Puget Sound Anglers – Gig Harbor & Tacoma

GIG HARBOR PUGET SOUND ANGLERS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE   April 2022

NOTE:  THE GOVERNOR’S INDOOR MASK MANDATE HAS BEEN LIFTED AND OUR CURRENT VENUE OF TOWER LANES IS NOW LONGER REQUIRING MASKS NOR WILL PSAGH.  IF YOU FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WEARING A MASK WHILE ATTENDING OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO.   

Our next scheduled meeting will be on Wednesday, April 13 at Tower Lanes located at 6323 6^th Ave., Tacoma, telephone 253-564-8853. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM but feel free to come early and swap fish stories or grab something to eat from the grill.  Our April speaker will be Capt. Tommy Donlin whose presentation will be TUNA TUNA TUNA!  Tommy is a regular presenter at events such as the Seattle Boat Show.  I have had the pleasure of sitting through his presentation a couple of times and look forward to another refresher and more opportunity for Q&A.   With Covid limiting some potential speakers if you have a suggestion or wish to volunteer please let me know.  Keep checking out our Facebook page for speaker updates.

Our March meeting was a full house with several new members and a couple of old members renewing so as to be eligible for the membership drawing sponsored by John Hager’s Southworth Marine of Port Orchard.  The drawing had grown to $930.  Tom Owens’ name was drawn but he was not present so the drawing purse will grow to $1,040 for April.

When I invited WDFW Region 6 Director Larry Phillips to be our March speaker little did I know that he was considering leaving WDFW.  As a result his presentation was a combination of how our fisheries are managed to include the various layers of bureaucracy as well as some personal glimpses into his career with WDFW (1996-2022) and particularly his time as Region 6 Director (2016-2022.  One thing Larry stressed was the need for the sport fishing groups to work together on issues rather than being fragmented.  Sage advice from a guy who has seen it play out.

FYI the USCG has a couple of recent regulatory rules of interest.  Without going into detail there is one for boats less than 26 feet to have an engine kill switch attached to operator when on plane.  That does not apply for boats with helm in an enclosed area.  The other is that fire extinguishers will be considered expired after 12 years from the date of manufacture.   Check them out for the details. 

The collaborative salmon rearing net pen project is moving forward with 100K Chinook expected to be delivered mid-April (50K from the Puyallup tribe and 50K from WDFW).  Special thanks to the Puyallup tribe for ensuring that the Corps of Engineers will be issuing a permit in time for this year.  There will be several work parties so if you are interested keep an eye on our FB page.

Finally, we are getting started on our 2022 Derby which is scheduled for Saturday, 13 August.  We have been engaged in conversations with Metro Parks Tacoma to minimize any potential conflicts with their planning for summer events at nearby Dune Park. 

GIG HARBOR PUGET SOUND ANGLERS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE   March 2022

NOTE:  We ask that all members and guests wear a face covering (mask) if you are planning to attend.  We would like to avoid any conflict at our meetings, so if you choose to attend and not plan on wearing a mask, you will be asked to leave.

Our next scheduled meeting will be on Wednesday, March 9^th at Tower Lanes located at 6323 6^th Ave., Tacoma, telephone 253-564-8853.  Meeting will start at 7:00 PM but feel free to come early and swap fish stories.   Our March speaker will be Larry Phillips from WDFW discussing upcoming NOF discussions and other topics.  With Covid limiting some potential speakers if you have a suggestion or wish to volunteer, please let me know.  Keep checking out our Facebook page for speaker updates.

Our February meeting was a packed house with several new members and numerous old members renewing so as to be eligible for the membership drawing sponsored by John Hagar’s Southworth Marine of Port Orchard.  The drawing had grown to $820.  John Nolan’s name was drawn but he was not present so the drawing purse will grow to $930 for March.

Unfortunately our scheduled speaker had to cancel and we were fortunate to have Todd Girtz of Todd’s Extreme Sport Fishing agree to step in on short notice.  Todd provided a great presentation focusing on the north coast and particularly his targeting of large ling cod and halibut in addition to salmon, rockfish and tuna.

Dave Johnson provided a hopeful update on preliminary NOF info for coastal salmon seasons.

My thanks to the Chapter members who manned the PSA booth at the Puyallup Sportsmen’s Show.  Donald Auman advised that the Westport surf perch fish-in is being pushed back a month or two as participation has increased and organizers are looking for better conditions and success.  This sounds like a lot of fun and a great fund raiser for the Westport food bank.  More to come.     

GIG HARBOR PUGET SOUND ANGLERS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE February 2022

NOTE: We ask that all members and guests wear a face covering (mask) if you are planning to attend. We would like to avoid any conflict at the meeting, so if you choose to attend and not plan on wearing a mask, you will be asked to leave.

Our next scheduled meeting will be on Wednesday, February 9th at Tower Lanes located at 6323 6th Ave., Tacoma (253) 564-8853. Meeting will start at 7:00 PM but feel free to come early and swap fish stories. Our guest speaker will be Patrick Walker of Tailwalker Fisheries. He will provide some helpful tips on setting up and using your electronics for targeting bottomfish, salmon and tuna.

Our January meeting was very busy to include our guest speaker Darrell Johnson of Far Corners Express Sport Charters. Darrell spoke to the Chapter several years ago and we were happy to have him back for a great presentation on tackle set-ups for rockfish, ling cod, halibut, salmon and tuna. We hope to have him back again soon to discuss his river guiding. Talk about a busy guy! If you are interested in taking part in any of those fisheries give Darrell a call at Far Corners Sport Fishing Express. Thanks again Darrell!!

Outgoing President Frank Baker was recognized for his three years in office and was presented with a Past President pin for his service to the Chapter. Again, thank you Frank!

The Membership drawing sponsored by Southworth Marine of Port Orchard yielded the name of John Hager who was not present to win the purse of $710. The prize money will increase to $820 in February which is a good reason to be there early and pay your 2022 membership to be eligible.

The Special Raffle of a Scotty downrigger was won by Dean Higgins. The Volunteer award drawing for a Scotty downrigger was won by Steve Ng. This drawing is open only to members who have volunteered during the prior year and is a way to reward members who support the variety of Chapter projects during the year. Thanks to Steve and all of those others who volunteered on social activities as well as projects such as the salmon rearing net pen, Salmon Derby, nutrient enhancement (salmon carcass distribution in local rivers) and both the Seattle Boat Show and Puyallup Sportsman Show.

GIG HARBOR PUGET SOUND ANGLERS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE January 2022

NOTE: We ask that all members and guests wear a face covering (mask) if you are planning to attend. We would like to avoid any conflict at the meeting, so if you choose to attend and not plan on wearing a mask, you will be asked to leave.

Our next scheduled meeting will be on Wednesday, January 12th at Tower Lanes located at 6323 6th Ave., Tacoma (253) 564-8853. Meeting will start at 7:00 PM but feel free to come early and swap fish stories.

Our guest speaker will be veteran guide Darrell Johnson of Far Corners Express Sport Fishing Charters. Darrell is a full time guide fishing both salt water and coastal rivers so expect an interesting presentation. He may even fill us in on his recent bird hunting exploits in North Dakota.The January meeting will include Big Fish awards as well as the special drawing for a Scotty 1106 downrigger. Tickets will be available for $5.00 prior to the drawing.

Unfortunately our decision to hold our annual Dick Smyth members only “derby” came to an abrupt end with the short notice closure of MA 11. Hopefully next year!

We did not have a winner on our membership drawing sponsored by John Hager of Southworth so the prize money pot will be increased to $710 for January. You will have to be paid up and present to win. Again, our thanks to John for his generous support.

Finally, I want to thank Frank Baker for his three years of dedicated service as President as well as fellow officers Steve Ng, Jacob Abetz, and Pat Sanchez. The good news is that Steve has agreed to stay on as V-P to help me plus new officers Ron Hunt, Treasurer, and Donald Auman, Secretary. We have big shoes to fill.

Larry Bucklin

President

GIG HARBOR PUGET SOUND ANGLERS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE December 2021

With the December Christmas party cancelled, there will be no December meeting. The next scheduled meeting will be January 12^th, 2022. The Dick Smythe derby scheduled for December 4^th has been CANCELED. Marine A11 was closed to fishing, see emergency closure.

Action: Closes salmon fishing in Marine Area 11.

Effective date: Nov. 20, 2021, 12:01 a.m.

Species affected: All salmon

Location: Marine Area 11

Reason for action: The current estimates of Chinook encounters for the Marine Area 11 winter Chinook season are 94% (945 of 1,001) of the total projected encounters, 107% (683 of 637) of the sublegal encounters, and 110% (263 of 239) of the unmarked encounters agreed to in this year’s List of Agreed Fisheries (LOAF). Because sublegal and unmarked encounters have reached 100% of their encounter limits, Marine Area 11 will close to salmon fishing at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20.

Information contact: Fish Program, 360 902-2700

At the November meeting, member #130 Jim Miller was drawn and was not present. The next membership drawing will be for $710 at our January meeting. Do not forget that at each monthly meeting, all present and paid members are eligible for the monthly membership drawing for a cash prize of not less than $150 sponsored by John Hager of Southworth Marine. We would like to thank John for continuing to support us during the Covid19 pandemic.

We will be selling $5.00 raffle tickets for a Scotty 1106 downrigger and the winner need not be present. It is now time to get those BIG FISH pictures into the club. Please have all BIG FISH entries into me by December 24^th. The Big Fish, Volunteer Award and Downrigger raffle will be drawn at the January 2022 meeting.

New officers will take over starting in January 2022. We are still looking for the membership and Raffle chairman positions. Please contact your new President Larry Bucklin if interested in volunteering for one of these Chairman positions.

I would like to personally thank everyone for reading my messages every month, also it has been my privilege being your president the last 3 years.

The Board would like to take this opportunity wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Frank Baker

President