I was honored to have recently been invited to fish Catalina Island with Jack and surprise guest Mike Gardner on Jack's 20' Hydra-sport, Rockhopper, and eager to get to fish the island with not one but two great talents. The challenge, for me, would be to absorb and retain as much of Jack's knowledge of fishing Calico Bass at the islands as possible and, more importantly, to learn more about the man behind the personality in a single day of fishing.
Whether you enjoy the pleasure of knowing Jack personally, have had the opportunity to meet him, or have heard him speak at any one of the Calico Bass seminars that he has done in the past, you know what I mean when I say he is a unique individual and quite a character! The stories that both he and Mike shared on the way over to the island had me busting a gut. If you happen to cross paths with him in your local tackle store, I can only say that it would be in your best interest to introduce yourself and ask him to tell you a story.
A DAY ON THE WATER...
5:10am: We launched the Rockhopper at Davies Launch Ramp facility in Alamitos. Not surprisingly, there were very few empty trailers in the parking lot, probably because of the storm that had just past, and also due to the unstable weather that Southern California had experienced the week before.
However, Jack assured us that the ride over would be flat calm and that the wind would hold off until the afternoon. Jack is known for taking advantage of windows of opportunity between storms to fish the islands, and his knowledge of our local weather and water conditions proved to be right-on, this day, as we enjoyed perfect weather all day!
5:35: As we cleared the Jetties out of Alamitos, we were greeted with flat calm seas and no wind. Jack throttles up the big 200hp Evinrude, and she comes out on plane in less than 4 seconds! I ask, “What'll she do?” Jack answers, “Hell, I don't know, I've never had a reason to go that fast”. But he quickly follows up with “She'll probably go 55mph.” Which leads me to think that he did in fact have a reason at one time or another.
6:35: We arrive at Catalina, just outside Gibraltar Point, located on the lee side of the island, about 1.5Nm west of Long Point. Jack stops the boat in about 60' of water so that he and Mike can rig up. Mike asks Jack, “So what type of lures we gonna' throw?” Jack replies with, “Swim baits.” Mike follows with, “What color?” Jack answers, “Ah hell, it don't matter much. They're gonna' eat whatever we throw at ‘em.” I can't help but to laugh. Jack then hands me two baits-
Jack Sowell and Roger Eckhardt fishing near-shore in Jacks 20' Hydra
Sport during Round 4 of the 2004 season. Jack and Roger finished 5th
in that event but had lost two very nice fish at the boat. PHOTO:HeeYoung Park
April 2nd, Dana Point
You could hear the shotgun start from the sign-up desk in the parking lot as 33 boats raced away to secure 5 Calico Bass in the hopes of adorning “The Cup” with their team's name. The weather couldn't have been better, flat calm seas with the air temperature in the upper 70s.The field was split; most headed north to fish tight to the beaches, while the rest ventured south to fish the kelp. After returning to the scales, one team, not surprisingly, did particularly well, taking the honors with not only “Big Fish”, a Calico Bass that weighed 8.55lbs., but also stole the show with the heaviest bag for the day. Team “Rockhopper” (Jack Sowell and fishing partner Roger Eckhardt) was one team that decided to try their luck by fishing up the line. Fishing tight to the beach, Jack's first cast lands their kicker fish, which would dictate the pace for the day and ultimately help produce the 19.46lb.stringer that won the tournament.