Puget Sound Anglers – Gig Harbor & Tacoma

Annual Gig Harbor PSA Kokanee Outing

Location: American Lake, Lakewood WA.

Date: 18 May

Time: Daylight- 12 Noon

Rules: Must follow all WDFW rules. 2 rods permitted per angler with second rod endorsement on license. Largest Kokanee by weight wins derby. Only active Gig Harbor PSA club members in good standing can fish this event.

Weigh in: Fish can be weight at US Army Dock at Russell Landing at 11:30AM -12:00 Noon. You can pull up one boat at a time, we will be on the dock to weigh fish starting at 11:30. Weigh station closes at 12:00 noon. Only active duty or retired military can tie up their boats here, only weighing in fish will be allowed. We will take your fish weigh it and returned it to you. This process should take less than 2 minutes per boat. You can then pull out and let the next boat in.
We will not tell you the weight of your fish at the dock. The weight will be recorded and the winner will be announced at the Gig Harbor PSA meeting on Tuesday June 12. Only kokanee will be weighed in no trout or bass. All decisions by the derby committee and binding and final.

Prize: Winner will receive a custom built kokanee rod by Snatchin Lips Custom Rods and assorted with their name on it and an assortment kokanee tackle supplied by Gary Mirales from Shasta Tackle who will be fishing the event.

Entry fee: $5.00 paid at the May 14 GHPSA Club general meeting

Boat Ramps:

American Lake Park
Veterans Drive SW and 92nd Avenue SW (Best Ramp two lanes with docks will handle larger boats)
This popular 5-acre park is located on the north shore of American Lake at 82nd Street SW and Veterans Drive SW.
Directions:
From I-5, take Exit 124 (Gravelly Lake Drive), go N on Woodbrook .2 mi; L on Gravelly Lake Drive SW, go .8 mi; L on Veterans Drive SW, go 1 mi; at sharp R h; turn go straight to ramp area.

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Ramp
The large access area has lots of parking space, pit toilets and 2 concrete block boat launching ramps. No Docks. Watch for shallow spot about 23-40ft straight out from ramp.

Directions:

Traveling south on I-5 south of Tacoma, exit right on Exit # 122. Travel west, across the railroad tracks on Berkley Street for about .5 mile to Portland Ave. Turn left for about another .5 mile to WDFW access area.

Russell Landing
Located on North Fort Lewis. Can only be used by valid military ID card holders. One lane ramp with dock.

Directions:

Take North Fort Lewis exit off I-5, after entering gate take first right and then first left on to American Lake Ave. Turn right at Russell landing sign.

Recommended Kokanee Tackle:

Small micro squids have been working well. Run these about 7-10 inches behind a 4.5 inch trout dodger. A wedding ring spinner work great too behind a dodger. A light trout rod and reel work fine for this fishery. You can flat line 30-50 yards behind the boat or run your downriggers. If you use the downriggers bring a trout release clip, salmon clips will not work well. Tip the top hook with Pautzke’s fire corn to add some scent.

Map:

Our April 9^th meeting was another good one.  Lots of members attended to hear Nick Kester speaking on Puget Sound Ling Cod fishing.  I had no idea this was such a good fishery; a six week season with plenty of areas and opportunity to catch quality lings.  You missed a great opportunity, if you weren’t present, to find out where and how to catch these wonderful fish.  Thank you, Nick, for a job well done.

Gary Lukenhill and Steve Ng had lots of plugs at the fish talk table.  They shared rigging and fishing tips.  Next month, John Keizer will be at the table.  You’ll need to be there to see what he is sharing.  Thanks to all who share their knowledge with us.  This is what a club is all about.

Our next meeting’s theme will be Kokanee fishing.  Tony Dobson from Snatchin Lips Custom Rods will be our guest speaker.  He has fished with Gary Mirales, owner of Shasta Tackle, and will be talking on the American Lake Kokanee fishery – home of our May 18^th Kokanee Derby.  Tips, Tricks, and Techniques to catch limits of kokanee will all be revealed.  Gary Mirales will be fishing the derby with us and will donate tackle for the winning entrants.  Tony will also donate a custom built Kokanee rod for the winner.  Entry fee is $5.00 for all PSA Gig Harbor members in good standing.  You can sign up for the event at the May 14^th meeting, which is also our annual spaghetti feed.  Dinner starts at 6:00PM with our general meeting to follow.  Tickets are $5.00.

This month’s raffle will also feature Kokanee fishing.  Rods, reels and lots of tackle.  Purchase of tickets helps to support club activities, so come out and purchase some tickets.

We had two new members sign up in April:  Welcome to Alice Darthez and Mike Allison.

A big thank you to John Haggar from Southworth Marine who sponsors our membership drawing.  Pete Pitman was present and won “a lot of money.”  Must be present to win!

Keep in mind the July 20^th Cast for Kids event.  Sign up and help these kids have a great day out on the water.

The June meeting is our annual Garage sale.  Always a great event and a good way to purchase fishing and boating items for pennies on the dollar.  Guest speaker will be Robert Christen on Crabbing in Puget Sound.

See you at our next meeting!

PSAGH/T President:

Vanice Roof

The Annual Spaghetti feed is on May 14th.  We’ll have a signup sheet at this months general meeting on April 9th.  Tickets are $5.00 per person and the dinner starts at 6:00 P.M.

We had another good turnout for the March 12th meeting. Nine existing members paid their dues and five new members signed up. Welcome to: Jim Rochelle, Randy Shelton, Dave Antonson, A.J. Patrick and Ken Dybdahl. Ron Garner from Sno-King Chapter of PSA gave a talk on Halibut fishing in the straits. Those in attendance were rewarded with the where and how to catch big halibut early in the season. I think maybe even a few secret locations were divulged. Ron also touched on how important it is that we all pay attention to, and get involved in, the political fight to keep our resource alive and well. Thank you Ron for a very informative presentation.

This month’s meeting, April 9th will feature Nick Kester of All Star Fishing Charters with a presentation of ling cod fishing in the Puget Sound. You don’t want to miss this one. At the fish talk table will be Gary Lukenbill and Steve NG talking on using plugs for salmon fishing. This month’s outing is the all PSA Salmon Derby on April 6th at Port Townsend. We sold a few tickets and hopefully our club can take the trophy this year. Good luck to all attending.

Mike Silvers talked briefly on WDF rockfish tagging program at Westport. Open to all at no cost. For information, go to our website or contact Mike at setthehook55@gmail.com Also Frank Berkstrom from Frankie B’s Fishing Tackle showed us his new Mini LED Lights and how to fish them. Two sets were won at our raffle. Let us know how they worked out!

A big thank-you goes out to John Hagar from Southworth Marine for donating to our monthly membership drawing. This month’s jack pot is well over $600.00. You must be present to win. Sign up sheet’s for the upcoming Cast for Kids event July 20th are available. We need 20 plus boats. It’s a fun and rewarding experience. I encourage all to participate!

Our annual Kokanee Derby on American Lake is scheduled for May 18th. Gary Mirales from Shasta Tackle will be on board this year. I think he may share some of his tips, tricks, and tackle. It should be a lot of fun. Also thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets. Our winner’s walked away with some great prizes and everyone that participated helped support our club activities.

Again, Thank you!

PSAGH/T President:

Vanice Roof