It is with profound sadness that I share the passing of James Edwin Sleight, known to all as Jim. He left us on October 2, 2024, at the age of 81, surrounded by his loving family and friends. He was a man of immense humor and wisdom who cherished every moment spent with his loved ones.
Jim enjoyed bass fishing locally and professionally and would travel to compete with some of the best fishermen in the US. For over 34 years, Jim conducted bass fishing events in and around the San Diego region most frequently at Lakes San Vicente, El Capitan, Lake Otay and Lake Hodges. The El Cajon Ford Day & Night Series events will forever be his legacy amongst local fishermen. Jim’s passion for bass fishing and his unwavering loyalty to the sport, and all it is to the community, will forever be remembered by enthusiasts when the City of San Diego declared June 9, 2024 as “Jim Sleight Day” at the Lakes of San Diego. A man of slight stature, his impact on the fishing community, his family and this world were Giant.
2024 Top-six Champions
Congratulations to Hookers Bass Club for winning the 2024 Top-Six tournament at El Capitan Reservior on September 21, 2024. Not only did they have 47 pounds, but they did it with only four guys. Each of their boats had a nice limit of bass. Second place was Bass Company and third place was East County Bassmasters. Larry Ward from San Diego Bassmasters caught the big fish for the tournament.
I want to thank Gary Andrews and Eric M. from East County Bassmasters for helping inspect and launch all of the boats in the morning. Gary Andrews, Pete Graves and Victorria Meyer did an outstanding job handling the weigh-in and getting all three flights weighed-in as quickly as possible. Dave Seaberg was a huge help emceeing the event, announcing the raffle and keeping the agenda moving. Regina Seaberg took some great photos that we hope to post to the Council website within the next week or two. We appreciated the assistance from those that stayed after the event to help us clean up and reload all of our gear back into the Council trailer. It was great having Sean Howarter and the Junior Bass Anglers at the tournament assisting us at the weigh-in, the raffle and I believe a few of them earned some extra cash by wiping down some boats. We're hoping to continue partnering up with them in the future.
Congratulations to Jesse Hinkley of Bass Company for winning the 2024 Tournament of Champions at Lake San Vicente on March 2, 2024. His total weight of 19.02 lbs gave him significant lead over second place. Jesse also caught a 4.73 lb bass, the tournament's biggest fish. Herman De La Garza of North County Bass placed second, and Larry Ward of San Diego Bassmasters finished third.