Meetings 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7:30at the Clubhouse
The Annual Meeting and election of officers will be Jan 18 at 7:30 p.m.at the clubhouse.
Remember, the gate lock changes on Jan 18th! Bring your renewal to the meeting to get instant gratification of the new combination and badge! Web site: www.boothbayregionfishandgame.com
President’s Message
This past year was a very productive one for our Association. We welcomed 25 new individual members and families, and our renewal rate was right up there as well. Attendance at meetings averaged perhaps the best in a decade or more, with a good dollop of credit going to Refreshments Committee Chair Tammy Steinmetz and all those who brought soups, salads, casseroles, and desserts to the meetings. These hot suppers, a new feature for the club, proved to be a good draw and made for many enjoyable evenings.
Again in 2011 we awarded a $400 “scholarship” to a deserving young person in our region pursuing further education or a vocation after high school. This year’s recipient was Eben Court, who is majoring in marine biology at Eckerd College in Florida. We will be awarding another scholarship in 2012, so if any members know of someone who might qualify please let us know.
The club grounds and buildings are in pretty good shape. We brought in some gravel to help smooth the path to the fishing dock and make it more wheelchair-friendly. In December we had the lower part of the driveway repaired by Neal Reny, who also fixed some long-standing drainage issues in the parking lot and firing ranges. As of this writing we still need to replace the downed electrical pole by the cook shack, but that should be accomplished shortly. Heartfelt appreciation goes out to late member Bob Streng for bequeathing $5,000 to the club, which will go towards site work and construction of the new Streng Pistol Pavilion.
Increasing the level of participation in our weekly Summer .22 Shoots, the Saltwater Fishing Tournament in August co-sponsored by Carl Jordan and the White Anchor Tackle Shop, and the Fall Turkey Shoots continues to be a challenge, and we’ll be exploring new ways to accomplish this in 2012. The club joined the Boothbay Region Chamber of Commerce this past year, and we plan to use this membership to help boost the visibility of our events. If anyone has any other ideas, we’re all ears.
In closing, I would like to call for a round of applause for all who volunteered during the past year – and there were lots of you. You helped spruce up the grounds on Work Day, cleaned up the clubhouse kitchen, mowed the ranges, repaired the target frames, flipped burgers and helped out at the Turkey Shoots and the Fishing Tournament, shoveled snow from the clubhouse path, and did much, much more. You are the ones who make our Association a success, and on behalf of myself, the officers and directors, and the membership in general, I cannot thank you enough! --Arthur Reed, President, 2011
2011 Fishing Report
Wiley Pond, at the club, was stocked with 1,000 brook trout this fall (on Oct. 27) by Maine DIF&W. This is a “put and take” fishery (lures and flies only, no live bait permitted) with a two-trout-per-day bag limit and is open to the public as a walk-in fishery. Wiley is a wonderful spot for members and area residents to get a jump on the season when it opens April 1st since the trout are hungry and can often be caught from the bridge or pier early in the season. Most trout are caught from April to the first week of July when the pond heats up and too many weeds appear. Wiley brookies normally run 8.5” to 10”, but in 2011 the fish were larger than usual with trout up to 12” occasionally coming to net. A few even bigger “holdover” trout were taken as well. Effective spinning lures were small Kastmasters, Super Dupers, Joe’s Spinners, and Panther Martins. Fly fishermen had good results with the Black Nose Dace, Mickey Finns, and Hornberg streamers as well as drys like Bivisibles and Adams when trout were rising.
In other area lakes and ponds there were reports of good action throughout the season. Knickerbocker Lake has populations of rainbow, brown and brook trout as well as largemouth and smallmouth bass. Angling for trout is best after ice-out and in the fall, but the bass bite takes off after the water warms and shoreline cover develops. A good technique for bigger bass is tossing Carolina rigged plastic worms into the weeds from a canoe or kayak.
West Harbor Pond was hot for summer and fall bass. Two club members caught and released over 35 largemouths and smallmouths in two hours of action-packed casting while the bass were clobbering shiners or small alewives on the surface. Effective lures were Al’s Goldfish, Daredevles, and spinners. A beautiful 14” brook trout was landed and released by 13-year-old club member Doug Steinmetz in November. It was in spawning color and may have been a Knickerbocker brookie that swam through the adjoining stream.
Outside of the region, club members reported worthwhile brook trout and salmon fishing at Upper Dam, Little Kennebago Lake, and the Magalloway River near Rangeley. Brown and rainbow trout were taken in the Kennebec near Solon in October. Early in the season, the catch and release area of the upper Sheepscot near Palermo provided some action for small trout and salmon parr.
Salt water fishermen had another challenging season in 2011. While the bait fish, mackerel and pollock were plentiful, striped bass were scarce and bluefish non-existent. Charter captains reported the striper catch to be off, and local anglers who usually catch 50-60 bass in a season were reporting only 5-10 landed. Again, there were few schoolies and most fish were between 24” and 36” with a few over- 40” trophy fish landed, mostly at “the beach” near the Kennebec River. Small live mackerel, mackerel chunks, eels, and sea worms were the baits of choice. --Steve Rubicam
Shooting Report
The Summer .22 Shoots were held each Wednesday at 6 pm through September, conducted by Range Committee Chairman Keith Royal. Although attendance averaged a bit lower than in previous years, winning and runner-up shooters garnered small cash prizes while honing their rifle and pistol skills, and there was plenty of friendly competition. Events included 50-foot offhand at various targets, as well as the popular 100-yard benchrest. Plans are to continue the shoots again in 2012, which are open to shooters of all skill levels. Info will be posted on the club web site this coming spring.
The Fall Turkey Shoots were again run by Tom Davis, who did a terrific job as always, and Keith’s fame as a gourmet hamburger chef has now spread all the way to Edgecomb. However, inclement weather (including one Sunday that was just plain too hot!) caused the cancellation of several shoots, along with another where there just weren’t enough entrants to cover the cost of the prizes. Several of the events were indeed well attended, so although overall revenue was down, the club at least did not take a financial hit. Hopefully we can come up with some ideas to better promote the Turkey Shoots in the future.
Keith’s top priority for the coming year is to build the pistol pavilion. Although a couple of preliminary issues need to be resolved before construction can begin, Keith is confident that we can move forward. “I think with a few donations to add to what we already have, we can get this project done in 2012,” he says. The pavilion will be a valuable addition to our club, and will hopefully encourage even more new members to join. –Barry Gibson
The following section/subsection of this article shall be known as the “Supplemental Club Laws”. The control, amendments, deletions or changes of such sections or subsections may be by vote of the regular membership at a regular monthly stated meeting, without the full process or notification required in Article (XII) of these By-Laws.
The gate is to be locked at all times except during Club functions.
New lock combinations will be issued each January upon payment of dues.
The Club badge is to be worn by club members when on Club property. If badge is not worn you will pay a fine of one dollar ($1.00).
The monthly regular meetings shall be called to order at 7:30 P.M. on the third Wednesday of each month at the club house.
The key for the clubhouse will be issued to all officers and various committees. Upon retiring the key will be turned over to the new officer.
No camping on Club property except for scheduled scouting activities.
The use of any intoxicating substance is prohibited on Club property.
One dollar ($1.00) of each annual membership dues paid to the Club will be allocated to the Clayton Dodge Scholarship Fund each year as principal funds.
Other than the general membership, a gate combination will be issued to a responsible person of the following:
Central Maine Power Company (CMP)
The Boothbay Fire Department
Anderson Family
10 . Membership Fees:
Regular Membership $35.00
Family Membership $40.00
Junior Membership $ 5.00
11. No club member shall disclose the gate combination to anyone not a member of the club.
