Do you think you get value for money, if you purchase one of the few magazines, that are targeted at our sport. If you do, what magazine/s do you read? If not, what puts you off reading them?

I get Trout & salmon & Trout. Both give good value for money in my opinion.

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All that glitters, will catch anglers.

No they're not value for money. They're nothing more than catalogues with tarted up fishing stories to make you believe that 'angling zen' is just around the corner, all designed to make you believe you need the next new item that the manufacturers have brought out. The 'all new must have this is better' kit gets replaced with what? Yes, another 'all new must have this is better kit' that will have you believe that, yep you guessed it, 'angling zen' is just around the corner.

Hi
Personally I think that magazines aimed at Fly Fishers are priced at a realistic market place price.
In other words a similar shelf price as all glossy mags whatever the subject.

I buy Trout Fisherman and Trout n Salmon irregularly only because from one year to the next the monthly subject matter varies little , just a different take on same old subject.
E.G its Fry time , Buzzers ahoy,

The magazines make revenue from the advertising which is prominent , its what makes the world go round.

Occasional when I do buy the mags it just because the front cover has got a subject which interests. E.G Dry fly's that sink and Catch ( whatever)

I am sure that mag editors are having a hard time competing with the internet and one day the net will eradicate the paper version. Technology hey?

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Better a 'has been' than a 'never was' !
http://te-ff.org/
http://englandyouthflyfishing.blogspot.com/search/label/About

I couldn't have put it better. Although 'Last Cast' is quite funny; mostly.

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Time is a stream I go fishing in.

i think many years ago i had trout fisherman on subscription i stopped it after 2 nd year due to it being the same old song season after season ,winter black n green must have killer patterns,into spring with the hawthorns n buzzers,summer damsels and cdc patterns back end with muddlers sedges n fry patterns,dont get me wrong being new to the sport and didt use internet or had these forums for info it was ideal learning curve for a beginner,now i buy the occasional mag if im away on a break and have no net for info and i tend to get trout n salmon or flyfishing and flytying magazine.

Whether or not a fishing magazine is value for money is totally subjective and depends entirely on what you, the reader, get out of it. Personally I think Fly Fishing and Fly Tying and Trout & Salmon are worth the money and in the main represent a decent read for the angler.

Of course they are a vehicle for the tackle trade to advertise its wares in exactly the same way you would look in a gardening magazine for an advert for a lawn mower. For people to criticise them for doing so is just plain ignorant in my view.

Similarly with people who criticise the magazines for the articles they publish. The answer to that conundrum is "do better" but of course they don't. Far better to hide in the bushes and snipe than it is to put yourself in the firing line.

One of the benefits of being a long term reader and keeper of the magazines is that it represents a useful source of information going back over many years. Numerous times I have gone back ten years or more in search of an article about a specific water that I remembered. All valuable stuff, but I don't expect the critics to have the nous to recognise that.

Hello,

I have got a subscription to Trout Fisherman and I like it as there is quite a lot of instructional info which suits me. Also the fly tying section is good. I think it is quite good value as I don't read it all in one go, it generally takes a few days or even a couple of weeks for me to read it as I'm busy with work/kids etc.

Bought Trout and Salmon for a while but it generally has stories about the writers trips fishing to different places which doesn't really interest me.

You can get a lot of info from the internet which I do as well but I quite like reading something the old fashioned way!!

Nick

As an inexperienced fly fisherman I found a few of the magazines to be helpful. The added lure of a free toy with a subscription was just too much to bear, so i subscribed to 2 rags...the upshot being, I got kit that would have cost me more over the counter (which i would have bought anyway) and a year's supply of informative reading. Where's the bad side?

There's advice in there from respected and experienced fishermen, lets call them 'experts' for want of a better word. Ideas for new flies to tie and use, techniques in using different flies, advice on conditions and the time of year, advice on fishing different waters....and yes, info on tackle.

For all the tackle tarts on here, I would have thought that info on the latest shiniest reel, newest fish friendly weighnet, most waterproof waterproofs, bestest casting rods would be nothing short of pornography.

admittedly I've found this forum now, so i can get a less sanitized view of various subjects from experts and some who would like to consider themselves as such....but where's the free toy?

value for money, if you ask me....at least until they cease to tell me stuff i feel i need to know.

edit to add;
Im still waiting for those tackle-testers to give a scientific conclusion on the best anti-mozzie strategy. I want them stripped to their shorts, smeared in whatever repellent they put their faith into, and then sent into a malevolent cloud of biting beasties. It really would be most helpful to see which one worked best.

the two i subscribed to were Total Flyfisher, and Trout Fisherman....im not sure which i prefer, they both have their good points.

I buy any of them irregularly. There is a degree of repetition over the years, but that doesn't bother me overly. My view is that their main appeal is to the beginner or someone, like me, who wants to expand their fishing experience e.g. my move from stillwaters to rivers to grayling etc. I just like reading something in the bath... My favourite is probably Fly Fishing and Fly Tying.

I abandoned the regular buying of fly-fishing magazines (as well as those on my other interests) years ago. It seems to be far 'worse' today but even then, advertisements had begun to proliferate over actual articles to a degree which I found annoying.

The hard economic facts are, of course, that any mainstream magazine needs advertising revenue in order to survive, as the cover price is but a token contribution to the publication costs.

'International Fly Fisher' was one of the best dedicated fly fishing magazines ever published in the UK but it lasted only a few years after its debut in 1977due solely, I would say, to a deliberate editorial policy of minimal advertising.

Even cutbacks on paper quality didn't help prolong its life, although there may well have been other factors in its demise as it was aimed at a 'niche market'.