One of the first causes of the Anglers was the No Kill, or Catch and Release, regulations on the mainstream’s Holy Water stretch as well as four miles of the South Branch. Led by Jim Schramm, the Anglers used legal and diplomatic channels to press for catch-and-release regulations beginning in 1986. Despite some local opposition, Angler’s pressed forward with state and legal strategies, and in 1987, Crawford Circuit Judge Alton Davis made catch & release permanent. In November, 1988, the Michigan Court of Appeals upholds catch and release regulations for Mainstream, a huge victory for the Anglers. The new regulation went into effect April 1989.