Opinion

That “Vast Wasteland” of TV Fishing Shows…

October 12, 2006, by Tom Chandler 5 comments

You can tell the Underground is restive. I’m in a bad mood, and when the subject of fly fishing on TV came up, it reminded me of a piece I wrote early in the year – before I went to blog software.

Most of you didn’t see it, and since re-runs are a staple on televsion anyway (isn’t this ironic), I’m doing it one more time…

The Original Rant

In the midst of another bout with insomnia, I found myself stuck in front of the tube, watching a fly fishing show where the host wasn’t exactly a strong caster as much as he was a strong talker.

In one heart-rate-inflating sequence, the two anglers in the drift boat casually covered the water of a wading angler, a move guaranteed to draw a glare from most anglers, if not a speeding bullet. Marvey.

Expertizing

You watch fishing shows at your own peril, and I suppose I got what I deserved simply for tuning in.

After all, this wasn’t the first time I found myself yelling at the television while some “expert” bloviates about his “respect” for the fish and the sheer beauty of it, holding it out of the water so the viewer could also “appreciate” the fish, which by that point is looking pretty glassy-eyed.

Popping a fish out of the water for five seconds to take a picture isn’t noteworthy, but when those seconds climb past the 30 second mark, any “appreciation” for the fish takes on a more exploitive cast. Or a more egotistical one.

Inevitability

Maybe it’s inevitable whenever the lines of recreation and commerce start to intersect, but honestly, where do these shows come from? And why (why??) does the presence of a camera reduce all involved to a bunch of gibbering, high-fiving morons?

Next time, I’m going to read a book.

The Ultimate Fly Tier’s Book? The Underground Asks its Readers.

October 5, 2006, by Tom Chandler 25 comments

Winter means different things to different people. Some bundle up like the Michelin man before heading out to fish, while others fire up the vise and re-stock depleted fly boxes.

In the interest of speeding your winter tieing, the Underground’s asking for something never in short supply around here: an opinion. What is your favorite fly tieing book?

This isn’t a “one book on a desert island” kind of question. Instead, we want to hear about the book that altered the way you tied or fished – a book with a point of view or philosophy that worked its way into your fly fishing consciousness.

Dave Hughes book My pick? Trout Flies: The Tier’s Reference by Dave Hughes. His philosophy emphasizes “buggy” flies over exact imitation, and his approach to fly tieing is to strip away the window dressing, focusing on what actually catches fish.

This book introduced me to the Beetle Bug (Official Attractor Fly of the Trout Underground); unpretentious and clearly written, it’s not a pattern book (though there are plenty of those) but more a philosophy of fly fishing.

Tag. You’re it. Let’s hear it from the Undergrounders.

Underground Opinion: Fly Fishing Competitions a Scourge?

August 30, 2006, by Tom Chandler 15 comments

In the grips of insomnia, I stumbled on a late-night broadcast of Fly Fishing Masters, a competitive fly fishing show on OLN. I couldn’t turn it off.

fly fishing masters logo It’d be easy to batter the show given my thoughts about the value of human v. human competition in a sport where we’re already competing with the fish (and what that typically means to the fish).

Still, I found myself drawn into the program, fascinated more by the group dynamics than the fishing. Competition only rarely brings out the nobility in human beings, and at times, the Fly Fishing “Masters” weren’t immune to a little kvetching.

At one point, a stunningly egotistical angler kept up a running commentary on his fishing partner’s faults when the guy finally did what any sane person would have done hours prior – he told him to shut up.

Ahh. It’s the “Real World.”