In the past five years there have been seemingly hundreds of attempts to create on-line fishing magazines. Most of them fail quickly and rather spectacularly (even some very well funded ones) in large part because they forget the cardinal rule of publishing: it's all about the content. No matter how slick or glossy, if the content is substandard the magazine will fail.
Which is why Catch Magazine is such a delight. Founded a little over a year ago, it has grown into a beautiful and interesting magazine featuring some stunning photography. Their own mission statement declares that they:
are searching the world for the best fly fishing photography, film and video. We hope the layout, content and navigation meet and exceed your expectations. While we may not have long articles on fly tying or casting, we will show, via dynamic and creative photography, the beautiful and exciting sport of fly fishing and expose the places, the people, the culture and the soul of this world wide activity.
In this, they have largely succeeded. A closer look at Catch Magazine Issue #9 includes a video by Todd Moen, a slide show on Mexican Bass by Brian O'Keefe, photo essays like Brad Harris' "Tasmania: Under Down Under" and other beautiful pieces.
Catch Magazine promises a lot, and amazingly enough in an age when very few on-line sites come through with even a portion of their promises, it delivers. It's a wonderful e-magazine and I wish it continued success, so it can stand as a model for how to do these kind of things correctly.
You can access Catch Magazine by Clicking Here. For the magazine's blog and a list of back issues, Click Here.
-- Dr. Todd
