How Often Do You Buy Fishing Magazines?

[Boxer]

There seems to be a trend that I have followed, which is to buy magazines as I took up fishing , then gradually moved away from them. As you fish longer you see the repetition in the magazines and they become of less and less value to you. But perhaps they have served their purpose in feeding me a lot of information quickly at the start.( This aspect may ensure their survival.) While I also buy books on fishing, most beginners won't start by doing this. My experience is that I soaked it all up, learned quite a lot, but am now a lot more independent - and more interested in the information on this forum.
In answer to the question, after a period of buying a magazine or two per year, I have bought the last two editions of FF&FT(the only one I ever buy) purely because I have got back into fly tying and these magazines have sort of fed my enthusiasm. They're also quite relaxing to read on a cold wet night, providing short easily digested articles.
Obviously the magazines have different slants - from FF&FT which fits me best, to Concrete Bowl Scraper or some such, and your view of each will depend on your own outlook. They all however need new flies, new rods, new techniques (are there any) to keep the magazine industry going. They are almost forced to keep inventing stuff.
(As a side issue - if you had always lived deep in London or Birmingham - which mag would you be buying and what would your fishing style be. The mags might be a great mental escape in that situation.)

[Wildfisher]

Concrete Bowl Scraper

:lol:

[lochetive]

I buy magazines because I enjoy reading them. Believe it or not I also actually like the adverts - to see what new products, places, offers, new hotel/fishing there are out there etc. Also if there are more adverts in a publication this generally means there will be more Editorial pages in the mag' - as it's generally the adverts' £ yield that dictates the pagination of the mag. I look at a computer a lot at work and enjoy the coffee table aspect of the mags also – nothing better than a Sunday soak with a mag!

The internet is a great place to get specific information and for interaction - but often with magazines you glean information and come across things, pictures, articles etc that you're not specifically searching for. The internet doesn't often do that.

[willy]

i have boxs' of old editions in my garage pre-internet days which i have never gotten rid of possibly because i believe that i could always re-read them for information on venues that i have yet to visit (never happens as they are too difficult to get at) also i con myself into thinking they may be valuable one day.

i rarely buy any nowadays unless there is a really good article. I do still read them though as i sometimes accompany the wife to tescos to help her with the weekly shop were i spend most of the time at the magazine counter reading said magazines. until i get summond by mobile by the wife. i do feel guilty about this -reading for free that is and buy one now and again.

T&S do the best articles trout fisherman comes across more and more like as a coarse fishing magazine. i have some New Zealand magazines in the past which are the same quality as American ones

[scotfly]

Gave up on buying the comics a while ago, the best thing in them was the adverts... Well at least the advertisers know what they were talking about!
Buy books now.

[Allan Crawford]

I subscribe to T&S and FF&FT, but then I work away from home on an oilrig for more than half the time and internet is not always accessible to me, though better nowadays. Sometimes I also enjoy not looking at a computer screen especially when reading before going to sleep. Great way to turn off for 5 or 10 minutes when working when things are stressful, overall I enjoy them. If I didnt do this job I'm not so sure I would buy them every month, for one I doubt if I could afford to but then I might get to fish more often!

[rubberwellie]

The best fishing magazine I've come across is Chasing Silver.  Great articles, great photos, it's modern, relevant,  informative and interesting for both salmon and trout anglers.  Well worth a read if you haven't read it before.

It's a quarterly publication, which no doubt helps keep the quality of the content high, there's hardly any adverts in it either.

Available in WH Smith or via the iPad app, it's worth every penny.  The app is also very good if you have an iPad.

I stopped reading Trout & Salmon years ago.

[Wildfisher]

That sounds interesting and worth a look

[rubberwellie]

Aye definitely, I don't think you would be disappointed.  It's everything T&S isn't.

[Wildfisher]

I will search it out. I'd rather spend more infrequently on quality  than 3 quid odds each month on trite. A bit like books, they are forever and thus superb value. Out of the regular mags T&S is best imo. The only thing worth reading in FF+FT is Bruce  Sandison's work, again just my opinion.