Castaic Bass Club Blog

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

November Meeting

First of all Yes Virginia there is going to be a December Meeting at the usual time and Place on the 10th.  There are no club dues or tournament fees at this meeting.   The T.O.C. will be on the 13th and the Holiday Party at El Chaparral on the 20th.  The restaurant is located at 19132 Soledad Canyon Road in Canyon Country.  Their phone number is 661/252-5599.  The fiesta starts at 11:00 AM.

As you know the November meeting marks the election of officers for the coming year.  This year it was a simple confirmation as there were no contested positions.  The board for 2010 will be Mike Iljin, President, Ron Licari, Vice President, Eddie Carr, Presidents Assistant, Nick Langer, Weigh Master, Tony Franks, Secretary and me, the Treasurer.  With the grueling business of the election out of the way the pairings for Pyramid were done and then we had a pretty good raffle.

Tournament Results

How many ways can you say windy and Lake Pyramid in the same sentence?  You have to admit that this time it was different.  This time it was cold and windy and also it was windy from the get go, we didn’t have to wait until the sun came up before it started blowing.  Given these conditions the results were not a great surprise.  Finishing in First Place with an incredible 2 fish that weighed a total of 4.56 pounds were Roger Larocque and George Reed.  They also had a 3.07 pounder for the tournament Big Fish.  Wes Carpenter and Adam Boyd also caught 2 fish that totaled 4.47 pounds and was good for Second Place.  In Third Place were Mike Iljin and Eddie Carr with one 2.05 pound fish.  Forth Place went to Nick Langer and Tony Franks who also caught 1.  This one fish is significant for two reasons.  1) it was the only other fish caught in the tournament and 2) it gave Tony just enough point to squeak into First Place for Angler of the Year ahead of Mike Iljin by a mere 3 points.  It was a close race at the end and our congratulations go out to Tony.

Mike’s

First and foremost, I want to thank the club members for their support during my family’s scare last month. Cassie loved the flowers that the Club delivered to her and they are a constant reminder to us of the well wishes from our extended fishing family.

Since this will be the last news letter of the year I would like to thank all of the Board members: Bo, Mark, Shelley, Eddie and Nick for all of their help and support this last year. They have made the Castaic Bass Club one of the finest clubs that has ever fished a lake.

We will have our last tournament of the year at Castaic on December 13th, so if you plan on fishing and can not make the meeting on Thursday, please be sure to call and or e-mail a board member before the start of the meeting at 7:00.

There is a special event going to be held at the Sports Complex in Castaic called The Celebration of Life. This event is to honor the life of fellow fisherman Ron Smith who passed away suddenly just a few months ago. The event will be held on December 20th, the same day as our banquet. We are hoping to wrap up our banquet between 1 to 2p.m. so that club members could still have a chance to drive over to the lake and participate in the event. There will be plenty of things for the kids to do and see, so bring them along. Below is a list of the day’s activities.

Take care,

Mike

Ron Smith “ Celebration of Life” Family Festival

Event and Volunteers Schedule:

October Meeting

Bo Viescas presided over the meeting in Mike’s absence.  He reminded the members that elections would be held at the November meeting.  The current board has been basically the same for the past two years.  Bo stressed that we welcome and encourage other members to participate.  To this end, two of our members have stepped up.  Ron Licari has put himself forward for the position of Vice President and Tony Franks is running for Secretary.   Please make a special effort to attend the November meeting on the 12th.

Tournament Results

What a change, a lake with actual water and fish at the same time.  Sure it was windy but this is Pyramid so when isn’t it windy.  Overall the weather cooperated nicely.  Ron Licari and Chaz “Hooksetter” Valenzuela brought in the winning numbers with a 5 fish limit at 11.59 and one that weighted 4.4 that was good enough for big fish.  Second place went to Brendon O’Dell and Shelley Singer (that’s me) with a limit that included one nice Small Mouth and totaled 11.13.  The three man team of Mike Lander, Adam Boyd and is son Hunter Boyd rounded out the top three places with a limit that weighed in at 8.72.  As usual, the Hot Dog Man was there at the end to make the tournament complete.

Mike’s

The year is quickly coming to an end and it’s hard to believe that the annual awards banquet is just a little over a month away. Top dog honor is still up for grabs with the top 3 spots a mire few points apart. I have reserved a room once again at the El Chaparral Restaurant, Canyon Country on Sunday December 20th. The festivities will start around 11:00 with a brunch hosted by The Club. Prizes and awards will follow the food. Please remember to bring your perpetual plaques to Thursday’s meeting so we can attach any plates you earned during the year.  You receive a plate for every tournament that you placed in the top 4. Also all Big fish winners receive a plate for every month. Please make plans to attend this fun afternoon with family and friends. Our next tournament was supposed to be held at Lake Piru but after speaking with the Ranger up there it was decided to move the November tournament back to Pyramid. The water levels are so low at Piru that the launch ramp is covered in mud and the lake has no coves. According to the lake personnel, this is the lowest the lake has been in over 40 years.

It will be a fun time no matter where we fish.

Take care,

Mike

September Meeting

What a great meeting.   Troy Lindner came and shared a wealth of bass fishing knowledge with us.  He talked at length about watching and learning; watching from shore; mimicking the shad.  How he adapted what he had learned from shore to what he does from the front of the boat.  He then opened it up for questions and believe it or not, there were just a few.  Troy described specific techniques; how to rig certain baits, cast placement and boat position.  He had a tip for those of us in the back of the boat; watch where your team mate is throwing and throw it somewhere else or throw it in the same place from a different angle. Troy was very generous with both his time and his knowledge.  He also donated a lot of great stuff for our raffle.

The next business on the agenda was when Mike unveiled the updated trophy for the Manny Nunez Memorial Club Challenge.  The new sponsor of the event is Gideon Lee the owner of Lakeside Boat Marine, a long time supporter of Castaic Bass Club.  They are located at 31752 Ridge Route Rd. in Castaic and the trophy will be on display in the store.

Bo Viescas had a special surprise for those of us who were lucky enough to attend the tournament at Lake Lopez.  Bo had a great tee shirt made commemorating the event and Team “Up and Downs” victory.  Everyone who was there got one of these beautifully executed and tastefully inscribed tee shirts.

Manny Nunez Memorial Club Challenge Tournament Results

Welcome to the new and improved Lake Castaic, just add water.  Great weather, only a little wind and islands that we never saw before.  And what a turnout, six clubs and 31 boats.  Congratulation to Bob Robbins and Morry Fortney of Canejo Valley Bass Club who brought in both the Big Bag at 11.74# and Big Fish at 5.9#.  Further congratulation to Team 911 with a total 25.39# for First Place.  A new plaque that will be added to the Memorial Trophy to be displayed at Lakeside Boat Marine for this year’s winners.  Second Place when to Canejo Valley Bass Club whose 5 boats racked up a total of 22.75#.  Lake Elsinore Bass Club sent 7 boats and their top 5 bagged a total of 19.42# for Third Place.  Castaic Bass Club got close with 19# even.  Also in attendance were South Orange County Bass Club, and an old friend of our club Ralph Rosas and his partner Sue from Guys and Gals.

Mike’s

Well it looks like it’s getting time to put away the shorts and dig out the long pants and sweatshirts. Months of hot weather have suddenly given way to colder temps and hopefully hungrier fish. Thanks to all that fished and helped with the challenge event. Many members of the Nunez family were in attendance and this event continues to show them just how much Manny was loved by the Club and fellow fishermen. Our sponsors, both old and new, came through with product galore for the raffle that generated over $300. Please help support them anytime you have a need for product.

The year is winding down and it’s getting close to our awards banquet date. Please start looking for (if you don’t have them mounted on the wall) your perpetual plaques. These must be turned in at the November meeting. Those of you new to the club will receive a plaque if you’ve placed in the top 4 in any event or had big fish any month.

The C.A.S.T. event took place this weekend and many club members were able to make it to the Lower Lake and help the kids on this very special day.

Thanks to all of you.

Mike

August Meeting

The meeting was shorter than usual due to the small turnout. Mostly we discussed the upcoming tournament at Lake Lopez. I think the most time was spent trying to make pairings. A lot of the boater/non-boater combination had already fished together during the year and some of the non-boaters had been 3 in a boat several times. Eddie nearly twisted himself into a pretzel but finally came out with a pairing list that was fair to all. Mike and I both commented on the Bar-B-Qs that the club does in conjunction with the ABA tournaments. Remember that these are fund raisers for the club. With the money from dues and membership, they help pay for our own dinners on the two day tournaments and for the Holiday banquet. The money goes into awards and plaques and for the bar-b-q at the upcoming challenge event. Next year we will be doing the Bar-B-Qs in conjunction with National Bass West tournaments. There will probably be a signup list for next year and please, we do need your help.

Tournament Results

Over 1000 miles of shoreline and a light chop on the water. That was Lake Guntersville in Alabama on August 15th and 16th. We were on Lake Lopez in Arroyo Grande, California. 31 miles of shoreline and two docks. Wind that could blow you into the next county and pea soup fog on Sunday morning. We saw lots of deer, quail, turkey, turkey vultures and even a couple of bald eagles. What we didn’t see were any limits of fish. Bo Viescas, Adam Boyd and Gary “Net boy” Priddy brought in the win with Adam’s 5.92 tournament big fish on Saturday and Gary’s 4.8 on Sunday. In spite of a .02 penalty, Mike Munson, Jason Haustad and Mike’s (ringer) Guest David Eberle finished with 4 fish and a two day total of 13.79 that was good enough for second. Bagging 5 fish for the weekend and coming in third were Mark Poulson and Chaz “Hooksetter” Valenuela.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO DAVID “IRON CHEF” SANCHEZ. After fishing all day David prepared Carne Asada for us all with a killer Chili and all of the sides. I should note that those sides included a fire started salsa that David bought from a “restaurant” down in Arroyo Grande because he forgot his at home. Calling the restaurant a “hole in the wall” gives a bad name to all holes in the wall. It is fortunate that it was after 8:00 and all of the local bangers were already home asleep.

Mike’s

The C.A.S.T. event is coming up very quickly and we need volunteers. Please sign up for this very special day. I will also hand out flyers at the meeting. You can drop them off at the lake, give them to me or mail them in. This is truly a rewarding day.