FEBRUARY

2009

NEWSLETTER

ACGFA, P.O. Box 2001, St. Augustine, Fl 32085

President: James Manucy - Vice President: Tom Burkhalter

Treasurer: Linda Manucy - Secretary: Carmel Cunningham

Directors: Joe Noda, David Chapman, Bert Walton,

Donna Frantz, Ruth Jordan, and Stephanie Burt

Newsletter Editor: Jim Blalock - Phone & FAX (904) 471-2730

Jim’s e-mail: editor@acgfa.com

ACGFA Web Site Address: acgfa.com

Our Next Meeting is Tuesday, February 17th at the St. Augustine Shrine Club, 250 1st St. Directions follow. The Shriners meeting night is the 2nd Tuesday of the month, therefore, our meetings are on the 3rd Tuesday. They have a very nice facility overlooking Moultrie Creek. They have adequate parking across from the building. Social is at 6:30, meeting at 7.30

E-mail Newsletter. If your mailing label is RED, I do not have an e-mail address for you or the e-mail version was returned as undeliverable. If you have a working e-mail address listed you should have also receive an e-mailed copy of this Newsletter. If you did not receive the e-mail, then I do not have a good address for you. If you do have an address but did not receive the newsletter, please send a message to editor@acgfa.com and include your name. I will acknowledge receipt and you should then receive future e-mail newsletters.

Last Meeting: Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) officers Jason and Mike spoke to the club on a variety of fishing, boating safety, and FWC related subjects. It was very interesting and drew a lot of questions from club members. Thanks for attending our meeting. Pat King & Don Power provided the snacks – Chili and Sub Sandwiches. They were great. Rusty Russell will provide the snacks at this month’s meeting. The Shriners will present this month’s program.

Raffle: David Chapman & Rick Emert had a great raffle which included rods & reels, various knives & cutting boards, t-shirts, radio, and a cooler. Winners included: Paul Harvey, Stephanie Burt, David Chapman, Livia Coates, Tom Walton, Kathy Shank, Carmel Cunningham, Linda Manucy, Clay Russell,and Rusty Russel. John Baggott, and Ray Lake who won twice. Great job David! This month there will be another great raffle. Be there!!

Membership Drawing: Jennifer Essery’s name was drawn but she was not there. Sorry!!! ( :< ( ) It pays to attend the meetings and parties. Be at the next meeting for the $150 drawing. You must be present to win!

Membership Information: Membership year is June 1st thru May 31st. Dues are $50.00 for a family and $30.00 for individual memberships. After December 1st, new members can join for the remainder of the year for ½ price. Membership forms are also available on the web site (acgfa.com). Guests are always welcome.

^{2009 Club Activities Calendar:}^{Updated copy attached. The
next Board Meeting will be Thursday, Febrary 26th starting at}^{7:00 p.m.}^{at the Shrine Club.
All Board and Committee Meetings are open to our membership. Your support is welcomed.}

^{Fishing
Information}

Estimated Fish Weight Calculator: There is a saltwater species fish weight calculator at the following web-site address: http://www.csgnetwork.com/fishsaltwtcalc.html It estimates the weight of a fish, based on the class of fish, specific size within class, the length and girth by measure. For the purpose of using the calculator, it is best if you go to the web-site and learn to measure the fish properly. Curious to know how accurate it is? Weigh your fish then measure your fish (length and girth) and check it out.

Kingfish Challenge, July 11 thru 12, 2009: Helpers are needed!!! The tournament committee has kicked off the Kingfish Challenge Tournament committee organization and sponsorship sales. This is the major fund raiser for the club. The tournament information is available at the meeting and on the web site (acgfa.com).

January Angler-of-the-Month – Michael Chapman: There were 43 entry cards from 13 anglers this month. Congratulations to Angler-of-the-Month Michael Chapman for his second AOM award in a row. Michael caught a 4.4 lb Triggerfish (2nd Place Mens and Largest of Month), and a 9.0 lb Snapper (Other) (1st Place Mens and Largest of Month) for a total of 375 points. Great job Michael. Cut-off was January 2nd thru January 30th. Cards received after January 31st will count for the February Angler-of-the-Month. See the complete list of cards turned-in attached. Angler-of-the-Month is awarded 100 bonus points which count toward the Angler-of-the-Year. Entries cards must be mailed not more than seven (7) days after the catch.

Spring Kickoff Tournament: The Spring Kickoff Tournament starts February 1st and ends March 31st. Thanks to LeRoy Kinlaw’s work, we have 29 adult and 5 junior anglers signed-up. This is an inshore tournament for Redfish, Flounder, Trout (closed February 1st thru 28th), Drum (Pompey and Black), Sheepshead, Pompano, and Whiting. This is a points tournament and a total of $600 will be awarded to the 1st ($300), 2nd ($200), and 3rd ($100) place top anglers. Entry is $10 per adult angler and $5 for junior and small-fries fishing with an adult club member that is entered in the tournament. A junior or small-fry angler that wants to fish without an adult club member that is entered in the tournament may do so by paying $10 with their parents permission. You can sign up at the meeting.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: (February)

I want to thank Pat King and Donald Power for the snacks at our last meeting; they were truly filling, and tasted great too. Pat did not give a bill to Linda so we called her and she mailed us the bill so the club could reimburse her up to $100. Pat and Donald over spent quite a lot, but Pat donated the $100 reimbursement to the Andy King Reef Fund; thanks Pat and Donald.

Also, Tom Bulkhalter had two officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission come and talk to us about boating safety, rules of the road, and the new fishing regulations at our last GM meeting; if you didn’t make the meeting you missed a very informative program with many good questions and answers. Thanks Tom for a very great program. Next month we will have the Shriners talk to us about their club plus more, so come to the meeting and enjoy our guest speakers.

It seems that things have slowed down a bit for fishing; but let me remind everyone; this is the best time of the year to go fishing; if you can stand the cold weather, so let’s get out there and do it. We just kicked off our Spring Kickoff Tournament, and Leroy told the board last week that we have 30 senior anglers and 5 junior anglers signed up for the tournament. This is a two month tournament, so there is still plenty of time to join the fun, and possibly win some money too. Let’s give Jim some work to do with your weigh-in cards!

I hope your fishing lines stay tight!

James Manucy, President

lmanucy@bellsouth.net

904.824.6436