Here are my selections:

April Draw-  Lake Sammamish  Alt- Lake Washington

May Points- Moses Lake (nice smallies and largies this time of year) Alt- Potholes

June Points- Banks- Why?  Ask Kirk! Alt- Roosevelt

July J&J- Potholes  Alt- Whatcom

August Points- Roosevelt- What can I say..I love this lake.  Lots of beautiful scenery and a lot of fish to catch.
Alt- Columbia River- Near Yakima River confluence

Sept Points- Scootney Reservoir- why?  Because it is something different and I've heard from Kirk and a few others this lake holds some nice fish.  Also, it appears in  the last three years at least the tournament turnout is significantly lower which should loosen up the pressure on community known hot spots.  "Like I know any in Scootney- Right"


Team Tournament- Sammamish   Alt-  Lake Washington- Larry, I like your idea about fishing a six hole course, but what about the person who still thinks they have a shot in the 7th or 8th position.....too bad eh?  I like your style you tough guy!! By the way how's the boat repairs coming?  Are you on the water yet?

April: Silver Lake. I think it is time to go back! There are some HUGE bass in that lake! Duck is actually my first vote, but I nixed it because ... well, that city council is screwed up and some of the lakeshore residents are jerks. Whatcom was another thought, but it seems to fish small (only certain small spots will produce fish) in April, and there is no way to prefish for it since it is closed for the winter season.   So... Duck lake as an alternate by default.

May: Potholes rules!  Yup, the wind sucked this year, but that would have been the case no matter where we were that weekend.  Nonetheless, some awesome bags were brought in.  Just think how it would have been if that front hadn't blown through.  Alt: Moses

June: Moses Lake.  It's been a long time since the club fished it (approx 7 yrs ago) and the fishing wasn't that great.  I think this lake, just like Roosevelt, is on the rebound so it's time to revisit.  Alt: Silver Lake. It should be excellent fishing this time of year.  Those big pigs should be spawning.  

July: Roosevelt.  Just the great scenery alone will keep the Jills happy - but the fishing should be at it's peak at that time too.  All the better.  Alt: Potholes Reservoir.  There will be great camping then (shade!), and the lake will still have a lot of water left to fish for largemouth in the dunes. This is a prime time of the year for smallies along the dam, so less-experienced wives can have a good time.  

August: This is when Banks lake really shines.  I don't know why this lake is a "late" bloomer, but man - the bite is typically ON during August.  Alt:  Columbia river at Tri-Cities.  Sean McConnville just won a 1-day tournament there with a 1-bag limit of smallies weighing over 22lbs!  Big fish was over 7 pounds!!

September: Banks Lake. We haven't fished Banks in September for a long time.  Trust me, there's a reason a big group of us vacation there every year in September.  If the weather cooperates, the topwater bite is phenominal. There won't be much recreational traffic, either. Sounds fun to me!  Alt: Potholes - it's a totally different lake this time of year.  Different lures, colors and tactics than you would use on this lake than in the spring.  Totally different locations too.

October: Now that it's a 2-day tournament, Lake Whatcom.  We've never fished it then and I've always felt the deep waters make this lake warm up late in the spring, but they also keep the lake warm later in the season.  For that reason, I think it's better in the fall than spring.  Alt: Samammish - same reasons, plus it's nice to have a tournament close to home.  It's easy on the wallet too!

As a side note, and it will be said in the newsletter as well, the board will be taking absentee votes for tournament lake nominations. Please email me your first and second choices for each month if you cannot make it to this month's general membership meeting.

My email is: fishboy@u.washington.edu

I won't count the ones posted here on the website, only ones emailed to me.

Any emails sent to me after the meeting date will not be counted.

Also, like Virgil said, if you don't plan on fishing tournaments next year, you shouldn't cast tournament lake votes.

For those new to voting, there are 7 tournaments each year: April-October. April is a draw tournament, and it needs to be on the west side of the mountains in case of snow on the passes. July is a Jack 'n' Jill tournament. October is a team tournament. All other months are points tournaments that count toward Angler of the Year standings.

Thanks everyone,
Chris

Hey guys(and Gals),
     In past years we've tried changing things up abit and it always seems to destroy the turnouts.  I may be old fashioned in that sort of way.
APRIL-SILVER
MAY-POTHOLES
JUNE-BANKS
JULY-DUCK
AUG.-WHATCOM
SEPT.-RIFFE
OCT.-WASHINGTON
  I hope not to offend anyone with these choices, but if I'm not mistaken, noone has had wins on the same lake consecutive years.  (NOT even KIRK)  If I have a say in the matter, we should keep the tourneys on lakes that common folks get a chance to learn through the years and become better anglers not by learning new lakes but becoming proficient on a few they have confidence on.  The OLD people from years back saw this.  I think we should remain where people are comfortable and somewhat confident.  THE PREZ. HAS SPOKEN!!!!!!!!!