January 2020 Newsletter Happy New Year to all FCM’s -- Fishing Club Members! Not just Happy New Year, not just happy new decade. Not just new resolutions. Not just new 2020 laws: minimum wage, gig workers, natural hair styles, lactation accommodations, harassment training, family leave, rent control, religious displays, online privacy -- oh baby, it never ends! At least current fishing regs last through February, giving us time to adjust to all the rest. We also have a new home. Not Tony and me personally, the club! After so many years at the beautiful Bali Hai, we’ve known a long time that our days there were numbered. They’ve been our loyal supporters for so long, but we’ve been digging into their bottom line. It costs them $1,000 just to set up the room, provide a bartender, and deliver orders. If they have a paying customer for the room, the minimum fee for providing food and beverage service is $3,200! You can see why we often had to scramble for another spot. We can hardly blame them for putting a paying customer in ‘our’ spot. But to make up the difference between what our members have been spending, and the $1,000 minimum they need, we’d have such a drain on club funds that we would fold in a year. And even if we paid that amount, we’d still be out whenever they had a paying customer. It’s sad, but understandable. Where will we be? See the article “Our New Stomping Grounds.” Thursday, January 9th we’ll be visited by one of the luminaries of fishing, tournaments, and travel, Gary C. Graham. An award-winning writer and photojournalist, columnist for Western Outdoor News, and Baja editor of BD Outdoors (Bloodydecks), he’s a contributor to Discover Baja and Destino Los Cabos, various fishing journals, author of multiple books, and founder of Friends of Fishing for disadvantaged youth. With his wife Yvonne, he runs Baja on the Fly, a full-service saltwater fly-fishing clearinghouse for guides, accommodations, boats, and other services in Baja and mainland Mexico. See his entry in the California Outdoors Hall of Fame for a list of just some of the honors and awards he has received, and his many accomplishments. He’s BIG in our part of California too – this is a speaker who can change your game!