Some might refer to this time of year as the “dog days of summer.” If your hobby or passion is fishing, then I would say this is prime time as we patiently await the return of the Kings, Silvers and Pinks. Things might be off to a little slower than desired start in Marine Areas 11 and 13, but there are plenty of other fishing opportunities throughout our region. The coastal fishing seems to be the current hot ticket as reported by many of our club members that are fishing Westport and Neah Bay. I’m always amazed each month as we pass the microphone to hear the variety of fishing reports by our chapter members and guests.
We had another great meeting on July 14th. Our guest speaker was Terry Wiest (Steelhead University). He gave a phenomenal presentation on fishing for Pinks. It is estimated that there will be about 6.5 million pinks returning to our area during the next couple of months. I always love to hear Terry speak and he always does a fantastic job. Thanks Terry! If you are interested in finding out more about fishing for Pinks, checkout Steelhead University (http://steelheaduniversity.com/) and navigate to the “How to Articles” section on the website. There is a good article by Terry on this subject.
On Saturday July 18th, we helped with a Cast for Kids event, which was held on the Thea Foss Waterway. This is a great volunteer opportunity to take a special needs kid fishing. This event is always one of the highlight activities for our club and if you talk to those who participate, there is a great deal of satisfaction by being able to give back to our community. If you get a chance, get involved, you will be blessed for your efforts. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and participated. Our club is fortunate to be able to participate and we look forward to next year.
It’s Derby Time! We have 3 opportunities to fish our local Salmon Derbies. South King County PSA will be held on August 1st, Gig Harbor PSA will be held on August 8th and South Sound PSA will be held on August 15th. For our Gig Harbor Chapter, this will be our 20th Annual Salmon Derby. This will be our biggest and best derby to date. We have increased our top cash prizes this year to $3500 – First Place, $2000 – Second Place and $1000 Third Place. Places 4th – 20th get their choice of the remaining prizes. We also give away cash prizes for a Youth Division, Largest fish caught by a lady and our mystery fish prize. We always have a large selection of merchandise given away as raffle prizes. The grand prize raffle drawing is a new Lowrance HDS Fish Finder. You don’t need to fish our derby to win a great prize but you must be present. During the past few years, most people who attend the BBQ and Awards ceremony take home a prize. In addition, you get a free hot dog, chips and drink with your purchase of a derby ticket. To find out more about our derby or to purchase tickets, checkout our website at https://www.gigharborpsa.org. To get everyone ready for derby fishing, come hear Captain John Keizer speak on Derby Winning Fishing Tactics. John always gives a great presentation and is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable speakers around. Our next meeting will be held on August 4th. We traditionally move our August Meeting to the first Tuesday of the month so that it precedes our Derby on August 8th.
Our September speaker will be Duane Englin (NW Wildcountry) and October speaker is John Hagar (Southwest Marine Service). You will not want to miss either speaker. To find out more about any of the things I have been discussing about our chapter, please visit our website at https://www.gigharborpsa.org. We meet the second Tuesday of every month (except in August) at the Tacoma Outboard Association (646 N Wilton Road, Tacoma, WA). Wear your lifejacket, be safe on the water, and good luck fishing…