Fishing Bay Bass Tournament review in Coronado Bay San Diego
I wrote this review years ago, but the subject matter is still the same. I enjoy Kayak fishing for bay bass on San Diego’s Mission and Coronado Bay multiple times a year.
On December 8th, 2016 I participated in the 2nd annual Tidelands Toys for Tots kayak fishing Tournament in San Diego Bay California’s Coronado Bay. There were 81 anglers signed up for the tournament with approximately 64 who showed up to compete. The tournament consisted of scoring the anglers top 3 fish lengths for the day. The bay bass species for scoring included Spotted Bay Bass, Calico Bass and Barred Sand Bass. Fishing methods were restricted to artificial baits only, you could not leave the bay and you had to fish from a kayak or self-propelled water craft.
There were a lot of legal bay bass caught and a decent Halibut. To be more accurate, there were over 275 fish recorded using the IAngler app by the 64 kayak fishing Bay bass anglers. Fishing with and besides the other anglers, I know they didn’t upload every fish. I didn’t upload 75% of the fish I caught. With the amazing weather and tides changing at just the right time, the bite was wide open and most anglers caught a lot of fish. I myself caught 40 or more Spotted Bay Bass. Those who placed 2nd through 10th had a total length within 3.5 inches of each other with the number 1 spot being separated from 2nd place by 5 inches!
Congratulations to the following participants:
(1st fish length, 2nd fish, 3rd added up fish lengths for a total of inches)
1. Derwin C. 1st 17.5” , 2nd 17.0” , 3rd 14.0” = 48.5” ( The 17″ and 17.5″ fish were Barred Sand Bass)
2. Chad 1st 15.5” , 2nd 14.0” , 3rd 14.0” = 43.5”
3. Kerry P. 1st 14.5” , 2nd 13.75” , 3rd 13.75” = 42.0”
4. Evan M. – 41.25 inches
5. Tim C. – 40.75 inches
6. Mike S. – 40.5 inches
7. Steve B. – 40.25 inches
8. Tim O. – 40.25 inches
9. Daniel M. – 40.25 inches
10. DJ M. – 40 inches
Don’t let 11″ fool you – compared to all of the species of fish I have caught, these fish fight amazing!
Charitable organizations:
1. BooneDox
3. Yak Attack
7. Hookup baits
9. ECBT
10. FLW
11. TRCcovers.com
12. Picasso Fishing
There were many parts of this tournament I will not forget. Unlike other tournament I have been in, the anglers at this event were all approachable. I talked with many other San Diego Mission Bay / Coronado Bay Vloggers and fisherman at the vent, and they were all approachable and social. It made for a very exciting and enjoyable day.
This was one of my first tournaments in the San Diego waters. With everybody willing to talk and share stories, it was here I learned about umbrella rigs, swim baits, big hammers, and war baits to name a few, and how to fish them. After the tournament some of the guys even gave me spots to fish in the future that hold good fish. They weren’t lying because I caught my personal best Spotted bay bass in one of those spots a year later, in a different tournament.
San Diego’s Mission and Coronado Bays are extremely fun to fish and there are so many different areas to fish, it doesn’t get boring. From pipes, piers, bridges, ships, rock outcroppings, kelp beds, break waters, jetties, to shallow water and deep water, there is no shortage of locations to fish, and related, ways to fish them.
More information on kayak fishing for Bay Bass:
This is a link to my Vlog of my trip.
Check out a mission bay review here. This blog contains information about how I fished the bay for Spotted Bay bass, and caught a halibut as bi-catch.
