The Complete History Of Total FlyFisher

As the biggest publisher of angling magazines in Europe, DHP had long held the ambition of adding a fly fishing title to its portfolio. The problem was in finding an editor.

DHP's philosophy is simple: where editorial staff is concerned, DHP employs anglers that can write, not writers that go fishing occasionally. There's a big difference, not just in terms of expertise but also in the feel for the sport. Real anglers will be more in touch with their readers than an editor who goes fishing occasionally because it's 'part of his job'.

DHP's search came to an end when a friend put the company in touch with Andy Petherick - an ambitious young man who had been working as a branch manager for Orvis and who, importantly, held a STANIC (Salmon and Trout Association National Instructors Certificate) qualification. Andy came along for an interview and it was clear from the outset that he had a similar view of fishing to DHP's. Andy's presentation was near faultless and it was obvious he was a fly fishing junkie. He'd tried just about every fly fishing destination you could think of, he'd guided on remote Scottish islands, he'd chased salmon across Russia and he regularly fished some of the best beats on Britain's chalkstreams.

It took many meetings to come up with the structure of Today's Flyfisher. DHP wanted a magazine without snobbery and one aimed at any angler that enjoyed using a fly rod. Salmon and trout would feature strongly but the idea was to demonstrate that fly fishing was for everyone. There would be articles about targeting sea species and coarse fish - something the existing game fishing titles ignored - and full use would be made of Andy's qualifications; the idea was to help anglers catch more fish by showing them the latest methods, the latest tackle and the best ways of using it.

For too long, fly fishing magazines had basked in the comfort zone; the traditional fly fishing year is fairly predictable in that buzzers buzz as soon as the water warms up and trout go fry feeding when the water starts to cool. DHP felt that the existing titles simply regurgitated the same editorial content in much the same order every year, with the same tired list of contributors being photographed from slightly different angles but doing much the same thing they'd done 12 months and 24 months earlier. A new title was long overdue.

Employing anglers is the best way to ensure an angling magazine keeps in touch with its readers but it's no guarantee that you've found someone who can write. And I suppose it's worth noting that the title's advertising manager, Sue Shaw, is a current member of the England Ladies Fly Fishing Team and a former European Champion. It's all about knowing the game. Thankfully, Andy was a bit of a natural with words and with some gentle manipulation he was soon writing to a style that DHP could make the most of.

There was always a danger that Andy's enthusiasm to stay at the cutting edge of fly fishing might mean that some traditional favourites and values could be overlooked but we got around that by teaming Andy up with fly fishing 'guru' and watercolour artist Charles Jardine. Charles worked from home but liaised closely with Andy on the structure of the title and as a main contributor. His excellent watercolours were a major part of the new magazine and his illustrations for series such as 'A Bug's Life' and 'Rise Forms' gave Today's Flyfisher a quality that none of the existing game fishing magazines could match.

The first issue of the magazine arrived at the newsagents on May 16th and was launched at the 2003 Chatsworth Angling Fair. It found instant approval from the angling trade and several of the features broke new ground in terms of the way traditional subjects were treated. Some of those regular features are still a part of the magazine three years later and remain firm favourites with the readers.