GENERAL MEETING!

It’s that time again! The OWL General Meeting is tentatively going to take place on April 5th. If we cannot get that date, we will ask for April 12th. The time to be there will be 7:30 p.m. We will let you know the exact date in the next Hooter.

ATTENTION: All eighteen people who contributed the $1,OOO.OO for loan payoff. Be at the general meeting because that is when we will have someone from the audience draw two names from the hat to see who gets paid back! It should be fun and exciting.

BOATING SAFETY HOTLINE

1-800-368-5647

From the U. S. Department oJ Transportation - United States Coast Guard. The Boating Safety Hotline is a toll-free telephone service operated by the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, D.C. Hotline operators provide callers with information on boating safety recalls and take consumer complaints about possible safety defects. Other safety information and literature concerning recreational boating can also be obtained through the Hotline.

Hotline operators will be on duty Monday through Friday, 8:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. eastern time. If you call after hours, an answering machine will record your name and telephone number. The Hotline operators will call you back the next working day.

Hotline operators are trained to answer many questions on boating safety directly over the telephone. If the question is very technical, the operator can ask the Coast Guard specialist to call you back, or send you written information, or refer you to another office or agency that can help.

If you have a safety problem with a boat call the hotime. Consumers are an important source of information used by the Coast Guard to identify safety problems in recreational boats. If enough complaints are made with the same problem, the manufacturer will be asked to conduct a safety recall. When this happens, a written notice is sent to all owners informing them of the safety defect. But, because it is difficult for a manufacturer to keep track of the whereabouts of every owner, it may not be possible to send the mail notice to everyone who owns the boat or

engine named in a safety recall (particularly if the recall involves an older model.) So, if you’re buying a used boat or engine, or even if you are the first owner of a relatively new boat or engine, and are wondering if the boat or engine has ever been involved in a safety recall, it is a simple matter to call the Hotline and find out. If the Hotline operator discovers your boat or engine has been named in a safety recall, the operator will send you information on how to go about getting the manufacturer to correct the safety defect.

WELCOME

We have voted in a new board member Patricia Roemmele, of

9065 Hilton Rd. Her phone number is 227-7984. We are happy

to have her aboard. This makes a full working board for the

Organization of Woodland Lake.

FISHING TIPS

Ice shelters must bear (on all sides) owner’s name and address in waterproof letters not less than two inches high and must be removed before ice becomes unsafe. (Usually around Feb. 20th).

Because fish are 85 to 95 percent digestible they are excellent food providing well-balanced protein as well as vitamins and minerals and are very low in sodium. For the freshest, tastiest fish, keep them alive until cleaning or on ice (in direct contact with ice). To wrap fish for storage, use aluminum foil or cling freezer wrap; an ice coating (at least 1/8” thick) is a good alternative.

Legally, up to 3 lines may be used by the licensed fisherman. All lines must be attended at all times.

Master Angler Certificates are awarded every year to anglers who catch state-record fish, or one of the top 5 fish of their kind entered during the year. The Largemouth bass, minimum entry weight is 6-0. Current state record is 11-15. The Tiger Musky minimum weight is 20-0. The current record is 51-3. The minimum for Bluegill is 1-0, and current record is 2-12. For more information call the DNR, Fisheries Division, Lansing (517) 373-1280.

Newsletter written and published

by Wanda Barr