Castaic Bass Club Blog

July Meeting

We spent more time on the August, Santa Margarita tournament then we did on the July tournament at Castaic that was coming up in just 3 days.  Oh well, we all know Castaic SO well, I guess we just didn’t need to spend time on it.  We are booked in with more then enough campsites and a couple of the members are sharing cabins.  These cabins are very well equipped and limited so if you are just learning about them, you maybe too late. The club is not making any of the arrangements for the cabins so you are on your own.  We are fortunate in that John Barron will be the guest speaker at out August meeting.  Not only is John an accomplished angler but he was virtually raise on Lake Santa Margarita and maintains a residence in the area still.
On a personal note, September is likely to be my last meeting.  That means the club will be needing a Treasurer and someone to write the newsletter.  Think it over.  If you want to help the club let Mike Iljin or one of the other board members know.

Tournament Results

Again, great weather. What a drag. It makes it difficult to complain or have excuses for not finding fish. Oh well, it’s just the burden we have to live with here in Southern California.  Anyway, lots of boats and lots of fish and good conditions made for a good tournament.  First place when to J&J Fishing, Jeff  Jue and Jessie Benavidez with a Langer Limit of 11.82 pounds and Jeff again had to tournament Big Fish at 4.86 pounds.  Mark Poulson and Chuck Valenzuela also had 4 fish.  Theirs weighed 9.35 pounds and was good enough for Second place.  In Third were Nick Langer (creator of the world famous Langer Limit) and Tony Franks with another limit, this one was 8.97 pounds.

Mike’s

As you know, Mike is currently vanquished to the beaches of Maui being forced to endure the beautiful surf  and snorkeling conditions.  I, therefore, took it upon myself to step up and write something profound in his place.  Actually I think it is important to say something about the Mike Hart situation.  If you are unaware, Mike Hart, a local angler, was Banned for Life From all WON Bass Tournaments.  A few of our members have suggested possible consequences of this occurrence to me with regard to Mr. Hart’s future and the residual fallout to tournament fishing at large and to our club specifically.  As far as Mr. Hart is concerned, he baited his own hook so to speak. The legal system will do whatever it does.  As to tournament fishing, this is not the first, nor unfortunately will it be the last episode of cheating here in California or anywhere else for that matter.  With regard to our club the answer is easy.  We play by the rules, we always have, we always will.  We have nothing to hide.  If the D.F.G. or any other enforcement agency wants to see what we have in our live wells, all they have to do is ask.  Frankly, speculation is fruitless at the time.  For me, I am going to just keep on fishing.

June Meeting

Our June meeting was short by design.  Once the regular meeting adjourned a group of volunteer members stayed to help create our lake schedule for 2011.  Every member of the club was advised of this special session and was invited to attend, give their input, suggestions of which there were numerous and vote.  Even if you could not attend, it was clear that you could send in your lake choices by proxy.  Before the list got posted to the website I received complaints about the new schedule.  The main complaint was ‘too many tournaments at Castaic’.  The second was the plan to have a tournament, any tournament, at the Lower Lake.  And finally, the one that bothered me the most was that the schedule was Mike Iljin’s plan and it was somehow rubber stamped by or ramrodded through the membership.   Let me address this last one first.  Mike did not even vote.  He put each month forward and asked for lake suggestions.  It is a fact that a margin of one vote resulted in an additional tournament at Castaic and not at Piru.  This was not “MIKE’S AGENDA” it was voted on by the members present at the meeting.  I guess that actually covered complaints #1 and #3.  Now let’s talk about the lower lake.  I fish it, so do many of the other members.  It is fun and it is a different body of water.  One of the tournaments there will be a family fun day after the weigh-in.  All of the member’s families will be invited for a picnic lunch on the club.  We are going to try to have kayaks available to any member who wants to use one.  It is going to be fun.   I know this is a departure from the usual newsletter and I also know that undercurrent and belly-aching occurs in every club.  If you have something to say, say it at a meeting.

Remember, the meeting in July comes early on the 8th.  See you there.

Tournament Results

I guess we can’t complain about the weather at Castaic for the June tournament unless you were counting on a marine layer in the morning for a blade bite.  That didn’t happen.  This is Castaic so as usual the wind came up in the afternoon, you can almost set your watch by it.

In the end it was Nick Langer and Chaz “Hook Setter” Valenzuela with 4 fish that weighed 14.12 pounds and included Nick’s tournament Big Fish, a very nice 6.23.  In Second place were Mike Iljin and Gary “Net Boy” Priddy with 11.59 pounds. Gary also had the second biggest fish that day with a nice 5.47 pounder (honorable mention, no money).  In third place was (you guessed it) Kevin (I wear an Extra Large Jacket) Miner and Tony Franks with another 4 fish limit at 7.95 pounds.

Mike’s

Summer is now with us and along with the extra crowds comes more heat. While it is very important to take care of our prized catch it is of greater importance to take care of ourselves.  Long hours in the sun can and will result in heat stroke. Take care of each other on the boat, remind your partner to drink PLENTY of fluids and to use sunscreen.  In most cases of heat stroke it’s already too late if you start feeling the symptoms.  Have fun in the sun but be prepared and be careful.

May Meeting

The May meeting is historically a short one with a few of the members already staking out territory up at Cachuma.  Pretty much the dues were collected and the pairings were done and it was time to go.  This does not mean that nothing important was talked about.  Remember that our Next meeting on June 10th is when we will be selecting lakes for next year’s schedule.  This is NOT an ongoing process.  The June meeting will be your one and only chance this year to have input as to where you would like to fish in 2011.

Tournament Results

Well, I was right, the tournament at Cachuma was the funnest.  The weather was the best.  Saturday morning dawned with fog on the lake that gave way to a thick marine layer that did not clear until about 2pm.  This was great news for those that like to throw blade baits or for people (like me) that had never hooked a spinner bait fish before.  Water clarity and wind depended very much on where you were and when.  Saturday night Chef David prepared Carne Asada with all the fixen’s and nobody walked away hungry and yes, he remembered the salsa this time.  Sunday’s launch was much the same as Saturday’s except the morning fog was thicker and the sky cleared earlier.
When all the weighing was done and the dock talk was running down the finish came down to this.  In First Place with a total of 10 fish weighing a rockin’ 21.09 pounds was the team of Jeff Jue and Adam Boyd.  Jeff also had the tournament Big Fish for the tournament at 4.64 pounds.  In Second Place was (you guessed it) Kevin “Keh-Ching” Miner and Marcia Thompson with 10 fish at 18.30 pounds.  If you are keeping score that is 2 wins in a row for Jeff and 5 checks in a row for Kevin.  In Third Place was our only 3 person team for the tournament, Bo Viescas, Tony Franks and Bo’s guest, his son Jake.  The three of them pulled our last limit with 10 fish at 15.71 pounds.
See you at the meeting on Thursday and remember that after the regular meeting we will be staying to talk about schedule.

Mike’s

It’s almost Summer time, that means things are heating up and that includes your live well.  Check your fish often.  Make sure your recycling pump is on and working.  If you want input on next year’s schedule than be at the meeting on Thursday or call someone and ask them to speak for you.

Mike

April Meeting

I sense a pattern developing here and I don’t mean running a Bubblegum Grub at 30 feet over a point.  I mean the willingness of our guest speakers to virtually overwhelm us with great insight and information.  At our last meeting it was Team Davies, Steve and Delynn’s turn, although in reality Steve did most of the whelming.  Steve spoke at length about technique and tactics so if you weren’t there, well, sucks to be you I guess.  As before, Steve and DeLynn brought with product aplenty.  Their Tear Shot slip on weighs are my personal favorite and are available locally at J&T Tackle in Simi Valley and Anglers Marine in Anaheim and online from MonsterTackle.com (their website was down at the time of this writing).

Don’t forget, our next tournament is one of the funnest things you will ever do with the club, our two day event at Cachuma, May 15th and 16th.  Chef David “Aquaman” Sanchez will be preparing a sumptuous feast for us on Saturday night provided he remembers the salsa this time.  You are on your own for dinner on Friday so bring it or buddy up.  It will be a launch and go because some of the boats will not get to the lake until late and will have to go through inspection in the morning.

Tournament Results

Be careful of what you wish for you just might get it.  That may describe the conditions at Pyramid on April 11th.  I know we were all tired of the cold and the wind on the lake and we were all wishing for a change and we got just that, in spades.  Along with the frigid cold and the wind we got rain and whitecaps.  It did everything but snow on us.  That did not however keep the fish from biting.  Winning the event with 5 fish at 14.22 pounds (respectable even when the sun is shinning) were Jeff Jue and Eddie Carr.  Jeff (who says he never does well at Pyramid) also had the Big Fish for the tournament at 3.85 pounds.  In second place were Kevin “Keh-Ching” Miner and Jessie Benavidez, 4 fish, 10.12 pounds.  Third place with 3 fish and 7.11 pounds went to Roger Larocque and his guest (spelled r-i-n-g-e-r) Derrek Stewart.

Mike’s

Our 2 day tournament will be at Cachuma next weekend.  Remember that we will be in the Apache Sunrise campground.  Make sure that you let them know when you check in that you are with the Castaic Bass Club.  You will only be responsible for the entry and launch fees.  The club will pick up the camping fees.  May 21 the Castaic Bass Club will be hosting the first F.O.C.L. night tournament B.B.Q. There will be 4 of these events this year and the club will be hosting all of them.  Please sign up to help.

See you Thursday,

Mike

The Meeting

The issue of 3 versus 2 “Throw Out” tournaments in our schedule was again discussed and voted on at the meeting.  The original intent of 2 throw outs was because some of the members could not attend the 2 day away events and should not be penalized.  The club overwhelmingly voted to retain the 2 throw outs rule.  Another rule change was the adoption of the Troy Rule.  The Troy Rule was created by Mike Iljin, who is also the Tournament Director for Angler’s Choice Castaic Trail. The rule is in response to what to do in the event that an angler falls into the water during a tournament.  In this case, the angler is allowed to go on shore to change into dry clothing and return to the tournament with no penalty beyond the obvious loss of fishing time.  The anglers comfort and safety, especially during times of cold weather, are tantamount in importance.   There is to be NO removing, replacing or changing in any way the anglers tackle.

I cannot say enough about guest speaker, Bill Siemantel, who honored us at the February meeting.  We have been fortunate to have some very fine speakers but Bill’s wealth of knowledge and willingness to share is unparalleled.  Not only did Bill bring his years of experience, his sponsor, Spro Lures, sent him with a passel of goodies for our raffle.  THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

Tournament Results

The tournament at Lake Piru went much as expected.  It was tough and not in the ‘just complaining because I didn’t catch fish’ kind of tough but tough for everybody.  Stained water, no pattern, changing weather and wind throughout the day, did I miss anything?  There were zero limits brought to the scale.  Three boats had no fish but the actual number of anglers that blanked was far higher than that.  Rodney “Secret Lure” Scott and Eddie Carr brought 4 fish to the scale that weighed 11.39 pounds and got them first place.  In second place were Walter Kondracki and Yours Truly with 3 fish at 11.08 pounds.  Big Fish also goes to Walter who landed a nice 4.38 pounder.  In third place came Kevin Miner and Chef David “Aquaman” Sanchez with 3 fish that weighed 6.82 pounds.  David also joined the elite group of members of the prestigious Castaic Bass Club Swim Team.  David performed a nearly flawless Push And Miss with a one half lean back in the AW Sh.. position to kick off the morning and earning him an average score of 5.8 for the fall.

Mike’s

The start of last month’s tournament was kick started by David Sanchez’s dunk in the drink. It seemed ironic that minutes before we had discussed this very same scenario and many of us couldn’t believe the event that was unfolding before our very eyes.  A quick response from Jeff Jue turned this potentially serious situation into not much more than a soggy and cold Chef David. The members rallied to David’s aid with many articles of dry clothing.  After a fast shedding of wet clothes, and an equally fast dawning of dry ones, all was right and the day of fishing and fun began.
The Castaic Bass Club Swim Team welcomes its newest member: Chef David Sanchez.  Even though we can make light of it now, we must always remember safety first and to take care of each other.

On another note, I will be bringing some LOGOWARE sweatshirts, sweatpants and a few long sleeved tee shirts to Thursday’s meeting.  It will be on a first come first serve basis for the sizes that are left. I do not know when we will be able to make a replacement order since our embroiderer requires a large minimum order. Any new members or those that want another Club jacket, please let me know on Thursday and I will try to put an order together that is large enough for our guy.

The Meeting

The first meeting of the year is always a busy one.  We had a lot to discuss.  The

Subject of “3 to a boat” took up the bulk of the time.  This issue arises when we have more Non-Boaters than Boaters and it happened a lot toward the end of last year.  The club policy is no fisherperson (for the P.C. among us) left behind.  That means that 3-to-a-boat is inevitable at some point during the year and so let’s deal with it now.  Some Boaters feel that having 3 in their boat gives them a 50% advantage; others don’t care one way or the other.  When the situation occurs we will ask for volunteer Boaters.  In the event that there are still Non-Boaters without a partner we will go to a draw.  We will make out best effort to insure that no Boater takes the extra person multiple consecutive times; this is not fair to anybody.

The next subject was the change of venue for our second 2 day tournament from Lake Nacimiento to Santa Margarita in San Luis Obispo County.  Tony Franks is investigating the availability of campsites and tournament regulations for the lake.

The good news is that we have reserved the Apache Sunrise Group Camping site at Lake Cachuma for our 2 day tournament there in May.  This is the same site we had last year.  It is mostly flat and has good access to the rest areas and showers.

At the meeting tonight we have a very special guest speaker and great friend to the club, Mr. Bill Siemantel.

This month’s tournament is at Lake Piru and the good news there is that the lake has come up a little but there is a lot of debris and the water is very stained.

Tournament Results

Cold? Yes. Windy? Some.  Water temperature? Good.  Rainy? At times.  That pretty much sums up the lake conditions at Castaic for the January tournament.  The best news of all was; Water? Yes.  The lake was up considerably.  I know that all these water level changes can put the fish off the bite but it was either that or walk to your favorite spot and dig in the mud.  Besides the fish at Castaic will use just about any excuse to not bite, they have a very strong union I think.

Bringing the big bag for first place was a team of returning members, Jeff Jue and James Fu.  Their 4 fish limit weighed in at a nice 8.93 pounds.  In second place were a new member, Kevin Miner and Eddie Carr with a limit that weighed 7.40 pounds.  In third place was another new member, Ken Burkhart and Shelley (can you believe it) Singer who executed a perfect set and zip (set hook, zip pants) on his first keeper. Ken and Shelley had a limit weighing 6.87 pounds.  The rare occurrence of the tournament was in the Big Fish category that was not won by one of the top three teams.  Big Fish went to the team of Brendon O’Dell and Chaz Valenzuela who only weighed one fish but it was a good one at 3.42 pounds.

Mike’s

Last month marked the 2^nd year since the passing of Manny Nunez. I spoke with Anita and let her know that the Nunez family is always in our hearts. She is in good spirits and still speaks fondly of the club. I invited Anita to join us and after she stopped laughing, paused for a moment, then said that she wasn’t a good fisherman. I assured her that she would be in good company. We will see what the future holds.

At the beginning of this month, Grant Powell’s wife, Gail, passed away. It is a very difficult time in Grant’s life right now and a phone call from his fellow club members will go a long way in soothing his aching heart. His number is 661-510-3592.

Please keep the Nunez and Powell families in your prayers.