Trapshooters gather for Ron Hoppe shoot
By Hookemharry

Posted: May 11, 2006

This weekend has become synonymous with two events — Mothers Day and the annual Ron Hoppe Memorial Trapshooting Tournament.

So expect a lot of Missoula children to be hosting their mothers to breakfast and dinners on Sunday. And expect trapshooters to flock to the Missoula Trap and Skeet Club for the 24th annual rendition of the Hoppe shoot.

Running Friday through Sunday and commonly referred to as the Hoppe Shoot, this tournament is one of the three largest trapshooting events in the Pacific Northwest.

Up to 400 entrants, including All-American shooters from all over the United States and Canada, are expected to participate. The three-day, more than 1,000-registered-target event is highlighted by over $8,000 in trophies. It also offers shotguns, reloading equipment, silver belt buckles and optional cash prizes might well total over $70,000.

To welcome all the entrants, the club is also putting on a roast pig dinner with all the trimmings on Friday.

The Missoula Trap and Skeet Club is one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest and is situated on approximately 80 acres, one mile west of the I-90 Kalispell interchange.

The club boasts 18-trap fields, 5 skeet ranges, a five-stand sporting clays layout, and an International Olympic trap field.

The Montana Outdoor Radio Show will be broadcasting on location at the club this Saturday morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. over KGVO, 1290AM in Missoula, with interviews with the shoot participants along with our regular lineup of features and statewide fishing reports.

Speaking of fishing, there are a couple of fishing derbies that anglers might want to participate in for walleye, salmon and trout.

The first will take place this Friday and Saturday, May 12-13, at Canyon Ferry Lake. It is the 7th annual “Fish For A Cure� fishing tournament to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

This is the first year the CFF tourney has been held at Canyon Ferry. The entry fee is $175 per two-person team. The rules meeting will be held at the Silos RV Park on the south end of the lake at 7 tonight and at least one team member must attend the rules meeting. Call Silos RV for more information at 266-3100.

For trout and salmon anglers, the fourth annual Trout and Salmon Derby will be held at Lake Koocanusa on May 20-21. The derby, which is put on and headquartered out of the Lake Koocanusa Resort and Marina, is expecting over 400 anglers.

The entry fee is $20 per person and all anglers fishing in a boat must entered.

Call 293-7474 or log onto www.koocanusaresort.com for more information.

The Montana Outdoor Radio Show will be broadcasting live from that derby, too, Saturday morning May 20 from 6 to 8 a.m.

Browns Lake is still producing trout. Bob Culp reports that fishing as of last Sunday was good as his fishing party boated eight nice trout weighing in between 3 and 4 pounds.

Culp also did very well over at Holter Lake last week. In one day, they caught and released close to 40 trout. They were trolling leaded line out four to five colors with a 50-foot leader and an orange and gold Rapala.

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