Day 2 Contender Classic Avalon Ca

Admin · 09-11-2007, 12:42 PM

Below are recaps of day 1 and the start of day 2 from the contender blog spot. Today should be a very interesting day and we will see if the contender boys can get it done today.

The question was asked in the last thread regarding kites. This is a very interesting subject right now as we heard the guys on the boat bad company joking around this morning saying " Old dogs can learn new tricks and the kites are on order."

Goerge Mitchell and other contender boats showed yesterday that a east coast style can work out here as it is not a common thing to see poeple fishing kites for striped marlin.
Also the question was asked about the fish that were released yesterday and the answer was yes all the fish were striped marlin.

We will keep you updated today on the outcome of this really cool event.

I have alot to share with you also about the tournament rules and video camera releases. Its tuff to do but man it makes things cut and dry and puts more exitement into things as the videos are reviewed at the end of the day.

Capt John Eppehimer

Monday, September 10, 2007

DAY 1 - Contender Avalon Billfish Classic

Day 1 of the Contender Avalon Billfish Classic started early, 5:15 to be exact. The first hour was spent setting up the doc, the radio and trying to find a hot cup of Joe. Our java savior, John Gabel, came to the doc in his 30ft BlackWatch Pescador, loaded up with hot java and donuts - a true am savior.

The 7am shotgun start went off without a hitch as all the yachts took off into the deep ocean blue of the Pacific. The first hook up came two hours later at 9am by a team in the No Fear division - El Diablo.

Shortly after one pro team got hot, Chiquelin, hooking 3 and verifying the release of two. Other early action included Bite Me, Quality Time (hooked up at the time of writing this blog), Snake Dancer, and Excessive.

Two lucky teams also took home plush prizes from our generous sponsors:

At 10am Reel Nice and Easy took home a year subscription to PCS, a 7 strand marlin lure, one pound spool of Berkley line and a Berkley Fluoro Carbon Leder.

At High Noon, Quality Time won a 250.00 dollar gift cerficate to the Avalon Fuel Dock courtesy of Contender Boats.

Part 2 of Day 1 (High Noon to 4)

The wind has picked up, the sun is beeming down and the marlin are bitting on Bite Me, the first hit of the afternoon. Just one short hour later, the East Coast boys - Snake Dancer hooked up again. Shortly after Snake Dancer got bit the West Coast came in strong with Bad Company getting a strike. The pros are starting to heat up in the afternoon sun. From 12 to 1:30 3 fish hooked up in Juliet 5 with Hotel 6 following up as the other hot spot to find marlin in the open blue of the Pacific.

The 2 to 3 time slot had things going slow on the water. Hook ups have been few and far between and with an hour of fishing to go it looks like the icon, Beak and his crew on Chiquelin may take day one in the pros with Snake Dancer waltzing up to a close second. In the No Fear division, El Diablo is leading the way on day one with Quality Time close behind and Bite Me nipping at their heals.

At the 3 o clock hour Chiquelin hooks up another, but will they bring it in to keep the lead in time and catches. Contender 1, from the East Coast hooked up in J 5 and with this wind. This East Coast Tournament Teams is loving the wind, "a great day to fly a kite." Keeping up with Chiquelin, Snake Dancer hooks up striking back with some East Coast skills.

After 4 when the teams come in it is up to Grant Hunner, Tournament Director, to verify all the catches and releases on video. One fatal mistep and a team may loose a crucial catch and release dropping them off the leader board.

A special thanks to all of our sponsors and anglers.

Come back tomorrow for Day 2. Covering more catch and release action, a leader update and continued action from the front lines at Catalina.

For more information on future tournaments go to www.catalinaclassics.com

</H2>

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Day 2 at the Contender ABC- Sunshine, RockStars and Kites

Day 2 - Contender ABC

Day 2 started off early for me, 5 am to be exact but there is a reason for the early wake up call. A bit of back script - on Sunday before coming over to the island I loaded a suite case with RockStars, the energy drink of Team Bad Company. This morning at 5:30am, like a scene right out of Miami Vice, I walked my suite case down to the docs and unloaded all the RockStars on to the Bad Company 55. The crew and the boss where happy knowing that after downing a couple RockStars a day on the water would just fly by.

It is almost 7am and time for the shotgun start.

Side note: For some great pictures of the tournament and more insights please go visit www.sportfisherman.com we are on the front page - CA Billfish Series. There are a plethora of amazing photos from the water.

The big shocker: Kites, yes I wrote it, kites! The East Coast guys have come to the West and they are flying kites and getting bites. It was supposed to be a funny side note watching some guys run kites for marlin but it has turned into fishing strategy that many West Coast anglers are taking notice of. After one day Snake Dancer, an East Coast Contender Team, hooked three marlin on kites. With the wind already picking up it looks to be another great day for kites and potentially another great day on the water for the East Coast Contender Teams.

C Bandit started off the morning right hooking up a striper at 8:45am. I wonder how those kites are flying?

I will be back at 12 with more news, new and improved from Avalon!

Posted by ContenderABC at 6:43 AM 0 comments

Monday, September 10, 2007

DAY 1 - Contender Avalon Billfish Classic

Day 1 of the Contender Avalon Billfish Classic started early, 5:15 to be exact. The first hour was spent setting up the doc, the radio and trying to find a hot cup of Joe. Our java savior, John Gabel, came to the doc in his 30ft BlackWatch Pescador, loaded up with hot java and donuts - a true am savior.

The 7am shotgun start went off without a hitch as all the yachts took off into the deep ocean blue of the Pacific. The first hook up came two hours later at 9am by a team in the No Fear division - El Diablo.

Shortly after one pro team got hot, Chiquelin, hooking 3 and verifying the release of two. Other early action included Bite Me, Quality Time (hooked up at the time of writing this blog), Snake Dancer, and Excessive.

Two lucky teams also took home plush prizes from our generous sponsors:

At 10am Reel Nice and Easy took home a year subscription to PCS, a 7 strand marlin lure, one pound spool of Berkley line and a Berkley Fluoro Carbon Leder.

At High Noon, Quality Time won a 250.00 dollar gift cerficate to the Avalon Fuel Dock courtesy of Contender Boats.

Part 2 of Day 1 (High Noon to 4)

The wind has picked up, the sun is beeming down and the marlin are bitting on Bite Me, the first hit of the afternoon. Just one short hour later, the East Coast boys - Snake Dancer hooked up again. Shortly after Snake Dancer got bit the West Coast came in strong with Bad Company getting a strike. The pros are starting to heat up in the afternoon sun. From 12 to 1:30 3 fish hooked up in Juliet 5 with Hotel 6 following up as the other hot spot to find marlin in the open blue of the Pacific.

The 2 to 3 time slot had things going slow on the water. Hook ups have been few and far between and with an hour of fishing to go it looks like the icon, Beak and his crew on Chiquelin may take day one in the pros with Snake Dancer waltzing up to a close second. In the No Fear division, El Diablo is leading the way on day one with Quality Time close behind and Bite Me nipping at their heals.

At the 3 o clock hour Chiquelin hooks up another, but will they bring it in to keep the lead in time and catches. Contender 1, from the East Coast hooked up in J 5 and with this wind. This East Coast Tournament Teams is loving the wind, "a great day to fly a kite." Keeping up with Chiquelin, Snake Dancer hooks up striking back with some East Coast skills.

After 4 when the teams come in it is up to Grant Hunner, Tournament Director, to verify all the catches and releases on video. One fatal mistep and a team may loose a crucial catch and release dropping them off the leader board.

A special thanks to all of our sponsors and anglers.

Come back tomorrow for Day 2. Covering more catch and release action, a leader update and continued action from the front lines at Catalina.

For more information on future tournaments go to www.catalinaclassics.com

Admin · 09-11-2007, 12:55 PM

Photos from last night as the guys came into drop off the video tapes, rods, leaders, hooks for review.

Stripersniper · 09-11-2007, 01:00 PM

John, you said a boat won a 250.00 gift cert for fuel. Nice prize. Whats the price of fuel there compared to Jersey? Just curious.

Awesome pics and coverage. Keep up the good work

Admin · 09-11-2007, 01:20 PM

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Admin · 09-11-2007, 01:27 PM

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Admin · 09-11-2007, 01:28 PM

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Admin · 09-11-2007, 01:36 PM

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Admin · 09-11-2007, 01:45 PM

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LuckyLady · 09-11-2007, 01:53 PM

George Mitchel is an excellent fisherman, he taught me how to kite fish and it was the funnest and most addicting thing that I have ever done.

1st words from him on my 1st trip, "Every thing you know, FORGET IT, and listen up! I may yell but it's for the best and if you pop my goggle eye out of the clip I am really going to yell!"

He is top notch, no doubt

This is a new one! Pretty Sweet!

flatbottom · 09-11-2007, 02:40 PM

I saw the tubes Lucky Lady. That is a great idea !

Thanks for some info on the high flyer's Admin.
Again really nice set of pics relaying the days events.

your camera is working perdectly on the zoomed in shots. Quality pictures man, quality !!!

09-11-2007, 12:42 PM	#1
Admin Capt John Eppehimer Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sewell, NJ Posts: 13,663 Credits: 71,035.0 Boat: 33' Hydra Sport - Triple 275 Mercury Verado Home Port: Cape May, NJ Best Catch: Whats Fishing Occupation: Internet Blog Entries: 1	Day 2 Contender Classic Avalon Ca Below are recaps of day 1 and the start of day 2 from the contender blog spot. Today should be a very interesting day and we will see if the contender boys can get it done today. The question was asked in the last thread regarding kites. This is a very interesting subject right now as we heard the guys on the boat bad company joking around this morning saying " Old dogs can learn new tricks and the kites are on order." Goerge Mitchell and other contender boats showed yesterday that a east coast style can work out here as it is not a common thing to see poeple fishing kites for striped marlin. Also the question was asked about the fish that were released yesterday and the answer was yes all the fish were striped marlin. We will keep you updated today on the outcome of this really cool event. I have alot to share with you also about the tournament rules and video camera releases. Its tuff to do but man it makes things cut and dry and puts more exitement into things as the videos are reviewed at the end of the day. Capt John Eppehimer Monday, September 10, 2007 DAY 1 - Contender Avalon Billfish Classic Day 1 of the Contender Avalon Billfish Classic started early, 5:15 to be exact. The first hour was spent setting up the doc, the radio and trying to find a hot cup of Joe. Our java savior, John Gabel, came to the doc in his 30ft BlackWatch Pescador, loaded up with hot java and donuts - a true am savior. The 7am shotgun start went off without a hitch as all the yachts took off into the deep ocean blue of the Pacific. The first hook up came two hours later at 9am by a team in the No Fear division - El Diablo. Shortly after one pro team got hot, Chiquelin, hooking 3 and verifying the release of two. Other early action included Bite Me, Quality Time (hooked up at the time of writing this blog), Snake Dancer, and Excessive. Two lucky teams also took home plush prizes from our generous sponsors: At 10am Reel Nice and Easy took home a year subscription to PCS, a 7 strand marlin lure, one pound spool of Berkley line and a Berkley Fluoro Carbon Leder. At High Noon, Quality Time won a 250.00 dollar gift cerficate to the Avalon Fuel Dock courtesy of Contender Boats. Part 2 of Day 1 (High Noon to 4) The wind has picked up, the sun is beeming down and the marlin are bitting on Bite Me, the first hit of the afternoon. Just one short hour later, the East Coast boys - Snake Dancer hooked up again. Shortly after Snake Dancer got bit the West Coast came in strong with Bad Company getting a strike. The pros are starting to heat up in the afternoon sun. From 12 to 1:30 3 fish hooked up in Juliet 5 with Hotel 6 following up as the other hot spot to find marlin in the open blue of the Pacific. The 2 to 3 time slot had things going slow on the water. Hook ups have been few and far between and with an hour of fishing to go it looks like the icon, Beak and his crew on Chiquelin may take day one in the pros with Snake Dancer waltzing up to a close second. In the No Fear division, El Diablo is leading the way on day one with Quality Time close behind and Bite Me nipping at their heals. At the 3 o clock hour Chiquelin hooks up another, but will they bring it in to keep the lead in time and catches. Contender 1, from the East Coast hooked up in J 5 and with this wind. This East Coast Tournament Teams is loving the wind, "a great day to fly a kite." Keeping up with Chiquelin, Snake Dancer hooks up striking back with some East Coast skills. After 4 when the teams come in it is up to Grant Hunner, Tournament Director, to verify all the catches and releases on video. One fatal mistep and a team may loose a crucial catch and release dropping them off the leader board. A special thanks to all of our sponsors and anglers. Come back tomorrow for Day 2. Covering more catch and release action, a leader update and continued action from the front lines at Catalina. For more information on future tournaments go to www.catalinaclassics.com </H2> Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Day 2 at the Contender ABC- Sunshine, RockStars and Kites Day 2 - Contender ABC Day 2 started off early for me, 5 am to be exact but there is a reason for the early wake up call. A bit of back script - on Sunday before coming over to the island I loaded a suite case with RockStars, the energy drink of Team Bad Company. This morning at 5:30am, like a scene right out of Miami Vice, I walked my suite case down to the docs and unloaded all the RockStars on to the Bad Company 55. The crew and the boss where happy knowing that after downing a couple RockStars a day on the water would just fly by. It is almost 7am and time for the shotgun start. Side note: For some great pictures of the tournament and more insights please go visit www.sportfisherman.com we are on the front page - CA Billfish Series. There are a plethora of amazing photos from the water. The big shocker: Kites, yes I wrote it, kites! The East Coast guys have come to the West and they are flying kites and getting bites. It was supposed to be a funny side note watching some guys run kites for marlin but it has turned into fishing strategy that many West Coast anglers are taking notice of. After one day Snake Dancer, an East Coast Contender Team, hooked three marlin on kites. With the wind already picking up it looks to be another great day for kites and potentially another great day on the water for the East Coast Contender Teams. C Bandit started off the morning right hooking up a striper at 8:45am. I wonder how those kites are flying? I will be back at 12 with more news, new and improved from Avalon! Posted by ContenderABC at 6:43 AM 0 comments Monday, September 10, 2007 DAY 1 - Contender Avalon Billfish Classic Day 1 of the Contender Avalon Billfish Classic started early, 5:15 to be exact. The first hour was spent setting up the doc, the radio and trying to find a hot cup of Joe. Our java savior, John Gabel, came to the doc in his 30ft BlackWatch Pescador, loaded up with hot java and donuts - a true am savior. The 7am shotgun start went off without a hitch as all the yachts took off into the deep ocean blue of the Pacific. The first hook up came two hours later at 9am by a team in the No Fear division - El Diablo. Shortly after one pro team got hot, Chiquelin, hooking 3 and verifying the release of two. Other early action included Bite Me, Quality Time (hooked up at the time of writing this blog), Snake Dancer, and Excessive. Two lucky teams also took home plush prizes from our generous sponsors: At 10am Reel Nice and Easy took home a year subscription to PCS, a 7 strand marlin lure, one pound spool of Berkley line and a Berkley Fluoro Carbon Leder. At High Noon, Quality Time won a 250.00 dollar gift cerficate to the Avalon Fuel Dock courtesy of Contender Boats. Part 2 of Day 1 (High Noon to 4) The wind has picked up, the sun is beeming down and the marlin are bitting on Bite Me, the first hit of the afternoon. Just one short hour later, the East Coast boys - Snake Dancer hooked up again. Shortly after Snake Dancer got bit the West Coast came in strong with Bad Company getting a strike. The pros are starting to heat up in the afternoon sun. From 12 to 1:30 3 fish hooked up in Juliet 5 with Hotel 6 following up as the other hot spot to find marlin in the open blue of the Pacific. The 2 to 3 time slot had things going slow on the water. Hook ups have been few and far between and with an hour of fishing to go it looks like the icon, Beak and his crew on Chiquelin may take day one in the pros with Snake Dancer waltzing up to a close second. In the No Fear division, El Diablo is leading the way on day one with Quality Time close behind and Bite Me nipping at their heals. At the 3 o clock hour Chiquelin hooks up another, but will they bring it in to keep the lead in time and catches. Contender 1, from the East Coast hooked up in J 5 and with this wind. This East Coast Tournament Teams is loving the wind, "a great day to fly a kite." Keeping up with Chiquelin, Snake Dancer hooks up striking back with some East Coast skills. After 4 when the teams come in it is up to Grant Hunner, Tournament Director, to verify all the catches and releases on video. One fatal mistep and a team may loose a crucial catch and release dropping them off the leader board. A special thanks to all of our sponsors and anglers. Come back tomorrow for Day 2. Covering more catch and release action, a leader update and continued action from the front lines at Catalina. For more information on future tournaments go to www.catalinaclassics.com __________________ "If I had learned education, I would not have had time to learn anything else." "You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I will ruin you." Last edited by Jer; 09-11-2007 at 02:00 PM.

09-11-2007, 01:00 PM	#3
Stripersniper I think Admin is going to let me have this space Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Warrington, pa Posts: 2,014 Credits: 1,366.8	John, you said a boat won a 250.00 gift cert for fuel. Nice prize. Whats the price of fuel there compared to Jersey? Just curious. Awesome pics and coverage. Keep up the good work __________________ "Don't just talk about it, do it"

09-11-2007, 01:36 PM	#7
Admin Capt John Eppehimer Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sewell, NJ Posts: 13,663 Credits: 71,035.0 Boat: 33' Hydra Sport - Triple 275 Mercury Verado Home Port: Cape May, NJ Best Catch: Whats Fishing Occupation: Internet Blog Entries: 1	.......................................... __________________ "If I had learned education, I would not have had time to learn anything else." "You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I will ruin you."

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09-11-2007, 02:40 PM	#10
flatbottom Fish the Edge Team Sportfishermen.com Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bear, DE Posts: 7,826 Credits: 13,134.4 Boat: 232 center console Home Port: Indian River, De Best Catch: off the shot gun Occupation: jackleg	I saw the tubes Lucky Lady. That is a great idea ! Thanks for some info on the high flyer's Admin. Again really nice set of pics relaying the days events. your camera is working perdectly on the zoomed in shots. Quality pictures man, quality !!!