Howdy floaters and non-floaters!

Are we losing this season way too fast or what? I know we need the rain really bad, but it seems like it's the beginning of the end when it starts. Oh well - with the change in seasons there is a change in challenges so stay on the water and learn something new. This month's Fish-In was new to some and challenging to others. It was an evening into night Fish-In, and I really enjoy these a lot. This life is way too busy for me and I like being on the water, watching life slow down, and nature getting back to nature. I don't know for sure, but we had about 12-14 boats, and about 23 or so people show up. We saw long-time members, like Cliff Kuppinger, and new and first-timers, like Jon Jefferies. Thanks for coming guys, and thanks for the ones that brought guests. It's always nice to have new faces to look at, because even in the dark by now your tired of looking at mine.

More people means more food! We had lunch at midnight and the table was packed with some pretty good eats. To whomever brought the smoked fish, I will need another 10 lbs. or so to see if I really like it or not... my address is in the roster! There were hotdogs o' plenty, sausages, a huge bucket of chicken, many salads, and chips. Here's a big thanks to all who pitched in to get the fix-ins ready.

More than half the pack stayed for the night after lunch. The big fish up to that point was caught by Harley Davidson. It was a 3.8 largemouth caught on a top water: you guessed it, a buzzbait! Most every one else had a 20 fish dink fest of 10-12 inchers. By sun-up there were still 3 boats on the water enjoying the morning fog with its warm breeze. The morning bite was like the evening bite, which was a little better than the night bite. The moon was about a quarter full, which I think hurt us a little. I like it a little fuller.

I had the privilege of fishing with Richard Loth in the back seat of my boat until about noon the next morning when a rude waterskier buzzed us and swamped Rich in the back. Richard, as promised, didn't do a lot of running around the boat and pretty much followed me around wherever I went. Richard is a no-maintenance guy and doesn't need his hand held for anything… not even in the dark. But, I still think I saw him pull out a teddy bear in the darkest part of the night.

There is a last minute change of plans for next month's Fish-In. The board did not foresee a September conflict between CAST for Kids, the Fish-In, and the summer picnic. So the first weekend of the month, we will be volunteering at the CAST for Kids event on Lake Washington. If you have to make a decision on what event to attend in September, choose CAST, you will not regret it. On September 13th, we will meld the Fish-In and summer picnic into one fun event. See Page 4 of the newsletter for more details. We will fish Spencer Lake in October, so stay tuned next month for directions and date details.

Virgil Wilbur
tigger357a@hotmail.com
H  (253) 854-8911
W (425) 656-5020 

P.S. I would like to make a challenge to all: everybody has their "home" lakes and know how to get there pretty well, RIGHT? So when you go to one of these lakes, take a few minutes to jot down directions, maybe even a breakfast place, and give it to me or another board member, and we can start putting a book of directions together for places we visit. It will make places a lot easer for all to find. WHAT DO YA THINK??? CAN YOU DO THAT???