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Saturday July 29th, the Official SOL West Coast Crew HAT FLING At San Gregorio State Beach just South of Halfmoon Bay off Hwy 1 in the Picnic Area near the parking lot. Sign in here who is going and what you want to bring for the pot luck. Parking Lot Opens at 8:00am (I will be there early to reserve our spot) there is a Parking Fee of $10 per vehicle and free overflow parking outside along the highway where posted available. I am still working on attaching a list of items that we will need members to volunteer to bring (see attached list coming soon, need to dig out the Fling dedicated Plastic Tub in storage to see what we already have from past events). The list will be essentials like Plasticware, plates, cups, drinks, etc. We will also be having our free donated Raffle, so please bring your donations on the day of the event. Any questions regarding this event, please respond in this thread? For those members who have never attended a Fling or New members here in short is what the Fling is all about: A bunch of SOL members, friends & family, everyone is Welcome! getting together to talk fishing, gain insights and knowledge from one another, relax, have a good time, bring great eats to the pot luck, share stories, have some fun, maybe fish before, during or after the event, raffle off some fishing lures and other fishing stuff all donated by members, check out some of the members rods and rigs (please bring your rods and reels that you fish!), have some laughs and get to know one another, make some new friends and put some faces to avatars and online names. There is no strict schedule or plan of events, everyone shows up late morning (10-11amish, I will be there at 8:00am to get our spot and maybe even wet a line), we BBQ, put out some homemade food or store bought trays of food, we eat drink and be merry, mid to late afternoon after the raffle prizes are doled out, everyone says their goodbyes till next year. Below are links to the last few years' Event Threads.

Saturday July 20th, the Official SOL HAT FLING At San Gregorio State Beach just South of Halfmoon Bay off Hwy 1 in the Picnic Area near the parking lot. Sign in here who is going and what you want to bring for the pot luck. Parking Lot Opens at 8:00am (I will be there early to reserve our spot) there is a Parking Fee of $10 per vehicle. I am still working on attaching a list of items I am asking members to volunteer to bring (see attached list coming soon). The list will be essentials like Plasticware, plates, cups, drinks, etc. I will be accepting any donations for the free raffle we do every year if you are not able to attend or if you plan to attend the Fling you can bring your donations day of the event, so if you have anything to donate, it's all welcome and very much appreciated. Any questions regarding this event, please respond in this thread? For those members who have never attended a Fling or New members here in short is what the Fling is all about: A bunch of SOL members, friends & family getting together to talk fishing, gain insights and knowledge from one another, relax, have a good time, bring great eats to the pot luck, share stories, have some fun, maybe fish before, during or after, raffle off some fishing lures and other fishing stuff, check out some of the members rods and rigs, play some games (casting contest, etc.), have some laughs and get to know one another, make some new friends and put some faces to avatar names. There is no strict schedule or plan of events, everyone shows up late morning (10-11amish, I will be there at 8:00am to get our spot), we BBQ, put out some homemade food or store bought trays of food, we eat drink and be merry, mid to late afternoon after the raffle prizes are doled out and the contests are over, everyone says their goodbyes till next year. Below are links to the last 2 years' Event Threads. https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/731443-official-hat-fling-2018-sign-in-here/#comment-13249121 https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/694556-official-official-2017-hat-flingsign-in-here/#comment-12299325

So last year's Fling was a change in location. It was held on my home waters in Monterey Bay at Sunset State Beach. And although attendance was not the best, as many of the northern members were not willing to make the trip down south, a Big THANK YOU those who did attend. Everyone had a great time that did end up attending and was a great event. One comment I did take to heart from a few of the members in attendance last year, was that they wished we started planning and setting the date for the Hat Fling earlier in the year so that they could plan to be there. Duly Noted and here you go four months out, so you have plenty of time to plan around the date. So currently I am targeting Saturday July 20th to be held at Francis Beach in Halfmoon Bay CA. This is where the Fling has been held traditionally in the past and although a weekend before the usual July 27th (this is my Mother In-Laws Birthday weekend) and although I would cry big alligator tears not to be there, my wife is making me go since it is her 60th Birthday celebration, so I am boned that weekend. But I am open to suggestions on other northern CA beach locations? So if you know of a place or want to make a suggestion or you agree it should just be held as I want at Francis Beach, here is your chance, but in the end I will be the sole decision maker on where this is held. The only exception to this would be if a member on here steps forward and wants to carry the Hat Fling coordinator torch and I will gladly hand it off, because although it is "good to be king" as Mel Brooks would say, we are also the first to lose our head to the guillotine in a rebellion, so if you want to take this over, please speak up now? If you are going to suggest a location please consider that it resides on a northern bay area beach, has adequate restroom & picnic area, is alcohol friendly as some of us may want to enjoy a cold one after fishing all morning and has possibly protection from the wind & weather in case it is not scorching hot, as we all know how iffy the summer weather on the coast can be. That said, I look forward to having another great event this summer with all of you guys & gals. For new members or ones that have never attended a Hat Fling below are links to the last two Hat Fling forum threads with explanation of what takes place at a Fling and some pics to give you an idea of what transpires. This is a family & friend oriented event and all member's family or friends are welcomed. I will leave this Thread up for the Month of April before locking it down and will post an Official Fling Sign in Thread sometime in May.