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| WHAT IS THE SMALLMOUTH ALLIANCE? by Tim Holschlag, Midwest Fly Fishing's warm-water fly fishing editor, and founding member of the Smallmouth Alliance The Smallmouth Alliance is an organization of anglers dedicated to protecting and improving North America's smallmouth bass fisheries. Founded in 1988, we believe smallmouth anglers themselves must become active participants inimproving the sport we love. |
Thoughts on Smallmouth and Other Worldly Things by Tom Helgeson Editor, Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine We Midwesterners sometimes are defined by our naiveté. At the drop of an advertisement, we pack suitcases, fly rods and gear bags to waddle off to literally the ends of the fishing earth for thrills that we could find many times over in our home waters. The rivers in the Midwest ... are among the best anywhere if you are looking to catch a smallmouth bass. We name, among others, the St. Croix and Indiana's Sugar Creek , the Mississippi and the Upper Iowa, the Fox in Illinois and the Big in Missouri; but we celebrate all of our cool- and warm-water rivers, rivers where smallmouth live and grow and provide unrivaled sport to thousands of fly rodders. Here's something to think about: If you have a smallmouth river nearby (and you probably do), go fish it. When you get back, make a point of finding out more about the river you fished--its history, its vulnerabilities, its potential. Then call your state's natural resources people and tell them you're interested in knowing more. Lastly, find a chapter of the Smallmouth Alliance (or any other conservation club) to join and become active in support of the rivers you love. |
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| ALLIANCE PRINCIPLES: I The Smallmouth Alliance is committed to seeing our smallmouth fisheries and waters treated as the priceless and fragile treasures that they are. II The Smallmouth Alliance supports practices, policies and legislation that protect and improve the water quality and habitat of our smallmouth streams and lakes, including less environmentally destructive agricultural land use policies. |
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| III The Smallmouth Alliance works for and supports angling regulations that will protect and improve the sizes and numbers of our smallmouth populations. We understand the necessity of reducing angler kill of our better sized smallmouth as a key way to improve fish sizes. Catch and release type regulations have already significantly improved angling quality in some waters and will do so in many more, once implemented. WHY JOIN THE ALLIANCE? Most of all, you owe it to yourself to join with other farsighted anglers to improve your sport. Your active membership will go a long way towardsprotecting our priceless smallmouth fisheries. |
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