By Paul LebowitzSeptember 15, 2006 LA JOLLA - The beach-goers visiting La Jolla Shores on Saturday buzzed with excitement. The stir wasn’t caused by the leopard sharks swimming in the shallows; the tourists seemed unaware of the harmlessly sharky surf. Rather, the spectacle was the steady stream of kayaks landing on the beach. 182 kayaks, and all of them decked out for ocean fishing, bristling with rods and sporting fishfinders and powered bait tanks. Many of the kayak anglers came in with fish on deck. Knots of fascinated onlookers gathered around to stare curiously at the catches of yellowtail, halibut, bonito and barracuda. Kayakers smiled, patiently answered a question or two, and then hurried off to nearby Kate Sessions Park for the 2006 Moyer Memorial Kayak Fishing Tournament weigh-in. The attention was nothing new for the kayakers, who’ve seen participation in the sport grow dramatically over the past five years. |
TROPHY ‘TAIL – Patrick Moench shows off the 29-lb. yellowtail that earned him victory at the 4th Annual Moyer Memorial Kayak Fishing Tournament. The event produced by San Diego-based guide service La Jolla Kayak Fishing raised over $9,000 for the fight against cancer. PHOTO COURTESY TYLER WEBB |
Back then, getting 50 kayakers together for a fishing contest was big news according to tournament organizer Jim Sammons of San Diego-based guide service La Jolla Kayak Fishing. Gauging from the interest of the crowd on the beach, kayak fishing has plenty of room to grow. Up at the park, Sammons made one final time check. “My watch reads 1:00 p.m. That’s it!” said Sammons. With that announcement, Patrick Moench knew he’d won the day. The San Diegan brought a 29-lb. yellowtail to the scale. “It ate a fly-lined greenback mackerel,” said the happy Moench, a computer programmer from San Diego. Second place fell to another fat yellowtail, this one a 25-lb’er caught by OEX Dive and Kayak Center pro staffer Bradley Messmer. James Campbell finished third with a 23-lb. yellow. The Moyer Memorial honors the memory of kayak fisherman Steve Moyer, who succumbed to cancer in 2003. This year’s fourth annual charity benefit raised about $8,000 for the American Cancer Society, and roughly $1,600 for San Diego native Stephen Blackwell, who is waging his own battle against the disease that seems to touch every family. Sammons modestly attributed the fundraising success of the event to its participants. “The credit goes to the people who entered the tournament,” said Sammons, who also recognized the generosity of sponsors Cobra Kayaks, Hobie Kayaks, Ocean Kayak, Macski, Old Town Canoe, and Wilderness Systems, all of which provided state of the art fishing kayaks for raffle and placement prizes. |