Quick Quip...

What's in a name? The rainbow trout, brown trout and Atlantic salmon are really only the true trouts. Brook trout, speckles trout and lake trout are actually members of the char family. Makes you wonder.

What's New...

New Fishing Travel Agency: Last week TFN finally broke into the 'e-commerce' market by launching the TFN Travel Network, our very own travel agency. The TFN Travel Directory has been around (and quite popular) for some time now, so it was a simple extension to add the agency. Our primary office is based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and Alan Vales is ready to serve you whenever you call or email. And, as an added bonus, members of the TFN Federation get a special discount on travel they book through us! Read all about it in the Staff Article in this issue.

New Forums and Chat: We've replaced the old, slow forums with a brand new piece of software that not only allows us to increase the speed and capacity of the conferences, but also enables us to hold chats on an ongoing basis. Infact, we've even set up a schedule system in the forums so that you can hold your own chat - as long as you schedule a time and chat room in advance. Make sure you check it out!

Federation Rolling: The TFN Federation, launched last fall, is finally rolling. With about 40 members at this time, we're confident that it will continue to grow, pick up speed, and become the community we all want to be part of here at TFN. In the immediate future, we'll be adding a few new wrinkles to the Federation section of the site, so members should check back often. Incidently, there has been a bit of a hitch in getting the crests and decals out. The crests, after the initial one was accepted, were delivered with the wrong colors, so they're being re-done. Remember that fishing is a passtime that offers us all the unique ability to be active while reflecting on life and enjoying the comradery that goes hand in hand with solid family values. If you haven't joined, all the information is in the Federation section of TFN.

Send in those stories! As I said before, "Ya can't win if ya don't play!". Check out the Hooked on Bass contest and send in your stories to win a free CD ROM filled with bassin' info, video, audio and diagrams from In-Fisherman™! And remember - we also have the same contest running for Walleye stories - you could win the Way Of The Walleye CD Rom!

Comment... It's been a while!

I really must apologize for the length of time it has taken to get out this, only the second issue of the Web-zine for Volume 4. First it was the purchase of a new server, exclusively used by TFN. Then the server crashed. Then the back-up crashed. Then the new software wouldn't configure properly. Then... Then... Then...

Three months (and a few thousand dollars) later, Issue 2 is finally up. No mean feat, and just in time, too since we have so much planned for '99. But since I have to get putting some of that together immediately, I'll let you know more about it next issue. And that should be around the end of the month now that we're back to the once-every-two-weeks schedule.

So, Until next issue...
(tight lines, get it wet, good fishin', see you on the ice, etc., etc.).

Scott M. Binnie, Managing Editor