What's your favorite fishing show? Mine is Larry Dahlberg's Hunt for Big Fish.

He goes to remote locations, catches huge fish, and most importantly, he keeps the marketing hype to a minimum.

"The Sportsman's Journal" with Butch Furtman out of Duluth.

"In Depth Outdoors"

Sometimes Midwest Outdoors.

They all fish a lot in areas I can actually get too. Northern MN, ONtario, and even the Metro. Sometimes Midwest shows a day trip fishing into Quetico. They did a good one with Anderson's Outfitters a while back.

T

in depth outdoors is a great show. James is an awesome guy who is alot of fun to be around and fish with. Plus they are always very informative and specific on their shows.

Not this guy-

Loud-mouthed (b)ass

quote timatkn: ""The Sportsman's Journal" with Butch Furtman out of Duluth.


"In Depth Outdoors"


Sometimes Midwest Outdoors.


They all fish a lot in areas I can actually get too. Northern MN, ONtario, and even the Metro. Sometimes Midwest shows a day trip fishing into Quetico. They did a good one with Anderson's Outfitters a while back.


T"

I forgot about Butch, I grew up watching him. He's Michael Furtman's older brother.

I like them all! Just talk fishin & show me some pictures!

Wisconsin Woods & Waters, with host John Gillespie. The guy is super charged and hellarious.
In-Fisherman with the Lindners is always very educational and cutting edge.

What silverback said.

Al Lindner's Angling Edge.

Al Lindners angling edge. Al is in my opinion, one of the greatest fisherman thats ever lived, I respect him so much because hes a multispecies fisherman and he really knows what hes talking about. Him and the In fisherman show helped me get much more knowledgeable about fishing . Roland Martin , Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, and Virgil ward were all right up there also !

quote silverback: "Wisconsin Woods & Waters, with host John Gillespie. The guy is super charged and hellarious.
In-Fisherman with the Lindners is always very educational and cutting edge."

Oh buddy, Oh pal, that's a big one, grab the Frabil, and let's grill some Johnsonville Brats!

He is a marketing genius--I've only seen the show a few times and look how easily I can spit out some sponsors and catch phrases. Not knocking his show, they all gotta do it----just complimenting his work. If your gonna have sponsors might as well do a good job for them.

T

quote gbusk: "

I forgot about Butch, I grew up watching him. He's Michael Furtman's older brother."

Thanks for the info, I always wondered if they were related. Isn't there another Furtman that runs a fly in camp in Canada?

Think that family likes the outdoors?

T

quote silverback: "Wisconsin Woods & Waters, with host John Gillespie. The guy is super charged and hellarious.
In-Fisherman with the Lindners is always very educational and cutting edge."

the advertising is a bit over-the-top but i enjoy the show because it is current fishing, and somewhat local

When I was a kid (1960's) the only fishing show I knew about was the Harold Ensley show. I think he was kinda local to the Midwest out of the Kansas City area. He actually had a show into the mid to late 90's and passed away a few years ago. He went all over the world but his best shows were ultra lite fishing 4-6lb.line for Lakers at some far away Canadian fly in camps. He made local shows at lakes in the Midwest. I met him several times and he was tied in with Wal-Mart for years and would go in to a store take a cooler full of crappies and teach/show people how to fillet fish and of course sell his fillet knives and fishing rods.

I also love to watch Al Lindner and In Fisherman. I have learned a lot from this show.

Back in the 60s in Chicago, I tried to never miss Gadabout Gaddis. Someone else mentioned Virgil Ward who I also loved to watch, also Jerry McGinnis and his 8mm birthday party movie camera.

SE

In-Fisherman and Al Lindner shows but the my new show is "City Limits Fishing" w/Mike Iaconelli.This guy is the ADHD poster child.I wouldn't want him in the B-Dub though,you could hear him from miles away when he catches a fish.

Wisconsin's Woods and Water!!! I don't ever fish in Wisconsin but i just love John's enthusiasm.

From time to time we've brought a video camera on a trip, and the videos are fun to watch. I guess that would be my favorite fishing show.

The other ones don't do much for me. It's not me having all the fun.

Always been a big fan of Al Linder and company. Have shows on tape from the early 80's when the series would air 4 weeks in row early in the year.

John Gillespie is ok, I like it because it's current.

Dave

I'm surprised nobody said the Fishin' Hole with Jerry McKinnis. Maybe because it doesn't run anymore and Jerry basically retired the show. He is one of the main reasons why I went back to Quetico after my first trip. He has done a lot of good shows up in the Quetico over the years.

If I had to choose a current one it would be Linder's Angling Edge.

No one has mentioned Babe Winkleman either. His shows are based mostly in MN and Canada.

Oh yeah the Babe, like him to.

What ever happened to Babe's first wife Charlie?

I've heard different stories that they were divorced and others that she died from cancer?

Dave

Babe who? :)

Another vote for Babe here.

I enjoy just about any hunting/fishing show but I really like Kent Hrbek Outdoors. Every other show out there is pushing products....to the point that it really isn't a show anymore...just an infomercial. KHO has some of the best local guests and it's not about sticking a bunch of fish, dropping a bunch of birds, or the big buck. It's two average guys b'sing life while in the woods or on the water....which is why I really enjoy it.

MagicStik

I agree Magicstik

I agree Magicstik

I heard Kent Hrbek Outdoors is coming to an end. They are only going to air shows that have been previously taped. If it is true that is too bad because it was a great show.

I have to admit that if I am home on a Sunday AM I will turn on Wisconsin Waters and Woods - not because I like John G. , but because it is a locally produced and for the most part , locally filmed show. Plus it is normally filmed the same week it is aired. I usually only watch it for 5 minutes because Johnny is so annyoing. My wife asked me if my friends hug me while I fish and I told her - " Only once !"
I did fish with a guide he uses and asked him what it was like to fish with John. He said he is a pretty normal guy until the camera gets turned on. Then it gets ugly.

Got to give some pump for Bill Dance he is just goofy enough to make you laugh. How many times has Bill fallen out of the boat or tripped and fell into a lake? Countless.
Does anyone remember the fella from Pierre S.D. who had a fishing show in the 80's. He was dry as toast but there was something about his show that made you watch it. I met that fella when fishing the Missouri river in Pierre and for the life of me I can not remember his name.

Was it Tony Dean ? He passed away a few years ago.

I used to like to watch fishing shows years ago, but I just can't do it anymore. To me it's kind of like porn. Getting off on someone else's jollies. Just my take on it.

Yes, the gentleman from Pierre, SD was the late great, Tony Dean. He passed in October of 2008. Go to www.tonydean.com

A great loss to all sportsmen and women, especially those who love fishing and hunting in the Dakotas. His friends are raising money to establish "Tony Dean Acres" which will be a public fishing and hunting area. Public access to hunting was an important issue to Tony.

To me, what made his show great was that he devoted much his his time to covering contemporary conservation issues, like the loss of CRP acres to ethanol production and how that would impact pintail and pheasant production. He also covered how the Army Corp would manage the Missouri River Reservoir water levels to support river barge traffic rather than to support fish and wildlife reproduction.

Some of his shows turned off sponsors. His views cost him money. Most of the current shows are not much more than infomercials.

He was one for the ages. RIP Tony!

I really liked Tony Dean. He made no apologies for being a hunter, an angler, and an ardent conservationist. Even when his philosophy didn't jibe with the NRA's. When I was a youth, working at an ice rink, I have very pleasant memories of coming home on Saturday evenings to warm soup, bread, and Dad's mead, to watch Tony Dean's show. Bless the man for all of his good works.

I had no idea he passed, thanx for the info. I have fond memories of watching his show.

Anything with the Lindners
Virgil Ward
Jerry McKinniss (sp?)
Tony Dean

As one could figure from my list I don't watch a lot of TV fishing anymore.

I liked Tony Dean too. He was in the process of retiring and passing the show along to Jason Mitchell when he died of appendicitis complications.

He was a straight shooter. Wasn't afraid to criticize or work with politicians on both sides of the aisle to lobby for better habitat. Didn't matter to him if it might hurt his shows or not---I can totally respect that.

On his show he just seemed like a guy who got along with everyone and was genuinely nice. He did way more than produce fishing shows--he worked hard on creating more opportunities for people who like the outdoors.

Here is a direct link. Tony Dean

T

Midwestoutdoors,Babe Winkleman,the Lindners,Tony Dean may he rest in peace,and I agree with Gutmon,that guy on woods and waters is annoying

Favorite? Tough Choice. I am for The Hunt for Monster Fish, but also enjoy all your picks. FYI go to tonydean.com to learn more about his past. He was a great guy. I also truly enjoy Hank Parker and saltwater fishing like Spanish Fly. Mainly because it gave me a chance to dream watching this of getting to go there someday.
SunCatcher

(whistling intro)
From the lakes of Northern Canada
to the Gulf of Mexico
wherever fish are bitin'
that's where we're gonna go
da da da da da da da
worlds to be explored
fishing in the great outdoor
World of Virgil Ward.
Remember that song? If you do, help me out with the "da da" part.

There's a lot of exciting country
Waiting to be explored?

I enjoyed the way and I think it was Jerry McKinness, closed his show. It was something like, "Dedicated to Dad, he always had time to take me fishing." Is that right?

That's about the best thing you could say about a dad or grandpa. That goes for mom and grandma as well.

WI waters and woods.
Lindners Anglers Edge
Larry Dahlberg's hunt for big fish

It depends on what I want out of the show.

For pictures of big fish, just about any will do.
I think the Lindners are great and their tactics are applicable to the upper Midwest where I do my fishing. Gotta love that accent, too!
As much as I find Bill Dance enjoyable, I don't know that I'm going to be routinely fishing for giant largemouth in Southern waters with an average water temp upwards of 80.
Like some other posters, sometimes I find the commercial bias of some shows a little too much.

What I'd really like to see (and what will never happen) would be "The Common Man's Fishing Show" -- Couple of haggard dudes in a beat up, duct-tape-and-bubblegum-patched Alumacraft going old school and fishin' with Zebcos (ok, I'd also allow the Mitchell 300) mated to Lamiglas rods and haulin' in the big ones. No side scan, no GPS, no Vexilar... you get the idea.

People who can fish and be successul like that know how to fish. And if they get skunked, it's still been a great day shootin' the breeze and solving the world's problems...

Dmr That is some funny stuff, The common man fishing show. They would be chewing redman, drinking blatz, buttcracks would be in play every time they bent over to get the fish, and you know somehwere during the dialogue there would be a ( sumbich ) thrown in there for effect .

I didn't see a mention of a show called "Fish On", that used to be on ESPN a few years ago. Basically, it was a couple of beautiful women fishing in bikinis! The only time I saw it was early morning the day after Thanksgiving. My brother I were going to bass Pro Shop and he had the TV on while waiting for me. He saw what was on the TV, looked at me and said: "This is the greatest show ever!"

Living in the south, ever Saturday at 9am keeps me connected to my childhood love of Minnesota fishing courtesy of Al Lindner's Angling Edge. I can't wait for the end of May!

I'll have to go with Al Lindner's Angling Edge. So informative and they never show people sitting around a table talking, everything's on the water. I save back copies of the show to watch them later.