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Bay Bass Challenge turns out to be too much of one
By Phil Gallo, SPECIAL TO THE San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
May 11, 2003
The $250 Phil Gallo Bay Bass Challenge saw five of the top bay bass fishermen in the county try to catch 50 bass in four hours of afternoon fishing on San Diego Bay. No one did it. So Gallo, on the advice of his wife, donated the $250 to the San Diego Anglers disabled and disadvantaged kids fishing program. Here is Gallo's take on an intriguing chapter in San Diego Bay's fishing history:
Needless to say, it was quite an experience.
I'm sure the main question everybody has is: Who is the best fisherman?
The finish
I think I can honestly say that this competition provides no true answer to that question. A normal tournament involves everybody fishing the same day, the same hours, the same weather conditions and the same tidal conditions.
I had six anglers (including guide Bill Schaefer) who fished different days, slightly different hours, with different techniques and different colors and styles of lures.
Some drifted deep water. Some drifted shallow water. Some cast and retrieved in shallow water. Some trolled. And some did combinations of these things.
There are a lot of effective techniques. With this many variables going at once, I think the six of them are just going to have to fight it out in tournaments and the like.
They were all great, and they all gave 110 percent.
I have to admit it was hard not being able to fish and to just stand there watching these guys pull fish into the boat, not to mention that I was in constant danger of losing $250.
My wife, Jean, helped solve the second part of the problem by suggesting early on that if no one won, I should donate the money to charity, as Bill Schaefer had offered to do. That helped take a lot of the pressure off, because then I didn't have to worry about losing the money – it was already gone.
But I never did get used to watching other people catch fish while I stood there and stupidly pushed a counter.
But I think I helped prove that many reports are a little exaggerated. I think my challengers would agree that it is not an easy thing to just randomly go out and pick 50 fish in four hours.
Some, but not all, got great tides, beautiful weather and near ideal fishing conditions.
Overall, I think the contest generated a lot of interest, and it was good for fishing in San Diego.
If you are content with good numbers of 1/2-to 3-pound fish, with an occasional big one thrown in (usually a halibut), San Diego Bay may be the premier fishing hole in the U.S. Certainly for an urban spot, it has few peers that I know of.
I learned that the bay has more fish than I ever imagined. I tend to get impatient if I don't catch a fish in the first 10 minutes and zoom off to find another "honey hole." The guys who caught the most fish had faith in their spot and stuck it out, even if it started slowly. Patience pays off.
Despite the great quantity of fish in the bay, two rules are paramount:
Mother Nature has to cooperate.
You have to know what you're doing.
If you are new to the bay, or not catching as many fish as you think you should, take a day, or a half-day trip, with one of the guides that ply the bay. It will be the best money you ever spent on fishing.
By Phil Gallo, SPECIAL TO THE San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
May 11, 2003
The $250 Phil Gallo Bay Bass Challenge saw five of the top bay bass fishermen in the county try to catch 50 bass in four hours of afternoon fishing on San Diego Bay. No one did it. So Gallo, on the advice of his wife, donated the $250 to the San Diego Anglers disabled and disadvantaged kids fishing program. Here is Gallo's take on an intriguing chapter in San Diego Bay's fishing history:
Needless to say, it was quite an experience.
I'm sure the main question everybody has is: Who is the best fisherman?
The finish
I think I can honestly say that this competition provides no true answer to that question. A normal tournament involves everybody fishing the same day, the same hours, the same weather conditions and the same tidal conditions.
I had six anglers (including guide Bill Schaefer) who fished different days, slightly different hours, with different techniques and different colors and styles of lures.
Some drifted deep water. Some drifted shallow water. Some cast and retrieved in shallow water. Some trolled. And some did combinations of these things.
There are a lot of effective techniques. With this many variables going at once, I think the six of them are just going to have to fight it out in tournaments and the like.
They were all great, and they all gave 110 percent.
I have to admit it was hard not being able to fish and to just stand there watching these guys pull fish into the boat, not to mention that I was in constant danger of losing $250.
My wife, Jean, helped solve the second part of the problem by suggesting early on that if no one won, I should donate the money to charity, as Bill Schaefer had offered to do. That helped take a lot of the pressure off, because then I didn't have to worry about losing the money – it was already gone.
But I never did get used to watching other people catch fish while I stood there and stupidly pushed a counter.
But I think I helped prove that many reports are a little exaggerated. I think my challengers would agree that it is not an easy thing to just randomly go out and pick 50 fish in four hours.
Some, but not all, got great tides, beautiful weather and near ideal fishing conditions.
Overall, I think the contest generated a lot of interest, and it was good for fishing in San Diego.
If you are content with good numbers of 1/2-to 3-pound fish, with an occasional big one thrown in (usually a halibut), San Diego Bay may be the premier fishing hole in the U.S. Certainly for an urban spot, it has few peers that I know of.
I learned that the bay has more fish than I ever imagined. I tend to get impatient if I don't catch a fish in the first 10 minutes and zoom off to find another "honey hole." The guys who caught the most fish had faith in their spot and stuck it out, even if it started slowly. Patience pays off.
Despite the great quantity of fish in the bay, two rules are paramount:
Mother Nature has to cooperate.
You have to know what you're doing.
If you are new to the bay, or not catching as many fish as you think you should, take a day, or a half-day trip, with one of the guides that ply the bay. It will be the best money you ever spent on fishing.
