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