Am I over reacting?

[dh2x]

It's been awhile since I've posted anything so before I start my rambling, I hope everybody is doing okay and fishing as much as possible(Or at least dreaming about the subject). Here's what got me a little upset. I received a new edition of one of the fly fishing mags I get yesterday, and lo and behold there's an article not kinda' talking about an area I dearly love(I'm pretty sure allot of you out there do too!), but giving clear directions and details. These places like so many others are special and really don't need anymore pressure. I know what's done is done, but I sent an email to the editor saying I won't renew my subscription and why. I also thought it was funny how a fly shop in the area just happened to have an ad at the end of the article(I figured they thought those places were special too, that's what I get for thinking). These places are by no means a big secret but come on!
Okay I'm done-carry on,
Dean

P.S. I've recently been overcome by another addiction-Fly tying.

[RSetina]

Dean, I know what you mean and what you're feeling. That's just not a good way to sell magazines. Some places just shouldn't be made so public.

[rayfound]

Dean, I think you made the appropriate response to something you didn't like. Don't give them more money.

[Flyjunkie]

The Fly Shop had Nothing to do with the Article being accepted.. or Where their Ad was Placed in the Magazine. That is usually up to the editor and Lay out Folks... I'm sure the Shop would have voiced some opinion of not having the Article published if they knew about it...

I agree some Locations, especially small waters, do not need added pressure from being Published... Some Writers will not write about such locations..but others (and thankfully their numbers seem to be in the Minority) don't care and only care about getting that Article published along with their Name... Some just seem oblivious as to what should be written about and shouldn't be written about...

Emailing the Editor and explaining why You'll not renew Your subscription was a Spot On, Great Idea... Hopefully the Editor will listen..(which they seem to do if Enough People write them along the same lines..).

[RichardCullip]

Dean said it better than I can. You took exactly the right steps to express your concerns.

[NorcalBob]

Just like death and taxes, hot spotting cool fishing places is inevitable. Doesn't mean I like any of them, but all of them are inevitable. I don't stress out too much about hot spotting reports (that doesn't mean I like them ), I just use them as motivation to explore some more off the beaten path for my own personal "honey holes". And eventually all my "honey holes" all get discovered by the hordes. Just means I need to move on to a new undiscovered "honey hole". They are out there, you just need to find them

[Flyjunkie]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about. What magazine and what article and what fly shop? Dean used capital letters, as in The Fly Shop... is that the fly shop? As far as placement goes, the ad buyer CAN request to be on a specific page. I have looked into ordering ad space for others and there was definitely an option for requesting a certain page in the media kit they sent. With that in mind though, you are only requesting a certain page, not necessarily guaranteed a certain page (unless you want to pay more probably), and you don't HAVE to specify a certain page to get your ad run. So who knows.

CRAIG,

No It ain't the Fly Shop in Redding that Dean (not Me Dean Him Dean) is referring to in the Mentioned Article...

[briansII]

Your response will have the biggest impact. Money talks.

I'm not sure I want to know what magazine it was, or the fly shop, but...... I have noticed destination articles, with fly shops mentioned in the article. The mentioned shop will have an ad on the same page as the article. I don't have a problem with that...as long as it's not one of MY special places. And yes, i'm a NIMBY(not in my back yard).

It's gotta be tough for fly mags. Destination articles must be popular, or they wouldn't print them. Every destination is somebody's homewater/ace in the hole. You can only write so many articles on technique, flies, gear, ect..... before it becomes repetitive/boring. What to do to sell subscriptions?

Hot chicks!

briansII

[Papasequoia]

Flyfishers aren't alone. In this month's Backpacker magazine (Aug 2009, pg 9) there is a short article about "Tell-All Travel Writing." They write that a subscriber wrote in and complained about the magazine was "committing the literary equivalent of violating Leave No Trace practices by inviting the world" to trample his secret stashes.'" The editors then ask rhetorically, "Does exposure equal crowding?" They then discuss the pros and cons of writing about specific places (more than most magazines do) and then they even go the extra step by actually contacting rangers and land managers in areas about which they have published trails. The bottom line is that most of them report an uptick for a season or two and then it is back to normal. However, several of them are much more supportive of exposure than you would think, for various reasons. An interesting article all around, it's on the stands now.

Of course, it's not an exact corollary since with fishing there can be such an immediate and severe impact on the resource, but it's part of the debate. Backpacker online has a growing database of hikes (day hikes and overnights) complete with GPS waypoints and everything.

One other thing to consider is this: the population is growing, but the number of people involved in outdoors sports of any kind, including fishing, is dropping rapidly.

[briansII]

Flyfishers aren't alone. In this month's Backpacker magazine (Aug 2009, pg 9) there is a short article about "Tell-All Travel Writing." They write that a subscriber wrote in and complained about the magazine was "committing the literary equivalent of violating Leave No Trace practices by inviting the world" to trample his secret stashes.'" The editors then ask rhetorically, "Does exposure equal crowding?" They then discuss the pros and cons of writing about specific places (more than most magazines do) and then they even go the extra step by actually contacting rangers and land managers in areas about which they have published trails. The bottom line is that most of them report an uptick for a season or two and then it is back to normal. However, several of them are much more supportive of exposure than you would think, for various reasons. An interesting article all around, it's on the stands now.

Of course, it's not an exact corollary since with fishing there can be such an immediate and severe impact on the resource, but it's part of the debate. Backpacker online has a growing database of hikes (day hikes and overnights) complete with GPS waypoints and everything.

One other thing to consider is this: the population is growing, but the number of people involved in outdoors sports of any kind, including fishing, is dropping rapidly.

I have that issue on my nightstand. A couple things I found interesting. One source(ranger?)said he thought the increase of visits was more related to a fly fishing report/article, than the Backpacking article. They discuss the increased visitations because of their article. Then in the same issue, they have information to seldom visited areas.

Glad to hear outdoor activities are in the decline. The herd needs thinning.....IMHO

briansII

[flybob]

OK, I am playing the Devil's Advocate here
Please do not hold this against me, I have only been addicted to FF for 3 years but I have been an outdoorsman for 42 of my 52 years. I am all for keeping those special places off the maps.

I know which mag and article you are talking about and I almost choked on my martini olive!

But hey, why did you subscribe to this mag in the first place?

I know why I did, for the articles on where to go fishing!
And the beautiful photography that goes with it which makes it more enticing, kind of like our forums!

I also subscribed to one of the sister pubs to the North!
Why are we not concerned about THOSE WATERS?
Is it merely because they are not near and dear to us?

I just got through posting on another board on a similar subject and I basically feel that it is really a double edged sword, we want out sport to proliferate, but we don't want to share, or at a minimum WE want to police and decided who gets the info and how.

I have found for me, the remedy is to just go deeper into the back country and stay away from the roadside circus, believe me there is much suckier fishing back/up there!

now on the other hand, I have been to said location 3 times, and one of them right after an article by RAB! And guess what, for a whole day, it was just me and another with the entire place to ourselves.

I have a bucket list of places I want to fish, I know I will never get to half of them, just not enough time left on my books, but I keep going back to the mags to dream about them.

Remember when you were a kid and you could not wait for the Christmas Catalogs to come out?

Ok, I am done being the Devil's helper here!
bob

[beachbum]

It's a tough call for me on hotspotting. There isn't a stash of public water, that I love, that hasn't been in a fly fishing mag over the years. I admit that some of them, I found from an article I read. I have fly fishing mags saved from the 70's to the present, and I still use them for a resource.

One of the really great things we have in America is our public water. When I travel to other countries, it's all pay water, and while I am willing to pay for the experience, I could not imagine paying every time I fish.

In deference to you guys, and your strong positions, I stopped posting about such waters. It's something that I think about often, and see merits on both sides. I just love to fish, and love sharing the experiences we have as fly fishers.

[aaron otto]

Name a board, name a place, this topic has surfaced.

I'm going to challange folks to think differently here on three counts.

First, most authors (including myself) get assignments from editors based on water choosen by editors. Secondly, what is there that hasn't been writen about? After twenty-five plus published pieces, I have yet to write on one location that hasn't been published in a book about that state. However, every time I get fallout similar to posts like this on boards. The irony is, that the boards get more traffic the then article actually boosting the public awareness of the article and the specific location.

Finally, we as fly anglers have 3% of the entire fishing industries market from a dollars perspective. If we don't get more people involved, meaning exposing fly fishing on a larger forum, there will be no companies, magazines, movies, products for us as anglers to consume.

Please don't take this as I'm focusing on anyone specifically. Sincerely want folks here, to take step back and think. It's been my experience this question is rasied by those who haven't been through their spot shown before. In truth, that usually equates to being relatviley new to the long rod. Fifteen years later, I can tell you, this isn't the first time nor the last the topic will be raised.

In my sincere opinion, and I live in the desert, there is so much open water undiscoverd out there, that if you're not finding any - you just aren't looking hard enough. Try this next time you want to find a piece of private water for you and your circle: Go to Google Earth, find 6k feet or higher and look for blue with a name (or not) you don't recognize. It won't get you into fish 100% of the time, but when it does - you will be on your own.

[BirdDog]

I think most people agree that most waters have been discussed in publication at one time or another. I generally think people are lazy...and dont have enough time. When they get a few days to fish they want instant gratification....and a picture of them holding a 20 inch fish, or the ability to say they caught 30+ wild trout. The majority of people are unlike this forum's members, people on this forum have lists of places to fish that can fill their own book. The problem is when one of the publications (we may or may not read) distributes an article on OUR list of places WE fish. Its not the fact that it gets named or is relatively unknown, but it gives the lazy people ideas on where to fish. Since there are so many lazy people out there, the short term run on these fragile streams may due years of damage. That how the issue breaks down for me.....so when I see issues on the Madison River I dont blink an eye, but what makes me a bit uneasy is when I see articles of small streams located next to 5million lazy people. If we spark the interest of just 50 of the worng types of anglers they could decimate some of these fragile streams.

[aaron otto]

Bird dog you crack me up. I agree lots of folks are not willing to walk more than a mile. However, I don't think there are many fly anglers decimating streams. Even the beginners for the most part are respectful. Now if you were referring to folks who are using bait, etc; then I can completely see your point. But, I don't think many conventional guys are reading the fly magazines to find hotspots. I've looked at subscription statistics and market studies for target audience. They gear guys don't make the demographic. It may happen, but I think it's the rare case.

A