Meetings held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday, Monthly at 8:00pm
New Membership interviews held on the 2nd Thursday, Monthly at 7:30pm
Trap shooting is every Sunday at 1:30.

Calendar of Events

• Kid's Derby, June 5, 2004
• Seafood Bake, either August 7th or August 14, 2004
• Club Clean Up, August 29, 2004
• Chicken BBQ, September 12, 2004
• Porketta Dinner, October 16, 2004
• Adult Halloween Party, October 30, 2004
• Kid's Halloween Party, October 31, 2004
• Thanksgiving Dinner, November 25, 2004
• Adult Christmas Party, December 11, 2004
• Kid's Christmas Party, December 12, 2004

Cookbooks:

We are going to be putting together a “Woodville” cookbook. Anyone who would like to submit their favorite recipe(s) please drop it off at the club, mail it to P.O. Box 118, Woodville, MA 01784, or email them to remillard_karen@emc.com or cherryl_b@hotmail.com

Also, we are looking for a neat title for the cookbook. Suggestions are welcome. We are in hopes of having the cookbooks completed by the fall. These would make great Christmas gifts.

Calendars:

We are also looking into making a ‘Woodville’ calendar. This calendar will have all our events listed along with meeting dates and times. Any photo donations for the calendar would be greatly appreciated. We will be sure to get the photo back to you.

Trout Derby News

The trout derby is a tradition that dates back to the olden days when there was a trout season in Massachusetts that commenced on the third Saturday of April. As tradition would have it, it started with a fisherman’s breakfast followed by many hours of fishing on Lake Whitehall. As a youngster that grew up in this town (Lj), this event was just another holiday that occurred automatically on the calendar. As an adult, I am amazed at all of the work for this event. This includes:

1. Permits are applied to the state so that we can stock a state reservoir.
2. Money is appropriated by the club to purchase trout and for tagging 6 trout. Anyone that catches a tagged trout is awarded a prize.
3. The Generazo trout farm is contacted in Medway and an order is placed for 350 lbs of trout.
4. Coincidently, the State stocks Lake Whitehall on April 2nd from the shoreline.
5. April 14th three boats were launched and 350 lbs of trout from Generazo Farms were dispersed across the lake. A crowd gathers at the boat landing admiring the fish that are stocked.
6. April 16th -- Members that volunteer as cooks starting preparing for breakfast.
7. April 17th—a hearty breakfast is prepared and ready to serve at 5 a.m. Sign ups for the derby are collected. Some of us opt to try our luck at the raffle.

Stocking Results:

As with any stocking, some of us want to give the game a chance to last more than one day and some of us want to harvest all of the stocked game all on the same day. Believe me (Lj), Lake Whitehall is large enough to give any angler a challenge for the entire spring -- and I think the stockers wanted to give these trout a chance for retirement! (I’ll admit I was challenged.)

Good Samaritans:

Good Samaritans: After a long winter, it was good to be among friends when some of us experienced mechanical problems on the water. I saw many boaters’ offer each other help and assistance. I also saw a 12-18 fisherman gather at Pout Rock on Winter Street for some refreshments (venison, sausages, etc), and I must say that it was cleaner when they left than before they got there.

Winners:

With 65 contestants, the final winners were announced at 1:30 by Gregg Pratt:

• Brian Sora with a 16 3/8 inch trout for $252.00
• Jay Santos with a 16 inch trout for $152.00
• Paul Ned with a 15 3/8 inch trout for $82.00

Raffle Winners:

The trout derby raffle winners were:

• Rick Marchesi
• Carl Hahn
• Mike Acquafresca

Lj's Sporting Tip:

Dark spinners and flies tend to produce more trout in the early spring, while lighter colors tend to be more productive later in the season.

Club Cleanup:

Club Cleanup was held on April 24th. Thank You to all the volunteers that came out and helped in sprucing up the grounds. We are now ready to enjoy the summer activities. Your hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the Hospitality:

We had our St. Pat’s celebration in March. One of the club members grandmother was celebrating her 100th birthday on that day as well. Many out-of-town residents came into Woodville for the celebration. As they were in partying mode, their cousin made mention of our celebration and suggested they might want to stop by to end their evening, which many of them did (approx. 30 of them!) In appreciation for letting them join in our fun, they made a donation to the club, to be used for the children. The club elected to use this money for the kid’s fishing derby in June. Thank you to EG’s family for their generosity.

Scholarship Fund:

Larry Jackson donated $100 towards the Scholarship fund with profits from the game feed T-Shirts. Thank you Larry for your contribution and all the work that you put into designing them and having them made up.

Next Month:

Comedy Night Happenings...

Don’t forget, we have a website! Check it out at: www.woodvillerodandgun.com. If you would like to post anything to the website please send it to Dennis@eol.com. If you have any questions, contact one of the members on the website committee: Jackie Pratt, Lee Wright, Karen Remillard, Jeff Gemski and Cherryl Barrett (chairperson).

• If anyone knows of a member who is sick or hospitalized, please let us know. You can leave a message at 508-435-4148.

Remember...

• To all the hunters, fishing men and women out there. Care to share any hunting or fishing stories? We’d be happy to listen and publish your story in the Message and put it on the web page. Come to the member meetings and share your stories!!

• Don’t forget Trap shooting on Sunday afternoons. We start around 1:30. Come on down and join in the fun.

Woodville Rod and Gun Scholarship

• The Woodville Rod & Gun Club of Hopkinton is offering a $500.00 scholarship to a student in the area who shows an interest in environmental education and is pursuing a degree in wildlife, habitat, fisheries or forestry management, environmental, wildlife or marine biology at an accredited college.
• Ongoing, we can order jackets, either spring or winter. If you are interested in looking at these items please keep in contact with the club (508-435-4148). We are taking orders for dungaree shirts; we have samples on display. Stop by the club and check them out. The green hats are in now. Member’s price for a hat is still $5.00. If anyone is interested in the green short sleeve shirts, we can get them for $17.00. Please let us know if you are interested.

• Member $75.00 plus $75.00 deposit
• Non-Member $150.00 Hall, $50.00 bartender, plus $75.00 deposit

A deposit and contract are required to hold a date. Deposits are refunded at the end of the function once the hall has been cleaned.

Children’s party rentals can be on Wednesday's or Thursday's only.

Welcome New Members:

• Tim Coughlin
• Doug Lewis
• Eric Cayton
• Mark Spaulding
• Shawn Spaulding
• Tim Peron