reviews

Fishing Online

By Scott Richmond

Fishing Online: 1,000 Best Web Sites, by Craig Buddo. Published by Stroeger Publishing. 400 pages in a 6 x 9 inch format. $22.95 retail. May be purchased online from the publisher, at amazon.com., and from other online sources (google the title and author).

ix years ago, when I was starting Westfly, I looked at every fly fishing site on the internet. What a grim and depressing task! There were sites that had not been updated for years, sites that were monuments to someone's ego, sites with wildly inaccurate information, sites that were impossible to navigate, sites claiming to be the "ultimate" (and with such puny realizations of that grandiloquent assertion that it could make you laugh, if you weren't weeping), and occasionally--very occasionally--a site that was actually useful.

So my hat's off to Craig Buddo for entangling himself in the web as he did the research for Fishing Online: 1000 Best Web Sites. For every site that made it into this book, there were probably 20-30 depressingly inadequate ones that were discarded. I grow weary just thinking of it.

And once the chaff had been blown off, the good sites needed to be organized, which is another daunting, yet well-done, task. Buddo starts with an overview of how to find fishing information online, then launches into a state-by-state rundown of fishing sites. After that he lists "know before you go" sites, such as weather, tides, camping, etc. Then there's a chapter on interest-specific sites, such as bass, ice fishing, and fly fishing (where you'll find Westfly). Magazines and other media get their own chapter, as do groups, such as people with disabilities and conservation organizations. Sites devoted to tackle and boats are described, and the book ends with sites devoted to international fishing.

Three appendixes list Top Rated Sites by chapter (Westfly is listed here), Best Online Forums (Westfly is listed again), and a list of all URLs covered in the book, with the page number of the site's description.

Each website is described in a paragraph or two, and there's an occasional screenshot. Naturally, there are cross references. For example, Westfly shows up in Fly Fishing Sites, but is also referenced in the West and Northwest sections, as well as the forums. The descriptions are concise and to-the-point, and the layout makes it easy to find the information you're looking for.

Of course a book like this is out-of-date within nanoseconds of being printed. Some of the sites no longer exist, and there are some others that might have been listed but weren't. To keep things up-to-date, the publisher will put out updates; enter your e-mail address where it says Updates in the left margin (on the publisher's site).

Buddo makes an interesting comment in the introduction to this book. He says, "The majority of sites listed in this book weren't set up or developed as profit-making ventures: they run on the enthusiasm, hard work, and community-mindedness of fishermen who understand the Web's potential to bring us all together and enrich the sport." Amen.

So why would you buy this book instead of doing your own google search? If you do google-search you may find exactly what you're looking for, but you might also spend hours fruitlessly searching through some really dreadful websites. I've been there, done that, and don't want a return ticket. This book will save you a lot of time and frustration; it is well worth the $22.95 cover price.

Bottom Line: A book that can save you a lot of google time. Reviewer Rating: 4

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 05/17/2004.

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