I was a Fly Fisherman reader for years. But these days Northwest Fly Fisherman gets my vote for top pub. It is obviously more topical for those of us in the NW. I'm also not much of a techie/gear/tying guy and I like the magazine's focus on places to go. It's nicely laid out and well-written. And sans the attitude.
Gary Meyers Kirkland > Seems like I'm noticing more and more flyfishing magazines these > days. I picked up a couple last night I wasn't familiar with, > although the names on their masthead read like a who's who of the > sport. > > Now that I've read Fly Fisherman, Fly Fishing & Tying Journal, Fish & > Fly, and Northwest Fly Fishing, it occurred to me this might be > another interesting list topic. Since, as usual, I've got a couple of > opinions, I'll get things started with my 2� worth. > > Seems like most of the current crop of flyfishing magazines have a > national focus. While there are wonderful opportunities to fish for > Great Lakes steelhead, midwest bass, Pennsylvania trout, Atlantic > salmon in Quebec or bones in Florida, the reality is that I will most > likely never do so. However, it is entirely probably that I will > continue to explore waters within a 4-6 hour radius of Seattle or in > Alaska. > > I was amazed that Fish & Fly chose to focus on the Southern > Hemisphere for their current issue, adorning their cover with a > busty, barely-clad babe fishing for bonefish in the Seychelles. There > were some nice photos of fish in it too as I recall ;-) > > Frank Amato's Flyfishing & Tying Journal seems to me like one big ad > and catalog for his publishing house. The list of names on its > masthead reads like an invitation list to an Amato family reunion. > > I've got to say my favorite magazine so far is Steve Probasco's > Northwesy Fly Fisherman. In additional to locally-relevant content, I > find the overall design and writing quality to be top-notch and not > nearly as corporate-looking as its nationally-focused competitors. > > In the current issue, Probasco describes in painfully vivid detail > how he impaled a streamer in his nose while casting in the wind. Not > only does he have the ego strength to come clean with his audience, > he demonstrates bowling-ball sized cojones by including a photo of > the thing lodged in his schnoz, taken right before his guide removed > it, discovering in the process that the barb had not been crimped. > Probasco artfully turned the narrative into an object lesson on > checking and double checking ones equipment before using it. > > It strikes me that the other mags mentioned above seem a tad too > corporate to print a story like that. But then that's my 2� worth. > > What other magazines are out there that I've overlooked? Do any print > more frequently than every other month? Which ones do you subscribe > to and why? > > Kent Lufkin > >
