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