San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Hey all! It is that time of year again, finally!
Last year prior to the end of the Barrett Season I went about getting a private fishing day for a nonprofit that I do hundreds of hours of volunteer time per year. The Educational Martial Arts System. It gives scholarships to underprivileged to do martial arts, varsity letters for martial artists, community outreach and education programs, and there are zero paid employees https://temas.org/donate/.

That being said it took about 6 months to get the permit for the day, and that day was Sunday, April 6.

Here we go! After getting to the lake and speaking briefly to the group (34 people total). We were off! Everyone went their separate ways but I mentioned that if people wanted to meet up on the island for lunch at noon, I would be there. Unfortunately, the island was mostly still under water so we met at the peninsula (better choice anyway). The day was perfect with pristine conditions and cooperative fish. I started off the day (and used most of the day) jigs. I had 10 bass in the the first 40 minutes and was like a giggling kid. I think pretty much everyone else was also!

From what people said the bite varied around the lake but included and was not limited to...
Topwater, jerkbaits, chatterbaits, cranks, jigs, worms, and on and on. We ended the day around 3pm and met up at the area above pigs to chat and take pictures.

I truly believe that this day had a special feeling about it. Oh, did I mention Brian from the Spotted Bay Bass Podcast and YouTube Channel Snagging Grass and Catching Bass (and one of the coordinators of Spotty Bowl) caught his PB. An 11.3lb monster on a Senko and 8lb test!

I could go on and on but I am just excited for the Barrett season ahead. It should be great! I look forward to seeing you all out there throughout the year.

Thanks for all who attended and contributed to the nonprofit. It was a win for all! If you are interested in watching the video I think that you'll enjoy it.
Cheers!
Chris

Nice event it sounds like. If you do it again can I be added to the list?

Dfishin wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:01 pm Nice event it sounds like. If you do it again can I be added to the list?

I will work on that but cannot make any promises. Cheers!

Awesome day my brotha super nice video ....... one thing I did notice this time at barrett was like no other ..... no arguments, no bitterness everyone was happy to be there... 1st time I can actually say I caught over 70 fish in a day, stop counting around noon at 50 , and 1st time I can say a day without any yelling or screaming ( except for the guy who caught the 11lbs I heard him from the back of hauser ) thanks again and hopefully it's the same next year... see you next time bud

Also any chance you have a group picture?

Thanks for reminding me!

Great video, might be your best one yet?
Lake looks great, great fishing, great weather........ Awesome, happy for you!

Wasn’t the entry fee or cost to attend (fish) was about $300-$400 and was that per person or per boat?

That is a great video and captures the spirit of the day!! Have to add the black crappie bite was on too and what pretty fish!! And the 11 pounder was girthy!! Fortunate to catch her before she spawned out at least a pound lol. Thanks again Chris and we can’t wait to participate again.

Great video Chris! Thanks again for the invite. Awesome day of fishing and seeing everyone!

Great video and a great day on the water with a group of nice folks. Thanks for putting that all together.

Oh that was the event with $3,500 package for 3 anglers per boat, almost $1,200 per person. That’s my partial down payment to fish Cedro’s Island (MX) lol. Floaters was like $300 or so

It was RAAAD! Hoping to do it again next year for sure! Thank you so much for putting it together Chris, and for all the wonderful charity work you do. Awesome fishing and awesome people made for I day I'll always remember for sure.

falafeluver wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 2:12 pm Wasn’t the entry fee or cost to attend (fish) was about $300-$400 and was that per person or per boat?

There are a number of private fundraiser events scheduled before the opener. They went from $250 per person up to $3000 for a package. That was not what I wanted to do. I wanted to raise money for the nonprofit, raise awareness and have a reasonable cost per person. This day was $150 per person for fishing.

Awesome video! I had so much fun at the event and can’t wait for next year!

Hey, so how does one get on that list!
What a fun time for everyone. That's the kind of bite we're all hoping for next month.

I think the lake is going to continue to be awesome this year.

Great Video as always.

What are the lake records at Barrett for LMB, crappie, bluegill's & cats?