by John Merwin

For all the grousing I hear about federal and state governments these days, there’s still a silver lining for state fish-and-wildlife budgets. Most states are in terrible financial shape these days. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the primary sources of state fish-and-wildlife funding are protected by law from political pillaging as budget officials seek to fill gaps elsewhere. Here’s how it works...

You and I as sportsmen ultimately pay federal excise taxes on everything from rifles and ammunition to fishing rods and reels to recreational boating fuel. More correctly, the manufacturers pay the taxes and then include them in the purchase price that we pay.

Importantly, those tax revenues are specifically dedicated to fish and wildlife. That is, dedicated by federal law. So that tax money—millions of dollars a year—can‘t be diverted to other programs such as highways or agriculture.

By Joe Cermele

In fishing there are rules that apply to all species in all bodies of water. Know what's behind you before you cast. Never reel against the drag. Keep constant pressure on the fish. We seem to have no problem following most of these fishing commandments, but there are also many that slip through the cracks more often than not. They are the rules that should absolutely become habit, yet they are overlooked in the heat of the moment. Here are the three no-brainer rules that I disobey most.