After a couple of years of tough fishing and a slow economy, the 6^th annual Bloodydecks Yellowtail Shootout presented by Costa was happy to see some solid yellowtail reports coming in as the tournament kicked off. Everyone was amped up for some good fishing, and as always, a big party with great food and all sorts of prizes.

The anglers were ready to fish for their share of the $30,000 up for grabs in cash and prizes, and by the end of the Captain’s Meeting, there were 47 teams and 167 anglers signed up and ready to fish this year’s Shootout. And with the winds gusting out there, several teams left right after the meeting to get a head start, driving to their secret spots.

The crew of Team Mad Lamb were the first big winners of the event. The team brought in the first qualifying yellowtail to win the Dana Landing Dash for Cash prize. There fish earned the Mad Lamb crew $1,500 in gift cards for Dana Landing Market.

The weigh station stayed plenty throughout the day as teams brought in their catch of yellowtails.

With solid fishing throughout the tournament, all of the top five yellowtail weighed during the event topped more than 30 pounds, but no one could beat out the 39.2-pounder caught by the Outlaw. The boys on Outlaw took home a nice chunk of change as well as tackle, Costa sunglasses, gift certificates and more. It was a good haul for sure. You can find a full list of their winnings below.

In second place, On the Iron’s 37.5-pound yellowtail took home $1,250 in cash as well as the $100 and $300 jackpots for another $5,580 in cash and a bunch of great gifts from the tournament sponsors.

With the fishing action logged in the books, it was time to party down. The crew from San Diego Boats did an amazing job providing the space for the Award’s Banquet, and all of the tournament sponsors showed up in force to give our participants great deals in the Vendor Village.  We could not hold this event without the support of our many sponsors and all the volunteers who help setup for the event, stuff swag bags, work the weigh stations and the banquet, and clean up after the tournament!

We brought Phil’s BBQ back by popular demand to provide the food, and the big dinner was one of the highlights of the day. Phil’s arrived and setup the grills on-site and began cooking up the chicken and ribs. They brought all of the good stuff, including coleslaw, BBQ beans, macaroni salad, and brownies and cookies for dessert!

At the Award’s Banquet the tournament gave away a ton of great raffle items from the event sponsors. No one went home empty handed thanks to the sponsors who make this event such a great success. We’d like to thank Costa Sunglasses, Hot Can, Salt Life, Catalina Offshore Products, Bay Park Fish Co., Fish Works, FishDope, 5^th Avenue Insurance, Montauk Tackle Co., Accurate, Seaguar, San Diego Boats, Pacific Coast Sportsfishing, Worldwide Fish Mounts, Berkley, Bubba Blades, Boldwater, AVET, Navionics, Fish Trap, Melton, Mustad, Everingham Brothers, Top Gun, Squidco, Simrad, Scale Master, Nim Custom Rods, Harbor Island West Fuel Dock, Acid Rod, West Marine, UniGoop and Lowrance.

2012 Yellowtail Shootout Winners

1st Place

Team #19 – Outlaw

39.2-pound yellowtail

Prizes: $2,500 cash, 3 pairs of Costa Del Mar sunglasses, $150 in gift certificates from Catalina Offshore, 1 Salty Dawg Custom 2012 YTSO rod, 1 Melton’s Casting Rod, 3 Montauk Tackle shirts, 3 pairs of FishWorks’ shorts, AFTCO shirts, 3 Bubba Blade knives, $50 gift certifcate for Fisherman’s Processing and a 1-year subscription to FishDope.

2nd Place

Team #44 – On the Iron

37.5-pound yellowtail

Prizes: $1,250 cash, 3 Penn rods, 3 spools of 40-pound Berkley Big Game line, 1 Bubba Blade knife, Everingham Bros. Bait Co. gift certificate, 2 Pacific Lures Jigs and a 1-year subscription to FishDope. Team On the Iron was also in the $100 dollar and $300 dollar jackpots and took home an additional $5,580 dollars.

3rd Place

Team #11 – Ashlea Dawn

31-pound yellowtail

Prizes: $500 cash, Avet MX 2 speed, $50 gift cert to Fisherman’s Processing and 1-year subscription to FishDope.

4th Place

Team #29 – Hooked Up

30.8 pounds

Prize – $375 cash. Avet SX, 1 Penn Rod and a 1 year subscription to FishDope.

5th Place

Team # 27 – Team El Dorado

30.4-pound yellowtail

Prizes: $250 dollars, Avet SX, $60 dollars in gift certs from Bay Park Fish Company and a 1-year subscription to FishDope.

Dash For Cash

Team Mad Lamb brought the first fish to the Dana Landing Fuel Dock at 12:32pm to collect the Dash for Card $1500 Dana Landing gift cards. Mad Lamb also took home the $500 dollar jackpot winner to collect $2,700 dollars.

For more photos and video of the action, click HERE.

With more fish and more prizes, the tournament has all the gunfire to be our best event in years.

To check out the yellowtail action just take a look at the Bloodydecks forums. Fish counts are showing yellowtail at the Coronados and the sport boats are filling limits for their customers. BD forum member Marcus (aka Odd Job) put up a recent post form a three-quarter day trip on the Chubasco 2.

The boat headed to the Coronados and as soon as they got there they could see other boats hanging fish — the bite was on! One chum circle with boils in the slick and they were on the pick.

Sardines fly-lined with a ¼- to ½-ounce egg sinker scored the best on 30- and 40-pound mono. With 15 guys on the boat, the crew netted 53 yellowtail over the course of the trip, with a 30-pounder taking the cake as the big fish of the day. Our boy Marcus plucked a few out of the water, and missed a few more, including one beast that got caught up in the anchor line.

The yo-yo is also getting bit so make sure to keep a supply of irons ready come tourney time. Fish them two or three cranks off the bottom.

According to Marcus, “It was one of those days where pretty much everything worked for yellowtail. We had them eating the fly-lined baits, yo-yo and surface plug. You didn’t need fluoro, but it did help. There was no set yo-yo color as they bit the scrambled egg, blue-and-white and dorado. They bit the mint, scrambled egg, booger and blue-and-white surface jig as well.”

You just gotta love that!

With fishing this good everyone in the Bloodydecks Yellowtail Shootout presented by Costa has a solid shot at landing the winning fish. Make sure to register for the upcoming tournament, which takes place June 22-24.

Costa was the pioneer when it comes to designing sunglasses especially for fishermen and boaters. The company makes a variety of frames in all sorts of styles for men and women, but Costa’s lenses are what really separate them from the competition. We’ve been wearing Costas for years, and can attest that these shades are not only comfortable and built to last, but they actually do help you spot more fish and reduce eye fatigue.

Now, all of the participants in the Yellowtail Shootout will be able to check out Costa’s latest offerings. And, you will find Costa swag included in the Captain’s Bags and we’ll be giving away brand new sunglasses in the raffle and you can bet that the big winners will also be taking home some new Costas. So make sure to check out Costa’s latest shades such as the Double Haul and welcome this awesome company to the Shootout.

Another company that just came on board for 2012 is clothing manufacturer Salt Life. Here’s another company that really celebrates the fishing and boating lifestyle and we’re pleased to welcome them into the Yellowtail Shootout family. If you haven’t seen their clothes and stickers, you really need to check them out. Salt Life makes all sorts of shirts, hoodies, board shorts, hats and more. Their unique designs are quickly making this brand a huge success. Every participant in the Yellowtail Shootout will receive an official tournament visor made by the good folks at Salt Life. Whether you dive, fish or surf, Salt Life has some cool products for you.

Wait, there’s more! Every team will now have the chance to have a hot cup of coffee and some hot soup while out on the water thanks to another new sponsor — Hot Can! The products from Hot Can are perfect for the boat. The cans heat up all on their own so you can have some hot coffee without worrying about firing up a generator or lighting a stove. Just push the activator button, give the can a shake and let it heat up. We’ve tried a bunch of the different Hot Can flavors and we were surprised how good they are. You’ll be loving that warm soup after a long ride out in the grey light. Check your captains bag for some Hot Cans!

We couldn’t put on the Yellowtail Shootout presented by Costa without all of the support from our sponsors. This year’s Vendor’s Village is going to be incredible thanks to all of the great companies who support this tournament. Please make sure to stop by and visit with all of the sponsors and thank them for their support.

2012 Yellowtail Shootout Sponsors:

Pro Tackle

FishDope

Berkley

5th Ave. Ins.

Montauk Tackle Co.

Accurate

Fishworks

San Diego Boats

PCS Magazine

Dana Landing

Avet Reels

Worldwide Fish Mounts

Boldwater

Fishtrap

Melton Tackle

Mustad

Everingham Bro’s Bait Co

Squid Co

Simrad

Salty Dawg Rods

Harbor Island West Fuel Dock

Make a Wish

West Marine

Uni Butter

Catalina Offshore Products

Grundens / Gage

Bubba Blades

Seaguar

Bay Park Fish Co.

SD Sportfish

Phenix

San Diego Boats
2590 Ingraham Street
San Diego, Ca 92109

Lines In
Tournament Fishing Begins

Weigh In at San Diego Bay or Mission Bay Locations

After Party / Show

The Yellowtail Shootout is the largest yellowtail tournament in California, and this year should have one of our biggest payouts to date.

1st Place 2011

With solid yellowtail action already reported from the Coronados to La Jolla and around Catalina, you can bet that even more teams will participate in the Shootout, making the cash prizes even bigger.

Get in on all of the action for just a $300 entry fee (three anglers). The basic entry fee includes Tournament Entry, Official Tournament Shirt, Official Tournament Visor, Angler Goody Bag and Full Access the Awards Party.

We make sure no one goes home empty handed. Each tourney bag is valued at more than $100 and is stuffed with great giveaways from our sponsors. There’s also a steady supply of door prizes and raffles to sweeten the deal. If you really want to cash in, take advantage of the Optional Winner Take All Jackpots of $100, $300, and $500 per team.

There will be cash and prize payouts for the overall biggest fish for winners:

Place / Payouts

1st Place / $5,000 Cash + Prizes

2nd Place / $,2500 Cash + Prizes

3rd Place / $1,000 Cash + Prizes

4th Place / $750 Cash + Prizes

5th Place / $500 Cash + Prizes

*Total Purse is based upon 100 teams participating.

In 2011 we moved the event back to Mission Bay where the parking is free and the atmosphere is chill. Teams raved about the Awards Party and the meal that San Diego favorite Phil’s BBQ put together for participants. We’re happy to report that we’ll have Phil’s back for this year’s big feast.

The 2012 Yellowtail Shootout will kick off with the mandatory Captain’s Meeting on Friday, June 22nd from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at San Diego Boats. San Diego Boats is located right next to the Dana Landing Market on Mission Bay.

Fishing begins on Saturday, June 23rd and culminates with the “After Party” Awards Banquet on Sunday, June 24th at 11 a.m.

Once again the Bloodydecks Yellowtail Shootout will offer the “Dash for Cash Card Prize” for the first qualifying yellowtail brought to the Dana Landing scale by water. First yellowtail to the dock wins $1,500 in Dana Landing gift cards!

The “After Party” Awards Banquet will be held at San Diego Boats. Phil’s BBQ will be on hand to cater the lunch. The After Party will also have a huge raffle and Vendor Village showcasing all of the great gear available from the event sponsor. Public is welcome at the Vendor Village. The tournament is open to all anglers fishing from private boats.

 Our Vendor Village will be packed to the gills thanks to the lineup of industry sponsors supporting the Shootout. We’re happy to report that Berkley will be back for another year, as well as Salt Life, Aftco, Fish Works, Fish Dope, 5^th Avenue Insurance, Montauk Tackle Co., Accurate, San Diego Boats, Defiance Boats, Pacific Coast Sportfishing, Dana Landing, Worldwide Fish Mounts, Boldwater, AVET, Navionics, Fish Trap, Melton, Mustad, Everingham Bros., Top Gun, Squidco, Simrad, Scale Master, Salty Dawg Custom Rods, Nim Custom Rods, Harbor Island West Fuel Dock, Make a Wish Tuna Challenge, Acid Rod, West Marine, UniGoop, Catalina Offshore Products and Lowrance.

If you need some help putting a team together, check out the ride-sharing thread in the tournament forum here.

For more information on the event, visit email here.