By Steven Sharp
I am a fourth generation member of a non-fishing family. In a dozen or so attempts with rod and reel, my career catch is two fish. I caught them at a trout farm. Since speaking with a group that can give me advice, my days of being fishing-challenged are over. The Venice Fishing Club, whose members travel the lakes and beaches of Southern and Central California, is serious about fishing. The Venice Fishing Club came into existence in 1954, nearly 50 years ago. Their first two presidents were Frank Ishikawa, and Heiji Kita, in that order. The Fishing Club has been and always will be a family oriented organization. It is always open to new membership. If a member has a family, the whole family becomes a member! In its prime, the Fishing Club had a membership of 150 families. Considering the average size of a family, that's close to 500 people. Now, club membership is at 45 individual members, only half who are still active. Unintentionally, the club became a hidden treasure at the Community Center. |
 Who has a widest mouth, Fishing Club member Robert Hirota or his big catch? |
Every November, the club gets together and formulates the upcoming year's calendar. They schedule eight derbies. They engage in surf fishing (in the ocean) at locations such as Santa Barbara, Zuma Beach and Malibu. For trout fishing (in lakes), they have traveled to Santa Ana, Big Bear and Castaic. Their biggest derby is the one held at Crowley Lake, in Mammoth. For it, they charter a bus and travel overnight.
The Fishing Club once participated in another kind of fishing: deep sea fishing. They would take a boat out, miles from the coast, and fish for hours at a time. This was an activity particularly enjoyed by younger families. As the children of the original family members grew up, got married, had children and moved away, it became less practical to keep up the deep sea outings. The club also used to have a children's fishing derby on their Crowley Lake trip. They no longer do.
The Fishing Club is hoping to attract some new members. There are a lot of young families associated with the VJCC today -- families with children who are any age from infants to teens. Any child would love fishing, just the excitement of simply getting to cast a fishing line out into the water. There are a lot of parents and other adults at the Community Center who would like it, too. It doesn't matter whether you have experience or never fished before. Check it out. This club is worth keeping around. And maybe, they could bring back that children's derby.
The Fishing Club holds meetings on the last Friday of every month, at 7:30 PM. The meetings are open to everyone. Drop on by.
by Gail Sharp
Shigeko Fujihiro |
Shigeko Fujihiro became involved with the Community Center through the Gakuen. She is a founding member of the Karaoke Club and supports the Senior Nutrition Program. Additionally, she has been the VJCC Japanese recording and corresponding secretary and has served on the VJCC Board of Directors. Over the next twelve months, Shigeko will be passing on her duties as chairperson for the VJCC Shinnen-Enkai and Festival. She feels things are going well at the Center and should continue as they are. Like the new VJCC event chairperson, younger members are willing to step-up and both carry on the traditions of the VJCC and promote new ideas. Over the next five years, Shigeko feels the Center will continue to do well under the guidance of the VJCC leadership. With the drive toward expansion, she is encouraged the current leadership continues to consider the needs of the senior members. |
