Dick Trask - The Man; The Legend

[Ron C]

At the request of Terry Battisti, I rummaged through a thousand old photographs and located two photos of Dick Trask, which I scanned into jpg's. Here they are:

This first photo was taken on May 11, 1996 at Castaic Lake. This was the very last WON BASS Southern California Region team tournament that Dick fished. Dick and his team partner Tim McCormick finished 2nd. In the photo (from left to right) are Dick and Tim, Andy and Pete Vincioni (1st place), and Bob Corwin (asleep) and Kim Calvert (3rd place).


This second photo was taken on September 9, 1995, also at Castaic Lake. Dick fished this tournament with Gary Maki and they finished 3rd. In this photo (from left to right) are: Ralph Wells and Mike North (2nd place), Bill Carlton and Eric Parra (1st place), and (a beardless) Dick Trask and Gary Maki.


I do not recall ever seeing Dick Trask wearing anything but a Phenix Rods hat, shirt, or jacket - Not ever.

I once had to disqualify Dick from a tournament. It was during the days when we had a Monday through Friday off-limits period. I wanted to make sure that the West Ramp at Castaic Lake was clear of debris, so I drove up there on a Wednesday evening prior to a Saturday tournament. When I arrived, there was Trask fishing from the launch ramp dock. Caught red-handed, the quick thinking Trask said: "Hey Ron, what time are the sign-ups on Saturday morning?" I answered: "From 3:30 to 5, just like always Dick. Why, are you planning to watch the launch, because you sure as hell can't fish it." Without missing a beat, Trask said: "Sure I can fish it. I'm not on the water, I'm on the dock." We both had a good laugh over that one. (And no, he was not allowed to fish the tournament).

I've got many more Dick Trask stories, but I will save them for a later time. I will say this much, I sure do miss that old goat.

[Terry Battisti]

Man Ron, those are great pics. Thanks so much for taking the time to dig them out. Its great to see the old farts face again. Man, he lost a lot of weight in his later years........I remember him in the 80s when he was a tad bit heavier.

Terry

[Shawn R.]

Very Cool, i miss the 90's and those guys!!! Tim (whos in the first pic) is a friend and former Perris partner, He first introduced me to Dick on MV lake. he is in Henderson now boatless and married. Tim was always a good stick but after a few years with Dick, the guy was starting to own Castaic. I started fishing with Dick when he was losing weight, funny thing was he still wore the same Brown slacks he just pulled them up higher each week. I have some old pics around somewhere, it was always Dick and anyone, team Martens, and Poore and Wilder in the top 5.

[DanWarme]

Great Photos Ron.
I miss the ole crumudgen myself.

Had the chance to spend a couple of days in the boat with him when we filmed the Splitshot video. Was amazing. Even when he was trying to get a big fish for the video and backseating the hell out of me. (I don't think he realized I knew what he was doing).
Fishing right up against a verticle piece of a sunken bridge, it was amazing to watch him work. I never had any shot at the water he was working. lol

Dick was amazing for his knowledge, his drive, but mostly for his boat control and presentation. I sure hope he is still fishing wherever he is!