Club Members,
I hope your summer is off to a great start and you have the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Marine Area 11 finally opened for summer Chinook on July 23rd, and from my limited outings and the reports I have heard, it has been a fairly good season so far. The fish appear to be a bit larger this year. As I mentioned last month, Marine Area 11 is scheduled to be open July 23-Sept. 30 for hatchery Chinook fishing, with the summer Chinook harvest quota set at 3,379, and the total sub-legal encounter set at 5,105. Be aware, I am hearing there are concerns we are rapidly using up the sub-legal encounter quota. More on this at the August club meeting.
On this upcoming Saturday, August 8th, the club will host our 30th annual salmon derby. The weigh station is located at the Pt. Defiance Boathouse and will be open from 8:00 am until 1:00 pm, and the awards ceremony starts at 3:00 pm. More than $14,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded this year. Remember, you must be in line at the weigh station by 1 pm if you have a fish to weigh in. Also, make sure to weigh in all salmon caught, even if you don’t think it will finish in the top ten. There is a cash prize for the mystery weight fish and a cash prize for the largest fish caught by a GHPSA club member. More information and the rules are available on our website. You can purchase tickets on our website and at the club meeting on Wednesday, August 5th.
A few upcoming dates for club members: the club picnic and smoked salmon contest is on Saturday September 12th at Titlow Park, a coho fly fishing outing on Sunday August 16th and again on Sunday September 13th. There is also a club member only coho fishing activity on Saturday, September 19th. These dates will also be available on the website and at our monthly meetings. One date to note, the August club meeting will be on the first Wednesday of the month, on August 5th, to facilitate the derby fishing tips presentation planned for this meeting.
Thank you to the volunteers who helped with the smolt release on July 17th. We had 17 club members help with the smolt release and the net pen removal and disassembly. We needed all the help we could use, as removing the nets and disassembling the pens is very labor intensive. Thank you to all who helped.
The guest speaker for our August club meeting is renown club member Art Tachell, who will be sharing ideas, tips, and secret locations for a successful salmon derby outing. The Tech Tips presenters this month are Tim Mullin and Jim Klug, and their topic will be fly fishing knots and how to set up for fly fishing for sea run cutthroat trout, to include the selection of flies. These tips will help you to improve your fly fishing, and get you ready for our fly fishing outings in August and September. Remember, the Tech Tips discussion begins at 6:15 pm.
During our July meeting, we did not have a winner in our monthly membership drawing (sorry Wayne & Rosanna). Through the generosity of John Hager of Southworth Marine, the next membership drawing in August will be for an amount of $260. Be sure to 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.
The next club meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 5th, 7 pm at Tower Lanes, located at 6323 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA. Remember, the August meeting will be on the first Wednesday in August, on August 5th.
Thank you,
Bill Macaras, president GHPSA