What would everyone like to see in a fishing magazine
There was some really good responses to Adam's post about fishing magazines and I thought I would take it a step further to see just what people would prefer to see in a fishing publication.
a) Would you like to see more detailed reports of fishing activities, ie, where and when the people fished the particular location they are writing about - including their preferred tide and wind conditions. What tackle, bait, lures, knotts etc. they used.
b) Tackle tests - where similar products are reviewed after being tested in proper fishing conditions - not necessarily with the latest equipment from the factory.
c) New product reviews.
d) Helpful hints - where experienced anglers pass on little tips such as what rigs they use for certain fish or conditions, how people store their tackle, how to make a lure, how to maintain a reel,rod or boat, etc.
e) Fishing adventure stories.
If you have other ideas, please add them to the list,
All the best, Colin Hay
Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/
JoRn
Posts: 368
Date Joined: 20/11/07
i keep telling myself not to
i keep telling myself not to buy magazines but i still buy hotbite and fwa reguarly each month.
i purchased the FWA mag for my flight over singapore and had finished reading the magazine before the plane took off.
i would much prefer articles about catching fish metro rather than locations far far away.
The diving photos are awesome tho.
some stuff I would like to see
how to section
rigs
custom rods ( hotbite always have an article about custom rod receipe...i never understood the point)
Boat maintenece eg servicing
etc etc
Proper Tackle reviews!
jay_burgess
Posts: 4648
Date Joined: 18/08/05
"i would much prefer
"i would much prefer articles about catching fish metro rather than locations far far away."
not all of us live metro buddy.
JoRn
Posts: 368
Date Joined: 20/11/07
thats why i said i would
thats why i said i would "prefer"
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
Not all of us live in the Pilbara either
But we sure get to read about it every single month!
Instead of trying to cater for everybody in one magazine which obviously isnt working, why not have more specialised magazines for different areas and target species
Then if people wanted to read about groote island or exmouth they could buy those magazines, metro deep sea fishos could buy mags that catered for that, metro small boats could have a mag aimed at them etc.
And have more designated pages for people to write in with reports, stories, advice, and have less adverts unless the advert is actually teaching you something.
Seems like you buy a mag lately, 60% of pages are advertisements for a quintrex, Platypus fishing line, Mercury etc. Dont they make a profit by selling the actual magazine to the public for $13 a pop that they need to gain that much extra money by jamming it so full of ads?
Goooooone Fishin!
Gooooone Fishin!
Kasey L.
Posts: 1390
Date Joined: 02/03/06
Unfortunately the population
Unfortunately the population in WA, let alone Australia, is too small for most specialised magazines to be economically viable.
Pete D
Posts: 1681
Date Joined: 07/06/07
Mix
You just can't have all metro - all would get bored of that pretty quick. Articles on far away places (with all the "how to" facts) are great for inspring others to make the effort to try something different.
Flangies said in the other thread..can't afford to travel to those places.....well file those stories away...or stick it on the wall...and if you really do want to do that 'special' trip, then someday you will be able to.
Wants;
Quality pics are a must.
Cheers Pete
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18340
Date Joined: 11/03/08
one thing i would like to
one thing i would like to see more of is more detailed descriptions of rigs that are explained in more basic easy to understand format for those that arent up to date with a lot of the knots they talk about
second thing is a few more stories that dont drag out too long as some of them can get a bit manotanous , with less adds or just smaller ads to fit more stories in them
RUSS & SANDY
"A family that fishes together stays together"
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
wadetolley
Posts: 2258
Date Joined: 27/06/08
Few more
I would like to see about 10 pages in a magazine, dedicated for fishos to write in with there reports and a photo.
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JoRn
Posts: 368
Date Joined: 20/11/07
my bad, i just re-read my
my bad, i just re-read my sentence
what i meant to say is prefer *more not all..
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
i would much prefer articles
i would much prefer articles about catching fish metro rather than locations far far away
There is a big market for anglers in the dream of far away especially the ones that have been buying magazines for sometime who have read a lot of whats overlapped such as how tos etc.
For some a long lost dream read becomes a reality later in life on some isolated Atol or Northern Island.
Instead of trying to cater for everybody in one magazine which obviously isnt working, why not have more specialised magazines for different areas and target species
There is markets where particular magazines dont venture depending on the expected proportion of readers.
Unfortunately the "WA" market isnt big enough to have a particular focus especially in the past. Its a great recipe for doing a quick circle of the amount of articles you can do then in a couple of years the magazine starts to sound like a broken record.
Anyone wishing to start a magazine on jigging for the WA market is welcome.
Unfortunately magazines cant afford to target me or you alone. They have to cater for everyone as a WA based media because if the income isnt available then theres no money to buy fishing gear.
The same goes with tackleshops. Very few feel sorry for you when your crying in your beer about how much money you lost especially the ones screaming about your over priced gear but hadnt heeded the value of your service and advice which wasnt available down the road.
The realities of commercial WA media feasibility are not fantasy they are very real. They dont come with how tos either.
The tackle industry is evolving. Its a tough market more than it ever has been.
Business is not a charity in the banks eyes thats why theyre quick to take your assets. Theres probably a magazine market in that alone.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
Yep, I couldnt agree with me more!
"Unfortunately the "WA" market isnt big enough to have a particular focus"
Ok where can I start.....
There are now a considerable number of WA based fishing magazines, lets throw this idea around-
Magazine 1- Top end fishing, yes believe it or not they do catch barra and GTs in other states and territories than WA, they could aim it at WA but sell it nationally, they already do this with mags pointed at the eastern states sellng them here, and god knows how many times i have read of catching snapper in port phillip bay victoria. Guess what, the dreamers in metro who want to save up there pennies for a once in a lifetime trip to the north to fish these species can still buy a copy of this magazine if they choose.
Magazine 2- Deepsea, bluewater fishing, I have heard of people catchig marlin, tuna etc in other states than WA, but yes again you could also aim it directly at WA if you chose but sell it nationally, but guess what - the dreamers in Karratha who save all their pennies for a once in a lifetime trip to go samsonfish jigging out of Perth can buy a copy of this magazine too.
Magazine 3- Small boat / land based, lets say boat range of 5 miles and land based sea water fisherman, yes they do cach snapper, whiting, tomies (herring), flathead, etc in other staes than WA so again you could aim it local and sell it Aus wide. And the bluewater deepsea fisherman who felt like gettig a little bit wild and let their hair down could actually buy a copy of this magazine of they chose too....are you getting the concept yet saltatrix?
Magazine 4- Freshwater, river fishing. you guessed it , they do catch bream in other states than WA so the same applies, aim it at WA sell it nationally.
Now you will probably argue next that why would people in eastern states buy magazines aimed in the west? Well for all the dreamers out there over east who are saving all their pennies for their once in a lifetime trip to WA to catch a dhu fish. or they might just be able to realise that tips and techniques used in WA to catch a flathead might even work for them too.
Next you argue they would run out of things to write about too quickly if they focused on a particular field. to me they have already done this trying to cover all fields in one magazine now. Possibly sell the magazine 2 monthly instead of monthly.
Then the money concept, they jam these magazines so full of ads im sure they are making a profit on the mag before it even hits the newsagents racks. And I personally wouldnt care if it was a flashy glossy magazine, it could be a budget basic format magazine with good quality articles and information.
Goooooone Fishin!
Gooooone Fishin!
callum
Posts: 417
Date Joined: 29/10/08
good idea
great idea colin.
i am quite new to fishing and i am still learnign alot of things.
i would like to see more product reviews of tackle that isn't overly expensive and that an everday angler would use.
i would also love to have more helpful hints to encourage people to broaden their fishing knowledge. it would also benefit alot of new anglers.
as for the stories. i would like to see more of them aswell as these make for great reading.
my 10 cents worth.
i'd rather be fishing
happy fishing
Shorty
Posts: 1549
Date Joined: 10/05/08
If a magazine has kayak
If a magazine has kayak fishing in it i will buy it ,,
Colin 3 > long standing and highly respect member of the prestigous Colin's club.
Eldwin
Posts: 72
Date Joined: 01/01/09
I was a constant reader of
I was a constant reader of FWA for like 3 years or so until I got bored. What I noticed is that the reports/ arctiles repeat themselves after a year or so. Every season, bream, tailor etc. I know this is unavoidable due to the limited species of fish in Perth Metro area, then again I'm also not sure what else there should be. Probably some other form of fishing say kayak fishing like what Shorty mentioned or other more interesting things.
bibs
Posts: 252
Date Joined: 20/07/06
false advertising
i would like to see whats on the cover actually inside the magazine,have bought a few mags just because there was a nice fish on the cover i wanted to read about only to find no article inside about said fish
scottnofish
Posts: 1621
Date Joined: 28/08/07
i would like to see
more product reveiws/comparisons of rods ,reels etc
and more letters /articles / fishing reports from loacl fisher people from various locations in WA not just one persons prediction of what u might catch
Sex is Great, But Fishing Lasts All Day!
uncle
Posts: 9670
Date Joined: 10/02/07
like to see
More guest writers,not the same old pampered editors favourites
stopped buying mags years ago,theres enough on here to keep me happy
Fast fish rule!
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
schecky
Posts: 1645
Date Joined: 25/08/08
definitely more tackle
definitely more tackle reviews
but yeah dont buy them often because i usually get what i need from here
formerly fishoreub
Bluetonic
Posts: 1147
Date Joined: 09/01/08
Buy Hot Bite occasionally
Buy Hot Bite occasionally and turn to the back pages to see where the fish are biting, but like alot of other members I seldom buy fishing Mags these days. Would rather log onto this site.
How about a weekly "where they are Biting" segment on the site? Where everyone can contribrute? could be broken down into areas?
Blue Sky! Blue Water! BLUETONIC
Blue Sky, Blue Water, Bluetonic!
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
are you getting the concept
are you getting the concept yet saltatrix?
Hi Kane
There has been only not long ago a fly fishing Magazine cease distribution.
Magazine 1- Top end fishing, yes believe it or not they do catch barra and GTs in other states and territories than WA, they could aim it at WA but sell it nationally
This would be competing with NAFA. There is already a national base competing into the WA market. There is as Collin would say a plethora of magazines that do this in the east.
Magazine 2- Deepsea, bluewater fishing, I have heard of people catchig marlin, tuna etc in other states than WA, but yes again you could also aim it directly at WA if you chose but sell it nationally
To some degree fishing wild does this crossed over with Bluewater fishing etc.
Magazine 4- Freshwater, river fishing. you guessed it , they do catch bream in other states than WA so the same applies, aim it at WA sell it nationally.
WAFM already do this to some degree with inclusive tournament results etc.
Its a very interesting formula balance then to go into the field of specialisation.
We dont even see half the magazines produced in the eastern states.
Kane if you feel like starting up any of these mags you go for it. Dont forget the eastern staters will want local content too.
Theres more magazines than people think. Theres also the internet.
A good tackleshop will put you onto how to catch a herring, tailor whiting.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
HAHA i wont be starting any magazines dude
Im an oil rig mechanic, not a writer, thanks anyway though.
Going off the threads lately it seems alot of people arent happy with the magazines available as they say including myself they arent buying them, does that mean WAFM and the other mags you quoted are doing it right? Or does it mean they could consider changing things?
Considering I dont even buy the things anymore Im not interested enough to keep this debate going so we are gonna have to agree to disagree on this one, thats fo sho!
Goooone Fishin!
Gooooone Fishin!
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
Sure Kane
Sure Kane
I agree, theres plenty of people with the same thinking like you. At the end of the day someone has to put the thousands of dollars on the table for the start up.
Its questioning whether there will be enough sales to pay the writers and make some money.
An increase in adverts within mags is the result of lower sales volume, price and a shed load more mags on the market taking market share.
Combine that with a fishing internet site starting every second.
Its not about us its about everybody because they buy the magazines.
WA based Fishing magazines are not the money spinner people think they are.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
Colin Hay
Posts: 10407
Date Joined: 23/10/07
It depends on the product and the market
My company has launched 3 new magazines due to market demand in the last 6 months.
(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)
Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/
mako magic
Posts: 5785
Date Joined: 03/08/05
a how to on land base skippy
a how to on land base skippy from the skippy expert, colin hay
The Tackle shack, for all your fishing needs
huge range of stock to suit any fisherperson.
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Colin Hay
Posts: 10407
Date Joined: 23/10/07
Lol, I might have lost my skippy mojo Matt
I haven't caught one for a awhile (well not since I went fishing for snapper and dhuies with the Faulkners and somehow caught a skippy).
(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)
Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/
mako magic
Posts: 5785
Date Joined: 03/08/05
see u always get that
see u always get that skippy colin, but do agree with others i think more how too's and even a decent readers fish brag section where they can send pics in and say how they caught it, bit like how they have a readers car section where guys send car pics in and brag about them in the back of car mags
The Tackle shack, for all your fishing needs
huge range of stock to suit any fisherperson.
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harro
Posts: 1959
Date Joined: 07/02/08
bikini babes
babes fishing..lol
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