# The "Perfect Fishing Show" - what do you recon?



## Brc226 (Jul 31, 2009)

In light of some of the comments relating to Extreme Fishing, River Monsters and iFish, what do you recon the perfect fishing show should look like?

I really enjoy Adventure Bound but in the end, the show is so full of adverts, you actually get to see very little fishing. It still is a good show though. They fish some really great locations and, it is entertaining to watch.

Anyway.....discuss!


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## Peninsular (Dec 29, 2012)

I'm a fan of iFish, mostly cause the show is so Aussie focussed and Paul Worsterling cracks me up. I know all fishos get excited, but he nearly wets himself every time he hooks something decent.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

I know I'm in the minority, but I like Extreme Fishing. It's different, great locations, varied techniques and Robson (while not being the best fisherman) is entertaining and passionate. Along with Man vs Wild, it's my 4 yo boys favourite show on television.

I'll watch any of them but find River Monsters too meladamatic, iFish one big ad and lacking in variety, Fishing Australia better but still too commercially driven, etc, etc.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

RIP Jose Wejebe
http://www.spanishflytv.com/theater/fis ... p-patties/


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## shadowrunner (Jan 18, 2013)

i like extreme fishing, iFish, creek to coast, river monsters, pretty much every fishing show. i think some of the presenters are dicks but i still enjoy the shows


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

Anything with Malcolm Douglas.


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## Bretto (May 23, 2010)

I can't stand ET or iFish (30 min ad for Shimano and Fins).

I like Robson, but I've always viewed his show as a travel show with fishing.

I like River Monsters, but I don't see it as a "fishing" series.

I like 'On the Fly' (Briz 31).

I like Lee Rayner's Adventure Bound.


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

Our local (Tassie) fishing show - "Hook line and sinker", isn't too bad. They can be funny buggers sometimes.


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## badmotorfinger (Mar 15, 2010)

I would enjoy something that combined fishing, exotic locations and a zombie apocalypse. Hosted by chick that smiles at end of AAMI ads.


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## jfish87 (Jul 12, 2011)

badmotorfinger said:


> I would enjoy something that combined fishing, exotic locations and a zombie apocalypse. Hosted by chick that smiles at end of AAMI ads.


I think you're on to something there. If Ifish were hosted by Christy Worsterling I wouldn't complain about the constant product placement


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Adventure bound for me. Great show in varied australian locations with excellent tips without the constant advertorial about the latest Daiwa/shimano/Pflueger/Berkley product that the average joe fisho will never get the chance to use I.e. $1000+ reels.

I like some of the fishing segments on all 4 adventure too, but these guys are a walking talking add for efs suspension and waeko, obviously the fishing tackle reps haven't given them any goodies yet, but it will come....

Kev


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## theGT58 (Nov 1, 2011)

Dunno if mine would ever happen as fishing is generally not considered mainstream enough for any producers/tv networks to get involved and so rely on tackle companies. The exception being Extreme fishing which (I believe) is actually produced by Robson himself (and maybe a few others). As others have said though, Extreme Fishing is very location/travel focussed and does not touch base with real word angling.

I think my perfect fishing show would probably encompass the following: 
- zero product placement, zero involvement by any tackle company etc. Still feature/highlight/review different products as part of the show but not with funding by the former (does not necessarily have to be seperate reviews either) focussing mainly on mid to lower range gear. 
- No ET. I hate ET. (on that note also no trying to use product names as verbs). 
- not just one presenter (people get sick of one, some just hate them). Hook line and sinker is good fun this way as they add the larrikin element. either on their own would annoy me though. perhaps one preferably a girl (to try keep the missus watching and keep the pervs happy). I even think Paul and Cristy could actually do a good show if they were'nt relying on tackle companies for their mortgage payments. 
- family friendly and encouraging fishing as a family activity (i-fish does do this to a good level)
- educational but not overly so. Mainly making sure newbies people get the info to not be daunted and everyone gets the info not to break the law and be sustainable. 
- responsible (i.e no gaffing huge fish straight through the face just to show the camera). Get the fish back in the water quickly and minimise handling. 
- in line with the above aware that it is representing the sport also, fishing can easily be negatively percieved or represented. 
- quick fishing reports
- 1 hr
- NO FAKING (ET especially and Paul less so im looking at you guys....) admit when you get a donut. It can still be entertaining. Anybody who's ever been fishing more than a few times knows when you're faking catches etc. It just makes you look pissweak and stupid. 
- a small element of adventure fishing, remote locations by 4WD but also bread and butter stuff (i.e yep sydney harbour, lake macqaurie etc). Some overseas action too and not just the usual FIJI, Papua etc. Get over to the US/Canada/russia etc. 
-an element of comedy
- actually express passion for fishing itself

Don't want much hey!


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

My ideal fishing show : 
Instead of a host, a camera and sound crew.
They travel all over Aust / world, hook up with a couple of locals and go fishing.
Diferent hosts pretty much every episode.
No limits to the types of fishing.
Some would be crap, some would be awesome.

Of the current shows, that West Aussie one is probably the best.
I do like the way on All 4 adventure they make one trip into several episodes but way too many ads.


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## yakkin (Feb 25, 2013)

hook, line and sinker for me, it's a good laugh and they make me look like a pro, especially when they catch fish they can't name so they make one up. :lol: 
projects like the beast and such are interesting too I thaught.


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## Brc226 (Jul 31, 2009)

"A River Somewhere" was a fantastic show. entertaining, humorous and you got to see some great country. Another great show was Peter Morse's Wildfish. He covered everything from Tassie to Cape York and there was a great mixture of fly, lure and bait fishing but there was a strong fly focus which was fantastic.

Even Rex Hunt was entertaining at times. He did a great show once on Tiger Fishing in Lake Kariba, on the Zambezi River and also gave the old Vundu a shake in the Kafue River in Zambia. Lets face it, his show is the format that most of the current shows are based on - they just don't do it as well as he did - yibbida yibbida thank you mother for the rabbits.

For me, my perfect fishing show was Wildfish - great show


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

A River Somewhere is by far the best I've seen and even the rest of the family that weren't fussed on fishing liked it. Robsons ok, but can be annoying after awhile, river monsters is a bit drawn out trying to make 1/2 hour of content go for and hour. Sexy Rexy was ok back in the day. Malcolm Douglas was good. Cant watch any of the current Australian shows, bit like you tube vids, watching someone else catch fish is really boring to me, unless there is a story to it or some entertainment.
The worst presenter is Scotty Hillier, you'll never forget his name cause he mentions it 50 times segment :roll:.


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## forbs (May 20, 2008)

I like Mark Bergs "Fishing Addiction - Locals Only" I couldn't stand the guy or the show at one stage but watching him take out a normal guy and get him onto 50kg Giant GT's is well.....addictive. His Local Only series had him going into local tackle stores finding a customer and take him/her fishing in a local estuary mainly for species like Bream, whiting or flathead. I guess i like that show because it is about the type of fishing im into. I also like DVD's like Squidgy secrets, AFC comp fishing or the Tactic series.

Unfortunately for Paul Worsteling 'm not going fishing for snapper in Port Phillip Bay or Whiting fishing in Western Port. I usually watch the beginning of the show see what it's about and then decide if i want to watch. It must be hard for them having to decide between Marlin in Fiji or whiting in Tuross !

I wish they'd bring out some more good DVD's on soft plastics, hardbodies etc.

Does anybody know if they are going to show the "Bass Master" or whatever the main Bass comp is in the USA on TV ? They used to show it on ESPN but i havent seen it for the past couple of years . Even if somebody knows where to buy a dvd from.

Thanks

Glen


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Interesting that lots of people prefer a show about the type of fishing they do.
I'm the opposite, I'd much rather watch a show about a style of fishing I'll probably never try.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2013)

I'll watch anything really. I don't care if the presenter is a knob. I used to really enjoy one from WA that had two blokes who took the piss out of each other. Ultimate fishing show from NZ is pretty good too. I like to watch technique more than just fish coming over the side. I'm not really into bream fishing for example, but there is a segment on one of them with Kaj Busch using prototype blades to catch bream. I think it was on IFish. I really enjoyed that piece. It was informative and you could really see how they marked, then chased the fish. Although I'm partial to a bit of fish porn too, and like to see big fish coming over the side. Makes me jealous...


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Mudcats

Check it out if you haven't already


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## yakkin (Feb 25, 2013)

all that taught me was how to lose a kingy, I guarantee you I don't need any help there, :lol:

seriously though I had never heard of this show before, looks the goods but, thanks for the link I will be checking those out tonight. ;-)


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## imnotoriginal (Jan 13, 2008)

IMO "A River Somewhere" and "Wildfish" were the best tv shows. Minimal if any advertising, hosts that weren't annoying and interesting subject matter, despite the fact that I don't fly fish. None of them tried to make themselves out to be better fishermen than they were.

Of the current crop I enjoy Extreme Fishing the most, simply because of the lack of advertising content and Robson's personality, despite the fact he clearly knows bugger all about fishing. IFish is ok, ET less so. Hook line and sinker spend too much time trying to be funny but they do occasionally succeed.

I do wish the working dog team would make another fishing series but they seem to be fairly quiet lately...

Joel


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Robson is OK, but surely after 3 or 4 years of making fishing shows, he's got to be a better angler than what he makes out?


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Flip Pallots "Walkers Cay Chronicles" was another good one
They can be viewed online at http://hellsbayboatworks.com/media-page ... ronicles-1

Alos sky sports have a show called tight lines whihc has a free video podcast each week
usually boring but occasionally interesting


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## mangajack (Jul 23, 2007)

Lots of naked women actually catching fish.....either landbased or in the kayak.
Species doesn't matter. Fish either.


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## TequilaGod (Oct 28, 2008)

A River Somewhere was always a favourite of mine...


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## shadowrunner (Jan 18, 2013)

Junglefisher said:


> Robson is OK, but surely after 3 or 4 years of making fishing shows, he's got to be a better angler than what he makes out?


he is actually a top fisherman, most of it is put on for ratings. give the man a fly rod and he'll beat 99%of us hands down.

Jeremy Wade of River monsters is also a fkn brilliant fisher (also a marine biologist so he knows what he is doing)


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## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

Must admit to being a fishing show junkie 

Though the only presenter that makes me cringe is Brendon Wing - I couldn't be on the same boat as that guy for very long.
Also, I reckon I'd get pretty sick of hearing "Stop the bus" from Jason Kennedy pretty quickly. 
Adventure bound is a great minimal budget show, Lee Raynor is a great presenter, as was Neil Tedesco (RIP) .

I remember many years ago, Rex Hunt was about the only fishing show on TV and it was on about 11:00 pm. Times have changed.

In Sydney we're a bit spoilt for choice - here's a list of my favourites - setup to see if anything is interesting on.
There's only 1 non fish/fishing related show there, and it actually beats the rest hands down


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

spork said:


> Our local (Tassie) fishing show - "Hook line and sinker", isn't too bad. They can be funny buggers sometimes.


 x2. Those guys are bloody funny. Best of the lot by far.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v7rwacy50cgn ... ube_HQ.mp4

I miss Jose!


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## Bigdyl (Feb 13, 2012)

I just saw a show called 'off the hook' on discovery, it's got some retired wrestler with a beard that he constantly refers to. It's pretty entertaining, he's a knob but its funny. He caught a 100lb bluefin tuna out of a kayak on there on Saturdays show.


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## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

I've been watching this too.

It's like Robson Green but replace the stupid english guy with a ******* wrestler who talks about his beard in the third person.

Awesome show.


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## robsea (Apr 7, 2010)

Great thread! Manage to miss most of these fairly consistently.

1. a river somewhere - mates with a passion for a particular style of fishing in locations that informed the viewer.
2. hook line and sinker - mates about bread and butter fishing. Humour, dry and understated. Informativ I have only sen a couple of eps.
3. The guy from Canberra - liked the 2-3 episodes i have seen. Can identify with the locals but all the eps were St G basin or Jervis Bay based.
3. I Fish - limited tackle junkies delight. Enthusiastic. Loud and entertaining 
4. Kiss the fish guy - outdated but still one of the best and probably did more for sustainable fishing than most but he is a generation ago.
4. Robson - can be excellent but overplays the twit too often. Some episode segments reveal the man rather than the stage persona and they are truely a treat! Location, location, location. Twit (f)actor gives me the shits.
5. River Monsters - boring as. But probably the closest tv show to real fishing in a sense.
6. Is Adam Royter still doing his thing? Use to enjoy it but haven't caught an ep for a year or two. Informative. Bread and butter. Accessable

so The perfect fishinging show:

a. No such thing, but the closest would be all around the continent with segments or eps on fishing in other locations. Fresh, salt estuary,impoundment, estuary, deep sea, beach, rock,fly,rivers, dams creeks.
b. Could be an edited 'best of' all of the above (including a.)with contemporary tackle junkie segments thrown in.
c. There was an old movie with Doris Day and Cary Grant which featured trout i think. Could be confused. Remake it with similar contemporary actors...and i'll watch it.


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## Josh1989 (Jan 29, 2012)

Ifish! Love it


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

patwah said:


> My fave Jose was when he was hooked up to a massive Tarpon and snapped his fly rod, still got the fish in


I liked his line when he was massively bendo, reeling like a madman, backing up on deck, and he says, "I think I got a nibble."
lol

BTW, you get the Esc!


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Inside Sportfishing is a good show, if a little sponsor-heavy.
http://www.976-tuna.com/news.php?item.120301.1


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## feelfree09 (May 5, 2009)

None of the fishing shows really do it for me. These guys are paid a lot of money to catch fish and I reckon I'd catch 99% of the same fish on the same charters.

The ideal show contains- 
4-5 presenters, not all at once but a couple guys fish this week, swap the week after etc. 
kayaking, hiking to bass spots, land based, small boat stuff, occasional marlin/tuna/GT chasing. 
Get the viewers involved, once a month run a competition where a viewer comes for a fish.
Do some basic rigging, advanced rigging, how to- this or that. 
Yak/small vessel mods (not everyone has a huge stabi-craft or similar)
Finally have a show where the presenters say hey- were using x rod, x reel, but you could also use z rod and z reel. No brand whoring!!!!


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

feelfree09 said:


> use z rod and z reel.


Absolutely!


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## damned67 (Jan 29, 2011)

Hook, Line and Sinker is my favourite, by far. I also enjoy Robson Green, but more for the locations than anything else.
IFish makes me want to kick the dog. One massive ad, and the only fishing presenter that annoys me more than Worsteling is Royter.
5-10 years ago Starlo was awesome.... Now he annoys the beejesus out of me. We know he's intelligent, there's no need to bust out the thesaurus for every 3 out of 4 words from his mouth (or pen, for that matter). Oh, and presenters pimping their own products should be banned from the media, unless "Advertisment" is plastered across the image.
Nigel Webster is probably the one that sheets me the least, but his 'let's drop this very light jig head and wait 18 minutes' scheme gets boring after a while.

For me, for entertainment value, double the length of Hook, Line, and Sinker, and maybe have a segment with someone that can fish.

Cheers!


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## GaryD (Apr 7, 2012)

I found Fishing the Dream on Bris 31 over Christmas and I thought it was pretty great. The only exception being the awkward Wilson rods infomercials in the middle. Some good local fishing for me in Brissy here, even the guy from The Tackleshop was on it. You can watch the episodes online here:

http://www.fishingthedream.com.au/categ ... /episodes/


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## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

I'd love to see a fishing show where a Johnny Nobody decides one year to take off on his own in some little old car with a kayak, a bunch of cheap lures and just basic gear to chase barra in places rarely fished in Australia, especially by kayak. He films the adventure which includes his interaction with the land and its creatures then presents it via several documentaries to the interested public.


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## yakkin (Feb 25, 2013)

That would be my new favourite show Murd. ;-) maybe some self made rods and lures aswell, could be some extra episodes in the making of the gear and trip preparation, kayak set up etc.


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

murd said:


> I'd love to see a fishing show where a Johnny Nobody decides one year to take off on his own in some little old car with a kayak, a bunch of cheap lures and just basic gear to chase barra in places rarely fished in Australia, especially by kayak. He films the adventure which includes his interaction with the land and its creatures then presents it via several documentaries to the interested public.


What help do you need? Mate, this community would simply walk on coals to help this happen. And "the interested public" is way bigger than this forum.

Do it, bloke. Just do it.


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## feelfree09 (May 5, 2009)

murd said:


> I'd love to see a fishing show where a Johnny Nobody decides one year to take off on his own in some little old car with a kayak, a bunch of cheap lures and just basic gear to chase barra in places rarely fished in Australia, especially by kayak. He films the adventure which includes his interaction with the land and its creatures then presents it via several documentaries to the interested public.


You've done the trip haven't you Murd? It shouldn't be too hard to get x number of people to put in say $1000-2000 each to cover expenses and each share equally in any profit. The logistics would be terrible though I'd imagine, regarding keeping batteries charged, storing footage to a hard drive etc etc. I'd be more than happy to get on board with something like this


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Give me a few years and I reckon I'd go back as film crew (you wouldn't want to see my face in front of the camera now would you?)


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## eagle4031 (Jan 29, 2010)

You need someone with good fishing, camping and general bush savvy. In addition they would need a sense of humour, reasonable looks, infectious personality and an open mind.
Sorry.....i cannot help :? :?


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## Ubolt (Dec 8, 2009)

A river somewhere was a great show and I find fly fishing a bore. Rex hunt was the original. Ifish is crap one long advertisement and the bloke irritates the hell outta me. Enjoy hook line and sinker and some fishing Australia is ok Adventure bound is great love the variety and lee raynor is a great host explains the tackle and technique really well. Used to enjoy the old Malcolm Douglas doco/fishing. Be great to see an honest Aussie show who just fishes and doesn't constantly promote their sponsor.


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## Drew (Jan 24, 2012)

I quite like Big Fish, Small Boats with Al, Adventure Bound with Lee, iFish, and and I record them on my work laptop, and play it back in the small corner of my monitor all day at work  Definitely makes the day go a bit more pleasantly 

I'm not a huge fan of Brendan on the TV, I did a bit of beach fishing with him years ago and he's a nice bloke - just doesn't have much camera presence for mine...


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