Castaic Bass Club Blog

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.

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