Greetings! 

Here it is, almost Christmas and like me you are probably wondering where the year went. It seems like we just weighed in that last marlin. Overall, the club had a pretty good season – fish wise we had 33 catches and 22 releases. As for the club itself we managed to finish up the improvements to the storage area and we even got the main sign repainted. The place is looking pretty good.

Our tournaments went pretty well with all of them working out well for the club. We also hosted several other non-club tournaments – the Fire Fighters, the Luhrs Boat Owners, and the San Diego Police. It was good to see the facility getting so much use. All of our tournaments helped generate money for the Kids Fishing Fund, which we used to charter the Conquest and take the kids fishing.

All things considered it was a good year and I hope to see more of you participating in our events this next year.

Thanks and Happy Holidays to All!!

Annual Awards Dinner, February 7, 2004, cocktails at 6:30pm at the Shelter Point Hotel and Marina in the Voyager Room, 1901 Shelter Island Drive – this is a separate building across the street from the fishing pier and next to the tennis courts – see you there!   (Last year we had a GREAT time and a GREAT raffle!)  You will be receiving your invitation very soon.

 The nominations are in. We have six people nominated to fill in 3 vacancies for next years Board of Directors. Remember these are the people representing you and determining the direction of the club. Make your choices and be sure to have your ballots returned to the club NO LATER THAN JANUARY 15^th .  The ballots are being mailed out this week.

Nominees for the Board of Directors are:

Special THANKS to the following sponsors for their support during the 2003 Fishing Season! We encourage everyone to visit their places of business and utilize their services.
Please thank them when in their stores.

Kid's Fishing Trip Story
By Bob Woodard Jr.

November 7, 2003 was our inaugural Kid's Fishing Trip. The trip was paid for by our Kid's Fishing Fund  (KFF), which was started last year with a goal of introducing children to fishing and the marine environment. We chartered the sportfishing boat, the Conquest, out of Fisherman's Landing. It was evident by the time we reached the bait barge the kids were already enjoying themselves. Some started fishing and other fed sardines to Mo the sea lion.

The weather was great and as we approached the 9-mile bank we saw a large school of porpoise (a first for many of the kids.) The kids ended up landing 14 skipjack up to 10 lbs mostly on light tackle and spinning rods!!

Many thanks to the crew of the Conquest for sharing their vast knowledge of fishing with the kids, as well as a special thanks to Doug Reed of the Conquest for the use of his boat. Doug can be reached at 858-627-0774.

We hope to schedule more of these trips each year and need your help and/or donation to make it happen. For info on our future KFF trips or to donate time/money contact Bob Woodard Jr. at 619-227-5478 or drop off a donation at the club.