Sorry, no April Fool’s jokes. (The hanging Marlin Mount, flag and cannon on the 1^st were not my idea.) Besides, you probably gave (or got) at the office. But the water is slowly getting warmer and the sounds of Spring (power sanders) can be heard on the docks. Yes, the April Showers may have come (and hopefully gone) in March so it is time to scrape, sand and paint/varnish in preparation for the coming season. And a little oil in the right places won’t hurt any. The other sounds you may be hearing are the cries of anguish from the fuel dock. The water temps may be going up, but the price of fuel has gone up faster. Just what it will be by June is difficult to predict, but there may not be too many of those good old fashioned Albacore "scouting" trips in April or May. Let someone else catch the "1^st of the Season." (Don’t forget – the "1^st of the Year" has already been recorded.)

The Annual General Membership Meeting was held on Tuesday, April 4 at the Southwestern Yacht Club. A major By-Laws change was proposed so that new members of the Board of Directors would be elected in December, Officers elected in January and the new Board presented to the membership at the Annual Awards Dinner. Unfortunately, we were a few shy of a quorum and the proposal will have to be held over. RICH HAMILTON presented the outline of a new tournament, a Money/Release format, to be sponsored by the Club (details below). Many 1^st class sponsors have been lined up for this new event and the proposal has been generally well received. RICH has put in an exceptional amount of time and effort on this project and it appears most promising. A "stimulating" discussion followed. Sorry, no editorial comment (as in "gag rule.")

NORM BARTOO, a member of Southwestern and an advisor to the Pacific Fishery Management Council Highly Migratory Species Plan Development Team (try to put that on a name tag), gave a presentation on the current status of the Plan development. On Wednesday, April 26, there will be a video conference meeting open to the public at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La Jolla Shores Dr., 0830 to 1630. There will be three other sites for this video meeting: Long Beach, Portland, and Seattle. TOM RAFTICAN and BOB OSBORNE of United Anglers attended and spoke forth in encouraging as much public input and attendance (especially by us Sportfisher-persons) at these meetings. The bottom line is that this plan applies to the introduction of an "experimental" long line fishery (allegedly for Blue Fin Tuna) in our EEZ (Extended Economic Zone – i.e. 200 mile limit). A massive response by the sportfishing community can help and possibly head off or curtail this plan. But if we don’t try the result is inevitable.

FISHING REPORTS: March was our "Big Fish of the Month contest. The winner?

The reely biggest fish proved to be a 7.3 pound Rock Cod caught by HARRY OKUDA on the "Companera." Skipper was, presumably, NORM GEROME. HARRY’s reward is paid dues for next year. SHERRA GRANT finished in 2^nd place with a 6.7 pd."rockie." She gets a pat on the back. Actually, NORM had a 7.2 pounder as well, but didn’t report it. If you caught something bigger, but didn’t send in a slip – sorry!

Did I mention 1^st Albacore "of the Season" above? Actually, it would appear that last year’s phenomenal fishing never really ended. After the Jan.1 "1^st of the Millenium" fish steady reports have been coming in about commercial catches on the "Butterfly," 43, Double 220, etc with 60-61 (+) degree water and "perfect" conditions.

The early season Yellowtail bite was blown away by the early March weather and the fish have probably been working their way up to Clemente and Catalina. The squid have made their spring appearance and the White Sea Bass bite is underway at Catalina with the usual "some days they bite" and "some days they don’t." Locally, the drift at South Island is snagging a few "flatties." Rumor has it that there is more activity outside of Mission Bay. Sand Bass?????

FROM THE CLUB-HOUSE: As we have begun a general house cleaning we have found many relics of the past, some worth saving, some not. Of interest, are a number of boxes containing negatives of fish caught and photographed through the years 1986-95. Presumably, these are the negatives left to us by Nick Pattengill, the former Club Photographer. Since they are of limited value at this time they are destined for possible outside storage. If anyone is interested in reprinting any lost photos please let us know and we will pull the negatives for you. And Fibber McGee’s closet (if you are old enough to remember – and young enough to be able to remember) had nothing on our "storage" closet. This will be a #1 priority on Club Clean-Up Day (the 15^th).

Is anyone interested in a genuine, antique rod deflection gauge? (Remember when they used to talk about "3-6" tackle?) I think the wall comes with it. Sorry, you can’t have the ancient (circa Zane Grey) line tester. It is still being used to certify (or not) claims for 12-pound tackle (sorry about that STU).

In addition to "inside" clean-up we are going to attack the outside as well. A lot of worn out surfaces are going to blasted a couple of days before and new coats of paint to be applied. Yes, we are looking for as many volunteers as possible. The more the merrier and lunch will be "on the Club." Pizza anyone?

The "galley" in the Club House is well stocked. Feel free to drop in any time the Club is open. Have a cold drink, beer, cup of coffee (leaded or unleaded), a few snacks, watch a video, or just talk fishing. Hours during the "off" season are 2-6 PM (not 2-5 as previously reported) on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

And the Board of Directors would like to thank those who filled out and returned the questionnaire sent out with the dues billing. Many of the suggestions are being considered by the Board. For the record, the vote re: advertising in the Gaffline was virtually unanimous in favor, but don’t hold your breath. The vote regarding participation in a Club sponsored Money tournament was about 2 to 1 in favor. (see report below) However, where there were several responses suggesting more meetings, speakers, etc it was disappointing to see less than 10% of the active membership come to the Annual meeting. The information presented was important and the discussion most interesting.

Yes, we still have the Custom Trolling Rod/Penn. International 20 combo up for raffle. We would like to raise as much lucre as possible (barely broke even thus far) so it looks like the 1st Sundowner of the year (June 16^th) may be the day. Raffle tickets are $5.00 each and can be had at the Club or from the Board members.

Many of you are aware that Helen Proo, our secretary the past three years, has moved on and we are looking for a replacement. Meanwhile, we are going through a reorganization of the front desk and trying to get everything up to date. There will be a new computer soon and this will entail a massive over-haul of the Club’s vital statistics. If anyone has any information in need of addition, correction, alteration, etc please let us know. Surely, there must be a few new 858 area code changes floating around. So drop in, drop us a line or give us a call.

Club Telephone (and Fax): (619) 222-8677 Fish Report: (619) 222-2502. Don’t forget to call on Channel 78 if bringing in a fish or in need of information.

APRIL EVENTS: In addition to the recent Annual Meeting the following events are of interest:

April 15 – Marlin Club Clean-Up Day

April 29 is the Southwestern Y. C. Anglers’ Annual Bottomfish tournament which is open to the general public. Regardless of the fishing the BBQ is worth the entry fee.

April 30 is the traditional "Day At The Docks" over at the Sportfishing Landings. The Marlin Club will have a display and will be talking up our May Halibut Tournament.

Drop by and say hello to the crew. In addition, The Club will be holding Open House so feel free to drop in and say hello.

MAKE A NOTE: The (revised) Marlin Club Schedule of Events was sent last month. But there are other events, open to the general public that we suggest you add to your calendar:

On the week-end of Sept. 30-Oct.1 there will be the Kona Kai Anglers’ "Make-A-Wish" Tuna Challenge. All proceeds of this annual event go to the "Make-A-Wish" foundation. It is, basically, a one (and ½?) day competition that is followed by an excellent Awards Luncheon and lots of prizes are being lined up.

The following week-end (Oct. 7-8) is the Mission Bay Marlin Club "Heart" Tournament with proceeds to the Heart Foundation. Again, a worthwhile cause and worthy of your consideration.

MAY HALIBUT TOURNAMENT REPORT: The Tournament committee (with CHRIS LAHR and TROY GRANT leading the way) will be manning the Club booth at the Day at the Docks and have things under control. Please note the monetary prizes (in keeping with the trend for monetary tournament award$) and that the Award$ BBQ will be the same day as the tournament (May 20^th). A copy of the Tournament flyer is enclosed and is self explanatory.

NEW TOURNAMENT: at the General Meeting RICH HAMILTON outlined the new tournament to be sponsored by the Club – the "San Diego Offshore Invitational Catch and Release Tournament." This will be a, so-called, "Money Tournament" in that Ca$h prizes will be featured. The tournament will be limited to a maximum of 60 boats with a $1290 entry fee and a maximum of five (5) individuals on the participating boats. There will be additional optional daily jackpots with a $500 fee for each day. With a maximum of 60 boats 1^st Place will be in the $18,000 range (plus the daily jackpots). Thus, this will be the 1^st All Release Money tournament on the West Coast. Disposable cameras will be used to control the "accuracy" of the release (fish must be tagged) reporting. Major sponsors including Riviera Yachts, Michelson Yachts, Caterpillar, Courtesy Chevrolet and McDonalds are lined up. Other sponsors will include Shimano, Fishermans’ Landing Tackle, Zuker Lures, Grande Sportfishing, Tag & Brag Sportswear, San Diego Marine Exchange, plus many others. A lot more information will be forthcoming in the near future so don’t sell your Qualcomm or Microsoft stock or call the Club just yet. Almost forgot – the tournament will be on Sept. 8^th and 9^th with the Captains’ Meeting at the Marlin Club on the 7^th. The Award$ dinner will be on Saturday, the 9^th, at Sea World. There will be lots and lots of handouts and super raffle prizes (one raffle ticket to each participant – no raffle ticket sales). Yes, the Marlin Club will reap some benefits from this tournament and a significant percentage of the profits will go to the Ronald McDonald charities. In addition, there will be a silent auction at the Award$ Dinner with all profits going to the charities.

NEW MEMBERS: Welcome aboard to RON STONE (sponsored by ED SEIDLINGER).

And speaking of new arrivals congratulations to HARRY and LAN OKUDA on joining the two-boat owners group with their new acquisition, "Alfresco III?," a 46’ Hatteras. Not too much work to be done on it, but MARK HENWOOD seems to be smiling a lot more than normal. Kudos as well to TRENT HULS on his "new" "Culligan Man," a Riviera.

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