You’ll find more than just fishing celebrities in this list. One can make a significant impact
on the lives of many without ever being well known. It is important to honor all of
those who had a great influence on the great sport of fishing, whether famous or not.
Corporate advances tend to be much more visible to us. For it’s their products that
shape the evolution of the sport of fishing.
Those We Honor
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Sybil Smith
Inducted 2021
“Fishing sure beats housework…and most anything else you can think of,” says Sybil
Smith, who has been publishing fishing guides and writing about fishing on Minnesota
lakes since 1982. Her first edition of The Twin Cities Fishing Guide sold over 80,000
copies and was followed by The Brainerd Whitefish Fishing Guide. For every fishing
guide, Sybil conducts extensive research on every body of water; interviews numerous
experts who have fished that water for a lifetime; contacts the many government
agencies responsible for the planning and management of public boat accesses, shore
fishing, parks, and lake stocking and management; and personally visits with each of the
lakes to verify the data. Sybil has been featured in numerous newspapers and
magazines and for many years wrote weekly articles on what’s new in Twin Cities fishing
for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Sybil also conducts seminars for community fishing organizations and clubs. Her love of
fishing led to the creation of her first publishing company, FINS Publications focusing on
area fishing guides and maps in 1980. And in 1994 she started Smith House Press, books
for fibromyalgia and chronic illness. In 2007 she went on to help publishers and authors
publish their own books through Smith House Press Publishing Consultants. An eBook
consulting firm, she assists authors in publishing, promoting, and selling their own
eBooks.
Sybil Smith was the first president of Women Anglers of Minnesota, incorporated in
1977 as a way for women to fish together. It remains the oldest active fishing
organization for women in the country! And is a member of the Minnesota Fishing
Roundtable-‐-‐a DNR think tank that discusses critical angling issues, identifies problems,
and proposes solutions to preserve good fishing in Minnesota.
Along with this she is a three-‐term president of the Midwest Independent Publishers
Association (www.mipa.org), Sybil was also recognized in 1997 with its Publisher of the
Year award. In 2010 she also received the first-‐ever Pat Bell Award for her mentoring,
encouragement of new authors, and sense of humor. She keeps up with the everchanging world of publishing through her memberships in MN Publishers Roundtable,
the Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA) and Small Publishers Association of
North America (SPAN).
Her authored books also include:
Twin Cities Fishing Guide: Where the Experts Fish and How!
Twin Cities Shore Fishing Guide West: Best Spots And How To Fish Them
Twin Cities Shore Fishing Guide East
Brainerd Mille Lacs Area Fishing Guide: Where the Experts Fish and How