CSBA Hosts Record Turnout At Kid’s Fishing Event At Contra Loma   By: Dan Bacher November 17, 2007 More Articles by Dan

A record number of children, 409, participated in the 20th annual “Hooked On Fishing, Not Drugs” day at Contra Loma Lake in the Antioch hills on Saturday, October 27, sponsored by the California Striped Bass Association, West Delta Chapter, in cooperation with the East Bay Regional Park District.

The late Uril “Compy” Compomizzo, known for his legendary efforts against water pollution and campaign to get more children involved in fishing, started the event after a thirteen-year-old boy committed suicide after getting hooked on drugs. Compomizzo felt something must be done locally to encourage kids to take up fishing and other outdoors activists, rather than drugs and gangs, so he asked the West Delta chapter to sponsor and provide the volunteers for the annual event.

The event started at the Antioch Pier, but the number of children and parents attending the day eventually outgrow the pier’s limited capacity. After 10 years, the event moved to the Contra Loma Regional Park.

The CSBA-sponsored kids day was part of a three-day special event, preceded by a special need kids day on Thursday and a senior and special adults day on Friday sponsored by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). The district obtained a total of 2500 pounds of rainbow trout planted in the event from Mt. Lassen Trout Farm.

“Mt Lassen Fish Farm donates the trout that are caught by the anglers in the event,” said Pete Alexander, the EBRPD fishery program manager. “The district only pays for the trout that are remaining after the hundreds of children catch their fish.”

The park district and Mt. Lassen stocked the fish in a special net in the cove near the event, while CSBA volunteers helped the anglers catch their fish. For many kids, it was their first fish ever.

The fish ranged from 1 to 8 pounds, so many anglers caught trophy trout in the 4 to 7 pound class. After the event was over, the fish were released into the reservoir.

Roger Lund, the treasurer of the CSBA chapter, and other volunteers held a short awards ceremony for those who caught the biggest fish after everybody got done fishing.

James Roses caught the largest fish, a 25 inch rainbow, while Loren Cullins landed the smallest fish, a 10 oz. rainbow. The six top anglers in three age divisions also won trophies, fishing rods, hats and other prizes.

Three-year-old Nikko Tedelidis won first place in the 3 to 6 year division with a 17-1/2 inch rainbow. Six-year-old James Sivesind placed second with a 17 inch trout, while five-year-old Charlie Herrera came in third with a 17 inch trout. Five-year-old Seth Cronin placed fourth with a 17 inch trout; four-year-old Devin Del Campo finished fifth with a 16-1/2 incher; and 4-year-old Justice Herrera came in sixth with a 16 inch fish.

Michelae Biggers took first place in the 7 to 9 year old category with a 24-1/2 inch rainbow trout. Nine-year-old Chris Santos finished second with a 24 inch rainbow, while 9-year-old Hunter Jackson came in third with a 23-1/2 inch rainbow. Nine-year-old Chrishan Tuazon nailed fourth place with a 23-1/2 inch beauty; Justin Batesting finished fifth with a 21-1/2 inch trout; and Donovan Pilazo ended up sixth with a 19-1/2 inch rainbow.

In the 10 through 13 division, 11-year-old Ariana Fuentes took first place with a 24 inch rainbow weighing 6.10 pounds. Twelve-year-old Omar Gutierrez placed second with a 24 inch trout weighing 6.4 pounds, while 12-year-old Jamie Rios swept third with a 23-1/2 inch rainbow also going 6.4 pounds.

Ten-year-old Darron Harper placed fourth with a 22-1/2 inch trout; 10-year-old Matthew Edwards took fifth with a 22-1/2 inch fish; and 10-year-old Kayla McGrewe finished sixth with a 19-1/2 inch rainbow.

During the two years I have covered the “Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs,” day, I was impressed by large number of volunteers and the efficiency of the fish cleaning operation set up for the kids and their parents.

“We clean the fish and put them in bags with their numbers on them and then transfer them to an ice chest so the fish will be fresh and cold when the children and their parents get home,” said Gary Adams, president of the State Board of the CSBA. “Every child is given a numbered wrist band so that when the day is over, they and their parents can easily identify their bag of fish. We don’t want the fish laying on the ground or on the top of tables in the heat.”

Several people - Mr. and Mrs. Richard Evaro and Dave Schick - came right “off the street” this year to help with cleaning the fish and other volunteer duties. “Volunteering to clean fish all day – now that’s heroic,” said Roger Lund.

“I think that every kid caught a fish in the event,” said Lund. “I’m glad that the CSBA was able to sponsor this event that gets kids hooked on fishing, rather then getting into drugs and gangs.”

The event is usually held the first week in October, but this year it was postponed until October 27 because of a schedule conflict, according to Wayne Hancock of the CSBA and fishing partner of the late Compy Compomizzo.

“I really miss Compy, who passed away six years go,” reflected Hancock. “I netted his biggest-ever striper, a 38-1/4 pound fish. We also worked together on stopping the dumping of pesticides into the Delta, including the installation of a monitoring device on San Luis Drain. We keep this event going in his memory.”

Many businesses donated prizes to the event. Sponsors include Gotcha Bait and Tackle, Round Table Pizza, the Knights of Columbus, Save Mart, Bass Pro Shops, Target, See’s Candy, Latino’s and Rock Bottom Records,

Contra Loma Regional Park is located in the hills of Contra Costa County on the southwestern corner of the city of Antioch. The 776 acre park includes the 80-acre reservoir. The Contra Costa Water District maintains the reservoir as a back up water supply. The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) manages the surrounding lands, owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Fishing is open year round for trout, striped bass, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, bluegill and channel catfish. A public boat ramp is available on the lake’s south end near the Frederickson Lane entrance. Boats are restricted to electric motors only.

Call (925) 757-0404 for more information about Contra Loma. For more information about the West Delta Chapter of the CSBA, call chapter president Jim Cox at (925) 261-9820 or email: jimcoxsportfishing@yahoo.com.

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