By Louie Stout

One of Michiana’s most prestigious sportfishing clubs is on the brink of dissolving.

“As bad as I hate to say, that looks like the direction we’re heading,” said Patty Schmaltz, Michiana Steelheaders board member and secretary-treasurer.

Schmaltz and her husband Jeff, the club president, have been carrying the weight of the Steelheaders’ leadership for the past few years. No one wants to take over or help out.

“We’re overloaded and have been trying to get nominations for these offices and nobody wants to step up,” said Schmaltz. “We don’t mind helping but it’s gotten to be too much. We both hate to see this end, but we can’t do it anymore.”

Sadly, it’s a common issue confronting a lot of sportfishing and conservation-minded organizations these days. Bass club membership rolls are dwindling and even the Michigan Steelheaders, once a large powerful group, has seen interest wane.

The Michiana club is special, though. No one can remember when it was started, but suffice it to say that the group has been a major influence in legislative decisions that have impacted the Lake Michigan fisheries for decades. It’s donated to several causes, including buying equipment and fish for the Indiana DNR during a time of need, and supported community projects.

But it sounds like the end is near.

Lack of new leadership is only part of the problem. Club membership, once several hundred strong, has fallen to 22 this month. Membership rises during the summer when the club hosts membership-required tournaments, then falls off again.

It makes little sense considering that more and more people are fishing for steelhead, especially on the St. Joseph River. But anglers are too busy to get involved in anything other than the fishing.

“We used to get about 50 people attend our meetings and now it’s less than 10,” she said. “We’ve paid to bring in speakers and tried to do more, but there is only so much we can do on our own.”

The club’s future will be the topic of discussion when it meets April 1 at the De Amici Club at 7:30. The club insurance runs out in October; if no one agrees to take over the reins, the Schmaltz will take steps to close the books before the end of the year.

It has some $5,000 in the treasury and a decision must be made on what to do with it if the club is shutdown. It may be used to reimburse those who paid 2015 dues and to support club non-profit events the rest of the season, such as the youth fishing at Pinhook and an annual Lake Michigan outing for handicapped, a project the Steelheaders has sponsored for 29 years.

“It will really hurt those people to know this is the last one because they always look forward to it,” said Schmaltz, who runs “Southern Belle” charter service when she’s not working a full-time job or spearheading Michiana Steelheader projects. “We just can’t go it alone anymore.”