June2007 Newsletter

JUNE 2007 Newsletter

            P.O. Box 7373

            Bellevue, WA

            98008-1373

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 26th at the Overlake Round Table Pizza

Attendance Drawing: Pot is up again. Norrie Johnson’s name was drawn, but he was not there. So another $10 gets added, bring the pot up to $30. Don’t miss your chance at the pot, be there and be early. The drawing is promptly at 7:30 pm.

Pre-Meeting Chow and Chat: Enjoy the “Happy Hour” before the meeting. Order a pizza, grinder, or whatever and pull up a chair. Exchange fish stories and general chat before the regular meeting kicks off.

June Outing: Boy, one of the best sturgeon outings ever for the club! Thirteen club members and friends hit Ilwaco on June 15^th and 16^th, coming home with 16 sturgeon (11 on Friday & 5 on Saturday). All-in-all, including shakers under 45-inches, about 40 sturgeon came to the boat, one of that was a rare green sturgeon which had to be released.

Once again the Andersons took top honors. Ernie’s grandson had the first and biggest (54-inches) fish on Friday and Roger had the biggest (56-inches) on Saturday. Lorne Balanko had the first fish on Saturday.

July Picnic: Ernie Anderson has reserved the “Red Barn” at Carnation’s McDonald Park for Tuesday, July 24^th. This will be on our regular meeting night. We have the barn from 3pm until dusk. Show up early and chew the fat. The barbecue should be ready by about 6:30 or 7:00. Hopefully, Doc Craig will again bring one of his super sauces for barbecuing fish. Be sure to save some fish to share (thawed, please) and get extra credit toward the Summer-Run Steelhead contest.

For dinner, bring a cold dish (last names A-H) or a hot dish (I-Z), with serving utensils, to share. Also bring your own plates and eating utensils. The Club will provide the cooked corn on the cob, soda and water, butter, salt and pepper, barbecue materials, and a small supply of “emergency” eating utensils for those who just could not remember themselves. The only other thing you need to bring for dinner is a healthy appetite.

Other fun activities include the “Lure Jar.” Bring a handful of lures to add to the jar. The closest guesser wins the contents. The Winter Steelhead contest plaque will be presented and a rod will be awarded to the lucky name drawn from all the contest participants.

Dessert Auction – Since this is a major revenue generator for the Club, you will want to bring the most interesting tastiest after dinner delight. The dessert auction has always been a fun and exciting conclusion to the annual picnic.

Tokul Creek Fish Clipping: Clipping is expected to begin on July 2^nd, lasting about 2-1/2-weeks (off on the 4^th). Those interested in participating need to apply at the hatchery prior to July 2^nd. There is a commitment involved: you will be expected to work full 8-hour shifts for the duration. You will be paid for your services at $8.50 per hour. For those who can’t make a full commitment, you can check if there is room on the standby list. For more information check with Milt Keizer or contact the hatchery direct.

Changes in the Regs?: Mark Gavin attended the Steelhead and Adronomous Fish Advisory Board. He reported that there are two proposed changes to the Regulations brought up by some of the more radical representatives and seem to have support from portions of the remaining members. We will need to keep an eye on these, especially when it comes to public comment.

First: A move to ban ALL contest on waters that have wild steelhead in them. This would include all group fishing, whether or not any prizes are involved. This could make most of our outings illegal. Needless to say this is an overkill (sic) proposal in over management of wild steelhead.

Second: A move to create sanctuary areas for wild steelhead. The essence this means eliminating all hatchery plants on certain rivers and requiring select gear only on all salmonoids within those rivers.