Woodland Creek Community Center 6729 Pacific Avenue SE, Lacey, WA 98503
Club News and Current Events
April 2024
The April meeting will be on Thursday April 11 due to a scheduling conflict at the Lacey Community Center. The speakers will be Martin Chen on fishing Riffe Lake and Jason Dunham on rockfish and lingcod fishing. Also, if you haven’t paid your dues by the end of the April meeting you will be removed from our mailing list and we will cancel your subscription to the Reel News.
The highlight of the March meeting was the election of the officers for the next year. We went into the meeting with no candidate for the office of President. Fortunately, at the meeting Jason Dunham agreed to run for the office and was elected unanimously. We also elected Jason Anderson to the office of Vice President, Jonathon Farney to the office of Treasurer, and Ed Kinkopf and Steve Cummings to be Board Members. We are still looking for someone to assume the duties of Secretary.
We started our annual kids fishing events season in late March at Cabela’s fish pond. This was a two day event and we were grateful that seventeen members contributed their time to allow over 350 kids an opportunity to catch a fish. We have several events on the calendar during the next three months. We appreciate all of those who volunteer to make these events possible.
The first of these events will be on Saturday April 13 at the Tenino Kids Fishing clinic. This is an indoor event that is an opportunity to do actual teaching about fishing techniques, not only to 60+ kids but also to the parents that will be there. Topics to be discussed during the clinic are things like jig and fly tying, rod building and repair, making spinners, rigging hard beads, rigging soft beads and worms, tying knots and leaders, casting, rigging for bass, rigging hardware, rigging bobbers, rigging for trolling, along with a bait curing station where they will be curing eggs and prawns. There will also have a speech about fishing etiquette and safety, and towards the end of the clinic the most fun part is a casting competition with the kids casting to hula hoops to win prizes like rods and reels and tackle and other prizes. The event will be held in the multipurpose room (gym) of Tenino Elementary just off of old 99 as you come into town. It is 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM, Saturday April 13. They will appreciate any volunteers that can give them a hand.
The next event is the annual Lacey Family Kid’s Fish-in on Saturday April 20. This is our opportunity to give up to 500 kids a chance to catch a fish in Long’s Pond and to take home a fishing rod and reel. It is a weeklong event that starts on Monday April 15 with a work party to assemble the 500 rods we will be donating beginning at 5:00 PM at the White house (it is the white building on Long’s Pond south of the Community Center Building). We will have soda and pizza for those who volunteer. The next need for volunteers will be on Friday morning April 19 at 8:00 AM to assist in placing the net in Long’s Pond and taking delivery of the fish. On the day of the event we will need volunteers to arrive by 6:30 AM to help get everything set up for the first group of kids that will arrive at 8:00 AM. It will be a long day and we will have sandwiches and snacks for those who volunteer.
Our next three events begin on May 11 when we will be at Columbus Park on Black Lake with our fish pond. This will be followed on June 5 when we will take fish pond to Mason Lake near Shelton to give the Shelton School District Special Needs Kids a chance to catch a fish. Just as a comment this is in my mind the most rewarding of all the kids fishing events we do. Finally, Cabela’s has asked us to provide volunteers for another youth fishing event in mid June. More information on each of these events will be forthcoming.
A couple of reminders. First, if you already done it you need to send last year’s catch record into WDFW even if you didn’t mark anything on it. And, second you need to renew your license before you go fishing or clamming.
Allen Morrow
Welcome to March 2024.
We have several events up coming this month. The first is the election of new officers at the meeting on March 7. At this meeting we will elect a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and two board members. We need candidates for each of these offices. The most significant office we need to fill is the presidency. Martin Chen has served in this position for the past two years, but cannot continue on as our by-laws limit the president to a maximum term of two years. So, we need someone who has not served as president for two years to step up and take on this role. This position does not require a significant amount of time and the newly elected president will have the assistance and advise of the previous president who will remain a member of the board of directors. We also need a candidate for one of the two board member positions.
The current Board of Directors are not certain what will happen to the club if no one agrees to assume the duties of the president. Our by-laws appear to require us to have a president so does that mean that if we don’t have one the club ceases to exist. It would be unfortunate if that is the case and the club simply fades away. It is my hope that someone will contact Martin Chen (360 490-3383 or marchen101@aol.com) or me (360 866-0189 or ramorrow@pacifier.com) and agree to assume this role.
There are a number of upcoming events on the calendar. The first is the general meeting on Thursday March 7. One item on the agenda is the election discussed above. The speaker will be Blake Smith from the Puyallup Tribe who will discuss their salmon restoration and enhancement programs. We will also have the customary raffle and membership drawing which you have to be present to win. Jeff Miller missed the chance to take home $50.00 last month so the pot will be $100.00 this month.
We are trying to put together a black mouth outing on either March 9 or 16 in Marine Area 11 or 13. This outing is dependent on weather and in the case of Area 11 whether it is still open for salmon fishing. More information on this event will be available at the meeting on March 7.
The next event in March will be at Cabela’s on March 23 and 24. They will be hosting a kid’s fishing event and have asked if we could provide some volunteers to help the kids. They will provide lunch for those who agree to help. Volunteers are asked to be there from around 10:30 to 4:30 each day. Cabela’s would like to have a rough count on the number of volunteers so they can make sure to have enough lunches. There will be a signup sheet at the March meeting or you can contact me at 360 866-0189 if you are interested.
April appears to be very busy month for the club. We have a couple of events that will require volunteers. The first a fishing clinic for kids at the Tenino Elementary School on April 13. At the clinic there will be 15 different learning stations in school gym where they will teaching different things like jig and fly tying, rod building and repair, making spinners, rigging hard beads, rigging soft beads and worms, tying knots and leaders, casting, rigging for bass, rigging hardware, rigging bobbers, rigging for trolling, along with a bait curing station where we will be curing eggs and prawns. There will also be a speech about fishing etiquette and safety, and towards the end of the clinic the most fun part is a casting competition where the kids will be casting to hula hoops to win prizes like rods and reels and tackle and prizes that we get donated and demo during the clinic.
The next April event will be the annual Lacey Family Kids-In Fish-in at Longs Pond on April 20. This promises to be a great event. We will need all the help we can get to ensure that it is a success starting with rod assembly on Monday April 15 beginning at 5:00 PM at the White House (adjacent to the Lacey Community Center). Pizza will be provided for dinner. We also will need a few volunteers to help put the net and fish in the pond on the morning of Friday April 19 beginning at 8:00 AM. Finally, we will need as many volunteers as we can get to help the kids fish on Saturday April 20 beginning at 6:30, but if you can’t make the early morning time help will be appreciated throughout the day.
The next event will be on May 13 at Columbus Park on Black Lake on Saturday May 11. We will have the pond at this event and give kids 8 and younger a chance in most cases to catch their first fish. We will need volunteers for this event beginning at 9:00 AM on May 9 to set up and fill the pond and on Saturday May 11 to help the kids fish beginning at 8:30 AM and ending around 5:00 PM. More information regarding this event will be forthcoming.
Our April meeting date has been changed to Thursday April 11 due to a scheduling conflict at the Lacey Community Center. Just a reminder that if you haven’t paid your 2024 dues you need to do so before the end of the meeting on April 11. If you don’t pay up by then you will be removed from our membership role and will no longer get the Reel News and our shared email messages.
Finally, I am attaching our current boat share list. If you aren’t on it and would like to be please let me know at 360 866-0189 ramorrow@pacifier.com or sign up at the March meeting.
Allen Morrow
Past President, SSPSA
South Sound Chapter – January 2024
Martin F Chen - President
Outings, Events and Announcements