Puget Sound Anglers – Gig Harbor & Tacoma

July President Message

Club Members,

Summer has officially arrived, at least the calendar says so. But as we know, summer normally doesn’t show up in western Washington until after the 4th of July. I’m sure warmer weather will follow soon.

First, I would like to thank all the club members who have helped, and volunteered, in so many ways the past month. Club members have helped feed the fish, release the first batch of smolt, cleaned and restored the nets, and restocked the pens with additional smolt. And finally, we had volunteers represent our club and help with the trout pond at Cabela’s. Club members, you are impressive!

I hope you had the opportunity to get out and do some fishing this past month. From river fishing, to lake fishing, and the sound, I have been hearing about some very good results. If you are a kokanee angler, Merwin Lake, American Lake, and finally Lake Roosevelt have been good. If you fish for bass or walleye, lakes on the east side have been producing good size and plentiful fish. In our local MA-11 waters, fishing results have been mixed. Some days have been better than others, but fish are getting caught. The fish seem to be a bit larger this year. I have heard of a 14lb, 17lb, 18lb, and 29+lb fish getting caught. Let’s hope this is indicative of what we can expect in July and August. Hopefully fellow club members will share at the next meeting. Remember, MA-11 closes on July 1 and opens again on July 18-20 for only three days, until August 1st.

The presenter at our July meeting is club member Art Tachell. Art will be getting us ready for our annual salmon derby by sharing some tips and locations for successful fishing in Marine Areas 11 and 13. The Tech Tips presenter this month will be myself, and I will be sharing some ideas, tips and tricks to using dodgers and flashers for salmon fishing. Some I am sure you may not have seen before. Remember, the Tech Tips discussion begins at 6:15 pm.

Speaking of the annual salmon derby. As you know, our 29th annual salmon derby is rapidly approaching and will be held on Saturday, August 9th. The top three prizes are: 1st place – $3,000, 2nd place – $2,000, and 3rd place – $1,000. A huge thank you to Beau Mac Enterprises/SMI for donating the 1st place prize money. The raffle grand prize is a Lowrance Fish finder. Derby rules and additional prize information can be found on our website, https://gigharborpsa.org, as well as a link to purchase tickets online. We will also have tickets for sale at the next members general meeting on July 9th. The tickets are $40 again this year, and every adult ticket is eligible for a raffle prize, even if you don’t fish.

Please be thinking about how you can help with the derby. We need help with the weigh station, set-up and clean-up. We will have sign-up sheets at the upcoming members general meeting. Remember, all volunteers are eligible for the Scotty 2106B downrigger drawing held during our annual Christmas party.

Heads up on upcoming club events. In addition to the 29th annual salmon derby, the club picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 7th, and the club coho fishing outing for Saturday, September 13th. More information on all events will be available at future meetings.

As of our June meeting, we had approximately 82 paid members. No one won the membership drawing in June. We are very pleased to announce that our next membership drawing, sponsored by John Haggard of Southworth Marine, will be for an amount of $480. So, don’t forget to renew your membership and come to the general meeting to be eligible for the drawing.

Our Board meetings are held at Ben Dew’s Clubhouse on the first Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. The address is 6501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. All club members are invited, and encouraged to attend this meeting.

This month’s general meeting will be held on the second Wednesday of the month, July 9th, 7 pm at Tower Lanes, located at 6323 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. Tech Tips begins at 6:15 pm.

Unlike the general meetings of the past two months, rumors have it the club president will be in attendance at this meeting!!

Bill Macaras

President

June 2025 Message

 Club Members,

 I hope this finds you and your family in good health and enjoying the warmer weather.

 In a few short days we will be able to fish our local waters.  I am hesitant about providing any dates (could not find them on the WDFW website), but best I have heard is MA-11 will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays beginning June 4^th.  But as usual, please check the emergency rules before planning any fishing trip.  Good luck if you do get out.

 Thank you to all the club members who helped with the trout pond on May 10^th during the Pt. Defiance Marina swap meet.  By all accounts, it was a very successful event, with many kids and their parents, having fun.  There were quite a few very large fish taken home that day, and I am sure they made for a tasty dinner.  Thank you to Art Tachell for coordinating and planning this event.  The club and the marina staff are already looking forward to next year.

 A huge thank you to all to club members who donated items for sale at our booth for the swap meet.  It was a very successful fundraiser for our club and it would not have been possible without the help of so many club members.  I believe everyone who helped and participated found it to be an enjoyable and productive day.

 Although I was not at the last club meeting, I heard great things about the two presentations.  Art Tachell demystified the art of ‘meat line’ fishing, clarifying the technique and benefits of this south sound fishing technique.  Tom Sullivan gave away some of his favorite fishing techniques and secret fishing locations in his fishing MA-13 Tech Tips presentation.  One club member has already had success using the information provided in Tom’s presentation.  Thank you to Art and Tom for sharing your knowledge with the club.  We are all better anglers because of it.

 The presenter at our June meeting is Shane Hunter from Stacking Bodies fishing.  He designs and builds salmon fishing lures and will discuss his techniques for successful salmon fishing in the Puget Sound.  The Tech Tips presenter this month is Gabe Miller, and his topic will be plug fishing.  If you want to improve your plug fishing, and catch bigger fish, this is one you won’t want to miss.  Gabe is known for his plug fishing success.  Remember, the Tech Tips discussion begins at 6:15 pm.

 As of our May meeting, we had approximately 78 paid members.  No one won the membership drawing in May.  We are excited to announce that our next membership drawing, sponsored by John Haggard of Southworth Marine, will be for an amount of $370.  So, don’t forget to renew your membership and come to the general meeting to be eligible for the drawing.

 We have an opportunity for volunteering and building a relationship with Cabelas in Lacy.  Cabelas is sponsoring kids trout pond on June 6, 7, 8 and June 13, 14, and 15.  The Friday events are 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, and the weekend events are 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.  If you can help, please contact Art at:  plugkut@aol.com.  Remember, every time you volunteer your name is added to the end of year drawing for a Scotty 2106B downrigger.

Our annual salmon derby, scheduled for Saturday, August 9^th, is quickly approaching.  To have a successful event, we will need many volunteers to help ensure the event runs smoothly.  If you are interested in being on the derby committee, or volunteering with the event, please let me know.  We will begin asking for volunteers at the June meeting.

 Our Board meetings are held at Ben Dew’s Clubhouse on the first Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. The address is 6501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA.  All club members are invited, and encouraged to attend this meeting.

 This month’s general meeting will be held on the second Wednesday of the month, June 11th, 7 pm at Tower Lanes, located at 6323 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA.  Tech Tips begins at 6:15 pm.

 Again, and unfortunately, I will not be in attendance at the June meeting as Patrick and I will be at a long time scheduled fishing trip to south east Alaska at that time.

 If you can get out fishing this June, best of luck.  We will see you in July.

 Bill Macaras, President

May 2025 message

As you know, we held our annual clam and spaghetti dinner on Wednesday, April 9th. We had 38 attendees this year, and by all accounts everyone had a great time. The food was great, and the company even better. I would like to thank Patrick and Alicia Sanchez for planning and coordinating all aspects of the dinner. It was very well done. And thank you to all the volunteers who helped with setup, cooking, and cleanup. Your help was very much appreciated.

Our guest speaker for the May meeting is past President and club member Art Tachell. The topic is Meat Lining. A Marine Area 11 unique fishing method developed and still in practice by many Area 11 anglers. Every time we fish near Point Defiance, we see many anglers employing this technique, and being very successful. But what is Meat Lining? What special equipment is required, and how is this technique different from down rigger trolling? Get these, and other questions answered by Art at the meeting.

The Tech Tips presenter for May is club member Tom Sullivan. His topic is one that is of particular interest to us in the club, and that is how to be successful in MA-13. Tom is very well known for his success in MA-13 and will talk about gear, tactics, and maybe share a secret location or two.

We learned from the March Tech Tips presentation that a 6:30 pm start time did not allow for sufficient time to have an adequate discussion and the sharing of ideas on the topic. To facilitate the discussions, the Tech Tips sessions will begin at 6:15 pm and be completed by 6:45 pm.

So, what are “Tech Tips”? These are short, pre-meeting topics of interest to us, as anglers. It is presented as an open discussion and time to share information on a specific fishing topic with fellow club members. I am always looking for volunteers to share on a topic of their choosing, so if you are interested in hosting a Tech Tips topic, please let me know. Hopefully you were able to come away with at least one idea from the March Tech Tips.

We are still in need of your donations for the Point Defiance Boathouse swap meet on Saturday, May 10th, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Many of us have tackle, fishing gear, and other outdoor related items we no longer use. If you do, please donate them to the club. You can bring donations to our booth on the day of the swap meet, or you can drop it off with me at our Board meeting on Tuesday, May 6th, 5:30 pm at Ben Dew’s restaurant. Either way, your donation is appreciated.

During the swap meet, for the first time, our club is sponsoring a kids fishing trout pond. We will need volunteers to help with the trout pond. This is very simple and fun, and for many of the kids this will be their first opportunity to catch and keep a trout.

If you can help with either the swap meet or trout pond, please let me know.

Thank you to the club members who have signed up to feed the fish in the net pens. If you have not yet signed up to feed the fish, please take a minute and visit our web site at gigharborpsa.org and scroll to the Netpen Feeding Schedule to sign up for a time slot to feed the fish. Many members of the community have signed up to feed the fish, but few club members have done so. We still need club members to help with the feeding. Remember, every time you volunteer with a club project, your name is added for the end of year drawing for a Scotty 2106B down rigger.

As of our March meeting, we have 68 paid members. No one won the membership drawing in March, and we didn’t have a membership drawing at the April clam and spaghetti dinner. We are excited to announce that our next membership drawing, sponsored by John Haggard of Southworth Marine, will be for an amount of $260. So, don’t forget to renew your membership and come to the general meeting to be eligible for the drawing.

Finally, our annual salmon derby, scheduled for Saturday, August 9th, is quickly approaching. To have a successful event, we will need many volunteers to help ensure the event runs smoothly. If you are interested in being on the derby committee, or volunteering with the event, please let me know. More information will be available in the future.

Our Board meetings are held at Ben Dew’s Clubhouse on the first Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. The address is 6501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. All club members are invited, and encouraged to attend this meeting.

This month’s general meeting will be held on the second Wednesday of the month, May 14th, 7 pm at Tower Lanes, located at 6323 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. Tech Tips begins at 6:15 pm.

Unfortunately, I will not be at the May meeting. I will be doing what all fishing club presidents should be doing, fishing. I will be “catching” bass, walleye and kokanee at Banks Lake and Lake Roosevelt during this time. Club vice president, Patrick Sanchez will run the meeting. Thank you Patrick.

Thank you,

Bill Macaras, president

April 2025 message

Well, spring has spring and we can get back on the water this month. Blackmouth season opens for areas 10 and 11 on April 2nd, and our annual Dick Smythe Blackmouth outing happens on Saturday April 5th.

I would like to thank Jeff, Dave, and Pat for their presentation on Columbia River springer fishing at our March members meeting. It was very informative, timely, and some great hints on how to be successful were shared. As I write this, Patrick and I are putting some of their tips and practices to the test, but unfortunately we must not be good students.

As previously mentioned, our annual Dick Smythe Backmouth derby is Saturday, April 5th. To participate, please email me ahead of time at: WMacaras@centurytel.net to sign up. The fee is $10 and must be paid not later than at the weigh-in, 11:30 am, at the Boathouse. We will meet at Ben Dew’s restaurant at 12:30 pm for the “award” ceremony and the annual sharing of the award by all participants. It looks like the weather will be cooperating.

Also, don’t forget about the clam and spaghetti dinner on Wednesday, April 9th. The dinner time is 6:00 pm and is at the VFW hall, at 4741 N. Baltimore St., Tacoma. The dinner is in place of our monthly members meeting.

Heads up for our May members meeting. Our guest speaker is our very own Art Tachell, and the topic is on an Area 11 historical fishing topic still in practice by many area 11 anglers, Meat Lining. Bet you didn’t think you would come to a club meeting and get a history lesson. The Tech Tips topic is another one of interest to us in the south sound. Tom Sullivan will be discussing area 13 fishing. More on these topics in my May President’s message.

One of the things members liked about our club, and brought up numerous times in the February questionnaire, was the fact they learn from our members. Hence, Tech Tips. These are short, pre-meeting topics of interest to us, as anglers. It is presented as an open discussion and time to share information with fellow club members. I am always looking for volunteers to share on a topic of their choosing. Hopefully you were able to come away with at least one idea from the March Tech Tips.

We need your donations. The Point Defiance Boathouse swap meet is Saturday, May 10th. Many of us have tackle, fishing gear, and other items we no longer use. If you do, please donate it to the club. We will be collecting items the night of our clam/spaghetti dinner and the morning of the swap meet. We will also need volunteers to help with the swap and help with the trout pond, which the club is sponsoring and facilitating.

Lastly, thank you to the many volunteers who have helped with the Cabellas trout pond and the two work parties to clean and reassemble the salmon smolt nets and pens. Remember, every time you volunteer with a club project, your name is added for the end of year drawing for a Scotty 1106B down rigger.

Thank you,
Bill Macaras, president

March 2025 message

Here it is, March already. Soon we will be able to get back on the water, in our local waters, doing what we enjoy the most.

We had an excellent turnout for the February meeting, celebrating the club’s 28th birthday. I would like to thank everyone for providing input on the questionnaire. Results will be shared at a future meetings.

Thank you to Todd Girtz of Extreme Fishing for providing a very informative presentation on halibut fishing. Todd shared some excellent tips, rigs, and setups for halibut and ling cod fishing. It is easy to see why he is highly regarded as a top halibut and ling cod angler and guide.

The presenters for March are Jeff Norwood and Dave Bergeron, and the topic is Columbia River Springer Fishing. They will be discussing, and sharing, their secrets on how to have success while fishing for springers on the Columbia River. A very timely presentation, as springer fishing comes into full swing in March. I will be taking lots of notes.

For the first time in many years, this month we will also have a pre-meeting tech tips open forum discussion. This is a great opportunity to share, and learn, on various topics from your fellow club members. This club has many outstanding and experienced anglers, many of whom are willing to help make us all better anglers. The presenter this month is Bill Macaras, and the topic will be hoochie rigging, tips and tricks. These sessions will begin at 6:30 for anyone interested in attending. This is a great opportunity to share, and learn.

Area 11 Blackmouth fishing is scheduled to open on Wednesday, April 2nd this year, and is open on Wednesdays through Saturdays until quotas are met. Thus, the club members only annual Dick Smyth fishing outing will be held on April 5th, from daylight to the weigh-in at 11:30 am. The cost is $10 per person and you must be a paid member to participate. Sign up before April 2nd. Contact Bill Macaras if you plan to participate. More details will be available at the March meeting

On March 8th, 9:00 am, club members will be pressure washing nets and scraping pontoons, getting them ready for the salmon pens. We will meet at the Point Defiance marina. Make sure to bring rain gear and boots, as it can get a bit wet.

The annual clam and spaghetti dinner is scheduled for April 9th, 6:00 pm. Remember to sign up for the dinner, and specify the number clam dinners. We have reduced the price of the dinner to $20.00. You must sign up ahead of time, either at the March club meeting, or online, by March 31st. The dinner will be held at the VFW hall, 4741 N Baltimore St, Tacoma, WA.

Remember, while we are at our March 12th meeting, the wives are having the first ever quarterly get together at Ben Dew’s Clubhouse restaurant, 6501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. This is an excellent opportunity for the wives to meet, socialize, and have fun. A special thank you to our events assistant, Alicia Sanchez, for proposing and coordinating this activity.

Mark your calendars: the board meeting is March 4th, 6 pm at Ben Dew’s Clubhouse, 6501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA, and the general meeting on March 12th at 7 pm at Tower Lanes, 6323 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. Everyone is welcome.

Thank you,

Bill Macaras

President, 2025