Welcome

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FROM ALLEN MORROW

We ended 2019 with a late December crab outing on Willapa Bay. For most of us this was the first time we had tried crabbing on Willapa. We had some success as everyone came home with at least a couple of crab for their yearend dinner or party, but not nearly what we anticipated. We hope to try this outing again in the future.

Our January speaker John Ignac started the year with a very informative and entertaining talk on how, when and where to fish for steelhead on the Skookumchuck River. John is one of the more successful fisher on this small South Thurston County stream. The most important part was that he shared his knowledge of the most likely holes on the upper river where you will find holding steelhead. But, he didn’t during his talk or wouldn’t to me afterward point out which of those holes is his “honey” hole. If you want to find that out you will need to find him on the river and follow him.

At its January meeting the board began the task of developing a calendar of events for 2020. At this point we have several proposed, and in some cases established items, on the horizon. The first event is a proposed clam dig on Saturday February 8 subject to WDFW approval and weather. In March, we have two events, first a Kids Fishing Clinic in Tenino and second Kelly Corcoran’s annual Skookumchuck River cleanup at a date to be determined. April will be a busy month with a proposed boat show/safety inspection early in the month and our annual Kid’s Fish-in on Longs Pond on Saturday the 18th. In May, we will have our fish pond at Columbus Park on Black Lake on the 2nd for a kid fishing event and we will be at Lake Kapowsin assisting at a WDFW kid fishing opportunity. In June, we will again be taking the pond, at a date to be determined, to Mason Lake for an event for Shelton School District special needs students. And finally, September will find us and the pond at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. This is an ambitious schedule that hopefully will leave all of us time to get on the water and fish for halibut, lowland lake trout and shrimp in April and May.

Our February meeting will be on the 6thback at the Lacey Community Center. The speaker will be Kelly Susewind, WDFW Director. This should be a meeting you don’t want to miss. The member drawing is up to $150, but you must have paid your 2020 dues to be eligible. 

 Our Bobber Doggin' trip(s) were a success, for some!    

Went fishing for Chum's in Little Skookum Inlet on Saturday.  Four of our boats took 8 Gi's out.  Only 2 Chum's to the net.  But everybody seemed to have fun.  My boat had 2 on but didn't get any to the net.

Went back on Sunday with 2 more GI's.  We put 6 in the net by 12:30.  1 set of doubles.  FYI - It is hard to net 2 chum with 1 person that had never caught a salmon before, 1 person that never fished before, two salmon swimming in opposite directions and one of those wrapped up in the stringer with 2 salmon on it.  Was very interesting for awhile.  Sunday the concentration of fish seemed to disappear about 1:30.   

Bobber Doggin’ November 9, 2019

Our plans for a bobber dogging outing for single soldiers at JBLM are coming together.  The plan is to take single soldiers from JBLM on a chum fishing outing.  We have made contact with an organization called Better Opportunities for  Single Soldiers (BOSS) at JBLM and they are excited about this opportunity for their members.  The plan is to meet at Swantown Marina with our boats at 10:00 AM on the morning of Saturday November 9 go to Mill Creek in Hammersley Inlet or Little Skookum in Totten Inlet (depending on the where the chum are to be found) returning to Swantown around 4:00 PM.  We are planning on taking 2 soldiers per boat so the more boats we have the more we can take out.  The plan is for us to provide all the fishing gear and for the soldiers to have a license, appropriate clothing and something to eat and drink.  

If you are interested and want more information please let me know as soon as possible so I can let the folks at BOSS know how many we can accommodate.  When you do respond it will be helpful if you could let me know how many people you can take on your boat. Contact info is ramorrow@pacifier.com

Allen Morrow

PSA SSC will have a clam dig at Twin Harbors Beach on October 25th.   If you do not know where this is, we will leave the Mud Bay Park and Ride at 1 PM to caravan out to the site.  Or you can  find us on the beach between Grayland Beach Road and Cranberry Beach Road.  Low tide is about 6 PM with a surf perch fishing oppotunity before the dig commences.  

We had our annual kid's fish-in last Saturday, April 13, 2019.  Rain in the morning and wind in the afternoon but the kid's and the volunteers stuck it out. A good time was had by all.

35 volunteers helped 454 kids fish on 2,000 Rainbow Trout.  A couple of big carp thrown into the middle of the event brought smiles all around.  I went back to Long's Pond on Sunday and a young lady was there fishing and had to show me a picture of the big Carp that she had caught at the event.  She said that it tried to pull her in.

It was another successful PSA event

Thanks everybody for all of your time and effort in helping these kids fish.

See you next time.

Come join for a "bobber dog-in" event on November 10.  We will be out on the Puget Sound chasing Chum Salmon.  Contact Mike Silvers at Mike Silvers [setthehook55@gmail.com]  to see if we have an open seat for you or to find out details about the outing.  Hope to see you there!  (See pictures below)

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On October 13 members participated in a clam dig/surf perch fishing/bon fire event at Rooseveldt Beach.  All got limits of razor clams 5 surf perch were caught by one member.  Good time had by all!

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At the Puyallup Fair, the Master Hunters out did themselves this year.  Master Hunters volunteered for 13 days with 57 shifts and a total of 396 volunteer hours to help 4,355 kids catch fish at the Puyallup Fair.  Because of the volunteers we fished 315 more kids this year than we did last year and did it with less fish.

Thanks for all the help! 

-- 

Mike Silvers
 

On July 14th, Cub Scout Pack 462 had a ball catching Rainbow trout. After the scouts each caught two it was open to their siblings. The fish cooperated, sort of. All caught fish.  The South Sound chapter of Puget Sound Anglers volunteers had a ball and a fabulous lunch provided by the Pack. Pack 462 is JBLM based. They have 62 cub scouts!  A wonderful program and pleased we could help. Thank you Mike Silvers Mike Servey, Dennis Knutz, Kevin Fast, and John Ignac for your time.

 Thanks to all the volunteers, the May 30, 2018 Kid's Fish-in at Mason Lake was a great success.  You made some lasting memories for many a kid and I heard  a lot of "Thank You's" from the parents.

We had at least 80 kids catch fish.  Some kids (with teacher permission) took the fish back to the school to be grilled and eaten!  Happy fishers at Mason Lake (Shelton, Wa) Kids Fish-In. See pictures below and Click here to watch some of the fun!

Our South Sound Chapter of PSA received a $5,000 grant from Cabela's in Lacey Wa, on May 26, 2018, for us to give kids rods and reels. 

MEDIA   ALERT:   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  -

June 1, 2018                                                                          

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s to donate 50,000 rods and reels in nationwide effort to get kids outside this summer

Gone Fishing movement kicks off with National Donation Day  at Cabela’s in LACEY, WA

WHAT:           Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris is challenging families to put down their digital devices and get outside to discover the joys of fishing. To kick off Gone Fishing, the nationwide movement that gets kids and families connected to nature each summer, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s are donating 50,000 rods and reels to nonprofit organizations that help kids from all backgrounds connect to the great outdoors.

Media are invited to Cabela’s in Lacey, Washington on Thursday, June 7 for a special ceremony featuring Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) receiving the donations, The WDFW helps get kids outside with programs like “Fish Washington, Kid Fish Events”, receiving this donation of rods and reels will help increase the number of kids that participate in events throughout the year.  

During the family-friendly Gone Fishing events taking place over the next two weekends (June 9-10 and 16-17), kids of all ages are invited to catch their first fish with free catch-and-release ponds, take home a “First Fish” certificate and beginner’s guides, and participate in free seminars, free crafts and free photo downloads.  

The effort is part of the company’s mission to inspire future generations to enjoy, love and conserve the great outdoors. In the past five years, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s have donated more than 300,000 items to youth-focused nonprofit organizations across North America.  

WHEN: Thursday, June 7, 2018, 4 P.m.

WHO:              Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife                         (Insert name(s) of local nonprofit representatives attending the event)

WHERE:         Cabela’s

1600 Gateway Blvd N.E.

Lacey, WA 98516

MEDIA CONTACT: Tracy Hatton

Tracy.hatton@cabelas.com

360-252-3535

Tracy Hatton

Events Specialist

Cabela’s – Lacey, WA

(360) 252-3535

4136-8046 (internal)

Tracy.Hatton@cabelas.com