I have already paid the FLW and TBF fees and I hope to fish as many events as possible next year. Also will try to attend the meeting, but don't know for sure right now. I'm the new guy here as far as fishing, but have been around the forum for awhile, and can see where the general preferences are but John has encouraged me to voice my thoughts and suggestions. He has also explained to me some of the challenges for the club in putting together venues and tournaments, such as, if there are additional use fees, and other things. So there is much that I am not familiar with, but with that said here goes.

First...the Feb. venue...looks like it has been mainly Naci for many years. Must be a fairly special place, but I probably would not make it down there due to distance and costs. Even though it seems to be a tradition, some variety might be good...is there not anywhere else up in this area that could be considered for February, for a one day event? Bullards looks interesting for a change of venue, but again, for me, I think too far, and could be snowing up there in Feb. What about something in the delta, or better yet, one of the foothills lakes.

The regular tournament bass fisherman I have spoken with in this area tell me that the fishing is pretty good in late February and just gets better throughout the spring. This is for McLure, Don Pedro, and Melones and possibly Camanche. My choice would be Melones, but more for a late March date. Last April 9th, a 17.4 lb. big mama bass was caught at the south end of the lake. And the lake record is over 18lbs, caught during a tournament. There are a lot of big bass in Melones along with the many avg. bass, as well as spotted bass. Last spring, most bass fisherman were reporting catching large numbers on a daily basis.

With Rob Linden in Lincoln now, Steve Williams east of Lodi, and myself east of Modesto in Waterford, it would be nice to include at least a couple of events over this way. Rob's suggestion of Folsom might be a good one, and I believe I saw it listed in some past events. Actually, Folsom is farther for me though, than the delta locations, and I am OK with most of the delta venues...they seem to be a good central location, with good fishing.

I saw in the archives, Los Banos has been a venue. At first thought it was referring to O'Neill Forbay, but looked up on google map and found it. Never heard of it before now, but thought it might be interesting...don't know how good the fishing is there, but I see that Jeff has just posted it possible for Oct. And what about the forbay...anyone have any experience with that or know about it?

So, with all this said, in general, here are some of my suggestions.

February... one day event closer to all of us ... could be any one of the foothills lakes as they should all fish fairly well by late Feb. Don't know much about the Delta in Feb, but another possibility. And maybe the Los Banos Resevoir would be possibility. I think it best to fish that one in the spring or fall, as suggested by Jeff, not summer...too hot.

Also, I would like to suggest that for Feb. and March that the launch time be around 8-9 a.m., instead of sunrise. Don't see the need to get up so early in those months...the bass usually get more active by mid to late morning then, and so do I. Just something to think about for the meeting.

March... my choice is Melones for the last weekend of March, since late April is locked up for Clear Lake. The big females will be moving into the shallows for spawning and should be accessible to us, if we can determine the best area to launch.

April ... Clear Lake Open

May ... Melones, if not in March, would be my 1st choice...there will still be fish in spawn or post spawn, and in the shallows. If we could do Melones in March, then May could be good time for Folsom, and John said he might do some checking for Camanche. Other possibilities...McLure, Don Pedro, Los Banos.

June, July, August ... Delta locations. NO sunrise event for me, but I see some have listed sundowner...I like that idea. Also, if there is enough interest in making the trip up to Bullards, then June or July might be good time for 2 day event...not too cold by then, and cooler than the valley, maybe.

Sept... I guess I could go along with (SCBBBC Classic)

Oct...good time to get back to a valley/foothills lake, depending on previous venues.

Nov...again, something closer than Naci for me, but then, this will be my 1st year, and I 1st have to make the TOC.

Here are some of the lakes in the valley/foothills for consideration.
Los Banos, O'Neill Forbay, McLure, Don Pedro, Melones, Camanche, Pardee, Folsom, and I saw that Rancho Seco was in the archives (is that place safe?) I know there are some others. Also, there is Turlock Lake State Park which could be free use...there was a free entrance and parking lot on the east side by the inlet, but I don't know the current status, since the state pulled out and pulled the deputy on duty...now run by some private company, I think, but still a state park. I can check it out before the meeting.

Modesto Reservoir and Woodward Reservoir might be good venues, but there is a fee for entering and parking, and I don't know if there would be any other fees. They both have camping...If the club is interested I'll see if I can get more info. I think the bass fishing is pretty good at these lakes, and not being large reservoirs might be a good thing.

That Los Vaqueros Resevoir south of Brentwood looks really interesting, but it seems that it is still too immature for good bass fishing, or otherwise, it is slow. I guess mostly a trout and striper fishery. Too bad, as it is a great location.

Sorry for the long post, but you wanted input. Hope to see some of you at the meeting.

Philip