Castaic Bass Club Blog

January Meeting

Our meeting got off to a slow start last month due to it being the first one of the New Year. Lots of paper work to update, names addresses, phone numbers, emails ect ect. Mike made his announcements. Eddie and I circled around and did the pairings for Piru. We had to have 2 boaters with 3 in the boat. It’s important that we get our boaters out on the water. Right now we only have a total of 15 active boaters we have a couple that are in repair mode or paperwork issues. We had a nice raffle to close out the meeting. Hope to see ya all at the February 9th Meeting 7pm.

Tournament Results

Well ole Piru Lake had it out for some of us last month. With reports of a tough bite or no bite at all the light threat of rain looming over us. It turned out to be a very nice day to be on the water. All in all if you look at the over all results we as a club had an impressive weigh in. We had 38 fish weighed in for a whopping 94.87 pounds. That’s a 2.50 pound average. I for one couldn’t believe what the lake was kicking out for a January tournament with 53-degree water temp. I was of the mindset that we were going to be fishing deep water all day but that was not the case.  Anyhow with only 2–5 fish limits being brought to the scales. Here is how it went down. In first place Ron L. and Gary P. with a 5 fish total weight of 13.74 #’s and with 2nd big fish of the day @ 4.32 #’s. Second place goes to Lenden R. & Tony F. with a 5 fish limit for 12.47 #’s. Sitting in third is Mark P. & Eddie C. with a 4 fish limit of 9.53 #’s. Taking Big fish Honors this tournament is Orin T. with a big fish weight of 4.67 #’s. Congratulations to everyone nice job!
February finds us in our very own back yard fishing Castaic Lake on the 12th of February. Non-Boater fee for this will be $35 we will be launching from the west ramp. Please remember to have your boat retagged after you go out pre fishing. Write a note and place it on your dashboard the tagging area for Castaic is easy to drive past.

Be safe and I’ll see ya on the water.
Ron Licari
VP/TD

Mike’s Place

The year started out great and it is shaping up to be another fun time out on the water. The weather may be a little warmer than usual, but the water temps are still quite cold. The past few weeks the temps have been hovering around the low to mid 50 degree mark. Water levels are up and the fish are showing signs of life. Please remember to take care of your deep caught fish by needling them as quickly as possible. Some fish are caught shallow but show the symptoms of deep caught fish, mainly floating. These fish also need to be needled immediately. Remember to leave a small amount of air in the bladder otherwise the fish will sink to the bottom and lay on their sides. Make sure that there are still a few bubbles still coming out when you remove the needle. If in doubt, call over to another club member for help with this procedure. Please take care at all times when handling our most valued prize, from catching to weigh-in to final release. Help protect and preserve.

Thanks and see you soon.
Be safe,
Mike Iljin

January Meeting

Let me start out by wishing everyone a Happy New Year!  May 2012 bring us all new hope and prosperity. Well with that being said the first thing to my mind is New FISHING LICENCES! There are several ways to purchase your license. You can go on line to DFG web site (www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/internetsales) or go to your local sporting goods store. Please I can’t stress enough how critical this is for our first tournament is only a couple of days away and Piru is very well known for DFG being out on this body of water checking for license. I would hate to have to tell any of you that you’re DQ’ed because you received a ticket for no License.

Ok so lets see what has been going on here in the ole bass club. Well we held our club banquet in December, big Congrats out to Jeff Jue for Angler of the Year. Congrats out to Jason Haustad for taking the Non Boater Angler of the Year title.  Also congrats to the rest of the top 10 finishers for the year. It was a close battle right up to the last couple of tournaments. So here are some little facts about our club from last year I found fascinating. In 2011 we fished 12 tournaments in those 12 we as a club managed to catch 495 fish for a whooping total of 918.10 pounds with a 12-boat average. Our worst weight for the year was in January with 22 fish for a total weight of 42.10 pounds. The clubs best came in at Junes tournament which we only had 12 boats that caught a total of 41 fish for a weight of 127.41 pounds. Which is the same weight that the club caught in April with 14 teams and 70 fish. May, which was a 2-day event at Cachuma with a total of 89 fish for a total weight of 136.77 pounds. Just some interesting facts I found while going over the 2011 tournaments.

Tournament Results

Well our December tournament was the clubs TOC. Which was held at lake Piru. We had our top 5 boater and non-boaters going at it. We had 11 teams come out for what was a good day on the water.

Taking top honors that day would be Kevin M. & Jason H. with a winning weight of 11.58 for 5 fish. Second place fell to Mike I. & Eddie C. with a weight of 11.20 for 5 fish. Third Wes C. & Justin C. with 10.03 for 5 fish.

In closing I would like to remind everyone to please visit our sponsors and let them know how much we really appreciate what they are doing for the club. Also check us out either on Facebook or the clubs web site.

J&T Tackle, Tackle Express, Peregrine 250, Damiki, Pro Tackle solutions, Trolling Motor Doctor, Robo worm

Thanks for a great 2011 and I’m looking forward to an outstanding 2012.

Your VP/ TD

Ron Licari

Mike’s Place

Happy New Year to Everyone!!!!!  This year marks Castaic Bass Club’s 20 year Anniversary and we are growing bigger and better with age. We will continue our trademark tradition of being one of California’s premiere bass clubs. We have another great schedule that is spread across a variety of lakes providing enjoyable days on the water for all.

Along with renewed fishing licenses we must also remember to have current boat registrations. Many expired 12/31/11 so be sure to check.

Boat inspections will now be a part of all the waters we fish. Piru, Castaic, Pyramid and Cachuma are all participating in these inspections. The good part is that each will honor each others cables. Once you are cabled, you’re good to go for the next time on the water as long as you do not remove the cable. Please help to remind each other on this procedure since the lake staff generally won’t ask if you want to be cabled on the way out. It’s up to each individual to pull into the designated area for a new tag or cable.

Since this Thursday is the first meeting of the year, all memberships will be due as well as the regular monthly dues and tournament fees. This boils down to $25 annual membership, $10 monthly dues and $15 if you’re fishing tournament. Grand total of $50 this month (does not include non-boater fee if applicable).

Get ready, here we go again!!!!!!

Take care,

Mike Iljin

President

Well here it is the end of the season and old man winter is settling in on us . With only the club TOC & the banquet left to close out the 2011 season. I would like to thank my fellow board members and the rest of the club for another successful season.

So last month we fished lake Piru with a total of 13 teams competing. Taking the third place spot with a total weight of 12.04 pounds was Greg Garcia and Tony Franks. Second place would fall to Jeff Jue fishing solo with a 5 fish limit for 12.11 pounds and a big fish for 3.10 pounds. Taking top honors for this event are two fairly new members to the club. Orin T and Jason H with a 5 fish limit weighing in at a whooping 14.01 pounds with a big fish of 3.10 which put them in a tie for big fish. A big Congrats going out to the team of Orin and Jason. All total the club weighed in 45 bass for a total weight of 96.16 pounds. Outstanding job to all.

The weekend of Dec 11 will be our Club TOC @ Castaic lagoon this should be an interesting event considering the weights the club pulled out I here the last time we fished it.

The club banquet will be the following weekend Dec 18 @ El Chaparral in canyon country.

I would like to welcome the incoming board for next year. Although the only change in the board will be the addition of our new weigh master Gary F.

From your current and future tournament director Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Ron Licari

Mike’s Place

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone so quickly. Before long we will be once again be putting on shorts and T-shirts. The year has been filled with new members and new ideas, these are what keep us growing and makes us better. We are not just a club, we are a fishing family. Many thanks to my fellow Board members for their parts in maintaining the high standards our members have grown to expect. I am very proud and honored to once again be your President in 2012 and look forward to another year of fun and friendship.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays,

Mike Iljin

February Meeting

Well the January tournament came and went. With one of our best turn outs in a while with 17 teams. The day started out as calm as I have ever seen Castaic Lake. How ever by weigh in time the winds were a blowing. At weigh in only 3limits weighed in with Kevin and his guest taking 1st place with 8.20 coming in 2nd with 7.67 pounds was the team of Jeff and Tony and rounding the top three was the team of Mark P. and Adam Boyd with 6.82 pounds. Big fish Honors of 4.59 go to Ralph Rosa fishing by himself due to a sick partner. Kevin and his partner reported going through a lot of fish through out the day. Most of the teams all agreed that it was a tough day all in all. Afterwards a small group showed up at Mc Donald for a quick lunch. February has the club returning to Castaic Lake. With the weather ideal for fishing we’ll see if the fish think so too. Hope to see you all at the Thursday meeting @ El Torito’s come out early and have some dinner before the meeting. Please remember if you can’t make the meeting please call a Board Member to let them know if you are fishing on Sunday so that we can make sure you get paired up.

Thanks,

Ron

Mike’s Place

First and formost is this report on Wes. This is a copy of what Mark Poulson sent me. This is dated 1-27. The second part is an update from my call with Wes on Superbowl Sunday.

Mike,

Wes just called me with an update, and asked me to pass it along to you to send out to the whole Club. Wes finally had the CT scan that had been postponed, and they found a total of three spots on his liver, and two on his left lung, the original and one small new one. They’re not sure if the three spots on his liver are really three, or just the result of the biopsy on the first one. The first tumor on his lung had “only grown from 2cm to 2.6cm” since it was first detected, and Wes said that was good. They also found several abdominal lymph nodes were infected, but the cancer hasn’t spread to his bones. His doctor and nurse practitioner both said he’s treatable. The doctor said there’s a pretty good survival rate with no bone involvement. He is waiting now to meet with the oncologist to develop a treatment plan, and he says they’ve fast tracked him, so he expects to meet with him early next week. He’ll know more once they’ve met, and mapped out a plan of attack. He was much more upbeat when we talked. Fingers crossed.

Sunday 2-6

I called Wes this morning to find out how he was feeling. He had his first Chemo treatment on Wednesday. Wes said he felt fine afterwards and went fishing on Friday. Well all was good until Saturday when the effects of the treatment finally kicked in. His joints hurt and he felt like cr@p. Today, Sunday, he feels a little better but not good. Seems like he is passed the worst part of his first treatment and he might be able to fish with us next weekend. Prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Wes. We’ll see you all on Thursday.

Take care,

Mike

September Meeting

Our meeting got off to a roar as always we had Jeff Jue share some of what he found to be working along with some of our other members as well. Personally I found none of it to work but that’s why it’s Castaic. Our next tournament will be held at Pyramid lake this coming Sunday Oct. 17th.  Lake opens @ 7am this will be a launch and go start with weigh in at yellow bar dock @ 3pm we are no longer in the 6 hour rule.
For those of you that have perpetual plaques from years past that have room on them for please make sure you bring them to Thursday nights meeting. We need to get them to the engravers to add this year’s achievement to them. Right now we are looking at our banquet being on December 19th location to be determined.
With our November meeting right around the corner nominations for board members are going to be taken at this meeting so that we can hold elections in November. Current board is as follows:

President: Mike Iljin
VP/TD: Ron Licari
Secretary: Tony Franks
Treasurer: Kevin Miner
Weigh master: Nick Langer
Asst. to the President: Eddie Carr

Tournament Results

Well the Manny Nunez Memorial Challenge Tournament went off with out a hitch 7 different clubs 38 boats total from all over so cal showed up and fished a very tough bite at Castaic Lake. Top honors for the day went to 911. Our club ended up in what I recall as third place. Seemed like most anglers got their fish early and then struggled the rest of the day. I would like to thank all those who jumped in and help get things going during the weight in and getting the BBQ started. Special thanks out to Mike’s wife Donna for her help.

Mike’s

The end of another year is drawing near. We have accomplished a lot and the Club is still growing with the addition of new members. Next year will be interesting with us trying something new in the June and December tournaments. This will mark the first time for the Club fishing Castaic Lower Lagoon. This body of water holds an extraordinary amount of large bass. We are looking into events that will include fun for the whole family. Start making plans to set aside December 19 for our annual awards banquet. Please remember to bring you plaques from last year so that all the spaces can be filled in. For you new members, plaques will be handed out that will have plates attached on them for any tournament finish in the top 4. You will also receive a plate if you caught big fish in any month.
See you all at Thursday’s meeting,
Mike

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.