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We are as bad as everyone else. If we
can't be fishing we probably have a bunch of fly fishing books
out - or if it's Saturday morning, the television is tuned to what
ever channel has some fishing show.
A really good one was aired in our "left coast"
market recently, you might watch for it where you are. It was on
Fox Sports, and was called the Fishing Journal. This particular
one had a fisheries guy teaching little kids how to fish. The setting
was a lovely stocked pond, and the kids - both boys and girls - were
absolutely enthralled. He had some great tips on working with
kids, and it's a super show. We also took note that our favorite
outdoor catalog, Cabela's, was the major sponsor. Way to go!
Our favorite fly fishing show remains
Mark Sossin's Salt Water Journal. It's not that we are such
great salt water anglers, it is that this program goes to very
great lengths to TEACH.
That is in direct contrast to so many of
the shows where the 'star' is so wonderful, we are all supposed
to just be thrilled at how good he/she is. Too bad.
Because the opportunity is there
for these shows to do a lot of good. It doesn't have to be
preachy or obnoxious in any way. The trick is to have the
so called "star / expert" handle fish properly, (and that doesn't
take a rocket scientist) handle equipment correctly - not like
a recent show where the "star" broke the tip of two rods by
poor rod handling. Of course, he doesn't pay for them, and he
just reached back and barked "Give me another rod" to the
person supposedly guiding him. I would have thrown him
overboard.
It certainly wouldn't hurt to say
something about the type of line or fly being used.
Gee, there's a thought, maybe they could even show the
fly on camera.
I think I've got it figured out. The
"star" is God, the guys shooting the film don't know anything
about fly fishing, and the editors putting the whole thing
together are not looking for anything other than how good
the lighting was and how long did it run. The show producers
aren't fly anglers either and their concern is did it come in
on budget. (Or do they have a sponsor.)
For entertainment value, some of these
shows can certainly provide a good laugh. How very sad
indeed they don't recognize (or care) what is the example
they are setting to their viewers. Or what damage it does to the fly
fishing community. ~ The LadyFisher
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