HUNTINGTON BEACH : Fishing, Friendship Are Club’s Concerns
The fish weren’t biting much when anglers of the Huntington Beach Fishing Club tested the waters off Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, but the weather and the view were perfect so nobody seemed to mind much.
The club, which formed last June as a social and inexpensive recreational activity, gets together several times each month.
On Wednesday, they cast their lines in search of fun and found it.
The club is made up of about 30 senior citizens but membership is open to anyone who likes to fish. Club members will teach people who don’t know how to fish.
Club members make about three freshwater and saltwater outings each month and expert fishermen offer instructions on knot-tying and other fish-catching tips. The club has evolved into a support group for members who are ill or who have lost a spouse.
In addition, members said they will take underprivileged children whale watching and on fishing trips this spring.
Madeline Gaskins, 64, of Huntington Beach, regarded as one of the club’s most skillful anglers, caught the first fish Wednesday, a small bass that she released.
“Everybody should belong to the club,” she said. “It gives you a chance to get out of the house and leave some work for tomorrow.”
Josephine Wright of Costa Mesa, the club secretary who writes a monthly newsletter for 30 members, said she began fishing more than 50 years ago with her father on the Santa Barbara pier. It wasn’t all recreation because the day’s catch was an important food source for her family during the Depression, she said.
She heard about the club at a Costa Mesa senior citizens center, she said. One of the anglers joined her at a sporting goods store and advised her on the purchase of a saltwater rod and reel for $125, she said.
“It’s the best thing to happen to me in years,” she said. “We’re all good friends and care about each other.”
Lou Zulka, president of the club, is a retired McDonnell Douglas flight test engineer who said he grew up fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and has fished in many places throughout the world.
“I have a great respect for the sea and being out in the open, fresh air,” said Zulka, 65, of Huntington Beach. “If I catch fish it’s a plus.”
Zulka said the pier outing was intended more or less as practice for more demanding trips. He spent much of the time Wednesday tying hooks and adjusting reels for others.
“I go the full nine yards the first couple of times,” he said. “After that, my fingers get tired.”
The club meets the first Tuesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Michael E. Rodgers Senior Center, 1706 Orange Ave. in Huntington Beach.
Surf fishing is scheduled Feb. 9 at Sunset Beach; a deep-sea trip from Dana Point is scheduled Feb. 18 and a daylong outing is scheduled at Lake Irvine on Feb. 23.
People can find out more about joining the fishing club by calling the Michael E. Rodgers Senior Center at (714) 536-9387.