Salmonfly.Net Reviews - Issue 3

Editor's Note

If you have not yet had the chance to see a copy of Brian O'Keefe and Todd Moen's Catch Magazine, you simply do not know what you are missing. It is said that a picture captures a thousand words, which is the reason, perhaps  that after experiencing Catch Magazine, you are left speechless. It takes you to locations all around the world where you will experience the virtual thrill of fly fishing in beautiful color photographs, slide shows and videos. It will carry you away from your living room, on a  wistful journey to places where the landscape is stunning, and the fishing bountiful, capturing it all for the viewer with exceptional photography and film. And it is exceptional! Believe me when I tell you that it will cause you to long to be in the places that they have captured, fighting the mighty battle with rod and reel or just enjoying the incredible beauty of the surroundings. It is no wonder that the magazine has already garnered a huge readership all over the world.

It is hard to believe that this fabulous ezine is free and that you will find it one click away, but it is and you can.  I was so thrilled with Catch Magazine, I asked Brian O'Keefe if he would write a short introduction about its history for the readers of Salmonfly.Net. Here then, is what he had to say. SPB

 Catch Magazine, Past, Present and Future - Brian O'Keefe

Todd Moen and I were both semi-unemployed back in the summer of 2008. I had just phased out a 25 year career as a fly tackle rep and Todd was moving on from shooting fly fishing video on ESPN. We created a couple prototype e-magazines/mag-alogs/maga-sites/maga-blogs and finally we did what we really wanted to do and that was to create a high tech e-magazine that was dedicated to the best fly fishing photography and video in the world. 

Todd has incredible experience and skills with a video camera, before, during and after capture. His ability to make Catch Magazine function is no small fete, either. Our Premier Issue came out in Sept of 2008, and now we have subscribers/readers/viewers in 114 countries and in over 6,000 cities. Our page views for the current July issue could top two million. Our duration on site is an impressive 15 minutes, worldwide. Over 40% of our readers are from outside North America. Italy is our #2 country, it just passed Canada, and Sweden, England, France, South Africa, NZ, Chile, Japan, the Netherlands and Argentina are all strong.  

We really work hard to maintain a high level of quality and our contributors are to be congratulated. Many people ask us if we can keep Catch Magazine at this level and we say yes. In fact we have video and essays booked well into 2010 and new photographers are showing us their stuff almost everyday.

Digital photography, websites, blogs and photo-sharing is a huge part of life and a huge part of fly fishing. Thanks to the Internet we can take advantage of all the new and impressive talent that is evolving as we speak. Ten years ago, the family of published fly fishing photographers was quite small and a hard community to break into. Magazines were using the same people and to the trained eye, many readers could identify a photographer’s work without looking at the photo credit. Today, guides, fly shop staff, and week-end warriors can all be on the cutting edge of fly fishing photography. 

In just one year, Todd and I have met the best people, new artists and old, and as a gallery styled magazine, we hope people will appreciate the work and dedication that goes into taking great fly fishing photos and video. On our end, we will continue to design a dynamic, entertaining and artistic magazine that conveys a simple message: We respect the sport of fly fishing and want to appeal to fly anglers of both genders, all ages and experience.

Fly fishing is global. From Croatia to Iceland, from Portugal to Dubai, there are millions of enthusiastic, like minded people who appreciate the same qualities in the sport and we hope Catch Magazine gives them a place to come together, like a local coffee shop, where we all can view and share incredible fly fishing images and experiences.

Brian O'Keefe

You will find the current issue of Catch Magazine at http://www.catchmagazine.net/