HIGH SIERRA CAMPOUT &   KOKANEE SALMON TOURNAMENT

The place will again be Stampede Reservoir off I-80 near Truckee, California. Escape the summer heat and join us for a fun get-together in our own group campground. The campground will be dry camping, but there are chemical toilets, picnic tables and benches, BBQ pits, a community fire pit and spaces for RV, trailer and tent camping. Although the fishing Tournament is the feature event, there will be plenty of other activities for those who just want to relax and enjoy the mountains.

This year will expand our stay to four nights and our activities will include a trip to watch a Hot Air Balloon Festival and launch, many camp games including horse shoes, washer toss and Mexican Train and our usual Kokanee Fishing Tournament. The Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday with the awards presentation after the weigh in on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning will be set aside for the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

We will include an arrival margarita party on Thursday night with follow up margarita parties on Friday and Saturday nights. We will have potluck hors d’oeuvres on Thursday night, which usually are so extensive that they suffice for dinner. Friday night we will all get together and use community BBQs to cook our own dinners at the group assembly area. Saturday night will again be a community get-together fish fry with the fish we hopefully caught during Saturday’s outing as well as potluck side dishes. Sunday night will be everyone on their own. Weather permitting, we will have a campfire each night and a potluck Survivor’s Breakfast on Monday morning.

The fee will be $60 per person for adults and $20 per person for those under 16. In addition there will be a $5 entry fee for the Fishing Tournament. If someone participates, but doesn’t stay at the campground, there will be a $20 fee per person.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS BY JULY 1 SINCE WE MUST PAY FOR HOW MANY CAMPSITES WE WILL OCCUPY AT THAT TIME.

To sign up and pay your fee and obtain a more complete itinerary contact Vag HQ at (800) 474-2252. If you have questions, contact Leader George Branch.

2010 Kokanee Post-Tournament Report

The 2010 Kokanee Tournament was again held on July 23-26 at Stampede Reservoir in the Sierra Nevada near Truckee. The weather was ideal with a very short shower just to clear the air on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. We had a good turnout, but had to turn people away and others had to stay at an alternate campground because we must commit to how many campsites we will occupy 30 days before our move-in date. I can’t stress enough the importance of signing up early.

We have developed a good group of returnees with six new couples this year who fit right in and made this year’s get together a real success. Our new people were John and Vally Reilly who came all the way from Utah, Harold and Melinda Clark, Ray and Jan Johnson, Dale and Lia Schade, Neil and Sue Melton and Bob and Donna Amma.
Friday night had its usual kickoff with a margarita party with hors d’oeuvres supplied by all who were there. Leroy and Harold Knapp again supplied their new world-famous peppers and cheese, as well as oysters done with cheese or garlic and butter. Others provided such good selection that this became dinner. It was warm enough that we passed on a campfire and everyone was in bed early for the start of the Tournament at 5 a.m. on the lake. Those who were familiar with the lake and the fishing techniques did well and the donated fish supplied everyone sufficient kokanee that we all had plenty for our fish fry on Saturday night.

Leroy & Howard Knapp

We all gathered for another margarita party Saturday night with another array of hors d’oeuvres prior to our community fish dinner with potluck side dishes. This evening we did have a wonderful campfire and the accompanying B.S. (Baja Stories).

During the morning we saw many hot-air balloons floating overhead and with further investigation we discovered that every year the area balloon enthusiasts hold a festival tournament at Prosser Lake, which is west of Stampede. We organized a group to go watch the launch on Sunday morning, but were disappointed when a potential storm, that never occurred, cancelled the event for the day. We have scheduled next year’s Kokanee Tournament to coincide with their festival and we will plan to have a group attend the morning launch one of the days.

Sunday saw our hardy fishpersons were again on the lake at 5 a.m. with mixed success.

At 1 p.m. we had the awards ceremony with the following results:

Day 1 –1st Place - Faith Martinez
2nd Place – Stan Salonius

Day 2 –1st Place – Anna Labrado
2nd Place – Leroy Knap

Overall –1st Place – Bob (Jobber) Johnson
2nd Place – Gayle Johnson

The husband/wife team of Bob and Gayle Johnson has certainly figured out the lake and were very difficult to beat. Bob also was the winner last year with Gayle winning one of the daily awards. Newcomers had a difficult time catching fish, but hopefully learned a few tricks that will help next year.

We all got together Sunday night for a community BBQ of our own favorite dinner fare and another campfire provided more tales of adventures. Monday morning was another outstanding Survivor’s Breakfast with a spectacular variety of dishes that rivals Breakfast at Brennan’s. How we always end up with a perfect mix of dishes to complement the menu is remarkable, but we do it every year.

I would like to thank Chris Salonius, Pat Knapp, Julio Labrado, Louis Gribaudo, Fred and Gloria Jones and Mark Martinez for their continuing support of our event, as well as another welcome to all the new attendees.

Hope to see everyone next year - Leader George Branch