Considering we are in the middle of our slow season for fishing in the Monterey Bay area, we just enjoyed a huge weekend with tons of action.

Most notable was the long-awaited 19th Annual Sand Crab Classic Perch Tournament held on Saturday.  The annual event is a fund-raiser for the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project. Three hundred perch anglers scattered far and wide to pursue the wily surfperch that are moving in to spawn along the beaches and rocky shorelines of Monterey Bay.  A few anglers traveled as far as Half Moon Bay or Carmel on their hunt, and good catches were reported from the West Cliff Drive area and Davenport Landing.  A variety of perch species were reported caught, including pile perch, walleye, striped, black, rainbow and of course the barred surfperch.

Winning the Senior Men’s Barred Surf Perch Division this year was Dave Ressa from Los Gatos who used  a Mekeni Baitz grub to fool his 15-inch, 2.08 pound BSP. Mike Ham took second in the Senior’s with a 14 and 1/2-inch barred surfperch caught fishing Rio Del Mar. Third for Men’s Senior was Matt Michie, who used pile worms to catch a pile perch that measured in at 14 1/2 inches.

San Jose’s Nayeli Cruz fished Davenport for a 14 1/2” barred surfperch and took the Women’s division handily.   Christina Zepeda won the second place trophy in the women’s division as her barred surfperch measuring 13 inches and weighing over one pound.

In the Junior seaperch division, repeat winner Camille Cortazzo took first place for a gorgeous 12 1/2 inch striped perch caught from the West Cliff area. Her sister Samara Took home a second place trophy for the Senior Women’s Division with an almost identical 12 1/2 inch striped perch. The Cortazzos, from Santa Cruz, have been participating (and winning) in the Sand Crab Classic since they were both tiny tots.  The pair also kept their fish alive in seawater buckets, and released them to Cowell’s Beach after the weigh-in.  The GrandMaster trophy was taken home by long-time participant Todd Shallenberger who snagged overall first place with his 15 3/4 inch pile perch that weighed in at 2.11 pounds.

Avid surf-caster and local DFW biologist Ken Oda enjoyed the day’s activities despite his failure to place in the winner’s circle.  “Nice derby, good food and people, and great turnout! The Sand Crab Classic has the same feel of the club derbies that my dad and grandfather entered - down to the trophies - in Monterey years ago. They were fun and had a sense of community like this one.” 

Everyone enjoyed the banquet at the Santa Cruz Portuguese Hall, and additional support for the MBSTP was raised via raffle.  Big thanks go to the host of sponsors, both local and national.  Most participants left the banquet not only with good memories, but also tackle, clothing, hats, rods and reels and other fishing paraphernalia. A special thanks always goes to the venue host C.P.D.E.S Portuguese Hall, a very local cultural institution for over 95 years in Santa Cruz. A great way to get a taste of the history and flavor of our vital and historical Portuguese Community is to attend their Annual Crab & Shrimp feed on April 20th. Tickets are on sale now.  For more information, call (831) 419-5377 or visit santacruzportuguesehall.org.