It is the the time of the year where we finish out putting together our vendors for the Pacific Coast Sportfishing Show. This year the show is March 7-10 at the OC Fair and Event Center in Orange County once again. This year is shaping up for another great growth year. We have made some changes to be able to add almost 100 more booths again for 2024. More boat dealers, more tackle dealers, more travel destinations and just plain more of everything that made the 2023 Show the Premier Outdoors Show in Southern California. We are so thankful and humbled by the support of the industry and fishing community. The show would not be what it is without the great vendors and amazing attendees, thank you. Buy tickets at www.sportfishingfestival.com

Daiwa Seminar Schedule no pics (1)

Penn Berkley Seminar Schedule (1)

Thank you!!!
The anticipation for the show this year was intense. The chatter on social media, the talk in the tackle
shops and on fishing trips was building like a swell on the Cortes Bank. The expectation of an amazing
show was definitely looming throughout the industry. And then the wave broke!
I am extremely proud to say that the show was absolutely astounding this year. When we said the show
would blow your minds, we meant it; and it was a pleasure to walk amongst the attendees and listen to
the excited conversations.
As you can imagine, putting together a show of this magnitude takes a village and a ton of work hours.
The dedication of my team was superb and together our commitment produced one of the best fishing
shows that Southern California has ever seen. It took everyone to invite and accommodate all the right
vendors, from boats to tackle retailers, from travel to manufacturers and everything in between without
the filler.
Additionally, one of our largest goals was to make it fun for the family and welcoming and inclusive to
those new to the fishing community. Seeing the giant groups of kids enjoying the free trout pond was a
kick, For many of them it was their first opportunity to catch a fish–truly the frosting on the cake. The
live music and entertainment drawing families together was heartwarming as well.
A huge drawing card of the PCS Show is its focus on expert seminars keyed to helping anglers improve
their skills and plot their future trips and gear needs. Again, this year we had standing room only as the
top authorities in our industry fed the real deal information. These contained “upper division” info and
we saw so many taking notes for improving their abilities to enjoy our coastal and inshore resources.
Together, we were also able to raise $65,000 for War Heroes on Water at our silent auction and
program on the Friday night of the show. That will go down as one of our proudest achievements in
lifting our show to the next level. And, of course, funds will go to help wounded vets heal from their
time defending our country and our rights to freedom. This organization does so much to help these
amazing heroes and we are very proud to be working with them.
CCA sold lots of their package deals to new members as well as signing up 14 new Lifetime members to
the organization. That is the most lifetime memberships that the CCA of California has ever sold at any
event. This is critical as the fight against the new 30X30 specter now headed to the SoCal area. There has
never been a better time to join CCA of California and help join the team to make sure the opportunity is
still available for our kids and grandkids to enjoy the resource that we have.
Thank you to all the attendees, vendors, manufacturers, seminar speakers and everyone else that was
involved in making the 2023 PCS Show such a success. We could not have accomplished such amazing
growth without all of you being involved. We stand with you and look forward to seeing you in 2024.
Please save the dates March 7-10, 2024 for the PCS Show at the OC Fair and Event Center.

Bluefin Continue to bite for those will to make the trip. Sportboats continue to comeback with big numbers, size is not as large but they are there.

Rockfishing continues good and will be closing the end of the month so get you time in and get it done…..

Lobster hooping has been great with the recent weather and rain….Promar nets continue to be the go to ….keep at it!

On a side note with regulations changing the guys fishing Dungeness Crab are adopting the Promar hoop nets and having amazing success!!!

And the Pacific Coast Sportfishing Tackle, Boat, Travel and Outdoors Show continues to grow into So Cals largest outdoors show!!!!!

This past week saw some wind and tough weather. As we pass the full moon the bluefin have slowed down on the backside here after a full speed bite had been the staple.

Good news is that more fish were being caught daytime and many on the troll with the MadMac high speed trolling as well as spreader bars making it easier for the guys without kite experience to still be in the game.

Local sandbass continue to bite pretty good as well. The local calico bass fishing has been nothing short of great along the coast.

Catalina continues to have some decent spots of yellowtail and bonito along with a hit of white seabass mixed in.

The Tuna continue to be the stars of the show. With new techniques like high speed trolling of Nomad Mad Macs taking many of the largest. The school has been moving up and down the line with a large volume moving across into US Waters…..

The seabass continue to bite on the good moon phases and are at almost every island, its just a timing deal with Clemente kicking out some very recently along with Santa Rosa.

The half day boats are starting to see some sand bass bites reminiscent of the good old days. My fingers are crossed to see if this continues to develop.

Also the return of consistent bonito action at Catalina and Clemente is another great sign for the future!

Bluefin off Ensenada on up to the US Waters…….mostly a night bite on the jigs but there have been some great daytime shots on the kite and spreader bar. The size mix has been amazing with fish as small as 20lbs and up over 200lbs.

Seabass bite has been hit and miss up in the Channel Islands. If you find the squid you may just find the ghosts you are looking for.

Halibut has been as good as it ever has been this last week. Giving most of the guys a back up plan when things are slower on the grounds.

So, the fish are showing in good numbers already. The sport boat fleet out of San Diego continues to have great scoreson bluefin from 25-200 pounds. The islands are coming alive with yellowtail, great bass bites, and the white seabass are chewing. We’re hopeful that bonito that showed consistently last year will do it this year as well. The squid havebeen around a bit more than the last couple of years, and that should help the cause.

It’s a great sign to see more of that smaller bluefin mixed in, suggesting a good future for this fishery. Of course, the jumbos are spectacular, but we hope for a long, long life with this new tuna era. As our water cools, we expect more squid and an- chovy to return; that the old So Cal bight will return to what it used to be. To some that sounds terrible, to most of us that grew up on bonito, albacore and barracuda it sounds like paradise.

As we move through spring and into early summer tackle preparation becomes critical. Get out the tackle now before things go crazy and it’s tough to get product. Hit your local tackle store and get hooks, weights, lures, new rod and reel, the things that will be on your list soon but may not be attainable. Make sure any reels that need to be serviced get into the shops quickly. Check your rods for eye damage, or reel seat issues. You do not want to find out there is a drag issue or a cracked eye while fighting the fish of a lifetime this season.

Preventative maintenance with your own vessel is also of utmost importance. If you “wait” for things on your boat or trailer to break, it almost certainly will be at the worst possible time, as in when you’re offshore just short of the area or in the middle of a great bite.

On the other hand, the unforeseen is a reality in a salty world. Boom! The boat won’t start as you try and catch back up to the school. Suddenly, you have to change directions. You’re going to need to be towed in. Did you renew your TowBoat US membership? That’s another consideration here in the early season.

For those of us running boats, now is the time to re- place batteries, check wiring, make some closer (short- er) shakedown trips before you start running full speed offshore. Check, and if needed, replace all your pumps. I normally replace my bait pump every season before we start to get into aserious regimen. If I don’t replace, they tend to break mid-season—virtually every year. As they say, no time better than the present.

Things we don’t use regularly are just the things that should get our close attention now. We should be go- ing through our safety equipment, making sure the flares are up to date, life jackets are in good shape and your EPIRB’s are within date as well. If you have life rafts, check those dates as well. Most of us have ditch bags with hand-held VHF’s, so try them out, get a radio check on all your radios.

If you trailer, do your yearly maintenance today. Check the tires, brakes (and fluids), make sure the bunks are in good shape. Get under there and make sure the bolts are all tight. You don’t want to discover a trailer problem while you’re backing down the ramp, and the radio chatter is on fire.

Get ready because 2022 is going to be another great one!