FISHING FUND-RAISER DRAWS CROWD OF KIDS : MINI-ANGLERS TRY FOR TROUT AT CASTAIC LAGOON.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

Standing on the shore of the Castaic lagoon, John Abdullah had just about lost count of the number of times he had cast his lure into the sparkling water.

Admittedly not much of a fisherman and without any formal training, he found his line sometimes landed just a few feet from shore. Other times, he managed with a snap of his wrist to sail it out much further.

But he was not discouraged. Not with one trout already in the bag, a fish dinner in his head - and perhaps hundreds of pounds of stocked trout still out there, swimming near the shores of Paradise Cove.

``I'm gonna fry it. They told me it was a big one. It's just like the last time I went out,'' said the 14-year-old Canyon Country youth. ``I went fishing nine years ago and caught one fish, too. I like it. It's relaxing. I would go again.''

That was just the kind of sentiment that organizers of Saturday's fourth trout derby and charity professional bass competition wanted to hear. Give kids a chance to fish, and you might just hook 'em for life.

``The idea is to get kids exposed to it,'' said Chet Roberts, owner of Pyramid Lake Enterprises, which has concessions at several local lakes. ``Some kids never get a chance to go fishing.

Well, about 800 of them showed up at the lagoon, one-half of the Bassing for Abused Kids fund-raiser, proceeds of which went to the Santa Clarita Child and Family Development Center and a Costa Mesa-based juvenile social service agency.

The charity was supposed to work this way: While the kids fished in the lagoon, professional bass fisherman would compete in a tournament on the upper lake - but Mother Nature wouldn't cooperate.

High winds forced the organizers to cancel the professional bass tournament, though on the smaller lagoon, the winds only amounted to a stiff breeze that kept the kids cool in the bright sun.

Roberts, a board member of the Santa Clarita center, which offers a wide variety of counseling services in addition to those for troubled children, said the cancellation would definitely cut into the fund-raiser.

But he said the organization would easily survive, plus, that was only half the point of the day.

``We are trying to create an event where families can come and enjoy the day. We made about $20,000 last year on this, but we have a budget of $1.5 million,'' he said.

The tournament has exploded in popularity, according to organizers, who said only about 150 kids and family members showed up last year, the first time it was held at Castaic Lake after moving from Lake Piru.

Anglers from throughout the West had been expected to compete in the bass tournament at the lake.

Marine businesses both locally and statewide donated equipment and services to the event, while the state Department of Fish and Game stocked the lagoon with some 3,000 pounds of trout for the kid's derby.

Despite the fish plant, it was not easy to catch something.

Take Lisa Zanardi, 33, of Canyon Country, who brought her 10-year-old son, Zack, to the derby. After several hours of work, Zack pronounced the catch: ``Zero, zip, nothing.''

He was ready to cast and cast again, but his mother, laughing, was having second thoughts.

``I thought it would be fun to come out here to catch a few fish and fry them. Everybody will tell you how to do it. I'm starting to think they got theirs from Hughes.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Burbank residents John Naylor and his 4-year- old son, Tony, team up at a children's trout derby Saturday at the Castaic lagoon.

(2) A father and son fish at the Castaic lagoon Saturday to raise funds for the Santa Clarita Child and Family Development Center.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News