Nov 21 Mako

[NoSlack]

Picked this guy up on the 9 today. He came up from the depths with one of my Bank Perch in his mouth.

Mike


2008 Leader Board (http://bocaboard.com/Leader Board 2008.htm)

[Professor]

Does he have a hook in him or is he just being stubborn? Since your thinking of expanding the fish area a bit for next year I started giving the tournament some thought. While mulling over what could go in the wildcard slot two species came to mind. Broadbill and blackseabass. My thought is that the broadbill should go in with the marlin and BSB should go in with the sharks and rays. The marlin category could be renamed bill fish. The BSB while legal in MX are often tough enough to get back alive without trying to weigh them. I’ve had four of them up to the boat this year and they sure don’t cooperate in the release routine.

[NoSlack]

The whole reason for expanding the boundaries is to get you involved.

Last year we renamed the billfish slot to marlin and added a slot for Swordfish. The Black Seabass was always a good one for the wildcard slot. If you catch it on the US side it will be tuff not to break the law if you bring it aboard to get a weight. If you catch one south of the border, do what ever you need to to get a photo and weight for the tournament.

Mike

[iclypso]

I think it might be better to make the BSB category similar to sharks and just award points regardless of weight. Risking the health of the fish, not to mention a potentially substantial penalty, doesn't seem worth it. A photo of it boatside would be adequate. How about 50 pts for a C&R? If we don't make a separate category for it, it still makes a good wildcard catch.

[NoSlack]

We talked about this a few years back and decided it was best not to have a slot for a fish that was protected in US waters. Makes us look like we are encouraging the catch of a fish we're suppose to be protecting.

We all know they are caught by accident and we do the best we can to release them in the best condition possible, but someone will always get the wrong idea if we name that fish as a target species.

Mike

[NoSlack]

Now that the myster fish has a name, I'm taking my 2 points for a 1 pound Reb Brotula.

Mike

http://members.cox.net/noslack/mystery.jpg

[DOGHOUSE26]

All the BSB caught on the Doghouse have gone back down on their own. Sometimes 5-15 minutes later , but they all went back down. None were over 100# or deeper than 110', so I can't vouch for larger fish. At Guadalupe they stabbed the fish with an awl to get the fish to loose air but I don't think that's right, I've read several die from infections later. They make a release tool which clamps on the lower jaw and releases the fish at the bottom. I don't think they should be included in our tourney for the reasons Mike listed.

Mike, any luck on the reds?

[NoSlack]

One red to show for my efforts this fall and that came from the Whistler buoy.

10 or 15 years ago there was a guy making BSB release devices and giving them away. From the picture he posted on his site I made one and use it regularly on the Bocaccio. All the BSB I've caught were small and came from 50' or less so I haven't had the opportunity to use on a big fish.

When I'm in a Bocaccio infested area I keep the release device rigged up on a sepparate rod.

Mike

http://members.cox.net/noslack/gsbdev.jpg