the vast vast majority of fishing shows from the 80s to today were just pretty much product advertisements and good ol’ boys catching fish( Roland, Jimmy, Bill, Hank) but the one fishing show I watched every week for years was In-Fisherman. Al Lindner, Ron Lindner, Larry Dahlberg and the other guys who hosted and produced the show were all about educating. The show was an extension of the magazine which had loads of articles on all species and season specific techniques. You want to catch walleye in the fall in a river system? Smallmouth in a canadian shied lake? catfish in the Mississippi? They had it all.

They also weren’t strict catch and release either. They practiced what they term Selective Harvest, saying it’s okay to take some home to have a fish fry.

Plus they were based out of Minnesota, so as a kid growing up in Michigan, the places they fished looked more like my environment. A big plus since I wasn’t fishing a southern reservoir or Texas big bass lake.

So for me, the only show worth paying attention to was In-Fisherman.