President's Message
by Stephen Shechtel
 

Put that fish back in the water.

Words that most of us will never hear from a commercial fisherman. Longliners whose lines run for up to 12 miles carry as many as 12,000 hooks are systematically decimating available fish stocks. It's only a matter of time before the ecosystem will be beyond the ability to repopulate itself. Scientists estimate that most fish stocks are 10% of what they were 50 years ago. Sharks are not immune from over fishing. They too are endangered. If you have not noticed, there are more and more free swimming Remora's because there are not enough sharks for them to attach themselves to.

I am saddened that our efforts of practicing conservation fishing practices will not be enough unless the wholesale decimation of fish stocks are stopped by Washington. Absent a clear mandate that the United States is going to conserve this precious natural resource, all of us are left with just foraging over the leftovers.

Elections
We already have received some great volunteers for the 2006-08 Board. We need persons interested in becoming officers. Please see Dave Griffin to inquire as to which position would suit you!

Fund Raising
Our chapter fund raiser is coming to a close. Ticket sales will close at our next meeting when we draw for the lucky couple who will win an all expense paid cruise. This is our chapter's only fund raiser. If everyone in the chapter were to sell 10, yes only 10 tickets, this fund raiser would be a smashing success. Now is the time to push ticket sales. See Robert Pellicot or Rick Thompson for tickets.

December Fishing Tackle and
Boat Flea Market
It's not too soon to start putting aside those items that you have not used in years, or have no use for. Ed Sousa has volunteered to chair the December Meeting Flea Market. Please see Ed if you have any ideas for the meeting, or are willing to assist him in organizing the event.

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Next Meeting

August 09 2006:

Food Service: starts at 6:00 pm
Coffee will also be available

Meeting: starts at 7:00 pm

Speaker:
At the time of publication of this newsletter we are not sure if the speaker's subject will be the weather or the speaker will be Capt. Crabbie talking on Wahoo and King Mackerel fishing. In either case the talk should be informative.

The speaker for our next meeting will be: John Darnley from the National Weather Service. John will be speaking on how the NWS predicts weather, tracks storms, predicts the marine forcasts including sea conditions, and much more. He will be bringing with him a slide show on the nws, NOAA, and National Storm Center.

Map to All Tackle Store at: 2012 Renard Ct, Unit B Annapolis, MD 21401 For more information see: http://www.alltackle.com .

Vendor:
Unknown:

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Sign Ups at Next Meeting for Chapter Offshore Tournament
Sign ups for the annual Frederick Chapter Tuna Fishing Tournament will close at the July meeting. This tournament year after year is one of our favorite events. This year, there will be a chapter dinner at Maria's on Saturday night. See Ken Wheeler for further details.

Disabled Vets Trip
On August 27, 2006 we will board Capt. Jim Brinsfield's boat the Jill Carey to take amputee soldiers from the Iraqi war fishing. The trip is full and we are planning on a great time for all.

Kids and Fishing
Have you taken a child fishing lately? Did you know that every Frederick Chapter Tournament has a child's division? Did you know that there are special prizes reserved for children? If you took a child fishing, take a picture of the trophy and get a copy to us for publication. Ed Sousa is working on a children's fishing classic. Please see Ed if you have any ideas for the event.

Newsletter & Notices Online The MSSA Frederick Chapter Newsletter is available online at: http://www.mssafrederick.com Hard copys are available by special request. To get on the "mail to only list", contact the MSSA Secretary.
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Newsletter Items: for August are due July 22, 2006
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Upcoming Events

Tuna Tournament Results:

The Frederick chapter MSSA tuna tournament took place in Chincoteague, VA July 15 and 16. 8 boats participated in this 4th year of the tournament. Aside from very dense fog each morning the weather and sea conditions were good. A fair number of fish were caught, many over 100 pounds.

First place went to Tom Valek and crew with a 128.6 pounds bluefin tuna.

Second place went to Bach Vu and crew with a 121.1 pound bluefin tuna.

Third place went to Tony Tolbard and crew with a 115.5 pound bluefin tuna.

The fourth place is awarded Ken Wheeler and crew for the largest dolphin caught
at 19.7 pounds.

2006 NMFS Migratory Species Permit
All permits expire in May. Remember to purchase your 2006 permit. The "permit shop" can be found at:
http://www.hmspermits.gov or
http://www.nmfspermits.com
Permits for 2006 cost $22.00.

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