1st Muskies Inc. Chapter in WA.

[KUP]

Excellent posts, gentlemen!
You are correct; there is power in numbers and every voice is needed.

Bring these "situations" to the meeting.
We all need to be informed.. it could happen on YOUR favorite lake.
Actions like this affect ALL fishermen.

Bring your suggestions for the Chapter.

BRING YOUR IDEAS to add to the list some of us have started.

But most of all, most of all,

COME TO THE MEETING.

We need every set of eyeballs in this Northwest District to step up to the plate and make the trip.
There are a lot of people watching us.
Let's show them the strength of our band of Muskie Hunters and what we CAN DO for the fishery.

It's important.

[KUP]

Sorry.
I must sound like a broken record.
I'll shut up about the meeting.

All I care about it the fish.

[Don Wittenberger]

Mark has corresponded with me by e-mail about the Lake Tapps access situation. In a nutshell, there are two public boat ramps at Lk. Tapps, and both are controlled by local jurisdictions (Pierce County and City of Bonney Lake) who have chosen to charge launching fees that are extremely discriminatory against non-residents. Consequently, if you are not a local resident, launching a boat at that lake is unaffordable.

Local communities often receive state (or even federal) funding to build recreation facilities. If these boat ramps were built largely or entirely with local taxes, then they've got a legitimate point -- "our local taxpayers have already paid for them, so they shouldn't pay again." But if little or none of the money came from local taxes, then we paid for these facilities too, and it's inappropriate (and possibly illegal) for the county and city to charge discriminatory fees. Determining this will take some research.

It's tempting to say, well let's get WDFW to build a free boat access facility at Lk. Tapps, that will solve the problem. However, even if WDFW could find a suitable piece of available shoreline, and dig up the money to buy it (Tapps shoreline is extremely expensive), what you'd end up with is all the speed boaters and ski boaters and jet sledders, etc., currently using the fee ramps flocking to the WDFW site and the fishermen wouldn't be able to get in there or find parking.

You'll probably find that the Lake Tapps homeowners' association is solidly in favor of the high fees to keep down the number of "outsiders" buzzing "their" lake, and they probably exert pretty strong political pressure on the local governments that manage these facilities. Another thing to keep in mind is that if high launch fees keep a lot of Seattle fishermen off Lake Tapps, that reduces fishing pressure and end up with a more productive tiger muskie fishery for the people who do fish there.

I certainly feel Lake Tapps access is an appropriate issue for a muskie club to tackle, but the first step should be to get accurate information about the reasoning behind the discriminatory launch fees, who authorized it, what the applicable laws are, and whether any state regulations were violated in the process. We should also contact the facility managers to find out if there's any way to give fishermen better access to the lake. Maybe we could negotiate a reduced fee for anglers, or at least a reduced fee for anglers at certain low-utilization times (such as weekdays and the off-seasons before Memorial Day and after Labor Day). Conceivably, it might be possible to get some improvement to the situation simply by talking to the right people. That's certainly worth exploring, in my opinion.

[Deadeyemark]

Don,
I've been trying to deal with these issues for about 3 seasons now. To tell you the truth, I find it hard to believe that you're not up to date on all of these issues. No offense but the access/boat launch situation has been in the papers for months. Many lies were told in order to increase the Allen York Park boat launch fee. You're welcome to research it. I have been for months now. I've been sending emails and writing letters for a few years. I've tried to get the WDFW involved more but no dice. I've been hitting on Brewster(Bruce Bolding)pretty hard about some of the Lk Tapps issues.
IE: City of Bonney Lk has to stay within a % of other area boat launch fees but lied and said that Pierce Co charges $14. They charge $10 to launch which includes parking your rig. They charge $4 to park and just use the park. Bonney Lake added the two together and stated that Pierce Co charged $14 so they can raise their's to $17. They had to raise their resident fee the same % so they lied and stated that they had previously charge $5 for an annual sticker and are now raising it to $25. BS It's been $25 for years. I've got a couple friends up there that buy an annual sticker and have for years at the $25 price tag.
I've forwarded this info to the IAC for Margareite Austin and Lorinda Anderson to look into. I"ve also forwarded it to Kathy Smith(director Pierce Co Parks). I've also written numerous emails to the local papers asking them to look into these situations and PRINT THE TRUTH.
I've asked for help from the local bass clubs to no avail.
I did manage to get a meeting with Kathy Smith and some of her park managers, myself and a few other fishermen and managed to get them to open the gate at the Lk Tapps Pierce Co boat launch last year starting at 6:30 am which is alot better than the 8 am that it had been for years. It still closes at 8 pm though.
I've sent out emails concerning this year but haven't heard back yet concerning an early opening.
I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.
This is a major issue on a beautiful musky/bass lake right here under our noses. It has close to 60 miles of shoreline, numerous islands, unlimited cover and more structure than any other lake of it's size that I've ever seen.
Something has to be done and soon before it's CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC!!!

[KUP]

Well, here it is, one day before the Muskies Inc. Chapter start-up and info meeting.!
Are you ready!!! Hey guess what, I just received a couple of boxes from Rollie and Helen's Musky Shop
with "goodies" in them!!!
If you sign-up to be a member of Muskies Inc. tomorrow night, you will receive a "FREE" raffle ticket to win a bait pkg. worth $35.00!!!. That is the cost of joining! There will be three lucky winners!!! That's a $105.00 give away!!!! Hey, what a deal, but you better hurry, because the more I look at these baits the more I want to keep them!!!!=p~ Remember, this is a free meeting and WELCOME TO ALL!
See you there!!!

[bad esox]

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to say THANKS!!!! for attending Washington States first Muskies Inc. Chapter meeting. It was a huge success with about 35 Anglers attending.
Thanks to Steve, and Bruce, from the WDFW for coming and sharing their information. Nicely done gentlemen. We will be looking forward to working closely with you in the future.
It was a GREAT first meeting! Many new friends were made and some "tales" told. What a fantastic group of anglers I can't tell you all how wonderful this is for our sport and what a "bonus" it will be for our future here in Washington.

Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting it was truly a pleasure to meet you all. For those who couldn't make this meeting we will be looking forward to meeting with you next month:) Thursday the 21st, Denny's Federal Way (same place), 7p.m. Bring a friend, bring family members, learn something new, but most of all have fun!

[KUP]

2nd Meeting of Muskies Inc. Washington Chapter!
Come on down to Federal Way next Thursday night and
meet some of the tenacious anglers who hunt for this predator.
Meeting is free and open to all. There will be a raffle and door prizes.

Terry and Jim from Lake Mayfield Resort will be there with Muskie Tournament updates and applications.
Get 'em while they're hot! Sweet-talk Mr. Muskie into the boat and bring home : $1,400.00 1st place prize,
$900.00 for 2nd place and $500.00 for 3rd place!

Also on the agenda are Board Members, web page design and some logo selections.

Talk to the locals and find out what lures are working on what lakes!
If you love to/want to fish for muskies, you belong here!

June 21st, 7:00 pm Denny's at 2132 S. 320th Way.
See you there... bring a friend!
info at: nwmuskie@comcast.net and/or 253-850-5889

[KUP]

Change in meeting place due to Denny's double-booking!

We will gather at the
Comfort Inn
31622 Pacific Hwy South
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 529-0101

just a few blocks from Denny's
and just for tonight.
One of the Sportsman's Warehouses will be letting us hold our future meetings there. More info at the meeting.
(There will be a sign posted at Denny's , too, so there are no lost anglers)
See ya there!

[Anonymous]

Another GREAT Meeting! This Chapter 57 of Muskies Inc. is up and off the weed beds! We had another big turnout (32!) and more people signed up to be members.

* Mark W. started it off with a VERY $u$$eful RAFFLE thanks to Duckbill Lures and Frabill products.... (Mark H.: I
have used that telescoping lure retriever and it's greatly effective for getting back "lost" lures.... yes, even out
of the trees.
* Terry and Jim, managers of the Lake Mayfield Resort and Marina gave a status report on the September 15 &
16, two-day MAYFIELD MUSKIES TOURNAMENT. The Resort is offering a 20% discount off winter rates (for a 2
night stay) and 10% discount (for 1 night) for lodging & RV Sites for participating anglers and tournament staff.
They also plan to do an EARLY drivers meeting and then a dinner on Sat. night, along with Awards.
CALL THEM TO GET SIGNED UP FOR TOURNAMENT, ONLY 30 BOATS 1-360-985-2357
* We snagged a new, regular LOCATION FOR FUTURE MEETING: The manager at the Federal Way Sportsman
Warehouse, Steve Capps, has offered us a meeting room in the upstairs employee lunchroom area. The
manager of the fishing department there, Keith, says he plans on stocking more muskie lures, too.
So come early and do a little shopping!

The address is 1405 S. 348th St. Federal Way. Phone is 253-835-4100.

* Chapter 57 added a new name, NW TIGER PAC. With it comes a cool new logo that will be available next
meeting on some wild colored T-shirts. Stay tuned for the posting of the graphic.
* WEB page is still a “work in progress” looking for volunteers with web experience.
The address is www.nwtigermuskies.com
* Hot-line message number: 253-850-5889.
* Email is nwmuskie@comcast.net

Four members from WDFW attended: Steve Jackson; Warmwater Program Manager along with Bruce Bolding, Steve Caromile and Bruce Baker. They discussed the Yellow Anglers Diary binder and its importance.

The MAIN EVENT for the evening featured Mark Wells giving a thorough an informative demonstration of correct muskie release techniques.
He also covered “must-have tools” for muskie fishing.


*SUMMER TOURNAMENTS: One plan was Lake Mayfield in July and Lake Tapps in August .
More info on this to follow.

Next NW TIGER PAC meeting will be:
Thursday, July 19, 2007 @ 6:30 (new start time) until 8:30 PM (store closes @ 9:00pm)
at the Federal Way Sportsman’s Warehouse, upstairs.
1405 S. 348th St. Federal Way

See you there!



“While it is Muskies Inc.'s policy to encourage
the careful release of healthy Muskies
that are not personal trophies to the angler,
it is not our policy to intimidate or pressure any angler
or group of anglers into releasing Muskies.
We lead by example”.

[YellowBear]

Was there any talk from the WDFW of future Musky projects in Washington State?

[luv2lrn]

My husband and I will hopefully be able to attend the next meeting, not tomorrow's though! I'd go tomorrow, but it would look kinda funny for a 26 year old female to be there alone! So I will wait till my husband can come! Have fun everyone! Just let me know when and where the next meeting will be!!!

[KUP]

luv2lrn: It is always the 3rd Thursday of the month; so the next one (after tomorrow night) is August 16th, 6:30pm same place. Which is just 9 days before the Tapps Tournament. You are always welcome, with your husband or alone. We have several women anglers who hunt for this fish and they will be happy to give you a warm welcome.

[Kenster]

My husband and I will hopefully be able to attend the next meeting, not tomorrow's though! I'd go tomorrow, but it would look kinda funny for a 26 year old female to be there alone! So I will wait till my husband can come! Have fun everyone! Just let me know when and where the next meeting will be!!!

So are you and your husband making the Jack and Jill tourney at Mayfield? The more the marrier!!!

[bad esox]

Wow! Amazing how time flies! Here are almost 5 years later.... still alive and kickin' That is awesome!!

[bad esox]

Thanks Everyone,

Without your tremendous support over the past five-years Muskies, Inc. as a whole would not be where it is in the State of Washington today. You ALL are very much appreciated by those of us within Muskies, Inc., Chapters 57 and 60.

We had a great meeting last night with; pizza, pop, and a very special 5th-Anniversary cake that was made by one of our members daughters... The whole night was an awesome experience. Some very special stories were shared and many thanks were given. Hopefully, we can get some pictures posted of the event in the near future both here and at our NW TIGER PAC website...

I personally talked about, and heard, the word "friendship" used from many of our chapter members last night. Our friendship amongst our membership is very strong just judging from the kind words shared in that meeting room. So to all my "friends" I would just like to pass this along... One good friend is worth a thousand acquaintances... Remember, to be kind to one another and too always laugh a lot... Life is much too short. Those who cannot give friendship will rarely receive it and they will never hold it.

A huge "Thank You" goes out to All of our many "friends" for making the NW TIGER PAC just what it is today... a great place to be. It has been a great run over the past five-years... Now, if you please, do come join us and make some more "reel" friends!

[KUP]

Photo below shows just a handful (22) of our 70 members in May 2012. Our Members are scattered all over Western Washington & Western Oregon. Even our RVP lives 2 hours away and our Treasurer, 1 hour. So we are VERY happy when we get to see Members from Olympia;Trent & Carolyn, Yelm; D.J, Rhonda & Family and Ed Hoyle all the way from Pasco! (4 hours & 5 minutes).
It is a special treat when we get to see Jack, who drove in from Onalaska.
We had 34 people at the first meeting, 18 who became instant members that night in 2007.
Since then we have fluctuated between 65 and 100 members.
May 17, 2012 was a memorable evening; lots of laughter and joking around and it was very gratifying to all of us to hear all the great comments about friendships, fish, & camping memories. I think the Chapter does a great job of making sure everyone feels welcomed when they come to our Meetings/Tournaments/Events. And many of those relationships started at the Booth at the Annual Sportsman Show in Puyallup!
The Chapter donated all the free pizza & pop you could eat:spectacular! and Chantelle's custom cake was awesome!

5 Years in the bag and we are just getting started!
Look for all the photos on the Chapter website: http://www.nwtigermuskies.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rosann G]

Thanks for the update Jani. Looks and sounds like you all had a great time. Sorry we couldn't manage to come over the hill for the meeting, would have been fun to visit with everyone.

[KUP]

You and Bill were missed! But we tell tall stories about you... remember the Muskie School (chicken runner??) and that first trip to Curlew... good times, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?! This Chapter would not be the success it is today without both of you & your support.
Besides being excellent anglers, you ROCK at organizing a Chapter.