Good-by to Fly Fisherman

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rrt

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Though I think editor Ross Purnell is doing a fairly good job with only 64 pages to work with, I have given up my subscription to Fly Fisherman, as I did Gray's Sporting Journal. I am an avid reader, but since these two magazines use photos from the becks, I cannot in good conscience support them. I guess I should not feel badly about it, but I do, esp. FF. I have subscribed to FF for 40 years, and I am going to miss finding it in the mail a half-dozen times a year. I am afraid that I will next have to abandon AA, which has been regularly using beck pics. Thank goodness for FTJ, The Drake, and, hopefully, FR&R, which did include some stuff from the becks once but that I hope was a one-time mistake.
 
Sorry if I'm coming late to the party but I've heard the "Beck's" mentioned several times lately in not so flattering terms. What has caused those feelings?
 
Fox,
Barry and Cathy Beck are fly fishing photographers/writers and have a business association with the Spring Ridge Club (I don't know the details), a high end private fishing club that is unpopular with many members of our board.
 
Thanks for explaining FI
 
I'm pretty much letting all of my subscriptions lapse. After awhile it all starts to repeat.
 
the becks also like to take pictures of of fat pellet fed fish and pass it off as something else

yeah FF is horrific
 
I let them all lapse. Internet for content, fly fishing catalogs and books for the can, and the occasional copy of the Drake before a flight or boring event.

I'm not missing a thing.
 
Just got the april/may issue the other day.
And made it a point to check the captions on every fishing picture.
Nothing from the Becks in this issue.
It had a really nice article on midges - with some fantastic shots of trout in the process of eating them from the surface.
And in the editorial near the front, it is pointed out how these pictures were all taken on public water.
I'm wondering if the've gotten lots of negative feedback about the Becks, and are doing something about it?
 
DFG,
+1 on the pics of trout rising to midges. The article was decent too but the pics were excellent.
 
Maybe they heard about Rich's hunger strike. He fixed them!
 
Don't kid yourselves. The becks' names are still on the magazine's masthead. They'll no doubt be back. As I told editor R. Purnell, if I ever discover that the becks are no longer affiliated with FF and their pics are not being used, I will enthusiastically renew my subscription. But, I'm certainly not counting on it. I'll manage with FTJ, The Drake, and R&R (if it doesn't use any more beck stuff). I imagine my subscription to AA is going down the tubes when it runs out in August, since they use a lot of beck photos. I'll miss AA even more than FF, since AA is presently my favorite (excluding beck pics) of the ff mags I get.
 
rrt wrote:
Though I think editor Ross Purnell is doing a fairly good job with only 64 pages to work with, I have given up my subscription to Fly Fisherman, as I did Gray's Sporting Journal. I am an avid reader, but since these two magazines use photos from the becks, I cannot in good conscience support them. I guess I should not feel badly about it, but I do, esp. FF. I have subscribed to FF for 40 years, and I am going to miss finding it in the mail a half-dozen times a year. I am afraid that I will next have to abandon AA, which has been regularly using beck pics. Thank goodness for FTJ, The Drake, and, hopefully, FR&R, which did include some stuff from the becks once but that I hope was a one-time mistake.

Get over it. What pisses you off about their photographs?
 
Oh, Brad from Potter, please read FishIdiot's post about the becks. No, I won't get over it. The becks are associated with this group that buys privately owned but publicly accessible water and then posts it for the exclusive use of its wealthy members and clients. I believe this is a battle we must fight. If you are a young guy, it is probably more important for the future of your fishing than it is of mine, though I guess in Potter Co. you have all the public water you need. Anyhow, that is what "pisses me off," and, once again, I won't get over it. And, if I hadn't tried to become the kinder, gentler rrt on this board, I might have reacted a little more forcefully to your nasty-tone post.
 
No nasty tone here...just wonder why you are blasting the becks? That's all. Not too young here..56 now. I'm curious...how much water have they been envolved with? I'm not trolling or anything just trying to find out what they did?

P.S. Flyfisherman sucks by the way, as do most publications. Although I do enjoy Gray's!
 
I know the Becks all to well. There's a lot more to why many people don't have much nice to say about them, not just what has been said here... that's all I will say about it.
 
BradFromPotter wrote:
You opened your mouth so let it all out.

Brad,

First, I've known Barry and his first wife Sandy since the early 70's, and I got to know Barry very well... at least as much as I wanted. I don't know Cathy very well, but I have met her a couple of times.

With that said, I won't use any names, I'll use a generalization and let you fill in the blanks...

Some folks are in this sport purely for the money. Some of those same folks are the most arrogant, back-stabbing SOB's you would ever want to meet. If your not a rich "elite" purist, they talk "down" to you... and it's not because they love the sport.

If you are ever in this neck of the woods, stop into Fishing Creek Outfitters. Talk to the current owner, or for that matter, anyone else who is in the store at that time, and see what they think. You'll get a earful. I feel sorry for the current owner, and a couple of the previous owners of that establishment. They really got shafted by "somebody"... all for the love of money... not for the betterment of the sport.

Of course, this is my opinion (and that of many others). Some folks may like people like that. Not me.
 
Now, it's good-by to American Angler, for the same reason. I admittedly miss getting Fly Fisherman, and since I think AA is the best of the ff magazines, I will miss reading it even more. I also saw that FTJ printed a beck photo in its last issue. I hope that does not become a regular thing. Thank goodness for The Drake and FR&R (with one mistake in FR&R a year ago).
 
rrt wrote:
Now, it's good-by to American Angler, for the same reason. I admittedly miss getting Fly Fisherman, and since I think AA is the best of the ff magazines, I will miss reading it even more. I also saw that FTJ printed a beck photo in its last issue. I hope that does not become a regular thing. Thank goodness for The Drake and FR&R (with one mistake in FR&R a year ago).

If you really wanted to make a statement you should boycott all of the advertisers in both mags. Because if you buy anything from the manufactures that advertises in either magazine some of your money is ending up in the Beck's pockets. Just a thought.
 
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