FISHING TOURNEY LOSES 12-YEAR SPONSOR.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

CASTAIC - An annual fishing tournament to raise money for abused children has been canceled because of declining participation among the volunteers who staged it for 12 years, organizers said Tuesday.

Organizers said another group, 9-1-1 Bass, made up primarily of police officers, will take over Saturday's bass-tournament time slot and donate proceeds to help abused children, but the event won't have the raffles, sponsors and other moneymakers as in past years.

At the tournament last year, Bassing for Abused Kids Inc. raised about $30,000 for camps across the nation for foster children taken from abusive homes, said Martin Hinds, president of the Orange County-based charity. But this year some key volunteers in the shoestring program are facing health problems, and the organization likely will disband.

``A lot of us have health issues - us, our wives, our parents,'' Hinds said. ``We're at a point now where we need to focus on taking care of our families.''

Hinds said his organization was unable to find a charity to take over the entire operation, but 9-1-1 Bass agreed to sponsor a pared-down event.

Last year's tournament drew 42 teams to the Castaic Lake Recreation Area, where about 150 local children were invited to a trout fishing event of their own.

``We just couldn't get enough volunteers to keep it going, to do all the planning,'' said Virginia Dodge, a member of Royal Family Kids Camp's board, who helped with the contest. ``A core group of three board members pulled it off last year. That's too much work for just three people.''

Hinds praised the fishing enthusiasts who attended the event each year, paying generously for raffle tickets and then frequently returning the items they won to be raffled again to increase the profits.

``You can't find a better, more caring group of people than those bass fishermen,'' he said.

The organization is based in Orange County and had difficulty organizing an event so far away, but with few lakes in Southern California, Castaic was the best location, Hinds said.

Hinds is a retired Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedic who volunteered his skills at the second tournament and was hooked. A boater not involved in the event was injured, and Hinds was there to give him emergency medical care.

``It was a major rescue, and all of a sudden I realized there must be a reason I was here,'' Hinds said.

Hinds and his wife have since visited several camps for abused children and worked with local Special Olympics children.

``We could see where the fruits of our labor were going,'' he said.

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com

THE FACTS

--To donate to programs previously funded by Bassing for Abused Kids Inc., call Royal Family Kids' Camps at [phone] or visit on line at www.rfkc.org.

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THE FACTS (see text)