WBC News June 2011 President s Report Rodney Heupel, President Hello Members and Guests, The Future of Western Bass Club The future of Western Bass Club. Is this a title, statement or a question? Let us start with the facts we know, founded in 1938 we are just two years away from our 75th Anniversary. Wouldn t it be great to have 75 members (or more) in 2013! Currently our membership has taken a slight drop. Much of this is related to the economy of our nation, and 45 members are required to meet our current budget goals. Our future relies on the retention of members. Have you renewed your membership? As a guest have you attended a monthly meeting and/or fishin? The future relies on people who like to fish for the warm water species. In the past the Western Bass Club s big award of the year was the Rainier Trophy, given to the member who caught the single biggest bass of the year. Today we have a picture of Mount Rainier on the cover of our Member Handbook and we give a Big Bass of the Year Award in the form of a plaque. The highly prized Angler of the Year is the trophy that many members strive to earn. In the future, will your name be on it? This is the month we vote on lakes we will fish for the 2012 tournament year. In the past you had to be a paid member and present at the monthly meeting to cast your vote. Today as a paid member you can cast your vote in the Members Section of the Western Bass Club website at. Raffles have always been a part of the club. Today s raffles occur at the monthly meetings with a rod as the choice
prize. After each tournament the quality of the prizes include top name brands of jigs, fluorocarbon lines, Lucky Craft crank baits and even reels. The Annual Awards Banquet raffle is an event that you do not want to miss. Currently our tournaments offer a women s and couple s division. The future of Western Bass Club lies in our children. In the near future, there will be a junior division to provide the children of adult members the opportunity to earn great prizes. The future of Western Bass Club is strong; the youth of today will see the 100th Anniversary of the club. The future of Western Bass Club; it is a title, a statement and questions answered. Rodney Heupel, President
Meeting Minutes Dan Mowry, Secretary General Meeting May 18, 2011 Meeting called to order at 7:04 P.M. there were 20 members present. Entertainment: We had Dan Johnson from Sniper Lures and Gary Stiles from N.W. Bass. Gary Talked about the inner workings of the tournament trail. And Dan Talked about his new products and gave out lots of free samples. Thank You to both, it was very entertaining. Meeting Minutes read and approved. Greeter/Greenslip: We had 16 greenslips turned in. Chris Blandi had a 6lb 14 oz. LM from Steel Lake on a Brush Hog. John Greer had a 7.5lb LM from Star Lake on a Mop jig. And Dan Chaffey had a 8lb LM from Lake Devaro on a jig and craw. We had one visitor, Thomas nephew Julian, Welcome. Treasurer s Report: We have $874.50 in the bank. We just need to pay for the P.O. Box. Entertainment: June will be Thane, speaking about Riffe Lake. And July will be a guest from The Sportsman Wholesale Store, talking about products we want to see in store. Ambassador Report: The May fish-in was at American Lake. We had 5 boats and 10 fisher s. Only Rodney s boat caught fish. Big fish was 5.7lb., by Rodney, on a senko. It was a very windy day. Next Month will be at Lake ST. Clair on June 11th. Details are on the web-site. Special Events: June 4, 2011 will be the Fish n Kids event at Gene Coulon Park. June 3rd we will be rigging the rods, at 4:00 P.M. Please be there one or both days to help this Great Event. The Wounded Warrior event will be July 23rd. Jim needs to have at least 40 boats. There will be a trout tank for the kid s. Jim is looking to have fishing from 7:30 A.M. to 8:00P.M., with a weigh-in at 12:00. And anyone wanting to go back out after can do so. There will be a BBQ for the families, and the club can set an information table. Tournament Director: Potholes Tournament was a big success. The weather was not to good, but the fishing was good. All the details are in the web-site, and newsletter. There were 171 fish caught, totaling 451 lbs. First place was Troy with 35.26lbs. Big fish was 6.57lb., by Brian Olson. Next Month will be at Riffe Lake. Details are on the web-site. We will have a potluck at this event. Due to time restraints, Henry will take any orders for Do-It products next Month. Next Month we will discuss and vote on lake selections for the year 2012. Please be prepared to get through this process in a timely manner. On-line voting will be accepted, if you have paid your membership for the year. Meeting adjourned at 9:24 P.M.
Here s a thought from author Jimmy D. Moore: My wife said I have so many rods and reels that I cannot possibly use them all. My reply was that I had rods and reels to fish, rods and reels to tinker with, and then my fine crafted rods and reels to fondle and admire, while dreaming of fishing during the cold winter months. You can imagine what kind of look she gave me. And from author Leon Hale. I think he s addicted. I don t care how big the fish is. I don t even care if the fish gets free before I land it. I just need to make that perfect cast, and get the strike.
Fish-In Report Dan Caffrey, Ambassador Director May 7th Fish In report for Long lake in Kitsap county. Well, it was a tough day on the water again. Only three fish were caught all day. The rain stopped early and there were several sun breaks, despite the nasty rain storm predicted by the weather man. The temperature was 48 degrees before calculating the wind chill. All anglers seemed well dressed though, and some even used hand warmers. The winds were the major factor today, as they were last month at American lake. Except this month they weren t as bad. Patrick brought out his wind gauge, and clocked the winds at a steady 16 and gusts up to 27, and there was alot of gustin goin on. The Water ranged from 52 to 58 degrees today. Everyone said they ran their trolling motors on high all day. There were five boats, eight members, and 2 guests. Robert and his guest Rob Ashley, in boat 1. In boat 2, Hooter, Jeff I., and Jeff s guest, Gabe, who got to see a largemouth up close for the first time today; he seemed to have fun and enjoy the event. Then there was Patrick who went solo in his boat. Rodney and Jose teamed up, and Rodney managed to land his first largemouth of the year weighing in at a chunky 5.7lbs! Finally there was Christy and I. We each caught a bass. Mine was a 1.5lber, and hers was a 5.6lb toad. Yep. Backseated again by Christy. Thanks everyone for coming, and a special thanks to those who brought out guests! See you all next month at Lake St. Clair in Thurston County! Maybe June will be the month we can quit using the snow gear! The July fish in will be up north at Lake Goodwin Dan Caffrey Ambassador Director
Entertainment Angie Dover, Entertainment Director May s entertainment was a real treat! Gary gave a nice presentation on running a tournament bass fishing circuit and why he and his lovely wife Lisa do it. It was interesting to hear some of the behind scenes the details, including conflict resolution. Gary also talked about how unique Washington is in our tournament circles, we are much more friendly and open than other clubs in other states, giving the Jamboree on Banks Lake as an example. Dan was very generous in handing out Sniper Snubs. Dan also shared some presentation ideas on using the Snub and what other angles do with his secret sent if you weren t at the meeting, sorry, I m not sharing! Sniper Lures www.sniperlures.com Northwest Bass www.nwbass.net This month: Thayne Hatch is going to talking about Riffe Lake. Thayne has a lot of experience on Riffe and I look forward to hearing his thoughts on the lake and how it fishes. As always, if there is something you would like to see please feel free to let me know and I ll do my best! Angie Dover
Special Events Chris Blandi, Special Events Director Special Events: WBC, Fishing Kids is here. We will be meeting at Coulon at 7:30am Saturday the 4th. It is going to be a gorgeous day. I will give an update on how it went in next months newsletter. Hope to see you there. Now for the other important piece of business. The Wounded Warriors event date has been changed. Jim Owens changed the date to help with participation and location. Mark your calendars, the new date is Saturday July 23rd, at American Lake. We will be sharing the fun with Evergreen Bass Club, and a few other volunteers as well. Here s an Email I got from Jim Owens directly with info: We will be holding the event at Russell s Landing on base. The boater s need to supply me with license plate numbers for both their tow vehicle and boat. They also need to have a proof of insurance available in case they ask. Boater s should be at the Badge Office just before the gate at about 5:30am. There will be a BBQ for everyone. The boaters should also bring at least one, if not two adult life jackets with them. If folks want to bring raffle prizes for the Warriors that s up to them. We will have a free raffle for them. It doesn t have to be fishing stuff. It can be tools or other stuff that any guy would want. Yes, it is still in partnership with the Evergreen Bass Club. We will also have some boats from a few other clubs. I will be sending out more info to the boaters about two weeks before the event. If you want to volunteer for this great event send Jim Owens an email or call at : (425) 251-3214 Jim@castforkids.org
Meeting Information Date: Time: Location: Third Wednesday of each month 7:00 p.m. Kennydale Community Center 2424 NE 27th Renton, WA
Western Bass Club Membership Form Spouse, children under 18, and grandchildren are also members with your paid annual dues. NEW MEMBER AND MEMBER RENEWAL FORM Name (please print) Street Address City State Zip Birthday NEW MEMBER / RENEWAL (please circle appropriate choice) Website User Name Home Phone ( ) E-Mail Address Spouse s Name Birthday List Children: Name Birthday Name Birthday Name Birthday PLEASE NOTE: Dues are $45 for new members and renewals. Your signature on this application releases Western Bass Club from all claims for any injury and/or damage, personal or property that you, members of your family, or guests may cause or sustain. Make checks payable to: Western Bass Club Member Signature Date Check Number Mail to: Western Bass Club Attn: Secretary PO Box 59027 Renton WA 98058
810 Auburn Way N Auburn, WA 98002 Phone: 253-833-1440 Fax: 253-735-9412 For All Your Fishing Needs