The newsletter to be named later
February 2009

February Meeting

The controlled chaos was called to order between 7:00. Mike went over the rule changes. I think we are going to be counting our best 8 this year instead of 7 as in previous years. It has something or other to do with the two day Cachuma and Lopez out of town events. I only kinda half heard him, sort of like when my dad used to talk to me.
We signed up three new members who all fished in the tournament on Sunday. Calvin Matsui of Camarillo, 7th with Roger Larocque, Wyatt Zollinger of Simi Valley, 9th with Mike Munson and Adam Boyd of Palmdale, 10th with Mike Lander.
The raffle was the usual resounding financial success. Mike closed the meeting and the chaos of the evening returned as friends good nighted friends. Did I miss anything? Nope, nothing worth mentioning. See you Thursday the 12th at El Torito’s.

Just remembering

I liked Manny Nunez. I didn’t know him very well, that wasn’t a requirement, I liked him, he made it easy. Manny was a big man with a big smile that took in the whole room. Maybe he was just a little bit bigger than life. I remember a tournament March 2007. Okay, I don’t remember the tournament so well but after, we were all invited back to Manny’s for a bar-b-que. Manny and his wonderful wife, Anita, welcomed us all in like family. The food was great, the camaraderie was better. I heard it said that on that day Manny was in his glory. Some called him the Mayor of Piru. Got to be a story there, I’d like to hear it someday. Manny Nunez lost a battle with cancer in January 2008. On this the first anniversary of his passing I felt it was important to commemorate the occasion. He treasured his membership in Castaic Bass Club and those of us who were lucky enough to know him, we treasured his.

Tournament Results

Snowing, windy, awful weather. Water temperature below 50° with a heavy chop. Ice on the ramp and the docks. That was Pyramid the morning of the February tournament. Fortunately for us, we weren’t there, we were at Piru. High, thin light gray clouds, water temperature in the high 50’s and smooth as glass. Only a tiny breeze for a few minutes late in the day. The water was even smoother when we finished than when we started. Tough conditions, maybe. If you don’t have fish then they were tougher for you then for others. Tony Capparelli and Gary Priddy managed to Drop Shot their way to a 5 fish limit at 11.61 pounds. Brendon (welcome back) O’Dell and Jason (2 for 2) Haustad pulled in 3 including Brendon’s big fish that weighed 5.45 for a total of 9.61 pounds and second place. Brendon’s fish came on a swim bait in front of the dam in the first hour. Ron (The Lone Ranger) Licari fishing without a partner also caught 3 that was good for third with 4.92 pounds.

The Name this Newsletter Contest

Let’s vote on it. So far the choices are thus. From the mighty pen of Nick Langer comes “the Scuttlebutt”. Our own fearless leader offered up “Dock Talk”. Gary Priddy says “The Buzz” would be a good option. Let’s see what else you guys can come up with at the meeting.

State of the Bass Club by Mike Iljin

Just to go over a few items that were voted into the by-laws by the membership during the last 2 meetings.

New Membership amount will not include first months dues.

There will be only 2 throw outs.

A.O.Y. will be determined by their 8 best scores.

There will be 10 scoring tournaments. Non point tournaments will be the club challenge and the T.O.C. .

Show up points are now worth 25 points.

Pairings will be such that no 2 persons will fish together more than once per year unless there is no other option.

Change A.O.Y. points season to end with November’s tournament. It presently reads October.

Strike lake committee can only be a 6 member vote.

Strike the 50 person limit club membership.

It is my goal to have the club evolve into what the majority of the membership want. We are always open to change as long as it benefits the club and all of us are the club. Any and all ideas are welcomed, discussed and voted on. I am proud to be a member of the Castaic Bass Club and what it represents.

Make it yours

This is not MY newsletter, it is all of ours. I would like very much for any and all of you to participate. Send me a paragraph or two. Tell me a fishing story. If you don’t trust yourself, I have a little talent, I will help you write it.

The end of the line…

Gary Priddy invited me to go to the weigh-in for the Angler’s Choice tournament held on February 22nd. I had never been to a weigh-in except for our club’s so I thought it would be a hoot. We did some relaxing shore fishing (another way of saying we didn’t catch anything) and then walked over to watch. Not a huge surprise when Bill Siemantel and Troy Lindner finished on top but what I witnesses after the awards was a surprise. Let me go back a little. Our own Marcia Thompson was fishing with her son Dan. When they pulled up to the weigh-in Marcia was lit up like nothing I have ever seen before. They pulled 5 great keepers from the live well including an 8.74 pound monster. Their total of 18.27 pounds catapulted them into the lead at the time by 3.5 pounds. When Bill and Troy weigh in I got to see my second monster of the day. Bill landed an 8.79 pounder beating Marcia and Dan’s by a mere .05 of a pound. Mr. Siemantel was under the impression that Marcia had landed their big fish and after receiving his plaque he very graciously walk over to her and said that having landed such a fish in a field dominated by men was extraordinary and she deserved the plaque. This was far and away the most outstanding display of sportsmanship I have ever witnessed. It was quickly made clear to Bill that Dan had actually caught the fish but it didn’t matter to him, he wanted them to have the plaque and it simply does not take away from the act of kindness. This is what sportsmanship is and this is what bass fishing should be. I am proud to say that on the Sunday afternoon I got to meet and shake the hand of Mr. Bill Siemantel.

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