Jobs that probably don't suck...Trout TV Hostess

Wherein we realize that we have some pretty talented and cool friends in the fly fishing industry... More info soon about FlyfishMagazine contributor, Hilary Hutcheson's latest media project.

VS back on Direct TV

VERSUS Field & Live Sports Return to DIRECTV:
DIRECTV and VERSUS Reach Carriage Agreement

El Segundo, CA, and Philadelphia - DIRECTV and Comcast have reached an agreement to return VERSUS to the DIRECTV programming lineup today. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.VERSUS will return to the same DIRECTV programming packages it was in at the end of August 2009.

"We are pleased that both sides were able to work out a satisfactory deal to bring this programming back to our customers," said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV."We're excited that we were able to come to a fair agreement that puts VERSUS back in millions of homes with DIRECTV in time for our busy spring programming schedule," said Jamie Davis, president of VERSUS. "We look forward to super-serving these fans with NHL regular-season and playoff coverage, our first live UFC event and much more."

Fly Fishing Quote Of The Week

This week's quote comes from a Robert Streeter / Timesunion.com article about the yearly onslaught of gear catalogs.

"I was scanning through the pages of a 2010 fly-fishing catalog when I realized that there really are not a whole lot of things that leapt off of the page and grabbed me by the wallet. There were some innovative new items, but the question that kept coming to mind was how much of this stuff is a really great improvement, and how much is pure hype?"

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=899551&category=STREETER#ixzz0fHuiV0UR

Piscatorial Carpet Baggers Welcome

Jason Puris of TheFin.com fame dropped us a note about an article in his local paper.

New York Times reporter, Christopher Percy Collier spent some time fishing in the Old North State and even visited a few of our friends then gave up all the details in print.

As trout fishing destinations go, western North Carolina has long remained relatively unknown on a national level — and some contend this has been by design. “Locals used to be pretty tight-lipped about how good the fishing is,” said Kevin Howell, a guide and the owner of Davidson River Outfitters and a third-generation fly-tier.

He even managed to spill the beans about the National Park that we share with Tennessee. and Jackson County's Fly Fishing Trail. The article is well written and might remind you local boys and girls of a few places we probably take for granted.

***Update**** Don't follow the maps in the article. Fly fishing legend Hugh Koontz discovered that doing so might just lead you astray by 2500 miles. From his blog post on the subject:

My guess is that some copy editor daydreamed his way through the story, misnamed the fish and put the deceptive inset map with the article.Being a copy editor, I am not going to come down hard on the Times for those slips.It may not have been a slip. I’m thinking in the back of my mind, it was a trick, and that copy editor is probably casting dry flies now near my cabin.

Put & Take Friday: Quote of the Week

From CapeCodToday.com comes this Friday's Put & Take Quote of the Week:

"Smoked trout taste like salmon, and, best of all, the fish are free! That is, unless you are factoring in the cost of a freshwater fishing license, which helps to support the 'farming' of the gorgeous, pink-fleshed fish the hatcheries stock our ponds with. And unless you add up the costs of rods and reels and tackle and waders and aerators and jars of Power Bait and hours of watching bobbers or flipping spoons and more hours of gutting and brining and smoking... oh, and, of course, the smoker. And splitting and curing maple and apple and even cedar."

Everything I know about selling I learned from fly fishing

Mark Stevens of Entrepreneur.com about sales lessons learned from his fly fishing father.

Be yourself. Even if you smell like fish

I couldn't imagine how we could visit the CEO of a company in fishy clothes, but I had no choice but to trust my father. And sure enough, when we arrived at the client, a Patrician organization with early American antiques and grandfather clocks ticking away, I thought for sure the man in charge would be appalled by our attire.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around my dad and hugged him, shook my hand vigorously and invited us into his office as if we were royalty.

NC Magazine Cuts Staff

Even North Carolina Magazines are feeling the effects of the slow economic times. The Raleigh News and Observer reports that North Carolina Sportsman Magazine is cutting back.

"It's the turn in the economy," said Ty Conti, publisher of the magazine. "The magazine is selling less advertising, just like any other publication. We're just reducing our force right now."

"Boat dealers, which are our staple, if they're not selling boats, they're not buying ads," Conti said.

Check out the current issue North Carolina Sportsman here.