Some of you may have seen my posts regarding a little writing job I got last winter. I am writing a monthly column, a
"Web Review", on websites that would be particularly useful to sportsmen and other lovers of the outdoors for the regional
magazine "Outdoor Adventurer".  I have obtained permission to re-publish these reviews in fishin247.com. If any of you are interested in picking up your own copies of this magazine here is a link with the distribution points listed. http://www.outdooradven.com

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RiverSmallies.com
To celebrate the opening of bass season in Pennsylvania, I have chosen to review a fishing forum called RiverSmallies.com. This is a good sized, national forum with 4,139 members and over 200,000 posts. There is a lot of information on smallmouth bass fishing here as well as some good info on other fish species. River Smallies.com was conceived in May of 1999. The site is devoted to the pursuit of river and stream smallmouth bass. One of the main goals of the site is to promote Catch, Photograph, and Release or CPR as it is abbreviated. If you are into smallmouth bass fishing this site is a must.

 

The official web address for RiverSmallies is http://www.riversmallies.com . As a non-member you can browse most of the site including the forum, photo gallery, and their great collection of articles. However, to post replies or start topics of your own you must be a registered member. Additionally, the chat room, and fishing reports are member only areas which require registration. For anyone new to this, registering for most web forums only takes a moment. It usually involves choosing a username, creating a password and supplying a valid email address. Upon completion of registration you will usually receive an email with a link to follow and confirm your application.

 

RiverSmallies is packed with features, everything from smallmouth fishing articles to an online tribute to members who have moved on to their final fishing grounds. The landing page for RiverSmallies is a “portal page”, a page of links to the major areas of the website. In the center of this page just below the RS logo you will find the site’s mission statement, then, a list of links titled “What’s New at RS”. On the left column are links to the meat and potatoes of the site. Here are links to the Editorial, Featured Articles, Product Reviews, Message Forum, and Photo Gallery. Below these are links to informational topics such as an Angler’s Glossary, Fishing Resources, Guides and Outfitters, and Catch and Release Tips to name a few. Moving across to the right side of the page you will find the aforementioned RiverSmallies Memorial, the sites Logo Store, and links to the sites sponsors.

 

Once inside the Message Forum you get your first real look at what the site has to offer there is a News Board, a Smallie Board, a Fly Fishing Board, a Watercraft Board and a board dedicated to Conservation Talk. Here too, you will find a board for recent articles and product reviews. Moving on you can view member photos that have been accepted by a review process for inclusion into the RiverSmallies Photo Gallery. Although you can place a photo at will in any of your personal posts the requirements for photos displayed in the official RS Photo Gallery are quite specific. There is a photo gallery for youthful smallie anglers too. On another interesting board, RS members plan fishing/camping trips called rodeos, the rodeos look like a great deal of fun, you can join in or read about these events in the “Hookin’ Up: Rodeo Info” Board. Fishing Reports is another section that you won’t want to miss; these field reports are informative and focused on specific regions of the United States.

 

If you are interested in joining you will have to hunt a bit for the registration forms. On the portal page click the login button. You will be taken to an error page which has a registration button in the upper center. Click the links for the Message Forum, Photo Gallery or Rodeo Info links on the left side of the page and you will find the registration button in a similar location. I like RiverSmallies.com and although I think that they have a lot to offer an angler interested in smallmouth bass, there are a few things you should be aware of before you join and make your first post. This is a specialty fishing board, a portion of its members are so passionate about their favorite fishes that they will get fairly aggressive about defending them from perceived misuse. If you start a conversation about your favorite smallmouth recipes you will need to have a thick hide indeed. That said, RiverSmallies.com is a valuable resource for an outdoor adventurer particularly the fishermen among our ranks. Enjoy the site as a member or a non member and access reams of valuable info, straight talk from guys on the water that you won’t find

anywhere else.