June is when we held our first semi-annual garage sale for the year. The doors opened at 5:00 PM and there was about a dozen club members that brought stuff in to sell. If you missed out, the next garage sale be held on October 14th. We held our general meeting at 7:00 PM. Our membership continues to grow as we added another new member and had several renewals. This was another well attended meeting. We have been having great attendance in 2014. With the recent openers in Marine Area 11 for salmon, Marine Area 13 for crabbing, and ocean fishing opening early, there were plenty of opportunities to get out on the water. With some of the early season fishing reports from our members, it sounded like fishing was a little “hit and miss.” It has also been challenging for crabbers to get their limits. From some of the feedback given, crabbing deep was the way to go. We had our monthly membership drawing and the name drawn was not in attendance. That means the pot grows to $370.00 for July. As always, a special thanks to John Hager at Southworth Marine Services for continuing to sponsor our monthly membership drawing. The club outing for May was our annual Kokanee outing on American Lake. There were a decent number of fish caught this year. The largest fish was caught by Donald Auman and he owns bragging rights until next year. Our originally scheduled speakers were unable to attend our meeting due to a last minute work conflict, so club member Frank Bidwell batted DH and gave a great presentation on Area 13 fishing tactics. Frank did a great job and shared some of the secrets to his success. You missed out if you missed his presentation. Thanks Frank for filling in on short notice. We concluded our meeting with our raffle prize drawings.
For our July 8th general meeting, Bruce Warren of Fishing for Fun Guide Service will be speaking about Buoy 10 opportunities and tactics. Our August meeting has a revised meeting date. Because of our 19th Annual Salmon Derby, we will hold our August General Meeting prior to the derby. Therefore, our August general meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 5th. Our speaker for August is club member Captain John Keizer (of Salt Patrol). When it comes down to speakers, it doesn’t get much better! You definitely will be missing out if you are not at the July or August meeting.
It’s Derby time! Lots of great derbies coming up. Of course, we think we have one of the best around and part of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series! Our club will hold its 19th Annual Salmon Derby on August 9th. Michael Brazeau is this year’s derby chairman and he and his team of helpers are doing a fantastic job of getting things ready for this year’s event. Last I heard, they have collected more than $20,000 in cash and merchandise for prizes. Largest fish will net the winner $3000 plus you have many other opportunities to increase your winnings if you happen to have a Mercury Motor, drive a Ford or Toyota vehicle. We have a lot a sponsors that have generously donated to our derby, too many to mention in this update, so please check out our Facebook Page or Website (https://gigharborpsa.org). I did want to recognize and publically thank our key sponsors for 2014 – Ace Line Hauler, Alaska Charters and Adventures, Blade-Tech, Cabela’s, Defiance Boats Group, Lowrance, Oak Bay Marine Group, Rough & Ready, The OfficeZone, Alaskan Sourdough Lodge, Salt Patrol, Southworth Marine Service, Titus-Will (Ford, Toyota, and Scion in Tacoma @38th St.) and Van Wormer Resorts. When you do business with any of these sponsors, be sure to thank them for supporting our club!
Adult derby tickets cost $30.00 and Youth 14 and under are free (everyone in the boat must have a ticket). Tickets are available at Ace Hardware (Judson and Pt. Fosdick), Auburn Sports and Marine, Narrows Bait and Tackle, Outdoor Emporium, Pt. Defiance Boat House, Sportco, Sportsman’s Warehouse (Puyallup and Federal Way), or online at our website (https://gigharborpsa.org). There is also an Adult and Youth 17 and under team event. The team event will win a trip for 2 to the Canadian Princess Resort in Canada. One last thing about our derby. We are one of the few derbies around where the price of your ticket gets you a free hot dog, chips and a drink at our BBQ and Awards Ceremony. In addition, we give away a lot of raffle prizes. Last year, everyone who attended our Awards Ceremony walked away with a raffle prize and this year’s top raffle prize is and HDS Lowrance Fish Finder. You don’t need to fish to win, you just need a ticket and be present during the drawings.
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). Guests are always welcome. Better yet, come and join our club and be part of a great group of fishing enthusiasts who love to fish. Wear your lifejacket, be safe on the water, and good luck fishing!