posted by Alex on May 2
“It’s not about working in the machine or against it, it’s about working outside of it and not compromising your integrity.”-Salty from Buster Wants to Fish
There’s a lot of disdain out there for the main stream fly fishing magazines, and fly fishing media in general. People are tired of seeing the same old thing over, and over, and over. It’s almost like fly fishing editors have an mad lib style template they give writers with the simple instructions to fill in the blanks
The (insert river name here) is a diverse (insert type of stream here) fishery in the heart of (insert state name here). After 5 years of conservation work, fishing is better than ever!
Starting at it’s headwaters in (insert town name here), anglers have much success fishing a (insert rig name here) rig. During (insert season here), the (insert hatch here) can offer (insert fish count per day here), that’s if the fish can find your (insert fly name here) among the naturals that will be littered across the surface.
Heading downstream below (insert bridge name here), (insert fish name here) are the predominant species. This is highly technical fishing, and even (insert super small tippet size here) tippet will have the (insert plural fish name here) snubbing their noses at your offering.
Traveling anglers have a multitude of lodging options in the area, (insert lodge name you work for here) offers 4 star accommodations. Wake up to a complimentary breakfast on the banks of the (insert river name here). While you eat, watch the lodge staff prep your gear where it will be waiting for you in one of our (insert drift boat company name here) drift boats.
(insert month here) is the best time to plan your trip. You’ll want to bring your (insert rod weight here), a reel with a good disc drag for when those bruiser (insert fish name here) take you into your backing. Fly selections should include (insert five common fly names here).
Bucking this trend is The Drake. A magazine “for those who fish”. Somehow editor, Tom Bie, found a formula that publishes content celebrating why we fish, instead of how we fish. After 10 years, it’s probably safe to say the formula has something going for it.
Both formats have their place, and even the mainstream media’s biggest critics understand that. But what irritates myself, and many others, is the mad lib format most mainstream articles are written in. We’re just waiting for an article in a mainstream magazine that breaks the mold. But is there anyone out there who has both the connections to the mainstream media as well as the creativity to write something different?
Last month, I got an issue of Fly Fisherman in the mail, compliments of the fly shop. I threw it away without reading it, and emailed The Fly Shop asking them to take me off their mailing list.
Apparently they didn’t, cause I got another one in the mail a couple days ago. Except this time, I didn’t throw it away. On the way to the trash can, I scrolled through the table of contents and saw that Bruce Smithhammer wrote an article on the Jackson Hole area.
“Cool”, I thought. “A destination article that won’t read like every other destination article out there.” From reading his writing for The Drake, ThisIsFly, and on Buster Wants to Fish, I’ve always thought of Smithhammer as one of the few good fly fishing writers out there. Needless to say I felt a little let down after reading the article. If the magazine would have forgot to put the writer’s name at the front of that article, there’s no way you’d guess it was written by Smithhammer. Other than the addition of some local skiing info, it read just like all the other articles on the area that have come before it.
I wondered why someone with that kind of talent would write a destination type article. Turns out, he was asked to. I get that. What I don’t get is why someone who can actually write would fill out the mad lib sheet?
There goes the daytripper link at Buster
Since bringing this up, some hate mail has already come in from his friends and supporters- ironically the same people who often loudly criticize mainstream media for publishing crap like Smithhammer’s Jackson Hole article. I wish I could take them seriously, but I can’t.
I can’t bash them either, they’re fans(short for fanatics), just subjectively doing the same thing Smithhammer has done- what they’re supposed to.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Not sure what editorial license is used at the mainstream magazines, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that if you sent them an “off center” piece, they may “blue pencil” a lot of your verbage and insert the tame stuff.
I’m just guessing…
May 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Hate mail? Really?
May 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
really
I can’t complain though, it’s better than the typical stuff defending the DSR
May 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
KB may have it right. Never underestimate the power of an editor to add needed emphasis. Especially true when the editor proposes a story. A former editor of that saintly and ubiqitous publication, READER’S DIGEST, once explained the process on an NPR interview, and those of us who have made the occasional contribution to trade journals know it well. It is called “the bottom line,” and we now know its effect on the MSM, do we not ? Let us all be “good sports” and reinstate the victimized Mr. Smithhammer in our affections. He is probably cursing the editor, too, but once you are compromised in print, your reputation shot, and the check is in the mail, all of your recourses will be lousy ones.
May 5th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Unfortunately I get Fly Fisherman as well (long story…).
I read Bruce’s article in the Feb 08 issue titled “On Foot in the Golden Trout Wilderness”, it was about California’s native trout in the Inyo National Forest ala back country hiking. In a way it was a destination piece but it was not the typical ad lib mainstream piece you find in FF. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have been combing through every issue since looking for the next piece from Smithhammer.
The latest issue arrived, I go straight to Smithhammers article and don’t even make it past the first three paragraphs… something wasn’t right, it didn’t sound like something Smithhammer would write.
I am still a fan of BWTF and Smithhammer, but what the junk, maybe my issues need to just go straight to the recycle bin so as not lead me to any further disappointment.
I work in the Broadcast Video world designing and selling video systems, and every once in a while you get a customer who wants to work with you but wants to do it their way, not taking heed to your recommendations or initial design. These are never my best results or systems I would want to put my name on. I can only imagine that Bruce Smithhammer may feel a very similar feeling with this past article in FF.
Cheers~
jvk
May 6th, 2008 at 8:16 am
I don’t see the big deal with these articles. When I go to Barnes and Noble, I check out the covers of the various magazines and see which locations are mentioned (they all provide them on the bottom right hand side). If there are any I’m interested in, I might pick the magazine up. But, I’m primarily looking for a couple pages of info, what flies worked for the writer and when, is there a spot I might have missed, does the stream sound like its worth my time…etc. Of course, I could find all this info with 5 mins of web surfing, but I don’t see the harm. Would I like Wolfe, Junger or Hunter S. to be writing fly fishing articles? Sure, that would be cool (although probably not as informative). Do I like the Buster guys’ work? Yes. Do I occasionally like to read an article that takes the mad-libs approach and gives me some standard info about a location I have visited or plan to visit? Yeah, kill me, I do.
I don’t know Smithhammer. I read BWTF (and Drake and ThisIsFly), but I never bother to see who wrote the actual posts. If the dude wants to write a location piece, then so be it. BTW, with respect to the Drake and these other forms of FF media, sometimes I’d rather have a 2pg rote location piece than 5 pages of close up photos of a bunch of fishermen…or another 5 pages of their dogs. Sometimes I want some basic info about a location, rather than a second x second, blow x blow of some dude landing a tarpon or almost running out of gas because he forgot his ATM card.
Of course, the solution to all of this is pretty clear. I am sure all these magazines are dying for content, you clearly think you can do it better, step up and write a piece.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Valid points, Lance.
I’m not saying the “how to” format doesn’t have it’s place, it does. I’m also not saying that someone can’t write what or how they want to.
What I was saying(more like implying, but I guess I’m saying it now) is it seems like hypocracy is running a muck.
As far as me writing a piece-
First of all, just cause I like to write, doesn’t make me a good writer. Even if I was a good writer, I have no interest in writing something for Fly Fisherman, but I’ll be happy to give this little challenge a shot and write something up here. Keep an eye out for it in the next week or so, it’ll be called, “Read Between the Lines”
May 6th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Hey folks -
All I can say is thanks for the feedback, both positive and constructive, and I in large part agree with it. My parameters for consenting to write this piece were that I wouldn’t include anything that I wouldn’t share with someone who came into our shop and was looking for some basic info on the area. So to anyone already familiar with the Jackson area, I’m sure there was little of interest in that article. At the same time, hopefully for those folks, the value was in what I didn’t include.
As far as critique of writing style goes, I think the points are valid. This isn’t the kind of writing that really gets me fired up, and that was probably obvious. There’s a formula with these pieces, and for better or worse, I pretty much stuck to it this time around.
Can you expect more of the type of content I write for the Drake and other in the future? Absolutely. Can you expect more destination pieces like the most recent one? I doubt it. I’ve been branching out lately, and trying lots of different stuff - from the Buster stuff, to the Drake, to the other end of the spectrum, which is some of this type of stuff. While I try to do the best job I can on anything I put my name on, I think this time around I satisfied the expectations of the audience it was intended for, but probably not the larger audience that is familiar with other stuff I write and has different expectations.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m also trying to make at least some of my living from writing. In a perfect world, I’d only write the kinds of things that I really enjoy, but like any other job, sometimes you do things for the work, not just the art. I fully realize that that’s a mixed bag, and probably the only way to escape that is to already have a lucrative form of employment that allows you to just write when and how you want to, or be independently wealthy. I’m not currently in that position, but maybe someday I will be. In the meantime, I’m going to continue putting most of my efforts into writing what I like, even though it doesn’t pay the rent.
Again, thanks for the feeback, and I’m sincerely flattered that this is even topic a conversation.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
p.s. - no way we’d drop your link. DT is a good blog, and as with any good blog, criticism is an essential part. In fact I seriously thank you for it.
But if you ever insinuate again that I write Mad Lib style, I’m gonna come down there and drop the Atomic Elbow on yer ass.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I guess that’s better than the flying butt scissors
May 7th, 2008 at 11:56 am
now if you want to really get serious about ‘being safe’- read the article in the latest AA regarding shad fishing. then grab your march 2005 issue of AA and turn to page 54. same species. same flies. same author.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Bruise Smiffhamr kick my dog!