Favorite Fishing Show and Cabin Fever!

So I am sitting with my 7 month old boy on my lap and I am actually shushing him, (as if this will quiet him) so I can hear the best way to tie my fly if I am shark fishing in the Keys. Now this must be a clear sign of cabin fever since I am not sure if I have a big need to know fly tie-ing techniques for sharks. I have been trying to catch every fishing show out there and have a few that I rank higher than others.

These are only my humble opinion

1. In-Fisherman: Al still gets it done the best. I have heard that he is no longer making the show. Is this true?

2. Midwest Outdoors: Now this gets to be a distance second but my guess is that I will still put it there.

3. Jim Gillespie in Wisconsin’s Wilds and Woods: or whatever the show is called. This guy calls everything a slob. From the 2lb pike to the 2oz. perch they just hauled in. He makes me laugh cause he is kinda a dork often sputtering out sentence fragments and tripping over his fishing line, but guess what. He has a show and gets paid to do it!

4. Bass Masters: Solid info

Just my 2cents and I hope you throw yours in as well

Gillespie’s show cracks me up. I like it because he fishes Wisconsin waters primarily. Funny show last year when he was fishing Mille Lacs with Maina. Goofball fell on a muskie lure that had barbless hooks when Maina tied into a big fish. Didn’t even realize it. thank god it was barbless.

Some of his best shows are muskie fishing with Pete.

I do some saltwater and my fave for that is Walkers Cay Chronicles. The dude is seriously into the ethereal side of fishing. Far out!

I love John Gillespie’s Water’s & Woods. It’s close to home and he seems to air within a week of filming it. He’s been pushing the products a little too much lately though. Like the Zip Lure. But he’s always having a blast and slapping everybody on the back. I like In-Fisherman of course, especially the catfish coverage. I like shows that cover multi-species. The bass fishing w/ spinnerbaits shows are getting a little old. Vern

Hey Haywood, I thought that you said your fav. was bill dance! LOL I would have to say in-fisherman but with all this good weather I haven’t had that much time to watch any of that. Fishing everyday now you can’t beat that. Caught some big bullheads (yes bullheads) today. average about 12 to 14 inches.

Did i just see James on a fishing show ? They were on Lake Pepin. I just caught the tail end of the show. I’m not even sure what the name of the show was. We just got the Outdoor Channel here and I was hoping to catch it again but no luck so far.

ec

Yeah, that was me. Midwest Waters and Woods. Channel 8 I believe out of Lacrosse. That show was filmed just about this same time last year and we basically highlighted the ability of plastics like Super-Dos and ringworms to handily out-fish livebait. In that show I bet plastics caught 95% of our fish despite the fact that we fished plastics and livebait side by side. No fancy casting or anything just over the side vertical jigging in 18′ – 22′ of water and the walleye and sauger would ignore minnows and pound the fake stuff.

John Gillepse is a good show since he fishes Wisconsin waters, but he is a little to intense for fishing. My favorite goof up of his, is on the Mississippi River last year, I think below Genoa he caught a pike and tried to get the hook out with his hand and he got bite, he was bleeding pretty bad. I mean this is a pike with teeth, not a bass.
Other wise I like BassMasters, it gives good information and I enjoy seeing tournament fishing. I also like Midwest Waters and Woods, I hope I will see the show with James and the FTR guys on it. Can’t wait to hit the open water.

hey james….do you know when the next show is gonna be on….i do get the outdoor channel here in ames and would love to see a show on pool 4

The next shows we’ll be shooting will be in the spring. Hougie has talked with the producer about a bass show on pool 8 and I’m looking at a show on June walleye for pool 4. When those shoots would air after that is a question I’ll have to ask and get back to everyone here.

I appreciate the interest!

Being originally from WI, I get a kick out of Gillespie’s antics in the boat. Who can forget seeing him impale himself this summer on a Musky trip in MN !! Definitely a high-energy type of guy.

Another vote has to go in to BJ Outdoors. I like watching the Canadian trips he takes prior to mine. Kind of pumps me up over the winter !!

The thing that I feel impresses most about Gillespies show is, it airs shortly after filiming. You won’t see an ice fishing episode in July or a walleye opener in Janurary etc. Plus, he relies on those in the know. Guides and local experts help make his shows!

I think what makes ftr and other sites is very similar. All who provide information add to it’s success!

Keep the rods bendin’!!

Jim W

Fishing the Midwest with Bob Jensen and Midwest Outdoors are both pretty good. The thing these two shows have to be careful of is NOT turning into Info-mercials! And they are getting pretty close!

Tony Dean’s fishing segemts are interesting too.

J.

I really haven’t had much chance to see the fishing shows lately so I’m not even sure who all is pumping them out. I’ve seen Midwest Outdoors and BJ Outdoors and have enjoyed them both, but I got to give my entertainment/educational nod to In-Fisherman. The reason is because you see very little “filler” footage. Between products, techniques, tight-line action, and narration to tie it all together for a fast-paced, crash course, almost overdose of information that flows smoothly and makes 30 minutes disappear like the snap of a finger, I can’t think of another show that makes me “feel” like they’re sharing a wealth of information. Key word being “feel”, thus the entertainment factor. I can’t watch Dance or Parker…………….those boys just ain’t right………….no matter how accomplished they may be, their shows severely lack that “realness” we face when heading out on one of our adventures. It’s a rare day I get conditions like Bill does, or have the opportunity to hit a sheltered pond stocked with brutes for the guarantee of an impressive catch on film.

Okay, you guys ruffed my feathers. I cant stand Gillespie or any of these jerks that manhandle fish like there a piece of garbage and are throwing it away. Too many times I’ve seen these guys practicing catch and release only to toss the fish over board. I like the shows except his. Hes a loudmouth but I seriously doubt if he knows his head from his you know.

I love to watch Hank Parkers tv show. He consistently catches the smallest fish, but has his kids with and is such a good personality. In-fisherman is the best by far, not even anyone close to second place for me. Was fishing a small lake north of Brainerd one day, way out in the boonies and here comes Jim Lindner and the oldest bro, cant recall name, really nice and cordial. Fun to see those boys out fishing and had a young man with them, giving him pointers.

I must agree that In-Fisherman is the best show going, but I have to take offense to the less than flattering comments about Bill Dance. Granted, it’s not necessarily the most educational of programs but you can’t tell me you don’t sit there and drool as he hauls in one 5 pounder after another. For pure entertainment value, Bill Dance is OK in my book. On additional show that I’d like to throw out there is the Spanish Fly….that deep sea fishing is a nice break from watching bass and walleyes all day. My last comment is a simple one: Gillespie is a moron, plain and simple. I’ve never seen more HUGE!!!! 1 1/2 pound walleyes in my life…the guy is virtually unwatchable.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it….

Great forum by the way…cabin fever stinks.

I would tend to agree with most everyone here in that In-Fisherman is the best show going. I had the pleasure of working with Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. of BJ Outdoors as well as Tony Capra and Bob M all those guys put on good shows and are great people to deal with. BJ Oudoors is a well produced show and they tend to have unique topics, Capra Outdoors is a fun show those guys truly love to fish and it shows, the guys at Midwest Outdoors have a well produced show and usally deal with things close to home. The bottom line is that if I can’t get out on a Saturday morning I would much rather watch any OUTDOORS show than say hgtv or tlc. There is nothing like being out on the water and enjoying the senery companinship and Fish. So to close I would rank the shows this way 1) In- Fisherman 2) Midwest Outdoors 3) Capras 4) BJ Outdoors 5) Simply Fishing

hmmmm I havent watched a fishing program in years…. dont even know whats out there…… Im either working, or fishing…. and sadly.. that means Im usually working…. *sigh*….. but I live in an area with lots of lakes and the st croix within a short distance…. so if I have an hour or two I will hit the water…. or ice….

Bill Sr. ‘s show is well produced? I think we’ve had this discussion before. You never know who’s in the boat, where they are fishing or what they are using. I don’t even know who Bill Sr. is. He has never spoken into the camera and introduced himself. They are always somewhere way up in Canada pulling in fish after fish. What are they doing? It looks like someone’s amatuer vacation video. Give me Gillespie any day! Vern