Howdy from the Prez,

Happy June to everyone. Whew, how about the weather the past few days? As a transplanted Arizonian, I feel like I'm home again.

There have been some big fish caught this last month. I know of two 7+'s and another over 8 pounds. I love this time of year; I wore shorts out on Lake Sawyer after work the other day, and even at dusk it was beautiful outside.

Congrats to Kirk on his win at Potholes. He and I spent a lot of time on Potholes this spring, and on the weekend before the tourney, I decided to fish for smallies because the largemouth weren't near as active as weeks prior. I mentioned this to Kirk on Saturday of the tournament, and he assured me that largemouths would win it. I disagreed. Ok bud, you were right, I was wrong! Good job.

I took Connor and Tanner with me and had a great time. Connor fished hard and weighed in four fish on Saturday. Tanner was real busy with the net. The kids had fun and Dad had fun. It's all good. I hope to see a ton of members at the Banks Lake tournament. Fishing should be awesome, as it is every June.

For those of you that might be reading this article on the club website, we don't bite! If you're interested in either joining the club or just want to talk fishing, call myself or another board member. We all speak FISHIN-ESE.

Ron Hankinson
(253) 229-4268

I hope all that had the opportunity to help out at the Fishing Kids event had a great time. The weather was great and there were over 800 kids. They had to actually turn folks away! It is always a rewarding time when we as anglers get the chance to help introduce younger kids into the wonderful world of fishing. There were less than 10 folks who helped out this year, so hopefully we will see more members next time there is a chance to volunteer your time.

The club also put on a Casting Kids competition at the Banks Lake Jamboree. I can't stress enough how important total club participation is at these events. We have one more event planned for this year, it is the C.A.S.T for Kids day set for Sept. 6^th. This is a great chance to share our time, experience and boats with kids who have had to endure some pretty tough times. I'll challenge anyone that doesn't think that they get twice as much back as they give at this event. I will have additional information as the date approaches. Until then, keep the sunscreen handy and the water bottle filled.
Doug Booth

Hello WBC,

I hope everyone is having a great summer. The tournament season is well on its way, and I, for one, am really enjoying it. The Jamboree was a lot of fun with everyone catching fish. This included my son Tyler, who weighed in over 10 pounds on Sunday to lead the entire club that day. Congratulations, Tyler, I am proud of you.

Entertainment for the month will be a member of our club who has proven his knowledge of Banks Lake through many top finishes there: Kirk Holmes. With Banks Lake being our "next stop" on the tournament trail, I figured that any help from a "proven smart guy" (Note from Ed: I think this is going a bit too far, Don) could be beneficial to all of us. Kirk will focus his talk on effective spring and early summer patterns for smallmouth bass. It should be an eye-opener for even the most veteran of club anglers. I hope to see you all at the next meeting. If not, I will definitely see you at Banks!

Take care,
Don Hankinson
(253) 334-8077