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.

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Lead by example.

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.

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!!!! Remember, this is a free meeting and WELCOME TO ALL!
See you there!!!

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Lead by example.

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

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Lead by example.

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”.

KUP attached the following image(s):

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Lead by example.

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!!!