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Inside Sportfishing featured in April 12, 2005 issue of The Orange County Register. Fishing The Airwaves - Anglers enjoy a plethora of TV fishing shows, including five produced locally.
By Dave Strege
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Michael Fowlkes of Laguna Beach keeps busy in his home studio in Laguna Beach. Fowlkes is host, director, producer and editor of ‘Inside Sportfishing.’ It takes Fowlkes, a former OCC filmmaking teacher, about 40 hours of editing per half-hour episode.
YGNACIO NANETTI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Turn on the TV and chances are pretty good just about any time of day you'll find somebody with a rod and reel in hand trying to catch fish.
TV fishing shows have taken over the airwaves.
There are an estimated 44 million fishermen in the U.S., and many are tuning into Fox Sports Net, The Outdoor Channel, Outdoor Life Network, The Sportsman Channel, ESPN and ESPN2 to find their favorite fishing show.
Some anglers recall what might have been the first TV fishing show, called "Fishing Flashes," based at the old Pierpoint Landing in the early 1950s and '60s.
Others might remember "The Fishin' Hole" with Jerry McKinnis, another show that predates cable TV. That show started in 1963, and it's still on the air.
Today, thanks to the advent of cable, countless TV fishing shows are available, with five produced in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
"Inside Sportfishing" with Michael Fowlkes of Laguna Beach, began in 1989. "Sport Fishing with Dan Hernandez" hit the air in 1990; Hernandez is from Lakewood. Ronnie Kovach's "Fishing Ventures," with Kovach of Huntington Beach, debuted in 1995, starting as a fill-in show on ESPN during the NHL lockout.
This year, "Catch It" with Philip Friedman of Torrance and "World Class Sportfishing" with Bill Boyce of Arcadia joined the local lineup.
Fowlkes, a former sportfishing skipper who once taught filmmaking at Orange Coast College, cites the popularity of fishing and the fact that fishing shows sell products as reasons for the rise in numbers.
"I think the advertisers realize the demographics of fishermen cover the entire spectrum and are almost identical to a NASCAR audience, at a fraction of the cost of NASCAR," Fowlkes said.
There are enough shows to fill the 24-hour Sportsman Channel, and enough anglers to watch them.
"I'm not surprised at the success of the amount of fishing shows available, because I know there is an audience for it," said Jim Seeley, director of programming of The Sportsman Channel.
The Sportsman Channel, in limited but growing distribution, began offering fishing and hunting 24 hours a day two years ago.
If that's not enough, The Outdoor Channel, which has a variety of outdoor programming, is set to debut a second channel, The Outdoor Channel 2 HD. All its shows will be broadcast in high definition.
"The HD is the future, you can take that to the bank," said Jake Hartwick, executive vice president of The Outdoor Channel. "It's so lifelike, you can see every glint and scale on the fish. It's amazing, the detail."
"World Class Sportfishing" on The Outdoors Channel began with HD. Fowlkes said he hopes to be filming in HD by July.
Seeley says HD will "give you a sense of being there," more than the standard-definition provides.
Which means one thing to the serious fan of TV fishing shows: It might be time to purchase an HD television.
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