Okay, okay, before you peg me as a purist who thinks all baiters are slobs, hear me out. If you watch a spin feeder or camp near a pile of sugar beets, I’m not going to attack your character or question your allegiance to the flag. But I do think that if you gave up the bait, we’d all be better off.

A recent action by the Obama administration has left anglers and the fishing industry scratching their heads. Last week, the National Park Service (NPS) suddenly announced it would ban lead fishing tackle in national parks by 2010.

On March 10, by a margin of 62 to 35, the U.S. Senate passed an omnibus appropriations bill, providing fiscal year 2009 (FY09) funding for the majority of federal government agencies.  The House passed the bill on February 25 and President Obama signed it into law on March 11. 

The light goose conservation hunting season currently is underway in a number of states. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the populations of light geese, comprised of greater and lesser snow geese and Ross’s geese irrupted.  They increased to such an extent that their fragile breeding and nesting habitat in the Arctic sustained serious damage as a result of the birds’ overgrazing and excessive grubbing for food. 

BASS, the worldwide authority on bass fishing, and Bass Pro Shops, the #1 Outdoor Retailer in America*, have formed a joint marketing alliance, BASS announced today. The relationship will allow each industry-leading company to integrate both brands across their respective platforms to further reach and educate outdoors enthusiasts on initiatives facing natural resources and to grow participation.

In an epic rally this past weekend at the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, dubbed the "Super Bowl of fishing," Wiley X angler Skeet Reese edged out a field of fifty-one top anglers to gain professional fishing's highest honor and a $500k prize purse in his tenth Classic appearance. Reese joins a very small, elite club of fishermen who have won both the Bassmaster Angler of the Year (2007), and Bassmaster Classic Championship (2009).

On the heels of hearings before the House of Representative’s Natural Resources Committee on offshore oil and gas drilling, the Angling 4 Oceans coalition released new principles to help guide the committee’s decisions on energy development to ensure recreational anglers’ needs are met. Organized by the TRCP, the coalition’s new CAST principles are aimed at promoting the conservation of marine fisheries.

 In a move that sportsmen have reason to support, the 111^th Congress is reconsidering revisions to America’s most archaic natural-resources legislation, the General Mining Law of 1872. Now more than ever, the voices of hunters and anglers are needed to bolster the necessity of reform of the 1872 law – for the good of our nation’s public lands, the invaluable fish and wildlife populations they support and the outdoor traditions they sustain.

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday that more than $740.9 million will be distributed to the fish and wildlife agencies of the 50 states, commonwealths, the District of Columbia, and territories to fund fish and wildlife conservation, boater access to public waters, and hunter and aquatic education.

American Bass Anglers (ABA) and the Union Sportsmen's Alliance (USA) have teamed up to further the sport of bass fishing among union members while promoting the conservation of our Nation's natural resources. American Bass Anglers will offer USA members the opportunity to participate in specially designated ABA activities and services. USA members will be able to track their point standings and compete against their union brothers and sisters within their designated trade association in the same manner that ABA Competition Team members presently track their standings.