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BY BOB SEMERAU
Staff Writer Western Outdoor News
VENTURA — So much is at stake in the annual battle royale known as the Western Outdoor News Rockfish Rumble, this year was bound to be a sellout for all three boats in the competition.
Scheduled as an early season bout, the 2022 iteration of the contest had boats fishing down to the limit of 100-fathoms, or 600-feet. Ventura Harbor Sportfishing owner-operator and legendary sportboat captain, Tucker McCombs, sent out three boats to go the distance and fight for a win in the 2022 WON Rockfish Rumble.
Dropping down to the deep waters at The Dome, a reasonably high spot out in the open water between the mainland and the Channel Islands, anglers pulled no punches as fish began to hit the deck.
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 boated 150-rockfish and assorted other critters for the day. Angler Gary Bednorz knocked out a 5.66-pound bocaccio for top fish on the boat and Larry Johnson’s red took second at 4.62-pounds” reported <em>WON</em> staff editor, Ben Hervey-Murray, from the decks of the 55-foot sportboat.</p>
<p>The landing had loaded the tanks of all three competing boats with plenty of live anchovy, and each had cut squid strips available for anglers to pin onto their hooks. Whether ‘chovies or squid, bait beat out hardware for this fight. Using jigs and swimbaits, brightly colored irons and shiny diamond jigs, just would not hit the mark. But a standard two-hook gangion and 16-ounce weight knocked out more fish than any other rig for anglers in the Rumble.</p>
<p>Several moves by Captain Cody Rogers took<em> Island Spirit</em> a distance from the other boats and gave up winning fish, if not the total numbers he wanted. The totals at weigh-in showed 202 rockfish and a single rock sole for the boat with 35-anglers aboard.</p>
<p>“It’s been a tough day, but I think we got it done,” called Captain Cody at lines up, just past 1:00 p.m. The scratch and battle to the finish had given angler Karl Penson a beast of a bocaccio weighing in at 6.92-pounds and overall-second place for the Rumble. Penson took home $300 cash and a Plano Z-series lure wrap bag.</p>
<p>Jeff Petrin tossed onto the <em>Island Spirit</em> deck a 5.80-pound bocaccio for a strong third place finish overall and $180 cash, soaking squid strips on a shrimp-fly rig.<br />
But aboard Island Spirit, it was Peter Nguyen who beat them all, knocking out 93-anglers in the process. The hard-hitting rumbler sacked a red weighing in at 7.67-pounds to best them all and take home $460, a $100 HUK clothing gift card and a 500-yard spool of Berkley Pro-Spec Braid.</p>
<p>The three boats had danced around the ring, fishing the deep-water zone between the mainland and Santa Cruz Island, and frequent WON charter anglers Manny Lozano, KJ Kevrette, and Mark Ginchereau had their share of the action, filling sacks throughout the day.</p>
<p>Aboard <em>Californian</em> and <em>Pacific Eagle</em> anglers fought hard to get into the prize money and in the end, prizes were spread across all three boats but with Island Spirit sweeping the overall 2022 WON Rockfish Rumble.</p>
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2022 WON Rockfish Rumble 
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