With the abundance of online fly pics of dudes hoisting leviathans of every species, FFJ feels the time is right to give due respect to the little things in life. In partnership with our friends at Cloudveil, we are proud to present the initial installment of our Smolt of the Month online photo contest. This first month’s winner will recieve a men’s or women’s Run Don’t Walk Polartech pullovers.

Give us your dimunitive, your tiny, your barely visible piscatorial victory in jpeg format (ideally at least 574 pixels wide and 364 in height–or simply put, if it is shot on your 1999 Nokia and looks like a gray scale image of Loch Ness, it may not be as strongly considered) on or before midnight June 30, 2009. We’re starting this first one today–a few days early–starting on the first of the month after this. Send entries to questions@theflyfishjournal.com The winner will be announced July 2, 2009.

Rules are simple, it must be a fish, it must be fly-caught, it must be small. (Note: FFJ does not encourage targeting juvenille fish, esp of sensitive/stressed species. Anyone thought to be guilty of hammering juvie steelies, for example, will be summarily outed to the community as a “Smolt Molestor” –and no one wants to be a Smolt Molestor. Use reasonable judgement, people. Have fun with it).

Smolt of the Month: because small is the new huge.

Photo: another Whatcom County river monster, by Robert Arzoo.