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Frank Woolner Honored by IGFA

A master surf fisherman and prolific author, Woolner took the reins as editor-in-chief of Salt Water Sportsman in 1950.

The 2013 class of inductees to the International Game Fish ­Association Fishing Hall of Fame cover the range of angling from offshore to the trout stream, and include one ­deserving name well known to longtime ­readers of Salt Water Sportsman: Frank Woolner. A master surf fisherman and prolific author, Woolner took the reins as editor-in-chief of Salt Water Sportsman in 1950 and over the next quarter century, ushered the magazine into the modern era and, in concert with publisher Hal Lyman, established a definition of marine angling and conservation that still represents the sport as we know it. His influence not only shaped the content of the magazine but fostered the career of just about every up-and-coming writer who’s covered saltwater fishing.

The four other inductees this year include big-game fisherman Stewart Campbell; angler and former president of the Big Game Fishing Club France, Marcel Prot; Ernest Schwiebert, fly-fishing writer, historian and pioneer fly-tier; and Joan Vernon, angler and activist in billfish conservation, former chairwoman of both The Billfish Foundation and the International Women’s Fishing Association.

These five bring the total Hall of Fame list to 100. The induction ceremony will be held in October at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, Florida.

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