YOUNG BLOOD, OLD SALTS; CLUB ANGLERS BENEFIT FROM KIDS TRIPS.Byline: BRETT PAULY Angling They had seen it countless times before - rabid barracuda barracuda, slender, elongated fish of tropical seas. Barracudas have long snouts and projecting lower jaws armed with large, sharp-edged teeth. They are ferocious, striking at anything that gleams, and are considered excellent game fishes. breaking the surface in pursuit of a meal. But there was an excitement in their voices rarely heard. ``Come on, let's get 'em.'' Those who didn't know better might think these old-timers were on their maiden fishing voyage. In a sense they were, for they were in the company of children, reliving their early days on the water through the eyes of their youthful companions. ``I think they get a lot of excitement out of us fishing,'' said 11-year-old Tabrin Gulley of Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. , one of more than 250 predominantly disadvantaged youngsters who participated in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Rod & Reel Club's recent 49th kids' trip, out of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. . ``It's like they're sitting in Chuck E. Cheese's <noinclude></noinclude> Chuck E. Cheese's is a chain of family entertainment centers. The concept centers around a basic sit-down pizza restaurant, complemented by arcade games, small rides, animatronic characters, and other popular diversions for young ; they always want to stay a kid, they never grow up.'' Ah, the annual kids trip. It's the cornerstone of many fishing clubs, the very reason for which some were founded. And their purpose is appreciated far and wide in angling circles: Borrowing a page from the baseball book's old ``knothole-gang theory,'' youths who have only glimpsed the recreation from the outside are hosted by experienced anglers in hopes they will support the industry and preserve the resource when they grow up. The kids are underprivileged, from lower-income families, and some have never seen the ocean, let alone been fishing or even on a boat. Many are inner-city residents who too often turn to unsavory diversions such as drugs and crime. For most, these trips offer activities they could not afford. The theory is that picking up a hobby might keep them ``off the streets.'' Or, perhaps, they might pick up a tackle box instead of a gun. Lost in the overwhelming concern for the kids during these outings are the benefits reaped by the club members themselves. It's a chance for the salts to ``give something back'' - to return a favor from long ago and expose a newcomer to the thrills of fishing. By doing so, they promote a cherished sport and help assure it will be as widely accepted by future generations in a world that is becoming increasingly obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. - and often misguided - over animal rights. It's a form of self-preservation, and with it comes lessons in conservation and preservation that might spawn environmental guardians. The trips keep the volunteer mentors young. Best of all, many say, is the sentiment they get from seeing kids have fun. ``I get a good feeling deep in my heart,'' said Nick Nickson of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , who recently served as photographer on the Ventura County Blue Water Sportfishing sport·fish·ing n. The sport of catching fish using a rod and reel. Noun 1. sportfishing - the act of someone who fishes as a diversion fishing field sport, outdoor sport - a sport that is played outdoors Club's inaugural kids trip, out of Oxnard. ``This is what it's all about. Helping kids was the basis of our whole club.'' Simi's Richard Lapidus of the Los Angeles Rod & Reel Club echoed the emotion on a day when young anglers all around him were catching their very first fish: ``The immediate gratification is to see some smiles, and there are some awfully big smiles out here today. That makes all of us feel really, really good.'' As children aboard the party boat Stardust star·dust n. 1. A dreamlike, romantic, or uncritical sense of well-being. 2. A cluster of stars too distant to be seen individually, resembling a dimly luminous cloud of dust. Not in scientific use. 3. reeled in dozens of barracuda, calico bass calico bass n. See black crappie. [From the colored spots on its body.] and mackerel mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and , Lapidus spoke to the altruistic nature of the trips. ``When I was a kid, nobody in my family fished,'' he said. ``It was only through the good auspices of a neighbor's father that I got to learn the joy of going out on the ocean fishing, and I like to just return that favor.'' Gary Gillingham of Duarte, a Glendora Rod and Reel Club board member, stressed the importance of creating a new breed of anglers. Each year, in part ``for selfish reasons,'' Gillingham said, the club escorts some 30 children to target trout and bass at Irvine Lake. ``We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. that fishing is going to last forever,'' he explained. ``We need more new fishermen who will grow up and help continue to provide fishing for everyone.'' To cement the experience, each young angler comes back from Irvine Lake with a new rod and reel. Other clubs send kids home with the fish they caught, Polaroids of their catches, trophies and goody bags filled with terminal tackle to make the memory last. Club volunteers preach catch-and-release fishing, as well as encourage angling by the rules and cleaning up trash, so that the next visitors also can have an enjoyable adventure. There are other lessons, too. ``You are teaching them sportsmanship. With sportsmanship, you learn cooperation, evenhandedness, positive values,'' said North Hollywood's Royal MacNair of the Los Angeles Rod & Reel Club. ``They are important aspects to anyone in any endeavor, and this is just sort of a training ground, a fun training ground.'' The day after a kids' trip, LARRC members begin planning for the next. They've been doing it since 1950, when it was suggested that members fish with underprivileged children once a year. A club foundation was formed to raise funds, in part, club bylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. Bylaws may specify the qualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an state, ``for the recreation of homeless children.'' Early on in the program, participants were selected, ``without regard for race, color, or creed, by Presiding Judge presiding judge n. 1) in both state and federal appeals court, the judge who chairs the panel of three or more judges during hearings and supervises the business of the court. William B. McKesson of Juvenile Court juvenile court Special court handling problems of delinquent, neglected, or abused children. Two types of cases are processed by a juvenile court: civil matters, often concerning care of an abandoned or impoverished child, and criminal matters, arising from antisocial , with the help of county probation officers,'' according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a November 1952 profile in Outdoor Life. Members of clubs have endured trials and errors of their own and pass along to the kids only the most essential techniques to be successful right away - in fishing and in life. ``I want them to be part of what I have - nature - and to stay away from the negative things and be involved with the positive,'' said LARRC's Michael Dinovitz of Calabasas. ``I myself was involved with the negative things as a youngster, such as drugs, alcohol. . . and all kinds of wild, crazy stuff. Then I got involved with my father more; we got more into fishing. Now I'm a straight guy.'' For the more grizzled griz·zled adj. 1. Partly gray or streaked with gray: a grizzled beard. 2. Having fur or hair streaked or tipped with gray. club members, kids trips can be a fountain of youth Fountain of Youth legendary fountain of eternal youth. [World Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 432] See : Unattainability - angling's Chuck E. Cheese's. ``I hope it makes them feel like they are young again,'' said first-time angler Celene Hampton, 14, of Inglewood, shortly after boating a barracuda on the Stardust. Indeed, it does, Celene. ``I thought of my first time fishing, in 1940, on the Ventura River, and remembered seeing steelhead swim up the river and catching a little trout,'' said Thousand Oaks' Gordon Byrne, president of the Ventura County Blue Water Sportfishing Club, after the club's first kids trip. ``We gave kids the opportunity for the same memories; it was absolutely awesome.'' CAPTION(S): 5 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Celene Hampton, 14, of Inglewood beams at the barracuda she caught recently with the help of L.A. Rod & Reel Club's Michael Dinovitz (clapping) and Stardust skipper Jason Diamond during the club's 49th kids trip. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News (2--Color) Khalid Stevens, 7, foreground, pulls up a calico bass with the help of volunteer mentor Sandy Winger of Northridge and Stardust deckhand Ricky Perez (at net). Michael Owen Baker/Daily News (3--Color) The Stardust out of Santa Barbara hosts the Los Angeles Rod & Reel Club's 49th annual kids trip. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News (4--Color) ``You are teaching them sportsmanship. With sportsmanship, you learn cooperation, evenhandedness, positive values. They are important aspects to anyone in any endeavor, and this is just sort of a training ground, a fun training ground.'' - Royal MacNair of the Los Angeles Rod & Reel Club. (5--Color) ``I want them to be part of what I have - nature - and to stay away from the negative things and be involved with the positive.'' - Michael Dinovitz of the Los Angeles Rod & Reel Club |
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