Fishing shows! Why don,t they……

I love to watch fishing shows. They are a wealth of information and IDO is one of the best. But I wish they would “show” things in greater detail.

For example.

Lure selection. “Show” it to me. Some just talk about what they are using. You might get a glimpse of it as they remove it from a fishes mouth.

Technique. Again they tell you how but, I would like them to “show” me. Let’s see there hand movements.

I will only mention these two. I would like to hear from the rest of you to see what you would like them to “show” you more of. After all it is a TV “show”.

It could be that I am day dreaming about fishing too much and miss the “show me” spots.

“Show me” your ideas for fishing shows!

I agree with you, there’s way too much focus on, to steal a term, “The money shot,” (or on ESPN Zona and his sidekick) I know how to set the hook and play the fish. It’s fun to see but more substance would be better, but that’s probably not what sells.

The Bass Pros is a pretty good show for this.

My thoughts exactly! I quit DVRing a lot of shows just because they don’t SHOW you anything. They TELL you a few things…lake,time of year, depth, bait, etc…..Very little SHOW. I like details, and IDO is doing just that!

BIG WALLEYE oh wait that show airs every sunday unless James is chasing something else

HMMM show me how to handle a fish with respect! Too many times I see fish thrown back.

Tell us a true size not an over “estimated” size.

Some shows are really good about showing you and explaining stuff, and others are not, just the way it is. I think James and everyone else who does the IDO show are awesome at explaining stuff, and the fact that they tell you where they are fishing is nice too. Some shows are just all about showing off a new product, and they are probably fishing on the greatest lake in the world, so of coarse they are gonna catch fish on that new bait…. So you can add location to your list

Keep the input coming guys. Ideas for what you would like to see more of and what you could live without is helpful. I’ll definitely keep an eye on this thread.

I think almost any of us could nail the fish “just like the guy on TV” IF we had the pattern figured out. That’s the part I’ll bet most of us struggle with. Imagine you’re sitting there at the boat access with thousands of acres of water in front of you and a tackle box with a thousand lutres in it. You have a lot of ideas in your head from DVD’s, TV shows, seminars, and magazines. Now where do you start? How do you narrow it down and get on the right pattern? How do decide between wholesale changes in location or presentation or just making small tweaks?

Part of the gripe I have with some outdoors programs and magazines (NOT IDO!) is that the “reverse engineer”. They film a couple of guys hauling in a bunch of fish and then after the fact they create reasons why it all worked in the first place. That doesn’t help…

Good thread!

Rootski

I agree with the showing of more technique. Most of us know where to fish but have trouble with exactly how to present the bait properly like say pitching to a wing dam or working blade baits. I know the pros and the guides dont want to give up all the secrets but I watch fishing shows to learn mostly not to see guys catching 16-20″ walleyes for 21 minutes without giving up trolling speeds or lindy rigging techniques stuff like that

I always think it would be nice to see images of their flasher, or depth finder. What are you looking for, seeing and what does it tell you. Then obviously tie that into how does that change your presentation or style.

I know I am definitely not an expert at translating my “visual aids” into what I should be doing

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Keep the input coming guys. Ideas for what you would like to see more of and what you could live without is helpful. I’ll definitely keep an eye on this thread.

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Love to hear that James! I think way to many other show’s would say . ” fine that quit watching.” Which let’s be honest for the most part we wont do. Kind of a their way or the Highway theory.

But with James and the IDO crew being out to produce the best product around town, they are open to new ideas.

This is a bit off topic but it does relate to what some are saying.

Last night during the snowstorm, in my office I dug out an old VHS fishing tape I had bought back in 1989!! I had, believe it or not ever watched it. Turns out it was an instructional tape by Steve Fellegy on how to fish Mille Lacs for Walleye. In the tape he shows exactly how he rigs his bobber rod, his crank rod, his live bait rod ect. He breaks it down to the point of “the leader should be this long because”………. All great information if you have limited experience (like me) fishing Walleye’s. The best part for me was he showed exactly the hooks, line, sinkers, blades everything he was using.

Last thing he did was put up a map and show you where on each side of the lake he fishes. He pinpointed which side of the reef would produce if the wind was from x direction ect. All the way around he did this. Showed you some spring spots, summer spots, late summer ect. Really informational stuff in my opinion.

I found it to be really educational and I only wish I had watched it years ago!!

BTW, he never caught a fish during the whole show.

Quote) They film a couple of guys hauling in a bunch of fish and then after the fact they create reasons why it all worked in the first place. That doesn’t help…

Good insight Rootski, I’ll bet alot of shows are made this way.

Praise the shows that preach cpr. IDO does a great job of this!
Many anglers on the shows will hold a fish up to the camera and go into full detail on how they caught it, in the mean time you can almost see this fish drying out and turning color. Get it in, film it fast and let it swim. If we want to get a better peak we can always hit rewind-pause.

I’ll never forget Stange boating a Canadian Ski in cold water. Within seconds that fish was tossed head first over the side for what I thought was the coolest release ever. Handling time was probably less than 10 seconds

No kidding, some of the shows on Outdoor or VS are really stingy with the information they give out. Most of the things they leave out are the juciest key points. I think you should always be able to show what you are using anytime. Its not like I am in the boat with the dude in Ontario and am going to get in on his fish. IDO is second to none baby. I have learned a ton in the short time I have been on.

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I agree with the showing of more technique. Most of us know where to fish but have trouble with exactly how to present the bait properly like say pitching to a wing dam or working blade baits. I know the pros and the guides dont want to give up all the secrets but I watch fishing shows to learn mostly not to see guys catching 16-20″ walleyes for 21 minutes without giving up trolling speeds or lindy rigging techniques stuff like that

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Thats’ what I am talking about! We all know the pros can catch fish. I also now that they have to show them catching a few or it wouldn’t be believable. I want to learn how to catch more fish rather than watch other people catch them.

I need more Wooo Hooo!! in my fishing trips!

I enjoy the IDO shows, especially have enjoyed the ones on Rainy Lake with James and Rainy Daze. Being this is now my HOME lake it is great to have them explain in detail what type of structure they are looking for, explaining their presentations and why they are using them. You can take their detailed info and apply it to many different areas that are similar. Can’t wait for the ice to go out to try for ice out northerns.

I think James and gang have enough film shot to have had a few BLOOPERS recorded.
I would like a short clip of some of them at the end of the show.

Ok, I guess this gives my age away LOL – I like the OLD InFisherman style of shows from way back. Linder did a great job of showing the contours, weed edges, predator / baitfish relationship to the area.

I also like the magazine article that started in a mag that was a Day on the Lake with a Pro. Where the Pro has no knowledge of what lake he will fish or anything about it. The detail of how they scout and figure a pattern out is interesting in relationship to how I fish.

For me, its the scouting and developing a pattern. Yea, it looks cool to throw a jig out and stick a 10# eye, but why was that fish there, what are they feeding on, how do I key in on other places on the same body of water and duplicate this over and over again?

Just an interesting piont. I watched the FLW coverage of the event on Erie and the Detriot River. Most of the camera angles didn’t reveal many spots. But I did manage to find a few, and run my side scan through them. I found a type of structure in the rock that held more gobies than others. By understanding the relationship of the gobies and the type of rock structure, I was able go from the Detriot River to Peele Island and everywhere inbetween and duplicate that. Now if I didn’t have the side scan or an aquaview to see what was so special about the bottom structure, I would have never figured it out in that level of detail.

Great thread!

the only thing i would like to be told is how many hours they put in on the water to get 20 min. of show, and how many times they moved to differant locations on said body of water.

I think a lot of the newer shows do a good job giving some information about what they are using and how they are using it. I don’t know the history of fishing shows, but it seems like the Linder’s really started the types of shows that give a lot of good useful information. And I think newer shows have followed that lead and give a good combination of “how-to” and “money shots”. I have to believe it is a bit difficult to balance those two areas. There are several shows that do a good job. Yes, some are better than others. Shows that come to mind are IDO, Angling Edge, Keyes Outdoors, Musky Hunter, In-fisherman critical concepts (although this is a little too national…I won’t be fishing blue cats any time soon), the next bite,. Heck, even John Gillespie tries to do a good job, no matter how annoying he is (the best thing is the show is current).

I enjoy watching Babe and Butch Furtman too. They don’t always give a lot of information, but they are showing local water.

Other shows are good for their entertainment value. Shows like North to Alaska, Tred Barta, and Hunt for Big fish. I am not too concerned for Larry Dahlberg to show me his technique for catching Nile Perch. I would rather see the “Action” (although now that he is doing some more local shows, I like to know what he is doing).

One show I can’t stand is that Midwest Outdoors. Talk about going to the same locations and doing nothing but pimping your sponsors. I’m sure this week they will be fishing the Sea of Cortez, have a houseboat adventure, or going to be at Nelson’s resort. Just horrible.

Oh, and unless it has Peacock or Smallmouth in front of it, bass shows are a complete waste of airtime.

I’d like see more pre-fishing with the LakeMaster software/maps. Show me an inside turn, why it’s important? This break vs. that, why??

I’d also like to see fishing knots, something we all take for granted. I try to read the little cards and pics on the internet, just doesn’t cut it for me. Maybe do a knot of the week.

More bikinis too. Not of you or BK either.

I guess I watch each fishing show for their own reasons. Now that I have a DVR, I realize there is a lot of junk, but I consistently watch IDO, Linder’s Angling Edge, Woods and Waters, In-Fisherman, and some others.

First of all, Woods and Waters because it is current. I’ve actually watched that show on Saturday and by Saturday afternoon I was on the body of water catching fish doing the same thing I saw on the show.

IDO I watch not just because of the “homer” feel it has being a part of this site, but also because it is very informative. Shots of the spring bobber, flasher, spot on the spot idea, and for the most part its filmed on bodies of water I fish or easily could. I also like the fact that they go over the products used, but its not repeated over and over again throughout the program.

Angling Edge is very imformative. They do a good job of showing the product, discuss the techniques, and have some incredible camera angles. I realize that sponsorships and advertising are a huge part of these shows, but I think they go overboard sometimes. I think too many of the shows are filmed with the emphasis on taking a product and then prove that it catches fish. One segment that comes to mind is the Gulp leeches. They don’t every mention the lake their fishing, but I’m about 99% sure it was filmed on Mille Lacs in the spring of 2007. I think they could have used corn and caught fish. I’m not saying the products don’t work, it just kind of bothers me that they attribute so much of the success to the lure/bait in each segment (if that makes sense). At the same time, I’ve added some of these things to my tackle box and caught fish.

There are also some shows I watch for pure entertainment. Keyes outdoors-they seem to do things to extremes and a muskie crushing a lure 10 feet from the boat is very entertaining. Tournament coverages are usually not very informative but they are entertaining.

I guess every show is never going to be perfect, and I don’t even know what perfect is. I keep an open mind and try to watch and learn as much as I can from each program.

Randy, you are not showing your age. Im only 26 and I have a small collection of fishing DVD’s, and they are almost exclusively In-Fisherman (Linder days) or Linder’s Angling Edge. Those are by far the best for actual knowledge and detail. Al is king to me. They also relate to this neck of the woods, which is a plus. Most are probably early 90’s and still out do today’s TV shows by a mile for actual content. Plus they are not throwing products down your throat too bad, well maybe Rapala a little, but it sure beats “OH MY GOD GET THE FRABILL”

Guys

I have a question about ice shows.

What do you prefer to see?

Panfish? Walleyes? Pike? Or species like lakers or trout?

Any specific destinations you’d like to see covered?

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Guys

I have a question about ice shows.

Any specific destinations you’d like to see covered?

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Do one in Texas and I’ll be impressed

Personally,
I would say pan, pike, and Eyes, are good for me any day as that is my main focus. At the same watching you and Scott put the hammer on those lakers was a blast!

As for destinations, Maybe a tough request, but what about a Metro show? Going outside the Metro for the most part I think getting on some solid fish is more in your favor, but like in Jeremy’s Ice report. Fishing in the 694-494 belt can challenge in search for some nice fish. Like I said though, it might be a tough one to do, but just a thought.

The “global warming / global cooling here comes another ice age crowd” has me schedule for a Lake Fork ice shoot in 2012.

I haven’t made any reservations yet. I have my doubts.

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Guys

I have a question about ice shows.

What do you prefer to see?

Panfish? Walleyes? Pike? Or species like lakers or trout?

Any specific destinations you’d like to see covered?

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I’d like to see a jumbo perch show, or a small mouth show on Chequamegon Bay.

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Guys

I have a question about ice shows.

What do you prefer to see?

Panfish? Walleyes? Pike? Or species like lakers or trout?

Any specific destinations you’d like to see covered?

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I’d like to see a jumbo perch show.

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Me too. Love the yellow bellies. I have the planning for one in the works for next fall/winter.

Eelpout show…. I want to see your specific “technique” for handling….

big G