Your Organization February, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 2 HSV Anglers News COMMENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT I am looking forward to our first membership meeting of 2015.We had a very good board meeting with discussion around annual Awards, how to improve member participation in events, focus on fishing skills, lakes improvement, and fellowship. Our 2015 budget was approved by the board and Dave Keith and Bob Brannan were appointed as co- tournament directors for 2015. As a reminder, please submit your 2015 annual dues to Al Lipson on or before our Feb 3rd membership meeting. We have two committee leader openings: Aluminum cans and Village Pride Day; Looking for volunteers. Inside News • The next Club meeting is 7:00 pm Tuesday, February 3rd at the Coronado Center. • The date for the 2015 Military Fishing Day has been set for Thursday May 14th so be sure to mark that date. We will need 25 boaters and additional help. Dave Keith will present more detail at upcoming club meetings. . • Don’t forget to bring your aluminum cans to the meeting. • The club’s mentor program matches an angler familiar with local fishing techniques with anglers new to the area or unsure about how to use new techniques. Anyone that is interested in participating contact Scott McCord (phone - 915-0975 or email [email protected] . See you on Feb 3rd Thanks, Bob Baker 2014 Awards Banquet The 2014 Banquet was a great success thanks to Peg Sampson and Dan Dilieto. Maybe Peg should consider starting a party planning business. The trophies were presented to the winners identified in the January newsletter plus several additional awards. They were Jeff Meek—President’s Award for his outstanding support of the club including numerous articles in The Voice. James Tulke—President’s Award for his excellent service as club Treasure. Dave Keith—Pete Hinson Sportsmanship Award for his many (space doesn’t allow me to list them all) contributions to the success of the club. The club presented out going President Mike Crews with a jacket in appreciation of his service as club President. Choosing Your Rods By Dorothy Philpott RAY THOMAS Ray passed away January 17th. Ray was a long time member, served on the board as a Director for six years and won co-angler of the year the first six years it was awarded. He was the first person I fished with when I moved to the Village he introduced me to the salt/pepper dead ringer, jig head worm and fluorocarbon line. Their are many stories I could tell about fishing with Ray but what I remember most was his laugh and he laughed often and I will miss that most.— Don Langston 2 Today's rods are designed to improve the angler's feel of biting fish. The rod shaft is called a blank. When a rod is manufactured, the blank is formed using graphite, fiberglass, or other material. The actions of these blanks are called light, medium, medium/heavy, and heavy. The action of the upper end of the blank, called the tip, can be regular, light, and extra light. When the blank has been assembled, i.e., the guides and handle have been attached, the end result is called a fishing rod. Thus, whether you fish with a baitcasting or spinning rod, the action of the rod refers to the blank. This information is meaningful when you decide what type of fishing you will do. The number of guides (eyes) on your rod is important. They help transmit line signals to the rod so it is easier to feel the fish. The types of guides available today have changed. Some guides have ceramic rings inside the outer metal frames. Other guides have silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, gold aluminum oxide, or chrome plated insert inner rings. All of these types are claimed to help reduce the friction that causes fraying or nicks in your line. Think of the action of an oak tree when the wind blows. The outer limbs of the tree move easily in the breeze, the trunk will sway when the wind is strong. The roots only move when tornadoes hit or they're dug up. Light action rods are not normally used to fish for bass, mainly because you need the strength of the blank to move a bass out of cover. Baitfish will chum, pop out of the water, and make frantic moves to avoid being eaten. You want to duplicate this live action with your bait, so you use an extra fast action tip with a medium or medium/heavy action rod. This particular combination gives you the backbone needed and the flexibility to catch fish using topwater baits. With the flick of the wrist, the rod tip will move the line quickly, pulling the bait over the water. Medium or medium/heavy action rods with fast tips are used when fishing crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and depending on the structure and vegetation, some plastic baits. The pulling of the line under water requires more power than topwater fishing, but not the horsepower of a heavy action rod. Heavy action with standard tip rods are used when fishing dense cover such as reeds, bushes, deep grass beds, or heavy timber. This rod allows you to set the hook and get the fish out of these types of structures with more strength. The guides on your rod are important. Be sure to check them before you go fishing. If any are bent, straighten them out because the line will not flow through them correctly. Take a Que-tip and turn it in the inside of the circle of the guides. If any cotton sticks to the circle, have the guide replaced before you use the rod again. If you do not, the line will fray or have nicks in it and will break when you set the hook on a fish. When purchasing your next rod, pay particular attention to the wrapping attaching the guides to the rod. If the wrapping is not sufficient, the guides will become loose and need replacing.