Sioux Lookout Anglers and Hunters gearing up for busy season
Mike Lawrence - Staff Writer
The Sioux Lookout Anglers and Hunters (SLAH) are gearing up for another year and if all goes well, it should be a busy one.
Jeremy Funk, SLAH President, admits it all hinges on what the COVID restrictions are moving forward, explaining, “Everything’s kind of depending on COVID regulations easing up for us, but we are planning a family winter day outdoors, with snowshoeing, winter games, a bit of educational stuff going on, a bonfire with hot dogs, chili…. we’re working on that.
“We are planning the Family Ice Fishing Derby, on Bigwood Lake by the airport, in March, on the 20th. Other than that, we’re looking forward to the year ahead. We have another general meeting in April, where we’ll be planning the rest of the summer’s events, lining things up for this coming year.”
The club is also looking forward to the upcoming Walleye Weekend slated for June 11-12.
Looking back on last year’s club events, Funk continued, “When COVID restrictions relaxed last fall we pretty much hit the ground running. We had our weekly archery range on Thursdays, where we had lessons for those who needed it and opened the range for those that had their own equipment and were ready to play. We had the club equipment out every week, we had a really good turnout for that. We got a lot of new members. The Anglers and Hunters hosted a young professional’s network, a group from town, we brought them out and showed them a different aspect of living in Sioux Lookout. Some of them became members.”
Despite the difficulty in planning and implementing membership drives in the middle of a pandemic, Funk says membership numbers have remained fairly steady. “Membership has been pretty consistent. COVID did cause us to cancel some of our more popular events, the last couple of years. Our potluck dinner is a big membership drive because you have to be a member to come; that didn’t happen. But I think we are running pretty strong at about our average, with the new members we got; it was nice to see.
“Our membership did see some growth last year, even with COVID. We ended with a year-end barbeque in October and had 50 some-odd people out to our range for the barbeque, and there were prizes, games and laughs, lots of fun. We have to do what we can in amongst COVID.”
If you ask Funk, the key to the club’s consistent membership comes down to the family friendly atmosphere the club fosters, stating, “Lots of families and kids that are growing up in the club are then joining the club as individuals and adults, so that’s nice to see as someone who’s been a part of this club for the last 15 some-odd years. The Anglers and Hunters is definitely a family welcoming group.”