Here are the guidelines for the Harbor King Tournament of Champions 2001. The winner will be honored with the title Harbor Rat Master until the second tournament is held...

Date:
Saturday, Nov. 10

Launch:
11:00 AM

Place:
Santa Barbara Harbor, next to the jetty (behind the bait barge)

Entry Fee:
$10

Rules:
1.)Boundaries are from the tip of the breakwall to the tip of the wharf, and the tip of the finger of the wharf (where the SeaCenter is) to the beach, including the entire harbor.

2.)Artificials only. NO BAIT. No chum.

3.)Only one rod can be used at a time.

4.)Float tubes, or other kick powered craft only.

5.)Limit 5 fish, combination of White Seabass, Halibut, Sandbass and Calico Bass. Weighing in of Grass Bass will automatically disqualify you, and bring shame to your name. ;-)

6.)Sandbass and Calico Bass must be weighed in live.

7.)Must have a valid CA Fishing License, and abide by all laws and regulations by the DFG, Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol. If the tournament extends past dark, this includes having a flashlight.

8.)All decisions by the weigh master are final.

What we're gonna do is see how many people show up before we decide what time weigh in will be. If we have less than 6 or 8 people we'll fish till 7 so we can have a shot at seabass. If there are more than that we'll weigh in at dusk, so as not to have a huge crowd at the bait barge, clogging up traffic and getting in eachother's way. So, who's gonna put their money where their mouth is???
-Brian

You know I'll be there!

For those of you who are wondering about a livewell to keep the bass alive. One can be made very easily with a couple of items from K-mart. A large mesh laundry bag, a pool noodle (you know those long things made out of the stuff boogie boards are made of) or pipe insulation (hardware store) - same stuff but usually thinner, and some wire ties.

Bend (you may have to cut it down) the pool noodle or pipe insulation around in an 18" diameter circle and tape the ends together with duct tape. Put inside laundry bag and secure near the top (so that the bag can close) with the wire ties. That's it. You can get tricky and put some kind of thick wire circle at the bottom to help keep it open and weigh the bottom down but it's not necessary.

And... Sand Bass includes Barred and Spotted (or Bay Bass).

i dont know why you guys make a tournament with float tubes
not that i dont like tubing its just that the harbor master fishes
exclusively inside the harbor . not outside or with float tubes.
if you guys do this tournament its fine with me but ill still
be able to say that im the harbor master until we have a tournament
inside the harbor.


harbor rat.

What do you mean by "inside the harbor"? The tournement includes inside the harbor. Where do you fish from? What would your terms for a showdown be?

Brian,

Since it's such a confined area I don't see anything wrong with allowing any kind of human powered fishing craft if it will help include other people, do you?

Alright then, we'll let you fish off of Marina 1, I'd be glad to take your money either way...
-Brian

I agree but there might be a problem. Isn't it illegal to fish from the docks? I don't know but I thought I heard that somewhere. No big deal but for a tournament or derby situation we probably don't want to do anything illegal.

yep it is "illegal" to fish from any of the marina piers. We got booted enough times in high school to know.

sorry you guys i just thought that being the harbor rat meant
that you had to fish inside the harbor. either way expect me
to be at the tournament.i had one question who are we going to
pay the money to and why? its not like were going to receive any prizes

harbor rat.

I've always considered the area between Stearns Wharf and the West side of the harbor as "The Harbor". Doesn't matter to me. I just thought it would be fun to go scan the beach for a nice legal hali kicker fish after limiting on bass.

I believe the money will be divided up somehow between the first, second, and third place winners. Just to make things a little more interesting.

thank you for answering my question hope to see you out on the water.

harbor rat

Im there



SEE YOU THERE

Can i use my boat it should be aloud it gos slow and i wont go out of the harbor

kick power only. Don't you have a float tube?

You know im there. Just dont forget to remind me Brian

YOU GUY'S CAN COUNT ME IN TO THE DERBY. I WILL BE THERE WITH MY BIG HORN AND MY WELL STOCKED BOX OF FISHTRAPS.SEE YOU THERE.

Ruben "HALIBUT KING" Valdez

SO HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK WILL BE SHOWING UP AT THE DERBY? AND DO ALL OF THE FISH HAVE TO BE ALIVE WHEN YOU GO TO WEIGHT THEM IN? WHAT IS THE MONEY GOING TO? IS IT GOING TO THE WINNERS 1,2,3, PLACE?
WRITE ME BACK A.S.A.P.


Ruben "HALIBUT KING" Valdez

How many people? I don't own a crystal ball but it looks like we've got five on board so far.

The money is going toward the winners. Most likely 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place. I'd like to do a $10 big fish side pot as well if anyone is interested.

All bass (i.e., kelp bass (calico bass), barred sand bass (sand bass), and spotted sand bass (spotted bay bass)) have to be weighed in live or they don't count. If you want to kill and eat a toxified bass out of the harbor after you weigh it in and glow that night it's up to you :) Legal halibut and legal white seabass can be dead at weigh in.

Also, typing in all caps means you're yelling and it's a pain to read. Just a little friendly advice.

$10 big fish is fine by me. Even more of Owen's money in my pocket... lmao. Payout will be 1st-50% 2nd-30% 3rd-20%
-Brian

whats lmao mean whats owens money in your pocket budy..........

laugh my @$$ off

OOOOOO ok lets see what happens in this terny

i agree with owen but im still having trouble with what to buy for the livewell.

harbor rat

Just go to K Mart and buy a laundry bag. If you don't know what that is, ask the knowledgeable K Mart staff person. He'll be happy to assist you with all your shopping needs :-) Next, go to the pool noodle section and pick yourself up one of those. Now, after that go to the cash register and give them money. They'll put your items in a bag and hand them back to you. They may also hand you back a smaller amount of money. When you've completed this task, try to remember where you left your car. It may be best to just follow your mom and not think about it. When you reach the car, get in. Sit in a seat and put the seat belt on. Space out for about 10 minutes, and you'll probably wake up at your house. At this time, open the door and get out. Don't forget the items in the bag that the nice man gave to you. Take the pool noodle and cut it so that a section of it makes a circle with an 18" diameter (that's how far across the circle is). Now, take the laundry bag and fit it inside of the pool noodle circle. Attach it to the circle with zip ties, making sure you leave enough room for the bag to close at the top. Now, space out again until November 10, and go to the harbor at 11:00AM. Give me your money, and then you can leave.
-Brian

Thanks Brian - that was hilarious!

That's exactly what I did! Except for I drove myself so spacing out on the way home was a little more difficult but I managed.

The pool noodles will work but they're a little thick. The pipe insulation at OSH works better but you have to go to two stores.

thank you o master of the kmartstores ill make sure to get a lot
of rest and drink my rich chocalte ovaltine! leapin bass
are you talking about the ones at boaters world that hold like
15 gallons because if you are then ill already have one.


the k mart specialist
the harbor rat.

Yes those are the ones. But the one I have is 20 or 25 gallons. I believe they have three different sizes. The smaller one should work. Mine would easily hold 10 average sized sand bass so you shouldn't have a problem with 5 of them.

Go to K-mart. Go to the housewares department (it's in front of the fishing to the right a couple of aisles (I think). What you want to buy is the "Martha Stewart Everyday Clotheskeeping Heavy Duty Mesh Laundry Bag". It is 24" x 36" (says this on the bottom of label).

Go to OSH in Goleta. Go all the way to the left (don't go outside), turn 90 degrees right and walk to the back of the store, turn 90 degrees right. Against the back wall there are a whole bunch of foam (like boogie boards) pipe insulation. Get the smallest one (it's like 1 - 1.5 inches in diameter and has about a .5 inch hold in it).

Cut and bend the tubing into an 18" diameter circle. Put it inside the bag and use wire ties to secure it as close to the top of the bag as possible with the bag closed.

I live in Goleta and work in Santa Barbara near La Cumbre Plaza. If anyone wants they can come by my house or work to look at it. E-mail me if you're interested at leapinbass@yahoo.com.

Boater's World in downtown Santa Barbara has pre-made livewells almost exactly as I described. They are white and cost like $25 or something. They use a tubular laundry bag and have a steel ring around the bottom but otherwise they are exactly the same (just a lot more expensive).

what im going to use is what the cermercal people use to keep there grass bass and there other fish and i have down it be for and it works really well

What is Harbor King speaking? Esperanto?

I'll be there to show ruben how to fish.

i bet you will cause i dont know what hes going to bring
since we cant use bait.

flip.

No, Esperetard.

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Funny Stuff man!!!!

you mean the cages from "GRASSS BASS #1".

HARBOR RAT.

lol

Can surf perch or corbina count in this turny because some times we hook into those alot.

No, surf perch and corbina can not count. Don't even ask me about croaker.

Can lizardfish count?

Maybe Smelt. Can we count those???????

:) lmao

Notice that's Striper with 1 P, not a stripper, so no trolling the beach, atleast not for weigh-in. ;-)
Actually you might want to allow Leopards if they're legal size (36") and taken on lures, and maybe Corbina over say 30". I'd definitely allow legal size Sturgeon and Striper, even though there's little chance of them being caught.

Tight lines,
Wade

I understand where you're coming from Wade but I think the idea (Brian can correct me if I'm wrong) is to take the "luck" factor out of the tournament as much as possible.

Luck: dragging bait around and/or catching some stray fish

Skill: targeting a specific species and using your experience and knowledge to get it to eat something that is not real

Personally I'd allow corbina (as long as they're not snagged or show any signs of being snagged - don't get me started on that pitiful excuse for a hobby!) but this is Brian's baby.

Sharks and rays? No way. Do you really think it would be fair if an 11 lb. Leopard Shark beat a 10 lb. halibut?

Pete's more or less right. If I wanted to have a surf fishing contest, I'd go to Sand's or something. I'm trying to target the most often targeted fish in the harbor (bass, seabass and halibut) because they are fairly readily available, and just about everybody knows how to catch them, but we need to distinguish who is best at catching them. I think anybody catching a corbina would either catch it incidentally to halibut, or be targeting something that we don't normally target in the harbor. Notice, harbor rat master king, or whoever posted the corbina post, said that they "sometimes" catch corbina in the harbor. ie, incidentally to something else. I don't think that's enough to include into a tournament.
-Brian

I cant wait until we have this turniment this weekend and its going to be fun im going to go fish a cuple of spots and see how good the fishing is when does the turiment end

Just bumping the message to the top. See you all tomorrow!