Privatization, Fishing Fee Boost at Castaic Studied

CASTAIC — Attempting to lure dollars from bass anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts, Los Angeles County is considering a privatization plan that would more than double entrance fees at a portion of Castaic Lake, one of the most popular fishing holes in Southern California.

If the plan is approved by the Board of Supervisors and the state Department of Fish and Game, the fee for entry into a portion of the Castaic Lake State Recreation Area’s lower lagoon, which is said to be a world-class spot for bass fishing, would be $12.

The charge for entrance to all other areas of the park would remain $6 per vehicle.

Officials with the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation say the price hike is necessary to enable a private firm to make badly needed improvements at the state recreation area, including stocking the lagoon with 10 times more fish and improving buildings, roads and children’s play areas.

In addition to allowing Anaheim-based Outdoor Safaris International to collect the entrance fees at the western side of the lagoon, the agreement transfers to the company the right to charge and collect fees from the RV campground, boat rental facility and snack and bait shop.

The cash-poor county lost $1.5 million operating the 8,700-acre park during the 1995-96 fiscal year and cannot afford to make any improvements, county officials said.

“This concession will provide services we are unable to provide,” said Miki Yamamoto, an assistant superintendent at the lake. “We believe it will be a benefit to everyone.”

The privatization proposal has also won over the hard-core anglers who belong to the Castaic Bass Club and Friends of Castaic Lake, who have agreed to swallow the higher fees in return for a guarantee that 15-pound rainbow trout and trophy-sized largemouth bass will soon be swimming lazily through the lagoon’s shallow waters.

In a letter to the department of parks, the primary concern expressed by the president of Friends of Castaic Lake was that the introduction of large, predatory catfish would devour the bass population before they could be caught by anglers.

Other neighbors, however, have been less worried about the plight of the bass and more concerned that they will be priced out of their favorite fishing area.

“This puts regular use of the lake out of reach of middle-class couples like my husband and me, who bought our home in Castaic for the specific purpose of being near enough to use the lake,” Stacey Gordon wrote the Board of Supervisors. “[And] it will of course make the lower lake an impossible luxury for the lower-middle-class residents of nearby Val Verde and Newhall, many of whom now fish . . . along the shoreline with their children.”

Gordon said she was not aware that the county was considering raising the entrance fee until recently. But neither did Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the area.

“We’ve gotten a number of complaints about the fees,” said Dave Vannatta, an Antonovich aide. “We weren’t informed of any fee increase and although the parks department makes those kinds of decisions, usually, we are at least advised.”

Antonovich has already delayed a board decision on the proposed increase once--and Vannatta said the supervisor will probably delay Monday’s hearing on the issue for another 30 days in order to schedule a public hearing on the fee structure at Castaic.

County parks officials say they have little choice other than to seek creative funding solutions in order to avoid large operating deficits at its facilities, particularly with consecutive years of county budget shortfalls.

“A lot of people conceptually are concerned whether tax-funded property should be used for private benefits,” said Steve Duron, a financial manager with the parks department. “But we have been leasing out concessions in our parks for years. This offsets the lack of tax revenue that we have throughout the entire department.”

For example, the licensing agreement at Castaic would guarantee the county more than $1 million over the 10-year contract.

Outdoor Safaris--which operates the concessions at three lakes in Orange County--will spend about $125,000 on repairs and construction, including remodeling buildings and improving parking lots and access roads.

The improvements will be well worth the higher prices, said Jerry Johnson, chief financial officer of Outdoor Safaris.

The company has promised to stock the lagoon with 1,000 to 4,000 pounds of Mount Lassen rainbow trout and channel catfish each week from May through October.

Among the fish will be “super trout,” which will weigh from 5 to 20 pounds.

To protect the bass, the number of 20-pound catfish released into the lake will be limited and anglers who hook a bass will be required to throw it back.

And even fishermen who oppose the proposed fee increase say they cannot help but become excited about snaring the big one.

Castaic Lake yielded one 16-pound bass recently, while only 20 to 30 bass weighing more than 15 pounds are caught in the United States each year.

The record, which has held for more than 64 years, is a catch of 22 pounds, 4 ounces.

The potential prize for such a catch: $1 million in endorsements.

“There are a lot of people who think the next world record holder might come from here,” said Richard Gordon, who added that if the fees are raised he wouldn’t be able to afford to fish at the lake anymore.