In June 2017 I posted on Facebook inviting people to complete a survey, asking what they’d like to see if I was able to get back on the small screen with a fishing show of my own. I was overwhelmed by the level of response to this little survey, and I figured some folks might like to see the results (below). I’d also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey, or to comment on the Facebook post. I really appreciate your feedback. The good news is that it actually looks like it’s happening and I’ll be back on telly later this year! More on that soon… meanwhile, here are the key findings of the survey, in graphical form, and don’t forget that you can also catch up with me on my “Starlo Gets Reel” YouTube channel:           If you have any comments, please feel free to make them below, or on my StarloFishing page on Facebook… and once again,...

PLEASE NOTE: This blog is accompanied by a video clip on my Starlo Gets Reel channel on YouTube, which you’ll find by clicking here, or going to https://youtu.be/YX6sMZf1cBU. As a full-time fishing writer and presenter, a big part of my job obviously involves capturing photographic images and video to accompany my work, so cameras are important tools for me. My main work camera is a big, heavy, full-frame DSLR (currently a Nikon D610) with a bunch of different lenses, but I also like to carry a compact point-and-shoot: both as a back-up, and for those times when I simply need something smaller and lighter. Over the 40 years or so that I’ve been writing for magazines, I’ve owned lots of cameras. I’ve eventually worn most out, broken them or drowned them… The fishing world’s a pretty harsh environment for sophisticated optical equipment! Through all of that time, I’ve always been on the lookout for the “ultimate” fisherman’s camera, and I reckon I might have finally found something close to that mark with Nikon’s AW1. While it’s certainly not the perfect solution, it ticks enough boxes on my list to come very, very close. The AW1 is a reasonably compact, mirror-less camera with interchangeable lenses that’s capable of capturing 14.2 megapixel images in both RAW and JPEG formats via a reasonable-sized sensor… Those are all good things. But the best thing about this camera in my book is the fact that it’s fully waterproof! Not just “splash-proof”, but actually waterproof! Without any form of housing or additional case, it’s rated to a depth of 15 metres, or almost 50 feet… That’s pretty impressive! It’s also rated as shock-proof if dropped onto a hard surface from a height of 2 metres… Ouch! The AW1 is sealed...

For those who missed it. I’ve attached my recent feature on catching big bream on flies from “Barra, Bass & Bream Digest” magazine. And in case the text from the magazine layouts is too small to read on your screen or in this format, I’ve also included the straight text at the bottom of this blog post. Also, if you’d like to find out how to purchase or subscribe to “Barra, Bass & Bream” on-line, go to: http://www.nafa.com.au/ Big Bream On Fly The Ultimate Challenge? What’s the ultimate prize in modern day barra, bass and bream fishing? Catching a metre-plus ’mundi on a surface lure and light tackle? Landing a 60 cm wild bass from a kayak? Pulling a 2 kg bream onto a wave-washed rock ledge in the middle of the night? Starlo rates all of those milestones, but reckons there’s another one that presents even more of a challenge. In his opinion, mastering big bream on fly is the toughest (and perhaps the most rewarding) game in town… Read on and see if you agree! The average, weekend angler no doubt struggles to understand why some of us might actually choose to make our fishing any harder than it needs to be. For many hopefuls, simply catching a feed of fish is a daunting enough prospect, without deliberately adding extra layers of difficulty to the process. Yet, as with any endeavour, those who are seriously engrossed in their passion and spend a lot of time pursuing it eventually look for extra layers of challenge: new peaks to scale and higher marks to attain. In preparing to write this feature, I spent considerable time pondering the bigger challenges fishing has presented me with over the years. In my late teens and early 20s,...

I’m really proud to have had my work published in a fantastic on-line “e-zine” called “The New Fly Fisher”. While it’s based in Canada and devoted in large part to North Americanj fly fishing species and locations, “The New Fly Fisher” also carries international features (such as mine on catrching barra and saratoga), along with lots of great gear, technique and fly tying information. It’s loaded with video clips, too! But, best of all, subscription to this wonderful quarterly mag’ is completely and utterly FREE! All you have to do is register here (by clicking on the ‘subscribe now’ tab at top of their home page). Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive an e-mail notification and link each time a new issue comes out. If you’re into fly fishing, fresh or salt, I guarantee you’ll get a lot from following this electronic publication. But even if you’re not a fly fisho, I reckon you’ll really enjoy the photos and videos! Check it out… I guarantee you won’t be disappointed! Anyway, I’ll leave you with a few random spreads from my first feature for “The New Fly Fisher”…...

Welcome to the first instalment of my “Back To Basics” series of blogs. These blogs are derived from my ongoing series of columns in the Australian Fishing Monthly group of magazines (QLD Fishing Monthly, NSW Fishing Monthly and VIC Fishing Monthly). Publication of these blogs will lag several months behind their first appearance in those great magazines so, if you want to jump ahead at any stage, just grab the latest copy! However, the appearance of these columns as blogs also recognises the fact that many people live outside the areas covered by those publications, or may wish to catch up with previous columns that they missed in print. As the category name of this blog series implies, it’s all about the fundamental building blocks of our sport, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s intended purely for beginners… far from it! Lots of experienced anglers could definitely benefit from re-visiting some of these basics, and I’d like to think that even the guns of the sport may pick up a gem or two from reading these columns. In coming blogs within the “Back To Basics” category, we’ll tackle subjects like filling and top-shotting your reels with line, selecting and adding leaders, setting your drag, hooking, fighting and landing fish, handling the catch, improving your casting, putting baits on the hook properly, “working” and tuning lures, organising and maintaining your gear and a whole bunch more. However, if there’s something you’d specifically like to see covered, please leave a comment here under the blog and tell me. You can also reach me through my StarloFishing page on Facebook. This time, I want to kick off with an aspect of  tackle preparation that’s glossed over in many how-to books and DVDs, but which is critical to...

I’m assuming that if you’ve followed my series on becoming a successfully published fishing writer thus far, you’re at least a little bit serious about having a crack, and already have an idea in mind for the subject of your first submission. However, before you even think about writing and submitting that first fishing story to a magazine, website or similar outlet, there’s still some serious homework you must do: Firstly, spend plenty of time actually reading as many different fishing publications as you can lay your hands on. Study the style, length, look and feel of the various articles and columns in order to gain an insight into what each particular title prefers. Do they seem to favour pieces written in the first person, or the third person? (If you don’t know what those terms mean, look them up by clicking on the terms!) Are most of their stories about fishing trips, specific locations or techniques? How many pages does the average article run for, and how many photos are used to illustrate it? Do all the photos seem to have been supplied by the author, or are there photo credits indicating that images have also been sourced elsewhere? TO READ THE REST OF THIS BLOG & OTHERS IN THE SERIES, GO TO “STARLO’S INNER CIRCLE”. Next time, we’ll look at pitching a specific story idea to an editor… Becoming A Fishing Writer: Part 4 Becoming A Fishing Writer: Part 5 Basic Fishing Photography: Part 1 Basic Fishing Photography: Part...

If you’ve ever had the dream of seeing your fishing yarns and photos in print, be sure to follow my series on Becoming A Fishing Writer and also read my blogs on fishing photography! You can read FULL LENGTH versions of all these blogs on “STARLO’S INNER CIRCLE”, BY CLICKING...

Last blog I talked about the classic “grip-and-grin” style of fishing photography, and offered some tips on how to improve your end results. As I explained, “grip-and-grin” is a sometimes-disparaging term used to describe the commonest style of fishing photos: images consisting of a delighted angler proudly showing off his or her catch while smiling at the camera. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty, both good and bad! As I wrote last time, there’s nothing wrong with this style of shot, especially if it’s done well. Most fellow anglers love looking at your grip-and-grins… if they’re any good! But of course, the grip-and-grin is (or should be) only a tiny part of any fishing photographer’s total bag of tricks. Those of us genuinely interested in portraying the recreational angling world that we love — be it for a private photo album, a club night, Facebook, blogs, websites or even a professional magazine feature — need to develop a talent for conveying a visual narrative of the places, people, fish and experiences that mean so much to us. In other words, we need to tell a story with our images. As the old adage goes, a picture tells a thousand words… or it should! Getting this right means thinking well beyond the grip-and-grin and picking up the camera far more often than you normally would when simply recording those occasional momentous catches. To really tell the story, you need to develop the habit of photographing the places where you fish, the tracks that lead you there, the wildlife encountered along the way, your campsite, the sunrises and sunsets, the other characters you meet on your adventures and — most important of all — the action that takes place. Nothing screams fishing excitement louder than a bending...

My continuing series of blogs on how to become a successfully published fishing writer is attracting quite a following and a fair amount of feedback, particularly regarding how to take better fishing photos. With this in mind, I figured it might be worth devoting a few additional blogs specifically to that subject. Here’s the first of them: These days, just about everyone owns a camera, even if only the one built into their mobile phone. Digital cameras (including the mobile phone variety) are getting better, easier to use and more affordable every year, so there’s really no excuse for not coming home with a few halfway decent images of your latest angling adventure. What you do with those photos is a personal choice. You might e-mail them to friends, put them on your Facebook page, show them to club-mates at a meeting night, post them on an internet forum, blog them, or even submit them to a published, hard-copy magazine. Whatever the fate of those images, the better they are, the more impact they’ll have on the people who view them… But what do I mean by “better”? Obviously, any good photo needs to be in focus and properly exposed; neither too dark nor too light. It also helps if the horizon is reasonably straight and the picture composed in such a way that the subject stands out and the viewer isn’t distracted by extraneous objects in the background. But beyond these basics, there’s a world of difference between an adequate fishing photo and a brilliant one. TO READ THIS BLOG IN FULL & ACCESS OTHER PARTS IN THE SERIES, GO TO “STARLO’S INNER CIRCLE”. NEXT TIME: In the next blog in this category, we’ll go beyond the grip-and-grin and look at some of...

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. For better or for worse, and particularly in the fishing journalism game, this is very much the case. Your photos aren’t everything when it comes to getting published, but they can sometimes seem to be very close to it! As I often used to tell budding young writers, a competent editor can work wonders with your words (the text), even re-writing if necessary. But if your photos are sub-standard, there’s not a lot they can do to improve them. This was absolutely the truth in the old days of film, when most of us shot transparencies (slides) for submission to magazines, and Kodachrome 64 was the king of the film emulsions. She was a tough task master, that old Kodachrome 64. Get it right and the results were nothing short of stunning (slightly superior, in my possibly-Luddite opinion, to even the best of modern digital images). But get it wrong and Frau Kodachrome was an unforgiving mistress. I have boxes upon boxes of crappy, un-publishable slides to prove my point… I’ll agree that things have changed a little in the era of Photoshop… but only a little. It’s now possible to tweak and enhance an image… perhaps even to save an under-exposed one (over-exposure is generally harder to fix). But it remains difficult, if not impossible to rescue a photo from poor composition or being chronically out of focus. Good, sharp, well-composed, colourful and interesting images still sell stories to fishing magazines. You’re kidding yourself if you think you’re going to “make it” as a fishing journalist if you can’t take decent photos to accompany your submissions. Certainly, you could share the job with a competent photographer (you  produce the words and...

I submitted my first fishing article to a magazine while I was in my final year of high school. That was way back in 1975. With major exams coming up, I soon forgot about the piece when I hadn’t heard from the editor after a few weeks. So, you can probably imagine my absolute surprise and delight when, a month or two later, I received an acceptance letter telling me that the story would be published early in the new year and that I’d receive a cheque for $50 shortly after the magazine hit the shelves! Fifty bucks might not sound like a lot in today’s figures, but it was about half a week’s take-home wages for an adult Australian worker in those days, and enough to buy a new top-of-the-line saltwater fishing reel like a Mitchell 499 or a Seascape 621. Getting paid that sort of dough for writing about my passion was nothing short of intoxicating! Almost 40 years and many thousands of magazine articles later, I still get a visceral buzz every time a piece I’ve written is accepted and published… And I still feel gutted and flattened every time an idea or storyline is knocked back, or a submission is rejected by an editor (and yes, trust me, it still happens). My aim in this series of blogs is to give you an insight into what it takes to become a published fishing writer. Along the way, I’ll also do my best to point out some of the potential pitfalls of the business. But first up, a word of warning: If you think you’re going to get rich by writing articles for fishing magazines, I’m afraid you’re kidding yourself! Even after four decades in the game, I barely break even...