Bay.
"We were in the kelp off La Jolla, not too close in, and the early bite was still going when the big fish hit a 5-inch MC brownbait swimbait," said Wright. "It didn't fight too hard, it was just an old big fish, and my partner and I were stoked when we looked over the side and saw it was a checkerboard. We were able to get a couple more fish in the same area."

Right around 50 teams competed in the event and they were treated to a still, chilly day with high clouds and little in the way of current.

This reporter fished with Ben Secrest of Accurate and Al Rentziperis on Al's Key West Sports Barber and ran all the way to Encinitas in search of the right bites. We were amazed by the amount of birds off Torrey Pines and the lack of pelicans indicated what was later confirmed - the place was corroded with squid.

It wasn't until we were almost to Swami's before we found finbait and a trickle of current that led to a couple pockets of bass. One corner of kelp held the fish that could have won the event, but..."It was like looking down a tunnel of yellow. All I saw at first was this big brown back following the bait and then these big golden gills flared as the bait disappeared," said Secrest. This shortly after he was bent double on 50-pound with 50-pound fluorocarbon and had enough time to say "I'm going to need some help here with this one" before the toad calico busted off and busted our dreams of victory at the same time. "I saw it, it was easily over 10 pounds, the biggest bass I've hooked in five years," Ben added after calmed down about one inch from snapping his rod over his knee in frustration.

I had already unbuttoned on a heavy fish, but on the next cast a calico pushing 3 pounds went in the livewell to go with a decent keeper Ben had landed out of the first flurry. We both were throwing an MC swimbait in a sardine orange belly pattern. I switched to a custom handpour in an orange neon blue flake poured by Joe Torres of San Luis Obispo, who also poured the 3-ounce orange head I was using to get to the bottom of the kelp stalks quick. The result was another bite on the fall, but it came up the wrong color - a 5-pound sand bass. That was enough to kick out the 3-pound sandie Al picked up early on a Christmas tree Wham. We worked the area for some small fish that didn't cut it but then the current died. We needed one more decent calico and we also had to make a choice. The tournament featured a 3-fish bass slam that awarded the team that caught the heaviest weight for one of each of calico bass, sand bass and spotted bay bass. A keeper spottie would probably put us in the money, but that meant fishing far away Mission Bay. We decided to get closer to home, try for another good calico off La Jolla, then troll crankbaits through the bay back to the weighin in hopes of a spottie. Al used a key lime orange belly Fish Trap to get our limit calico, but the trolling plan only produced eel grass. Our calico and sand bass combo would end up weighing more than the three fish that won the Slam, but you had to have all three. No one weighed a halibut, so that plaque went unclaimed.

What didn't got unclaimed were the great fish tacos by Tommy Gomes and his Uni-Butter pro staff back at the awards graciously allowed to be staged by John White and Dana Landing Fuel and Market.
A bunch of sponsors stepped forward to provide raffle gifts that were amazing considering the $25 entry fee - an Accurate Boss 50 reel, a VHF radio, a trip to Cabo from Castaneda Tours, a Shimano Waxwing rod and reel combo, the list went on and on and included gift certificates to local tackle stores and restaurants. Chris Barrick, a veteran saltwater bass promoter, handed out the awards while John Cassidy and wife Vicki ran the weighin and helped run the raffle with Barrick. A limited edition Chuck Byron print of a thresher courtesy of Lori Byron was auctioned, as was a fish print of a cubera snapper.

Meanwhile Jim Edwards, recovering from a horrific leg break and subsequent infections, wheeled around and thanked his many, many friends who stepped forward to help with his medical debt. His smile and the emotional thank you from him and his wife were more than worth the effort - as if getting together to fish were your buds wasn't reward in itself. Ben and Al and I laughed all day long and caught fish. Feeling good. That's what we all need.