Venice Island, Ca (The Duck Club)

     I don't remember when Dad became a member of this place, but I am grateful for all the incredible memories. I actually spent my honeymoon on the island. The members called the room we used "The Honeymoon Suite" for years... Although remodeled, the honeymoon suite remains.

The photo below is The Clubhouse in the 1970's

 The "Back" Lake.

The Clubhouse today

 

Dad and John with one of the many puppies we had at the island.

Oh Yea, it was called The Venice Island Duck Club for a reason!

For years, we summered here, fishing, shooting, water skiing, cooking, frog gigging and generally doing whatever we wanted, since for two weeks, IT WAS OUR ISLAND. Every year we would pick wild blackberries and Ann would make a giant Blackberry Cobler.

 

The Front Lake. was plumb FULL of BIG bass and so many catfish, that when using worms, it was impossible to wait more than a few minutes for a bite.

At sunset we would use top water lures and the bass would EXPLODE out of the water to get at them! 

The picture on the right is the dock on the San Joaquin River.  When the tide was flowing the striped bass (up to 30/40lbs) were plentiful and provided hours of light tackle excitement. We also kept our crawdad trap here and it provided many a' great meal.

 

A SMALL STRIPER, JUST LEGAL SIZE.

Roberto Ponce has been on the island from the time he was a small boy, he was there when Conrad Hilton and Clark Gable decided to make it hunting club and is there today.  Roberto knows every inch of this 3200 acre paradise!  He is perhaps the single kindest Man I ever met! I  visit Roberto for a little reminiscing and fishing occasionally.

Robert was there in 1961, when Gable, just finished shooting the film The Misfits, with Marilyn Monroe in Nevada. After the last day of filming, he drove to Venice Island for what Roberto says Gable knew was his last look.  He had Roberto drive him all over the island. He wanted to visit every duck blind and fishing spot, even the asparagus packing sheds. Two months later, Clark Gable died of a heart attack. He was laid to rest beside Carole Lombard at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Clark had a favorite Scotch and his last opened but unfinished bottle has remained on the bar, under a glass dome since 1961.

My favorite Gable quote is "Hell, if I'd jumped on all the dames I'm supposed to have jumped on, I'd have      had no time to go hunting or fishing."

Note Clark Gable's last bottle of scotch behind Kelly under the glass dome.

 

The evenings and sun setting  behind Mt Diablo were breathtaking

THIS IS TRULY A MAGICAL PLACE