And the Winner Is ... Me

Because once again, I had the pleasure of fishing with Bill Brown Jr.

After logging on to our Fish Inspired forum the night of our visit from Jay Yelas, Bill (simply for being there) had his name drawn from a hat of three other contenders for a day of fishing. Not wasting any time, Bill took a Holiday from work to explore San Diego Bay with me. Fishing San Diego Bay is not new to Bill, he and I have been at it a few times together, and Bill is an avid Kayaker. This trip was different though. This time we were not only going to tackle the shallow water Spotted Bay Bass bite that has been quite rewarding, but we were going to target some of the deep water grouperettes as well.

We started out in the cold of the morning fishing some of the same shallow Spotty schools that my other San Diego Bay reports have highlighted. After catching a few dozen each (okay, Bill had a few dozen, and I was trailing behind him), I decided to try one of my new lures I got from my secret Santa from the Yuma Bass Man forum. It was a spin collar lure, mostly used by Walleye fisherman. Which makes sense, being that I know my Secret Santa was a fella from the mid west (thanx Jim). Anywho, Bill and I were doing just fine catching our Spotties, when all of a sudden, I get this zing pull grind from a fish that bit the collar jig. Knowing that it hit off the bottom in six foot deep water, I naturally jumped to the conclusion that it was a Bonefish. We chased it around the boat a few times, and when it came to color, Bill and I both were surprised. Although it was quite skinny, it was none-the-less a Bonita. Cool!

We let it go, and decided to give some deep water a try. When we pulled up to one of my favorite buoys, we noticed the lack of current. A few cast later, and it was clear to us - Lunch Time. So, off to Joe's Crab Shack. Apparently, they have a more traditional lunch schedule than this day's tide chart, and were not open for us. KFC / Taco Bell it was.

After some warm food and fried starches, we went back to find the tide was on the move. So were the deeper fish. Then Bill hooked up on a really nice Barred Sand Bass. Not long after he released it, I got mine. After seeing more than just a couple of Bushnell fishermen, we stopped taking pictures. Tournament coming up and all.

As always, it was a great time fishing with Bill. He's a great man, brother in Christ, fellow fisherman, and all around good guy. And God Blessed us with a beautiful day of Fishing San Diego Bay.

BTW: Bill wanted to share his gratitude to my son Joshua for pulling his name out of the hat. 

All fish were released: 60 Spotted Bay Bass (est), 12 Jacksmelt, 1 Bonita, 6 Sand Bass