James Lebowitz Memorial Tournament Sept. 10

By
Ric Burnley
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Courtesy JAL Memorial
Trophies for a good cause at JAL Memorial on September 10.
Calling all Kayak Anglers–it’s time to tango. September 10th, the James Lebowitz Memorial Kayak Fishing Tournament will go down at Stanley Park in La Jolla. Anglers will target yellowtail, white seabass and halibut for big prizes. Of course, there’s an opulent raffel and each participant will receive a free digital issue of Kayak Angler. Proceeds support the JAL Computer Science Scholorship at Cal Poly. There’s even lunch. Check out the details below.–ed 
 
Kayak anglers have gathered at La Jolla for a tournament the Saturday after Labor Day for so long, no one can remember if the tradition started in 2000 or 2001. What’s certain is it was founded by Jim Sammons of The Kayak Fishing Show TV fame. A few years later the event was renamed the Steve Moyer Memorial, to commemorate the life of a dear friend of the community. Now, the event has changed names once again, this time to remember a young man who left us too soon, but saved five other lives through organ and tissue donation. 
 
The second annual James Lebowitz Memorial Kayak Fishing Tournament will fish La Jolla on September 10. This edition is a grassroots affair, with the entry fee set at an affordable $30 per angler. Kids fish for free with an adult competitor. “The Jewel” never disappoints on tournament day. Trophies and priceless bragging rights will be awarded for biggest fish over all as well as heaviest yellowtail, white seabass, and halibut. Lunch by Yanni of Fisherman’s Belly.  
 

Sign up now at Big Waters Edge:

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/showthread.php?t=28873 

Anglers may launch at La Jolla any time after midnight on Sept 10. Off site weigh in at 1pm. No walk-ups; pre registration only please. Raffle tickets $1 each, with the proceeds staying in Southern California. Beneficiary non-profits include Circle of Friends, a social inclusion program for schools; San Diego based National Foundation for Autism Research; and a modest donation to the James Lebowitz Memorial Cal Poly Pomona Computer Science Scholarship. 

Come join us for a celebration of life and fishing – after all rank and file kayak anglers successfully defended nationally important La Jolla from closing forever during California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process.   
 
For more information or to sign up, visit Big Waters Edge:
 

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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