Mike Baxter

Mike Baxter

Sportfishing Captain, Salmon fisherman, Conservationist, Radio Host

Captain Mike Baxter is unique among California outdoorsman as his experiences run the gamut from ocean charter boat captain, commercial salmon fisherman, radio show host, creator and organizer of a major fishing event in the Central Coast, board member of the Monterey Bay Salmon and Steelhead Project, outdoor writer, passionate angler of varied fish species ranging from steelhead to bluefin tuna to swordfish, and dedicated hunter of wild boar. He is constantly living the legacy of a sportsman and teaching and recruiting others to be good stewards of our natural resources.

Baxter started commercial salmon fishing with his father, and at the age of 19, he wound up working the decks on San Diego long-range boats on the Royal Star and Royal Polaris on trips up to 23 days. 

He attained his 100-Ton Masters Captain’s License and started running charter boats at the age of 21 out of Santa Cruz for ‘Shamrock Charters;’ eventually running the well-known Wild Wave, a 70-foot sport fisher with a capacity of 49 passengers.

His passion for steelhead has taken him along the Pacific Northwest where he spends as much time in the winter and spring on the Olympic Peninsula in search of giant steelhead. He has mapped and learned to row his drift boat down these rivers and has caught and released three steelhead well over 20 pounds. 

He enjoys pig hunting, and he has captured several trophy boars including two over 300 pounds. An aficionado of bluefin tuna, he has landed several over 200 pounds along with an Opah over 100 pounds on rod and reel. 

Baxter has been in pursuit of a swordfish for over five years, hooking and lost three, before recently ending his quest with fishing partner Jason Young with a 322-pound swordfish off Nine Mile Bank outside of San Diego. He dedicated thousands of hours to reach this quest.

Baxter started, produced, and hosted the ‘Let’s Go Fishing’ radio show through KSCO in the late 1990s and ran the seasonal show for 13 seasons. He obtained his own sponsors along with writing and producing their custom ads. He also wrote for the local Paper Press Banner, Western Outdoor News, and other publications.

In 2004, Baxter envisioned an affordable fishing tournament to provide Central Coast anglers an option during the slower winter season, and this spawned the Sand Crab Classic Perch tournament. Along with Allen Bushnell, he organizes over 30 volunteers and 300 participants, and dedicates all proceeds from the annual event to the nonprofit Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project (MBSTP). 

Baxter has been a Board of Director with MBSTP since 2006, donating his time and attention to capture wild brood-stock steelhead for production of juveniles. He recruited crews to man a trap 24 hours a day until the goal was met, allowing 30,000 juveniles to be released in the San Lorenzo River. He also assists with various other projects including the annual spring release of 200,000 Chinook salmon off the Santa Cruz and Monterey wharves.

Baxter is both a passionate outdoorsman and contributor to the future of the sport.

Pat McDonell

Pat McDonell

Champion of tournaments, sportfishing, outdoor reporting and philanthropy

If there were a Mount Rushmore of California outdoorsmen, Pat McDonell would be at the center, wrote one of the nominators of this inductee.

Sportfishing was and remains his passion. When commercial fishermen were depleting near-shore populations of game fish off California through their use of gill nets, McDonell helped lead the long fight to secure over 200,000 signatures and raise $1 million in 1990 to fund Proposition 132, the Marine Protection Zone and Gill and Trammel Net Prohibition Initiative. McDonell was one of the founding board members of United Anglers of Southern California which championed Prop. 132.  In due part because of their efforts, the initiative was approved by a margin of 55.76%. Since then, white sea bass, halibut and other species have rebounded along the California coast.

McDonell began directing fishing tournaments and leading fishing trips to Alaska and Cedros Island near Ensenada while working at Western Outdoor News. Among the more than 60 tournaments which he directed is the world’s largest tuna tournament, the Cabo Tuna Jackpot (CTJ). 

Impressed after competing in one of the Bisbee tournaments, McDonell and Kit McNear founded CTJ, described by McDonell as, “one that was fun, cost less money to enter, and in a tuna format.” Since then, their creation awarded over $19 million in payouts and hosted as many as 158 teams. Over its lifetime, CTJ has welcomed tens of thousands of anglers and partiers. Its motto, after all, is “Fish Hard, Party Harder.”

From its beginning, CTJ was designed to benefit local children. The latest beneficiary has been Smiles International (SI) which helps children with facial cleft deformities. As a result, thousands of kids have “become more normalized and functional with abilities to enter their societies with the ability to speak, eat, hear and breathe properly, as well as having beautifully functioning SMILES as they complete their lives.” wrote SI’s Dr. Jeffrey Moses. Nearly a half million dollars has been raised for charitable causes by McDonell-led tournaments throughout his lifetime. 

Pat McDonell has fished in ten countries, including Australia, Panama and Canada’s British Columbia. For the past 23 years, he has led fishing trips to Sitka Alaska, Cedros Island and Costa Rica, taking thousands on “life’s list” expeditions. McDonell was among the first outdoor writers to write extensively about Baja California and its sportfishing, traveling throughout Baja (including its most remote spots) more than 80 times.

For three decades, he wrote for and was Editorial Director of Western Outdoor News (WON). His articles and columns were so popular among sportsmen that one of California’s most celebrated outdoor editors said, “Readers would tell me Pat’s columns were the first thing they’d read upon opening Western Outdoor News.”

A lifelong journalist and sportsman, McDonell began writing for the student newspaper at San Diego State University. After joining WON a few years later, he covered fishing and hunting issues, personalities, destinations, tactics and anything else worthy of a headline. 

He is most proud of “Erik Sinking; Two Survivors Tell Their Story,” an investigative article that he wrote about the tragic loss of eight souls who were on the Mexican sportfishing boat Erik which sank overnight out of San Felipe. That poignantly written and carefully researched column took First Place in the 2012 Outdoor Writers of California Craft Awards and influenced the Mexican government to tighten lax enforcement of safety standards and the accessibility of lifevests on charter boats, saving untold lives.

McDonell was also one of the first regular guests to broadcast sportfishing news on various radio and TV broadcasts to promote fishing, tournaments, conservation efforts and the Fred Hall outdoor shows. He began these appearances in 1988 and continued his radio reports for over almost four decades, often appearing on “Let's Talk Hookup.” 

Saltwater sportfishing hasn’t been his only outdoor passion. He was a rated beach volleyballer; summit-ed two Sierra Nevada 14ers - including Mt. Whitney; hunted Mule deer, wild boars, turkey, dove, pheasant and waterfowl in California and Mexico; skied and snowboarded the Sierra; surfed the Pacific; cycled European roads; competed in half marathons, marathons and triathlons; SCUBA dived; and perennially held court at festivities the night before the Eastern Sierra trout opener, after which he’d break away to wet a fly. He was twice an IGFA all tackle world record holder; caught two world record fish, and landed seven tuna weighing over 200 lbs, including a yellow fin that still has his arms aching (and that’s a fish story).

Pat McDonell’s life has been filled with outdoor adventure and accomplishment. He stands as one of California’s most knowledgeable and storied outdoorsmen. And yet, he is the first to say, “No matter how much you know, the fish know more.”

Cabo Tuna Jackpot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpcy4niisIo

Friedman Adventures Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxDNXXE0Fvg

Let’s Talk Hookup - https://letstalkhookup.com/podcast/lets-talk-hookup-7-8am-pat-mcdonell-from-western-outdoor-news-2/