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Written by: Greg Cornish

Published: 30 September 2012

In 1999 I met a man named John Graham, a member of the Lake County Land Trust and treasurer of the Clearlake Bassmasters.

My neighbor also was a member of the Clearlake Bassmasters. I wasn't having much luck catching bass but these two friends convinced me I could learn more by merely coming to the meetings held the first Tuesday of each month.

During that first meeting I learned that the Clearlake Bassmasters were much more than just a fishing organization. As I sat listening they were discussing how to improve the community and fund scholarships for young adults planning to attend college.

During the few meetings that I attended I overheard many conversations about improving lake quality, giving back to the community and creating better access to the lake.

Each year five scholarships are given for $500 each by this fishing club. This year there were 42 applicants. Also, each year $500 is donated to Toys for Tots sponsored by Umpqua Bank.

Many years ago the Bassmasters along with fish and game and other organizations were responsible for stocking the lake with Florida strain bass, as well as crappie in more recent years.

Biologist Greg Giusti is a member of the Clearlake Bassmasters and has helped to focus the club on the prevention of quagga and zebra mussels from entering our precious lake.

They work hard to educate everyone they can about this danger and often have guest speakers to speak out about biology of the lake or new techniques in fishing. They welcome guest speakers.

Local tackle shops have been the mainstay as sponsors for the Clearlake Bassmasters. Bob Higgins of Limit Out has been donating tackle packs, rods and reels longer than anyone. He has attended many of the meetings and helped make the organization what it is today.

Ron Snead, former owner of Maverick Bait and Tackle had long donated many door prizes. More recently companies like Tackle It and Clearlake Outdoors have stepped up and donated more of their fair share to benefits the the club sponsors and to the annual Christmas party. Konocti Vista Resort and Casino has been a major sponsor of the organization as well.

An unsung hero of the organization is Phil Copas, who has served as vice president, treasurer and tournament director year after year and usually takes top position of non-boater each year.

Non-boater is a term used to define a member who does not own a boat but loves to fish and is a member of the organization. Another term is “back seater,” as they fish out of the back of a boater's boat.

I really never expected a group of fishermen to be so community minded. It's almost like fishing was on an equal basis with improving fishing and surrounding community.

I found every October they held a bass derby to raise money for their scholarships program. During the summer they teamed up with Big Brother Big Sister organizations to take children fishing for 27 years.

These were spearheaded by John Graham, a former county planner in the counties of Sonoma and Lake. The members wrote letters to national tackle companies and local tackle companies to support their endeavors and the children fishing with them always left with some great new tackle.

Since the acquisition of the release boat the derby has been halted as the release boat brings in more money for scholarships than did the tournament.

This organization was formed in the late 1970s with John Graham and Gary Musset being a couple of the many founding members. Now don't get me wrong, because mostly this organization is about fishing. The first Tuesday of every month is the meeting followed that next Saturday by a club tournament.

As I sat in Renée’s diner recently speaking with Terry Pyers about the history of the bass club he mentioned in recent years the club had become more family-oriented, with fathers bringing sons and daughters and husbands bringing wives.

After meeting with Terry I stopped to see a former member and tournament fisherman named Steve Kelly who was instrumental in rejuvenating the release boat, which I'll talk about later.

While at Steve's I met a man whom I'd met earlier at a Clearlake Bassmaster Christmas party. His name was Lyle Valabor, who travels all the way from Ukiah to fish with this group.

He volunteered, “Do you know why I like the Clearlake Bassmasters? It's because it gives me quality time with my wife Cathy. We love spending the day together fishing and it really brought us closer together. She loves the meetings. She loves the people, and she loves fishing with me.” It was a perfect exclamation point to what Terry had said minutes earlier.

The club used to fish Lake Shasta, Lake Sonoma, Lake Berryessa, Lake Mendocino and Clear Lake. When gas prices took a hike a few years ago they had to settle on cutting back to just Clear Lake. Once again the club has expanded its lakes and this year will fish Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma.

Each year the Bassmasters have two picnics started with what bass fisherman call a shootout. To bass fisherman a shootout usually means bringing in their biggest fish to weigh instead of five fish that most tournaments allow. Also, shootouts are sometimes a less competitive and more friendly environment.

What I consider to be the most important move made by the Bassmasters was the acceptance of an old beat up release boat from the American Bass Association in 2004. The release boat was a very inadequate shape when they took it in, but the club saw the potential and raised $4,000 to completely strip the boat down to the pontoons and rebuild it.

It was a 32 foot pontoon boat and after it was completed it held four, 125-gallon oxygen injected tanks on his deck. I asked Pyers if he had ever seen any miracles happen aboard the boat, meaning had any fish they thought were dead brought back to life.

“Many times – every time we go out,” he said. “One of the keys to the fishes survival is learning how to 'fizz' them. Fizzing fish is the process of inserting a needle into the fish that has been brought up quickly from deep water. Their air bladder expands quickly leaving them floating on the surface. The correct insertion and withdrawal of the needle at the proper place and length of time will give the fish the proper buoyancy to once again swim to any depth it desires.” The volunteers on the release both are experts at this.

Now for the good part about the release boat. For $250 you get a crew of experts to bring the release boat to the lake, launch it and care for your tournaments fish. Imagine what the price would be if these good people didn't volunteer. The success rate of keeping fish alive has been phenomenal.

By now, if you're an interested bass fisherman you might be asking, “How do I become a member.”

First you must attend a meeting. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month at Kelseyville pizza in Kelseyville at 5285 State St. at 7 p.m.

Iif you own a boat your boat must be at least 14 feet in length, have a 40 horsepower engine or more, a working live well, a kill switch attached to a PFD (personal flotation device) and you must wear your PFD at all times while underway. You must also have  liability insurance on your boat. If you do not have a boat he may still join the club as a non-boater.

If you want to join you may contact Scott Strugnell at 707-688-2979 or visit www.clearlakebassmasters.com .

Many a prominent tournament fisherman has used this organization as a stepping stone to bigger and better tournament, many even winning brand new bass boats.

Greg Cornish lives in Nice, Calif., and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .