We’d like you to know who we are, too. Don’t worry; this isn’t another pitch for your membership dollar. I’m sure you get plenty of those. Your good friends at the B.A.S.S. Federation just figured, since we’re both pretty passionate about fishing, you should get to know us. And as the new president of the American Sportfishing Association, I am more than pleased to tell you why fishing in Virginia and elsewhere is better because we’re around.

More Fish, More Anglers

The ASA has a mission -- more fish, more anglers, a healthy industry. Without healthy fish and an abundance of active anglers like you, there wouldn’t be a sportfishing industry. Let’s face it, as a trade association we are around only because our member companies are successful. We obviously want to help them succeed. As such, we provide tax advice, trademark and patent information, marketing assistance and lots of other business assistance to ensure their companies run more efficiently.

However, in the end, it doesn’t matter how efficient the company is or even how great that lure catches fish, because if there aren't plenty of fish to catch and people out there who want to catch them, my members and I don’t have jobs. That is what makes us unique as an industry-based organization. I doubt you could find another industry association out there that cares as much about the resource as we do. It’s because we have a vested interest. We’re anglers. No one gets into the sportfishing industry to get rich. We do it because we love fishing!

Taking the Fight to our Nation’s Capitol

How do we ensure that fishing is good and plentiful? One way is by fighting the good fights in Washington, D.C., lobbying key decision makers, beating back anti-fishing groups and ensuring that money from license sales is returned to fishing interests. We’re fighting no-fishing zones to guarantee that children and adults across the country continue to have access to great fishing. ASA successfully led the fight to ban the use of gillnets in U.S. waters and to reduce commercial bycatch 75 percent by 2005. We’ve also been working with farmers and fishing groups to enact legislation that would improve the 40 percent of waters that the Federal government deems unfishable.

Many of our successes are for preventing things from happening. Preventing anti-fishing groups from excluding tournament fishing in wildlife refuges is a huge victory, but not one that grabbed a lot of headlines. We also like to do proactive things that do get noticed. For example, funding that ASA secured for the first-ever national fishing and boating outreach campaign. Maybe you’ve seen these TV commercials or print ads asking you to “take me fishing”. If there was ever a time to spend a relaxing weekend out on a lake with friends and family, it is now. There’s also a host of other information on everything from hot spots to fish to where to dock your boat. Check out www.waterworkswonders.com for more information.

Involving Local Communities Nationwide

We also work with states and grassroots organizations to improve fishing. The FishAmerica Foundation, ASA’s conservation and research arm, funds habitat improvement projects in all 50 states, including right here in Virginia. While FishAmerica funds projects for every fish species, we have done our part to improve bass fishing in Virginia. For instance, we’ve restored habitat in the James River, constructed artificial reefs in the Lafayette River, and cleaned the water in Strouble and Conewago Creeks. Maybe you’ve personally reaped the benefits of these improvements, compliments of the FishAmerica Foundation (www.fishamerica.org).

Unfortunately, the “build it and people will come” saying doesn’t always hold true. These days, fishing competes for people’s valuable free time with video games, TV and extreme sports, among other activities. We all see fishing as the perfect way to spend a Saturday morning and we want others to know that joy. We do that through our Future Fisherman Foundation (www.futurefisherman.org). Future Fisherman works in partnership with each state fish and game department to get kids involved in fishing at an early age, believing that a child hooked on fishing will be an angler for life. This year, Future Fisherman will teach 20,000 kids to be safe and ethical anglers.

Supporting Fishing

Like I said, we’re not soliciting your membership, but it is important that you know who we are. Although our membership is the sportfishing industry, we are all members of the sportfishing community. When you see the ASA, FishAmerica or Future Fisherman name or logo on a piece of fishing tackle, you should know that these organizations and their associated companies care deeply about sportfishing. They are giving back to the resource, creating a new generation of ethical anglers, and ensuring we all have access to good fishing. Take a look next time you visit your local tackle shop or sporting goods store. And when you’re out there on the water, know that you’ve got some dedicated friends up the road working to protect fishing today and improve it for tomorrow.

For more information about the ASA or any of our programs, please visit us online at www.asafishing.org. And have a great time fishing!!!