Fly Fishing Blogs

[The_Sasquatch]

Sorry if this isn't appropriate. I'm not lookin' for advertised, sponsored sites that would take away from this site, just wondering what members have blogs about their fly fishing adventures?

 

[JackM]

Nothing inappropriate, since you asked. The kinds of responses to you, however, should be demure, particularly if people recommend themselves.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I already know about Turkey's blog, and Becker's, and Addicted to Vice, Fiberglass Manifesto, etc., wondering who else might be writing their fly fishing musings.

 

[dubthethorax]

www.dubthethorax.blogspot.com

Also, Gaeron has a nice blog.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Thanks Dub. I'll add your site to my links!

 

[Chaz]

What's a blog?

 

[McSneek]

Squatch - there are a bunch of blogs listed in the Links section of the site. I check several of them out from time to time. There are some nice ones. There are some that haven't had new content added in some time.

 

[Fishidiot]

The appeal to having a hobbyist's blog is understandable.....but not for me (at least at this point in my life).
I do have a website related to FFing and post various material on blogs owned by others......but a traditional blog of my own is too much work and, I fear, wouldn't be seen by hardly anyone.

Moreover, with all that's offered with Paff......why would I want a personal FFing blog anyway?
There's a ready made audience here; I can post pics of flies, tutorials, and fishing reports and enjoy the feedback and camaraderie that comes with it. Why would I want to re-invent the wheel?

 

[dubthethorax]

@MCSneek- That's the problem with blogs. There are many people who think it would be a great idea to start one, get some free stuff, etc, but then they just collect dust after a month or two after the person stops posting. If it's just something that you're keeping as more of a personal journal and you dont care if anyone reads it and are ok with updating it 2x a year, that's fine.

But if you want a reader base, you need to keep up with the content and coming up with new stuff to post about a few times a week can be challenging. They can actually be a lot of work. I do enjoy it though and it's interesting to see what posts generate a lot of traffic and which ones fizzle out. Also, keyword searches that lead people to your blog are hysterical. I got more search engine traffic this month from "Emily Blunt" and "PA Dutch Eggnog" than anything else, just because I mentioned both of them in a post once and apparently both are popular right now.

It takes a really long time to get a solid reader base. I was just chatting with Cameron over at TFM recently about my site turning two years old and when we talked about traffic, he said that his site didnt even start to garner any attention until after his first two years of posting.

The thing I enjoy the most is looking back a few years ago and seeing the types of stuff I was tying then, the fish I was catching, and basically where I was in life, etc etc.

actually, this topic would make a good blog post....

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I hear you. I ran several blogs over the years, mostly theological in nature. It got to the point where they were turning into online rantings, and I hate that, so I would shut them down.

A fly fishing blog, for me, makes sense. Mostly because I have a lot of friends who are interested in my fly fishing outings who DON'T read this site. Plus, I'm trying desperately to keep better track of my outings. Every year I think, "I'm gonna keep a journal", and I write a few pages, and then after the 5th trip or so, I let it die out.

You can get free stuff from blogging!?

 

[hack]

Nice Post, Squatch.

I live on the south side of said lake, and have heard tales of "the Upper Tully", but have yet to try exploring. You have some great pictures there - really nice fish.

Maybe one of these run-ins, we will get a chance to meet and eventually fish together.

Keep up the blog, your writing is spot on. I have added you to my roll and am officially a 'follower'.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Dub, your blog, and TFM are far beyond any ambitions I have for my blog haha! You guys are helpful, full of tips, etc. I'm just tryin' to keep my thoughts straight!

Hack, lets do it. I can show you around a few Berks Co. streams!

 

[csoult]

Fishidiot wrote:
Moreover, with all that's offered with Paff......why would I want a personal FFing blog anyway?
There's a ready made audience here; I can post pics of flies, tutorials, and fishing reports and enjoy the feedback and camaraderie that comes with it. Why would I want to re-invent the wheel?

Because this is a fly fishing site, and sometimes you might want to mix other things in. I blog about craft beer, and or making beer almost every post. I just don't want to be restricted in what I post.

I will not, and have not, signed up for free stuff or money. Two reasons. First I would then feel obligated to post every week or so (my hobbies are just not that interesting). Second, I do it for self gratification, and to share with friends, not for the money, or free stuff. Now with that being said, if some company asked me to blog about their stuff, I would give it a fair evaluation. I am not independently wealthy, and like most people like new stuff.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Heck,
The biggest problem w/ the Upper T is access. So much of it is posted (which, I think helps the population because the number of fishermen is definitely restricted to land owners and those who are "in" w/ the land owners). However, Mike just posted this report about a month ago concerning the stream in Myerstown. May be worth checking out.

Thread Here

 

[csoult]

Plus if you do it here, some claim them hero posts, and although I could care less, I decided some time ago to create the least amount of waves here that I can.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Right on Coty. I agree.

For me, I was surprised how many of my "friends" on FB and the like showed interest in hearing about my fly fishing. I have a lot of friends who are interested, from a distance, in the outdoor lifestyle. I thought if I could make my FFing journal public, maybe I'll draw a few of them into the FFing fam.

 

[Wetfly01]

Sas,

I do a blog on my website, which I started two year and I do my best to put something on there twice a month. Believe me it was one of those things that I thought no one out there would pay attention to, but boy was I wrong. I guess people like reading about other peoples experiences on the water. And Chaz I have to laugh at your question. I had to go look up what a blog was when I was thinking of adding something new to my website Ha Ha. But I have been on some of the guys from PAFF blogs and websites and I enjoy reading about there days out on the water. It's great to see what everyone else is doing out there. It makes me feel like I want to be right there with them. And PLEASE no one take this as an advertisement from me. Just want to share the experience. I agree with Fishidiot there's so much information on this site about outings which makes it one of best sites to come too. And I do post here from time to time about some of my trips. But for me it's plain and simple " It's just fishing" and I think good reading.

 

[ryguyfi]

I tried to blog this year to force me to write down some things about my trips and have an easy way to search for things. I made a few posts, but didn't keep up with it too much. It turned into a pitch for my new company and has gone dark ever since. Maybe I'll start it up for fishing trips again next year, or I might just go old school and keep a journal. I bought a journal a few years ago and I think the only thing I wrote in it was my name.

 

[dubthethorax]

Believe me it was one of those things that I thought no one out there would pay attention to, but boy was I wrong. I guess people like reading

This is true. I was really surprised earlier this year when I posted that I didnt have a good time at the fly fishing show in Somerset. Some guy who was obviously close with the organizers started flaming me in the comments, and my post wasnt even that bad.

If you post enough content, you'll start to get traffic. Comment on other blogs, and you'll wind up on blog rolls which means more traffic. Link in your forum signature, more traffic. Twitter, more traffic. Facebook, Instagram, etc, more traffic. Even if I don't post for a week now, I still see about 150-200 uniques a day. Do a giveaway, and it's easily over a thousand.

Once you get to that point Sasquatch, you can start drumming up some free stuff in exchange for placing a banner on your site linking to them, or making a few posts about whatever free stuff they've given you. I've approached companies and I've had some companies approach me. I've gotten lots of tying materials, flies, clothing, stickers, a net, etc.

There's also google ads/affiliate network and other things like Avantlink. That stuff mostly pays a few bucks a week at most anymore. I used to do ok with Cabelas when they were on Google Affiliates, but they killed the program a few months back.

 

[SBecker]

I really enjoyed writing about my exploits and stuff. More for family and friends that were kinda interested in what I enjoy doing. I never got any free stuff out of it. However, life got in the way and it has been pushed to the side. Gaeron just asked me about my blog at the tying jam. I might do a little blog about life and my year of fishing in the next couple weeks. Just need to find some free time.