I used to really love watching TV fly fishing shows early on Saturday or Sunday morning. It was such a nice partial antidote to the long wait of winter. But now too many of those shows, regardless of the beautiful fish and exotic stunning locations, are too hard to handle. It's that wall of sound! Why does hooking and fighting a noble trout need ramped up guitar playing to make it more real? It's exciting enough. The shows are targeted at us fly fishers who appreciate what we are seeing. But who knows, perhaps fly fishers of the future will expect that prime beats on stretches of pristine "private" water have theater quality sound systems installed high up the opposite riverbank. Or maybe a mobile media truck that follows close behind playing loud music while also providing cell phone and internet access from its satellite antenna.

Please all, forgive the ramblings of this "old f**t" who's now resigned to the cooking channel. But really!