Happy New Gear!

The CBC anglers started off the new year with a beautiful day at Lake Perris.  11 teams patiently waited in 32° morning weather for the gates to open and sun to warm us up.  The combination of the winter bass fishing and the memory of the beating we endured the last time we came to the lake was likely on a few of our minds, but we came to complete and were eager to hit the water.

The sun finally showed itself, the gates opened, and the launch n go format had boats going in every direction, as we all raced to “my spot”.  Though the day was beautiful with clear views of the snow capped mountains, the fishing was as expected for January.  Not for all of us though.  One 5 fish limit was brought to the scales, and the team even culled a few fish….who the heck culls fish in January?!

Team Chris “Compa” G. and Tom C. take first place with 5 fish for 8.20.  It is a good thing they got five, because team Derrick Y. Joe N. were right behind them with 3 fish for 8.11.  I am sure that Derrick’s Big Fish was a great way to start the 2023 year.  Team Big Ed and Mark C. rounded out the Top 3 with 3 fish for 6.98.

Congratulations to Compa Chris and Tom C!  While some of us were catching our first fish of the year, Compa Chris managed to grab his first tournament WIN!  Way to go Compa #1.

Maybe the new captain of “the Duchess” will have to change his Compa nickname to Campeón until the next tournament.  LOL!

It was great seeing some familiar faces back at the tournaments.  It was great seeing and sending sometime on the water with you!

Place/Team/Fish/Weight

1. Chris G and Tom C/5/8.20
2. Derrick Y and Joe N/3/8.11
3. Big Ed and Mark C/3/6.98
4. Gabby H and Mark W/3/5.44
5. Frank and Thomas R/3/5.0
6. Gary C and Steve M/1/2.84
7. Alfred V and Pops/1/2.57
8. Albert V and Robert T/1/2.40
9. Raul V and Sherman/0
10. Brian T/0

Yes the boat is frozen.

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While Fall fishing can be a great time to catch yourself a new PB, Mother Nature had different plans for the bass Contenders.  She changed the weather the week before the tournament and ruined all of plans of getting a big one.  While we had no rain, we did have some chilly weather and WIND!

Keep your wind is good for fishing comments to yourself, it was a cold morning.  Luckily the lake did not open until 7am and the sun was nice and high to warm us up as we got on the water, THANKS PERRIS!

We all just about tore our rotator cuffs casting into the wind with most of our action coming from changing lures and tying knots.  But, don’t worry a couple of us are fish whisperers and managed to shake the skunk off their boats.

Better to be lucky than good!  Kidding, great job guys!

Place\Team\number of Fish\Weight

1. Derrick Y and Pops C \ 1 \ 3.64 *Big Fish
2. David M and Tom C \ 1 \ 2.9

 

 

Before we get into the tournament results.  We want to give a big shout out to a couple of our guys that participated and represented the club at the recent WON Bass Tournament at Lake Mojave.  Both Tom Creasy and Mark Chadeayne looked fabulous while ROCKING the clubs new team jerseys.  congratulations to you both.  Tom Creasy had a strong performance finishing 15th out of 189 with 35.62 pounds, 16.58 coming on the final day.  I can’t confirm for tax reasons, but I believe his check had some extra digits?  I’ll let Mark tell you his side of the story…LOL

Check them out!

While LA county was gray and waiting for our much needed rain, the CBC was out enjoying Ventura county’s beautiful weather at Lake Piru.  Other than a little wind and some low water levels, the boys had a blast on the water.

 

Congratulations to Team Steve and Thomas who pulled out a first place finish and Big Fish!  Pretty close weights for the rest of the teams.

Place/Team/# of Fish/Weight

1. Steve M and Thomas R/5/6.17
2. Johnny A and Dean L/5/5.64
3. Derrick Y and Sherman W/5/5.20
4. Dave M and Raul V/5/5.0
5. Alfred V and Chris G/5/4.96
6. Brian T and Tom c/4/4.67
7. Frank S and Eddie R/1/19

Big Fish: Steve Meza/2.35

Fishing sounded pretty good for the 6 California Bass Contender teams that made the trek to El Capitan Reservoir in San Diego. The MLF were having a tournament there also, but were a non factor and didn’t stop our anglers from getting fish and fishing “their” spots.  I heard the event staff were great and showed our anglers the same courtesies the “PRO’s” got.

With the season at it’s half way mark, you might want to take a peek at the AOY standings, there are some changes after this tournament.

Place/Team/Number of Fish/Weight

1. Alfred V and Sherman W/5/11.92  **Big Fish 4.40
2. Derrick Y and Pops/4/9.45
3. Frank S and Thomas R/4/6.17
4. Brian T and Raul V/3/5.93
5. Chris G and Dean L/3/5.22
6. David M 2/3.88

Big Fish Alfred V and Sherman W 4.40

 

The CBC made the trip down South to San Diego last weekend to fish the San Vicente Reservoir.  The early morning comradery was great, the weather was good, and the fishing was even better.  If you thought the DVL launch ramp hike was long, this one was like climbing Mount Everest.  After the co-angler workout, we safely launched 10 teams and all 10 teams weighed fish at the end of the day.  A significant upgrade from July’s DVL tournament.  Just about every technique worked, top water, jerk bait, dropshot, deep, shallow, and even the ol’ spinner bait came through, but the name of the game was CULLING.  If you got one fish, you needed 4 more.  If you got your 5, you still needed 5 more, just bigger than your last.

With San V being a contact lake, the recreational boaters were out in force.  They made the water a little rough and the shoreline muddy (spinner bait), but overall they weren’t too bad on the water.  It was off the water that we felt their presence.  The launch ramp was crowded, causing delays getting off the water and getting our fish back in the water.  The delays, combined with the August afternoon heat, caused us to lose some fish before we could safely release them.   As a catch and release club, we have to everything we can to safely release our fish.  Luckily, the lost fish were given to a person who was able to not let them go to waste.

The number one spot went to Derrick Y and Robert T with the only double digit bag, 10.47.  They did lose a fish during the delays, knocking their weight to 10.22.  The DF penalty almost cost them, because Frank S and Joe N, were coming on strong with 9.67.  Their weight included the Big Fish honors, 2.90.  Rounding out the Top 3, was Alfred V and Tom C, who finished with 8.15.

As a reminder, each team needs to weigh a big fish so we don’t run into tie scenarios.

Thank you all for making it a great day!

Place/Team/# of fish/weight

1. Derrick Y and Robert T/5/10.22 *DF penalty
2. Frank S and Joe N/5/9.67
3. Alfred V and Tom C/5/8.15
4. Steve M and Albert V/5/7.70
5. Ted R and Thomas/5/7.46
6. David M and Dean L/5/6.50  *DF penalty
7. Eddie and Raul V/5/5.99
8. Mark C and Kevin D/3/3.75 *tie
9. Brian T/3/3.75 *tie
10. Chris G and Sherman W/1/.88

Big Fish

Frank S 2.90

With the temperatures expected to reach the 90’s in Wildomar, the CBC toughed out the heat and had our first “summer hours” tournament of the season.  Some members arrived at the lake in the wee hours of the morning only to find out that the lake was very strict about their 6am gate opening.  WHAT!  We had a launch in order format so it didn’t make too much of a difference, however the beautiful sunrise occurred while we were still in line at the gate.  Doesn’t Lake Skinner know about that early morning top water bite that we have been looking forward to all winter?

Despite the delays, our teams did everything they could to beat the lake, but the lake definitely fought back and did some beating of its own.  This tournament brought some of the out of towners back to California.  Ted R and Kevin D, both pros of the desert heat living, were welcomed back with open arms.  Kevin D and Mark C were there fishing on their brand new boat, and boy what a beautiful sight….the BOAT!

The 6 hour tournament format saw us off the water at 1pm and weighing in on the asphalt at 1:30.  The desert living pro, Ted R and his partner Dean L, managed the only limit and it was good enough for a fist place finish with 5 alive for 13.69. The Conrad’s fishing together still pulled off a double digit bag, 4/12.73, that also included Big Fish of 4.5.  Johnny A and Alfred V rounded out the podium with 4/8.63.

It was great to see everyone and can’t wait to see you all at next months summer nights tournament at DVL.

Place/Team/ number of fish/weight

1. Ted R and Dean L 5/13.69
2. Conrad Jr* and Conrad Sr 4/12.73
3. Johnny A and Alfred V 4/8.63
4. Frank S and Tom C 3/8.31
5. Steve M and Gabby H 3/8.14
6. Kenny I and Robert T 3/7.31
7. Gary C and Joe N 2/5.89
8. David M and Raul V 2/5.11
9. Mark C and Kevin D 2/4.16

*Big Fish Conrad Jr 4.50

Who plans a fishing tournament in San Diego on Memorial weekend?  The CBC, that’s who!  We were all up just after midnight prepping for the 2 hour drive North to the El Capitan Reservoir.

Was the 15 closed for some of us? Yep, but we all made it safe and sound.

The new team format was AWESOME!  It found many of the anglers culling early and often, as we tried to get our best 5 ALIVE to the weigh in.  Limits seemed to be plentiful, with all 9 teams weighing in a 5 fish limit, as we shared the waters with the guys from the Wild West.  Fish worthy of your stories were not plentiful, but Conrad Jr managed a #4.36 largie to take the Big Fish honors.  “If we are going to catch fish of any size, we need the wind to pick up”.  Pick up it did and he landed that fish in the last 30 minutes of fishing.  We all had a blast, and it was great seeing long time member, Mark Bowman back on the waters with us fishing with new member Dean.

The weigh in was a  sh!t show, but we all managed to maneuver through the traffic and get it taken care of.  A double digit bag was going to be needed if you wanted a spot on the podium, and the top 3 did just that, with the rest of the field falling just shy of that mark.

place/team/fish/weight

1. Alfred “the Silent Assassin” Vazquez and Pops 5/13.85
2. Conrad Jr and Robert T 5/12.34
3. David M and Conrad Sr 5/10.23
4. Mark B and Dean 5/9.92
5. Frank S and Raul V 5/9.43
6. Johnny and Chris G 5/9.42
7. Big Ed and Joe N 5/8.52     2 DF penalty*
8. Derrick Y and Tom C 5/7.78
9. Mark P and Ron Ruiz 5/7.52 DF penalty*

Big Fish

Conrad Jr 4.36

See you all at the next meeting.

Robert

 

Early on a cold Saturday morning, the CBC members got together at Pyramid Lake for the start of our 2022/23 season.  It has been a while since we travelled North or even on a single digit highway (5) for a competition, and the travel North did not disappoint.

The morning started with a surprise, as we arrived to find “50” boats all ready in line for a Pro tournament.  Pyramid fishes small, so “50” boats was going to make for a crowded day of fishing.  Though it was only about 27 boats, it sure looked like “50” boats.  LOL

The normal Pyramid winds hadn’t picked up much and the morning’s crystal clear water got us off to a great start.  By noon the winds had picked up and the crystal clear water was muddied by the recreational boaters and the other “50 boats’.  Neither posed an obstacle for us and we kept on fishing .

At 3 o’clock, we met up again at the “yellow bar” for the weigh in.

After a few boats weighed in, you could tell this tournament had the makings of a nail-biter!  Mark P shortly sat on top of the leader board with 5/13.02, but he was quickly knocked off by club president, Derrick Y with 5/13.04.  That didn’t last long, as Frank S, who was fishing as a boater for the first time on his beautiful Ranger boat, bumped him with 5/13.12. 

Are you beginning to see a pattern here?

Frank, biting his nails, had to wait for 3 more of the club’s heavy hitters to weigh their fish.  David M comes in with 5/13.09, PHEW, a close one.  The Conrad Jr. comes in with 5/12.05.  The only one left, was Frank’s very own “compa”, Alfred V.

“Compa #2” knocks “compa  #3” from the top spot and the win with 5/13.14.  You talk about a close one!  So much fun at the weigh in.

 

 

 

Let’s not forget to mention Tom C’s big fish of 6.02.  A big one!  He proceeded to give both Steve M and myself advice and pointers the whole day after that catch.  Thanks for the schooling professor.  Good times!

Conrad Jr and Chris G took home Big Boat.

See you all next month at El Cap.

place/angler/fish/weight

1. Alfred V 5/13.14
2. Frank S 5/13.12
3. David M 5/13.0
4. Derrick Y 5/13.04
5. Mark P 5/13.02
6. Conrad Jr 5/12.05
7. Big Ed 3/8.11
8. Tom C 2/8.10
9. Chris G 4/7.13
10. Ron R 5/6.13

Big Fish: Tom C 6.02

Big Boat: Conrad Jr and Chris G

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you fished 2 or 5 days, our teams experienced and overcame some obstacles that helped shape the season finale into one of the funnest ones we’ve had yet.  The fishing was tough but the team comradery was off the scales with both planned and unplanned lunches on the water at Kokomos and the new casino, dinner both bought and homemade, and even a boat rescue.

Tournament Day 1

Day 1 saw a drop of nearly 20 degrees in weather with 15-18mph winds and a few drops of rain.  Multiple teams reported big waves and plenty of wet co-anglers.

 

Right after blast off the team of Raul V and Miguel L ran into some boat issues and limped back to the launch ramp.  Johnny A and his co-angler Ron G headed back to help them safely get the boat back onto the trailer.  Steve M and Chris G were fishing without co-anglers, so they headed back to the docks to keep all of our members on the water.  Thanks guys for stepping up in one our brother’s time of need. 

Despite the early morning obstacles, some teams still managed to bring double digit bags to the scales, though not all of them.  The team of Big Ed/Mark C landed on top of the Day 1 leader board with a whopping bag of 5/16.31 that included a Day 1 Big Fish for Big Ed at 4.92.

Team Alfred V/Frank S were close behind with the only other Day 1 limit at 5/12.0.

Team David M/Kevin D didn’t get 5, but still managed a double digit bag with 4/11.04

Team Chris G/Miguel managed a 3 fish bag at 3/9.53

Team Johnny A was fishing with a new fisherman and first time guest “I have 2 rods and know 1 knot” Ron Gutierrez and rounded out the top 5 with 3/9.44

By the way, Ron Gutierrez was a last minute addition to the tournament and had very little “pro style’ fishing experience, but he made the trip anyway because he had heard so much about us.  He really has 2 rods and knew one knot before Johnny showed him the ropes.  We hope to see you next season.  He caught fish too.

Team Albert V/Angel S went 3/6.65

Team Conrad Jr/Sr went 3/5.68

Team Gary C/Sergio S went 2/4.28

Team Steve M/Raul V went 2/4.55

Team Derrick Y/Robert T went 1/2.49

We got together  later that evening for our team dinner being held at the Team Steve house and it didn’t disappoint.  We had people inside, outside, by the fire pit, in the kitchen, and watching YouTube videos in the front room with the hopes of picking up a pointer or two.  We even got a surprise visit from long time member Ron Jenke.  With everyone helping out in some fashion, Robert T was on guard duty because his famous salsa was quickly running low.

“The Salsa is supposed to be for dinner!”

 

Tournament Day 2

In fishing no lead is safe and you have to be able to reproduce what you did or didn’t do on Day 1 to be successful.  With Day 2 being 2 hours shorter, the pressure was on.

Again only 2 teams weighed 5 fish limits, but it wasn’t the teams atop of the Day 1 leader board.

Team Gary C/Sergio went 5/11.92 that included Day 2’s big fish for Sergio S at 3.95.

Team Derrick Y/Robert T got 5/10.86, but that was only 3rd best because Team Alfred V/Frank S went 4/11.20.  Was it going to be enough to catch Big Ed/Mark????

David M/Kevin D went 3/6.45

Johnny A/Ron G went 1/3.78

Chris G/Miguel L went 1/2.80

Big Ed/Mark C went 2/2.75

The other 3 teams blanked.  With Chris G breaking his phone we were forced to use our fingers for the total math and when we finished counting, it was Team Alfred V/Frank S that came out atop the Final leader board with 9/23.20.  Way to go guys.  That was back to back 1st place finished for new member Frank S and Alfred V’s 3rd Top 3 finish of the season.

The weekend also saw Conrad Apodaca Jr. Solidify his hold on the 2021 Angler of the Year title.  I believe this is his club leading 5th AOY award. WOW!  The Top 10 was also locked up with Robert T making a jump form 11th to 9th and Chris holding onto the 10th spot with 5 more points than Tom C.

I am excited to see what the new season has instore for us and want to thank you all for making this season a great one.

Robert

Day 1 results:

Place/team/fish/weight

1. Big Ed/Mark C 5/16.31
2. Alfred V/Frank S 5/12.0
3. David M/Kevin D 4/11.04
4. Chris G/Miguel L 3/9.53
5. Johnny A/Ron G 3/9.44
6. Albert V/Angel S 3/6.65
7. Conrad Jr/Sr 3/5.68
8. Steve M/Raul V 4.55
9. Gary C/Sergio S 2/4.28
10. Derrick Y/Robert T 1/2.49

Day 1 Big Fish:  Ed Cazares 4.92

Big Boat: Big /Mark C 16.31

Day 2 results:

Place/team/fish/weight

1. Gary C/Sergio S 5/11.92
2. Alfred V/Frank S 4/11.20
3. Derrick Y/Robert T 5/10.86
4. David M/Kevin D 3/6.45
5. Johnny A/Ron G 1/3.78
6. Chris G/Miguel L 1/2.80
7. Big Ed/Mark C 1/2.75
8. Steve M/Raul V 0/0
9. Albert V/Angel S 0/0
10. Conrad Jr/Sr DNF

Day 2 Big Fish: Sergio Sanchez 3.95

Big Boat: Gary C/Sergio S 11.92

2 Day Final results

Place/team/fish/weight

1. Alfred V/Frank S 9/23.20
2. Big Ed/Mark C 7/19.06
3. David M/Kevin D 7/17.49
4. Gary C/Sergio S 7/16.2
5. Derrick Y/Robert T 6/13.35
6. Johnny A/Ron G 4/13.22
7. Chris G/Miguel L 4/12.33
8. Albert V/Angel S 3/6.55
9. Conrad Jr/Sr 3/5.68
10. Steve M/Raul V 2/4.55