Are fly fishing magazines a thing again?

[Guy Gregory]

I confess I'm a print media junkie. I seek out places where I have no cell service, thus I need some magazines to read or reread. Fly-fishing print media presents some of the best imagery today, maybe because fly fishing locations are so beautiful. So, it's been Fly Fish Journal, the Drake, and Swing the Fly. Swing is no longer a periodical, though they do an annual book. Online reading is not the relaxing diversion for me, so magazine length articles with a whisky in hand don't get read, unless @DimeBrite shares another adventure. American Fly Fishing still has wonderful production value, though I'm kinda tired of getting hotspotted. And if there was ever a niche publication, Fly Tyer is it. How they stay in print is beyond me, but I'm glad they do. Oddly, Trout published by TU seems to be the most informative, though their business model is based on memberships not subscriptions. Most of the old hook and bullet mags are gone, and frankly not too interesting anymore. Even Fly Fisherman is tiresome. And that from an old guy who is certainly not the target demographic for "Stoke" journalism.

 

[Porter2]

Like mentioned above maybe I’ll purchase a magazine or two for an airplane travel but otherwise not so much anymore. However stopped by the local shop and they had this magazine free. Have not really stopped to look/read much yet. Seems heavy advertisement with a quick go through tho. After looking at it again I think it has something to do with a promo for film tours ????

 

[Wadin' Boot]

I guess I need to start a Kickstarter for you all to contribute to my fishing trip fund which will allow me to post exciting trip reports to PNWFF in a much more regular manner than I am able to currently. I'm not just some random author, after all, and don't you think we need to spread the burden around? It wouldn't be fair to impose more responsibility on @DimeBrite . I'm here, ready to step up.

You could be Dime's manservant, sherpa-ing his tropical kit, the go-to-guy to snap the grip and don't grin photo while Dime holds some macrocepahlic reef monster aloft. And play to your strengths, Matt, now and then you could beg him for time off to rent a panga or its equivalent and fish the concrete plants of Senegal, Sri-Lanka, Surinam and so on....

I used to regularly submit fiction to the mag(s) but as far as I know only Gray's does fiction now and only infrequently fly fishing fiction. There's a thrill to getting something in press, but over time seems like all the current mags want is glossy travel trips with a preference on exotic

 

[Matt B]

You could be Dime's manservant, sherpa-ing his tropical kit, the go-to-guy to snap the grip and don't grin photo while Dime holds some macrocepahlic reef monster aloft. And play to your strengths, Matt, now and then you could beg him for time off to rent a panga or its equivalent and fish the concrete plants of Senegal, Sri-Lanka, Surinam and so on....

I wouldn't mind apprenticing for Dime for a while. I'd be able to learn a lot and maybe make some valuable connections where the person who was supposed to go suddenly can't, and so they call Dime, but then on the off chance that Dime is busy that week since either the Rams are in the playoffs or Scott Rods is having a 50% off sale, then maybe they'd call me. And I could check for pennies in my kickstarter account. Which happens to be humpy-shaped piggy bank. Humpy bank.

 

[Mossback]

Being able fill a spot on extremely short notice for an exotic fly fishing trip is a valuable skill to have, don't ask me how I know.

 

[DimeBrite]

It sounds like the time is right to form a fund for a PNWFF member group adventure. Raise $ with car washes, bake sales, gear & fly raffles, etc. Spin the wheel to pick the participants, fish species and locations. No lux lodges, just simple great fishing. Upon return write up the experience here and maybe edit a FF film entry.

The Giant Tarpon of Homossasa 2

 

[clarkman]

Somehow, I have a subscription to Tail (a saltwater specific fly mag). No idea who paid for it (I don't), but it's kinda neat when it comes but literally takes me less than 10 min to get through.

Personally, this site fills most of that void with all of the reports. For fly tying, YouTube is such a good resource when figuring out a new technique (although I do have a couple of books for that as well). YT is also great for some well produced destination videos.

 

[Tim L]

I usually only buy mags at the airport to read on a flight...even now, since most airlines have wifi that allows you to have internet access. I don't like staring at my phone for 6-9 hours, depending on where I'm fly to...

Same - perfect for the 4 hrs between CLE and SEA. Popular Mechanics in that smaller size has been the favorite.

As a kid, the magazines were the only way to follow pro motocross. During the Hannah era (pre/post '80) it was the thing and six or more periodicals covered the sport in that first decade in the US. I had subscriptions to the four dedicated off road ones. Maybe twice a year there was some kind of TV coverage, and the Kingdome would host round 2 of the Supercross (arena mx), but that was about it. The mags could provide results and stories a month after the events and that was considered good.

Fish wise, F&S was the only subscription I had. I imagine it's still insightful and well written. Ted Trueblood and others like him were always enjoyable and great influence on a kid.

Years later I got a kick out of F&H News and those who would hit the hotspots from its pages, only to arrive a day late and a dollar short. Once online, I figured a good number of them ended up trolling WA Lakes/NWFR and WFF the same way

 

[Flymph]

I am an addict ...

If you are ever near Oroville to do some fishing let me know and I will fill up your trunk.

 

[skyriver]

I buy The Flyfish Journal every now and then since it's NW based and often has NW articles and anglers featured.
I've met Copi Vojta, the photo editor. He's a good dude.
One of my friends is buddies with the guys responsible for the Seattle cover so I had to buy that one!

 

[Matt B]

I used to regularly submit fiction to the mag(s) but as far as I know only Gray's does fiction now and only infrequently fly fishing fiction. There's a thrill to getting something in press, but over time seems like all the current mags want is glossy travel trips with a preference on exotic

Both FFJ and the Drake publish short fiction pieces.

Geez, I feel like they oughta start paying me, as much as I'm shilling for them.

 

[DimeBrite]

The Cult of Fly Fishing | The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine

The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine promotes the cult of fly fishing in Africa and is read worldwide. Destinations, profiles, missions, flies, galleries, gear and more.

themissionflymag.com

Still my favorite fly fishing periodical. I learn about something or somebody every issue.