August means it’s derby time for our Club! August 9th was our 19th Annual Salmon Derby. To get our club ready for the event, we held our general meeting a week earlier than normal. Looks like nobody forgot as we had another great turnout. A lot of guests present and 2 more new members joined our club. Fishing reports remain strong for ocean fishing and there are reports of fish being caught locally. It’s all about putting in the time. Our monthly membership drawing was up to $480.00 and we had a winner! Congrats to John Rathbun and thanks to Southworth Marine for sponsoring this activity. That means that next month the pot starts back at $150.00. Our speaker for the meeting was Captain John Keizer of SaltPatrol. He gave another phenomenal talk on derby fishing tactics and how to get our Lowrance fish finders working optimally. I learn new stuff every time I hear John speak. Thanks John for speaking and sharing your wealth of knowledge!
As mentioned above, August 9th was our 19th Annual Salmon Derby and we are one of original derbies to be part of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series. We target Marine Fishing Areas 11 and 13. Not sure of the exact number of anglers we had until we collect the ticket sales info, but there were 60 fish weighed in between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM on derby day. Below is a listing of the derby winners by category:
Youth Boys Name Weight Prize
1st Blake Pudists 10.31 $100.00
2nd Blake Combs 10.05 $75.00
3rd Mirel Wojciechowski 9.74 $50.00
4th Max Combs 8.60 $25.00
Youth Girls Name Weight Prize
1st Molly Ng 9.41 $100.00
Adult Division Name Weight Prize
1st Larry Olson 21.29 $3,000.00
2nd Pamela Hogson 19.77 $1,500.00
3rd Mike Allison 19.52 $750.00
Ladies Division Name Weight Prize
1st Pamela Hogson 19.77 $250.00
Team Division Name Weight Prize
1st Keith and Cameron Artz 19.19 $1200 OBMG Trip for 2
For a complete listing of all winners, go to our website (https://gigharborpsa.org/2014-salmon-derby/results/)
I do have a few shout outs that I would like to mention. First of all, a big thank you and shout out to Michael Brazeau, our Derby Chairman. He did a fantastic job stepping up and taking this project on. It takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to coordinate and organize a derby like ours. I know he in turn would thank the many individuals from our club who volunteered their time and efforts. I’d also like to express my sincere thanks to our derby sponsors who donated all of the cash and prizes. This year we gave out more than $23K in cash awards and prizes. Everyone who attended the BBQ and Awards Ceremony walked away with a raffle prize. There are too many sponsors to mention in this message, but checkout our website for a full listing of our sponsors. The next time you visit one of their establishments, tell them thanks for supporting our club! A lot of our donors are repeat donors and give generously year after year. I’d also like to thank all of the local stores that sold tickets on our behalf and I’d also like to thank the Narrows Marina and Pt. Defiance Boathouse for allowing us to setup our weigh stations on derby day. A special thanks Gene Anderson and the crew at Pt. Defiance. They really do a great job hosting our BBQ and Awards Ceremony and it is always a pleasure to work with them. Lastly, thanks to everyone who purchased a derby ticket to help support our club. Hopefully you had a good time! We are looking forward to seeing all of you next year.
Our September 9th meeting will feature Justin Wolff from Anglers West TV. This is a meeting you will not want to miss. Also in September is our annual club picnic on September 13th. This year we will hold the picnic at Owens Beach Picnic Area (Pt. Defiance). It is a potluck so we will send out information on what to bring in the near future. This is a family event so please bring them. For the October 14th meeting we will have Andy Anderson from King Trailers as our guest speaker. Please check out our website or Facebook page for the latest updates regarding meetings and our club activities. We meet the second Tuesday of every month (except in August) at the Tacoma Outboard Association (646 N Wilton Road, Tacoma, WA). We have one of the best fishing clubs around! Stop waiting and come check us out. Guests are always welcome. Wear your lifejacket, be safe on the water, and good luck fishing!