Although one boat dominated the overall places, competition for each boat jackpot was tight. On the Island Spirit, the top three places were covered by only three ounces as Johnny Jackson scored top with 3 pounds 9 ounces, Pat Carrillo came second with one ounce less, and Ron Dyo took third with a 3 pound 7 ounce rockfish.
Over on the Californian, one young contender beat all-comers for the jackpot prize. Brody Chiat from Half Moon Bay, age 14, only signed up to fish the contest two days before, but he put together an excellent performance and scored a 3–pound 2–ounce rockfish on a swimbait to beat KJ Johnson into second with 2 pounds 13 ounces. KJ also took third place with 2 pounds 2 ounces. All three boat jackpot winners went home with a WON t-shirt and subscription.
JACKPOT WINNER – Brody Chiat with his jackpot-winning 3-pound 2-ounce swimbait-caught red aboard the Californian.
Once on land, all three boats produced their three biggest rockfish for the final weigh-in, when it became clear that the Pacific Eagle had beaten everyone with their impressive run of big bottom dwellers. Overall, Pedro Pino’s 5-pound 14-ounce vermillion rockfish took both the boat jackpot and overall top prize including close to $400 in cash plus tackle prizes. Bruce Jochums’ 5–pound 9–ounce score was good for second and $260, whilst Luis Tejeda took third with 3 pounds 14 ounces. All top three went home with tackle prizes from Berkley and Plano.
Almost everyone also went home with some solid bags of fillets for dinner and, with many anglers utilizing up to 24 ounces of sinker to hit bottom in the deeper water, those cranking muscles let them know they’d been in a fight too. Thanks to everyone who took part and to all the deckhands, captains and landing staff for a great event. See you all for another round in 2024!
