Central Ohio Chapter Muskies Inc. – October President’s Message

Our September meeting was informative with a great presentation on Structure Fishing completed by Elmer Heyob and an update on the state of affairs at Muskies Inc. by Regional Representative Max Machuta (Thank you Elmer and Max!).

Additionally during the business portion of our meeting in September, we reviewed the upcoming needs of the chapter with regard to leadership positions for next year: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Tournament Director and a Chair for Membership, Release, Website and the Newsletter. Wow – what the heck is going on, right? Someone asked me after the meeting, why the mass exodus?? I really don’t feel that is the case. Some of us, myself very much included, just need a break from the time we give the club for other reasons. And I am very pleased to share with everyone that the buzz created at the meeting by openly discussing all these needed positions has resulted in a number of people reaching out to me and/or stepping up to say that they are willing to take a role or do more for the chapter going forward. We are not there yet and we are very much still accepting volunteers, but I do expect to have at least one solid nomination by November for each of the positions we need to fill.

I’ve always said that many hands make light work and although my schedule demands that I step away from helping to run a muskie club for a while, I am 100% committed to helping the new officers continue to grow and operate one of the strongest organizations of its kind anywhere in the muskie range. I am proud of where we are as a group and I am very optimistic we will continue to grow and be a strong voice for Ohio, the fisheries and the youth programs, with the added bonus of a great slate of enjoyable outings and events packed with great friends.

Before we move on to next year, however, our remaining schedule for 2013 includes two events that will happen in the next week. This weekend is the Fall Shoot-Out on Alum Creek 10/5 and 10/6. Details are on Facebook and on the website. Be sure not to miss the shore lunch provided by the Boy Scouts of Troop 387 at the Marina Ramp Saturday at Noon. The fishing has been tough at Alum Creek this year, but the Fall Shoot-Out is always unpredictable and has really put out big numbers and big fish in the past. The Club Tournament Championship all comes down to this one final event and the friendly but very competitive race is close. Jack Worline has been paid off to make sure Cliff Honeycutt doesn’t land a fish, and it is anyone’s game to win if the muskies decide to start going strong with the front moving through. Don’t miss it!

Also next Tuesday 10/8 we will hold our October meeting at 7 PM at PJ’s in Sunbury, and the theme for this meeting is just a big social Tackle Swap. We will have no business planned, and we’ll just enjoy a couple hours of food, drink, and swapping treasures. We’ve had swaps before with a wide range of success, so I’ll just share that what will make the night a good one is PARTICIPATION. Bring some stuff you’d like to sell or swap, do some horse trading, etc. The more people who bring stuff, the better. We are also planning to conclude this fun meeting by wrapping up our raffle for the Spencer Berman guide trip and some other bonus fundraising prizes.

Beyond the busy schedule through next Tuesday, our November 12th meeting will be at PJ’s for Elections and planning the schedule for 2014, and we will also have an update that night on the tagging program by Kevin Page of the DOW.

When planning for next year, we have a number of great new ideas to discuss including holding a Wounded Warrior Outing, Youth Event Expansion, Website Upgrade (downsize external, enhanced used of Facebook as internal), nametags, additional outing ideas, etc. Exciting times are ahead for the club.

Our December 10th meeting will be our Christmas Party and it should be exciting as we will try out a new venue holding this one in the rented room at the Eagles Club in Sunbury, just east of our normal spot at PJ’s. More details to come.

Okay, enough for now. I need to sharpen hooks for the Fall Shoot-Out.

See you on the water,

Rob