Lifetime angler shares passion through Harbour group

Many children boarding the 80-foot chartered boat had never been fishing. Most hadn t ever been on a boat. Kathy and Bruce Bayless, along with the Anglers of Huntington Harbour, made sure each child had an experience to remember. The Anglers began taking disadvantaged children on a kid s fishing trip in 1971. The tradition has continued ever since. The Freelance boat is chartered out of Davey s Locker in Newport Beach, said Kathy Bayless. My husband Bruce and , along with the Anglers, get on board at 7 a.m. to set up rods and put hooks on lines as about 50 at-risk boys and girls from Huntington Beach schools arrive on buses chartered by the Anglers. Bayless says the children range in age from 8 to 15. The purpose of the trip is for the children to catch fish, so the captain goes to different fishing areas between Huntington Beach and Catalina, depending on where the fish are biting. The boat leaves about 8 a.m. and returns about 4 p.m. r a dozen Anglers instructing the children, and they make sure each child is successful. They help the children bait hooks and catch fish, said Bayless. On this summer s trip, the children caught barracuda, sand bass, sculpin and sand dabs, There is a trophy for most unusual, and through the years, kids have struggled for 15 or 20 minutes trying to reel in a fish that turned out to be a rock, a piece of driftwood, and even seaweed. The largest fish, says Bayless, was a barracuda more than 50 inches long. At the start of the day, some of the children are a little apprehensive and hesitant to try fishing for the first time, said Bayless. After some Angler encouragement and instruction, they catch that first fish and then are baiting hooks and getting them in the water as fast as they can. Bayless says she grew up in a family of fishers, started fishing when she was about 5 years old, and caught her first marlin by the time she was 1n we got married 38 years ago, said Bayless. In addition to fishing activities with the Anglers of Huntington Harbour, the couple tries to get to Cabo San Lucas to do some marlin fishing every year. We ve also participated in seven fishing trips to East Cape with the Harbour Rod and Reel Club, said Bayless. Kathy and Bruce Bayless own the Bayless Group residential and investment real estate company and moved to Huntington Harbour 13 years ago from Fullerton to live on the water and be closer to boating and fishing. They enjoy taking family, friends and clients on their Duffy boat, the Just in Time. And we love the kids fishing trip each year, said Bayless. On this year s summer trip, the children caught 173 fish. The crew clean and bag each child s fish to take home. Bayless says a photo is taken of each child catching a fish, and the photo is also taken home. I take each photo and print it on board, said ton Harbour commemorative T-shirt or hat, breakfast, lunch, beverages and snacks. This trip is used as an incentive to motivate children who are falling behind to get back on track, said Bayless. Dr. Paul Morrow, principal of Marina High School, told me the Anglers kids fishing trip has become a life-changing event that adds joy and meaning to the lives of these atrisk children. Trophies are awarded for jackpot fish, boys heaviest sack, girls heaviest sack, second largest, third largest, most unusual, sportsmanship, and more, explained Bayless. This year, Bruce invited Raymond Fuentes, the CEO and founder of Rosa Packs on the trip, and he donated five eco-friendly Rosa Pack backpacks to the top boys and girls fishermen of the day, said Bayless. Bayless says she and her husband joined the Anglers of Huntington Harbour to support the many philanthropies such as Harbour Ocean Preservation Enhancement, operating the white sea bass grow-out pen, preservation and enhancement of marine environment by contributing to the research, education and safeguarding of natural resources, allowing the continuation of sport fishing on our coast. There are many additional activities, tournaments, TGIF events the last Friday of the month, cruises, and an annual fish fry, said Bayless. And, of course the Angler s kids fishing trip. My husband Bruce and I believe in enriching the lives of children, and want to support this philanthropy, said Bayless.