Battle of the Bays report...

[Saba Slayer]

THANKS to all that participated in the inaugural Battle of the Bays tournament yesterday...
THANKS to all the CCA volunteers that did everything from judging, checking-in, the raffle, icing the drinks and helping with the food prep...Yani...thanks thanks thanks !!!
Mother Nature tried to dampen our spirits and rain on our parade but there was too much fun to be had



By the time we launched all the SWBA boats were already on the water and we had the ramp to ourselves.



To even out the field a little we had a "shotgun" start at 7am. with about 45 kayaks and one SUP and a few float-tubbers.



Zach Zorn shot some drone footage and I'll post a link when its available.



If you zoom in you can see Mitchel with his rig ready for battle at the top of the crowd...



The water conditions weren't too bad inside...the wind was up but it never really blew until the guys were off the water.



Everyone seemed to have a great time including our Chef Yanni...



Yanni really did that swordfish good with his homemade salsas, and he made those beans taste a lot better too. That Division 23 beer was a great way to wash down those fish tacos...Thanks Kellen!



The iAngler app and the hawg troughs worked great...and I urge other tournaments to take a look at the format...it's really good for the fish and they go right back to where they were caught!
You can go to the iAngler site and view the leaderboard and the photos...it's pretty cool system.
http://www.ianglertournament.com/tou...aderboard/1680



The youngest angler in the tournament...John Pateros caught his first Halibut on an Alabama rig and he won the $330 big fish side pot at 6.5 pounds and he also won a Savage Gear $100 gift card for the biggest Halibut. Mitchell Fromang was second with a 4.6 pound halibut



Tom Buckalew won second place in the bass CPR with 2 Spottys at 30.5 inches.
Tom won a $250 gift card at Baja Fish Gear and the Promar/AHI incentive package drawing. "Hobie Tom" didn't want to give any details on his catches.



Cameron Chang...part of the Chang Gang...won third place with a Sand Bass...the Chang Gang braved the swells and wind to fish the outside and their strategy paid-off big time.
Cameron took home a $125 Turners gift card provided by Rick Jensen at Sportfishing Financial.



Our CCA CAL executive Director Wayne Kotow did a great job calling the raffle...we made a little under $2000...thank you kayak community for supporting CCA.



Some Guys are Good and some guys are Lucky...and yet others know how to combine the two and that's exactly what Derwin Chang did on Saturday...he led his two sons (the Chang Gang) outside the harbor to pick up a few big sandies and calicos...and his game plan worked out. Camron got 3rd place and Derwin not only won the CPR bass tourney but he also caught the biggest bass...
He took home a $500 gift card to spend at the completely stocked Dana Landing and a pail of Hookup Baits...to top off his winnings he was also the winner of the i11s Hobie Mirage drive inflatable kayak...