40 Rivers To Freedom

Dear Confluence Films,

Judging by your comment, your feelings were a little hurt when I published a less than flattering review of your latest DVD yesterday.

I’m sorry if this isn’t the kind of review you like to see, but I call it like I see it.  I would’ve loved to have wrote a glowing review of your movie, but it would be a disservice to my readers to lie through my teeth.  Ya see, if I told them it was decent, and then they went and bought it only to find out that it wasn’t, I’d lose all credibility.

You guys filmed at 6 of the premier locations in the western hemisphere and came back with a 70 minute guide/outfitter promo.  Which isn’t surprising considering the fact that you- assuming I’m talking to producer Jim Klug- are the Founder and Director of Operations for Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, L.L.C., and that you have worked in the fly fishing industry as a guide, sales rep, and travel coordinator.

I understand your desire to promote your best interests, as I work for the company who sent me that DVD free of charge.  They love it when I write a good review cause it sends trillions of dollars- okay, maybe a couple hundred-  in revenue their way every year.  Fortunately, they also understand that by me giving an honest review, my readers will trust that I’m not feeding them a line of garbage, thus flocking to their storefront when I say a product is worth buying.

All these years, it has been the fly fishing magazine industry who has worked to serve it’s sponsors best interests, while sacrificing it’s own integrity by providing dishonesty to it’s readers; and now we open a new chapter in fly fishing media where we can’t even watch a movie without wondering if the film makers have an ulterior motive.  How ironic that one of your partners, The Drake Magazine, broke the magazine mold of the past, but is helping you to bring back the BS- this time to our DVD players.

Tisk, tisk, tisk.

Thankfully, the fly fishing world now has plentiful choices when it comes to film makers.  Beattie Outdoor Productions, Rollcast Productions, and Felt Soul Media immediately come to mind.  I’m sure if you gave them a call, they’d be more than happy to show you how to make a good movie. Hey, I’m just trying to help.

Sincerely,

40 Rivers To Freedom

I just read a blog post over at the newly revamped Drake Magazine website by noted shoelace hater, Tom Bie.  Yes, he really does hate shoelaces.  But that’s not what this is about.  This is about a well written piece Tom wrote dubbed, Print is Dead.

As the 15th Drake makes its way across the country this fall, I find myself intrigued by all the recent chatter on the downfall of magazines, most of it coming from new-media pundits shouting their favorite proclamation: “Print is dead!”

Tom goes on to illustrate why he feels that maybe, just maybe, print media hasn’t been kicked under the rug just yet.

If we’re talking about technology like Amazon’s Kindle, which allows readers to look up words, change font size, and buy almost any book they can think of in a matter of minutes, then I’ll concede the point: it provides new, innovative, creative ideas. But still, does this girl really look comfortable? I firmly believe in embracing new technology—a belief I back up by constantly supporting and promoting flyfishing filmmakers and on-line innovators. Everything evolves, and magazines should be no different. (Is it ironic that I’m using my blog to make a post about the strength of print?) Regardless of the platform, magazines need to attract and retain readers. And the only way to do that is to produce something worth looking at. It all comes down to quality, and the user-experience. Brian O’Keefe and Todd Moen have made Catch magazine popular by producing a unique, high-quality, creative on-line experience. But I can’t say the same for the majority of blogs out there, or many other forms of media that are competing with print, including cable television.

I think it is very  ironic that Tom is using his blog to make the case for print, but what is more ironic is the fact that so many of the fly fishing world’s new e-zines are all trying to look like a print magazine.

This same topic came up between myself and a friend a few weeks ago, and my friend asked the obvious-

I don’t understand why websites try to duplicate magazines.  The web has infinite possibilities, while a magazine is what it is.

I don’t either, do you?

Ran across another guy on the internet going all “whooh and ahhh” about his first experience fly fishing with a two handed rod.  I suppose if I had just dropped a few hundred on a new rod, I’d be telling myself all that BS, too.

Fish how you want says the blind man to the boy, I’m not watching you anyway.

I love to swing flies.  I love to use a few of the basic spey casts when a backcast just isn’t an option.  But I cringe at the idea of restricting myself to frothing the meniscus, and only frothing the meniscus.  I want to be versatile.  I don’t ever want my gear to stop me from fishing a run the way I want to fish it.  Who knows what that way may be, I won’t know till I get there.  But I ain’t going there to cast, I’m going there to fish. just sayin’.