By Paul Lebowitz

November 16, 2007

Plastic Navy / WON tournament series to close the year with a party atmosphere, lots of prizes

SAN DIEGO – The Plastic Navy Tournament Trail Presented by Western Outdoor News is racing to its exciting conclusion in grand style. The 6th and final event in the series marks the return of one of the largest and most lucrative kayak fishing events around – the Classic.

Anyone’s who’s fished this San Diego tradition knows it’s as much a celebration of the sport as it is a tournament. It’s a fun time known for big prizes, tasty Mexican eats, and fat sand bass.  

Tournament director Drew Clark said the Plastic Navy crew plans to make this the best Kayak Fishing Classic yet.  

“We’re looking to shatter our attendance record. Look for a bigger party, new blind bogey cash that anyone who weighs a fish can win, and a raffle that celebrates all of the really great fishing we’ve experienced this year,” Clark said.

The Classic is famous for a terrific prize list. As always, this year’s edition features top of the line fishing kayaks – grand prizes in the stocked raffle. There’ll also be rods and reels from Okuma and Quantum, fishfinders from Lowrance, Costa del Mar sunglasses, gift cards from Sport Chalet, fine baits and lines from Berkley, and much more.

New this year is the blind bogey cash contest, open to everyone who weighs even a single bass. A dozen cash prizes are up for grabs, including a tidy $1,000 check from Plastic Navy.

Here’s how it works. Before the event, a dozen winning weights will be randomly determined, ranging from the lowest to highest likely scores. The angler whose total comes closest then draws one of the dozen prize envelopes to discover what he or she has won.

Of course, the Plastic Navy is all about using the crucible of competition to hone fishing skills, so the anglers who excel will be well rewarded. Prizes will pay down to 10th place, with $1,001 in cash going straight into the pocket of bass catcher number one. The heaviest fish in the optional $10 Global Fish Mounts Jackpot will take home a bundle of cash and a $400 gift certificate towards a mount from the nation’s leading replica fish artisans.   

What’s more, this year the Classic hosts the Trail finale. Someone will be crowned Lowrance Electronics Anglers of the Year. Odds are that man will be Ed Howerton; coming into the Newport tournament, he held a nearly 24-lb advantage.

There’s also the Okuma Jackpot of the Year. That plum could fall to current leader Ed Keil, man of the 7.2-lb La Jolla calico. Or not; the Classic has the potential to produce a serious sand bass or two.

Clark said the San Diego Bay venue at Shelter Island is one of his favorites.

“It’s a good launch, safe, with no surf. There are plenty of fish to be caught in San Diego Bay; everyone should be able to weigh fish. It’s beautiful too,” Clark added.

In December, easy to catch sand bass should be in full force. Many anglers will head to the middle of the deep water just off the launch – prime territory for the San Diego Wind and Grind.

This long-line technique isn’t complicated; just let out line until there’s little left, then put your reel in gear. Often times, a sandy will already have latched onto your 5 or 6-in. swimbait. Another option is deep drop-shotting, a technique effective with Gulp and plastics.

The tournament’s other targets should also be readily available. Spotted bay bass live in and around eel grass beds and shallow basins throughout the bay. Calicos are harder to find, or at least they take more paddling. They are most common toward the mouth of the bay, a couple long miles from the launch.

With the Trail coming to its 2007 close, Clark took a moment to look back on the journey.

“What a fantastic Trail it’s been. We’ve had over 400 individuals participate, and sponsors like this sport has never seen. It’s huge; there’s never been anything like it before,” Clark said. Come and see for yourself in San Diego.  

KAYAK TRAIL HEADED FOR A BIG FINISH IN SAN DIEGO – The Plastic Navy Tournament Trail Presented by Western Outdoor News wraps up with a celebratory kayak bass fishing event on San Diego Bay on December 8. Many prizes are at stake for anyone who enters: blind bogey cash, beautiful new fishing kayaks, and lots and lots of raffle and placement prizes. There’s even a little thing known as the Lowrance Electronics Angler of the Year title. The latter is likely to go to overall points leader Ed Howerton, shown here. PHOTO COURTESY PLASTIC NAVY

A LAUNCH AS EASY AS THEY COME, PLUS GOOD FISHING – The San Diego event kicks off at Shelter Island. It’s well named – look, no waves to speak of.  Even better, the bay is typically plugged with sand bass in December.

WINDIN’ AND GRINDIN’ – The bay’s sand bass aren’t terribly picky. Most anglers target them using the San Diego wind and grind. It’s nothing fancy, just a good way to keep swimbaits down in deep water zone the sandies prefer. The trickiest part is back paddling until much of the line is off the spool.

BASS CANDY – San Diego Bay bass love a wiggly plastic swimbait or grub. Don’t overlook Berkley Gulp! either; in particular, it’s a favorite for deep water drop-shotting.

Important Note! Be Kind to Your Bass
All Plastic Navy events are catch and release, artificial bait only tournaments. Anglers must be prepared to keep their fish alive and well until they can reach one of the weigh boats that will be stationed in the tournament area. Weigh boats are a privilege; anglers should expect to paddle their fish to a boat. For the health of the bass resource, competitors are strongly encouraged to use powered live wells for fish storage.