If I am not on the river, I am checking out what is going on by "fishing on the web." I'm John Dietsch, and I am the founder of http://hook.tv the world’s premiere video sharing community devoted exclusively to Fly Fishing.  Check it out!  The Outdoor Channel has some great online content, but if it is specialized fly-fishing you crave, check out Hook.tv !.... I am best known in the Outdoor Sports world for the work I did supervising the fly-fishing scenes on the film A River Runs Through It  and my twenty years of Outdoor Sports, New Media, and TV series that led me create the  Hook.tv Fly Fishing Network.   I created Hook.tv (http://hook.tv) because it was so difficult to find good fly fishing video content on demand.  I also liked watching fishing content on you-tube, but the user generated content there did not give me enough information about the equipment, species, and rivers that people were uploading.

On A River Runs Through It I ran the Fly-Fishing Department, taught all the actors like Brad Pitt to cast, hired all the fishing consultants and doubles, scouted all the river locations, visualized and storyboarded all the fly fishing scenes, spearheaded the acquisition and replication of the 1920’s fishing gear, and even  found and implemented a mechanical trout!  Perhaps the thing I am most proud of is the fact that I conceived and performed the final fishing scene in that film where Brad Pitt swims the class three rapid.  Brad didn’t risk his life swimming down the middle of that rapid….  I did!  Check out this cool behind-the-scenes video ( http://flyfishing.hook.tv/Clip.aspx?key=EA1092F27780FC24) about how we made that scene (paste it into your browser if the link is not active).

 In creating Hook.tv, I also wanted to leverage the knowledge and experience I have had over the last two decades working on projects like “The ESPN Interactive Fly-Fishing School”  a popular CD-ROM that I wrote, hosted, directed, and co-produced in the mid-nineties.  Hook.tv also resulted from the TV work I did around the world, consulting on and starring in commercials and TV series about fly fishing for Coca-Cola, Miller Genuine Draft, Dockers, TJ Rowe, Suzuki and other international brands in paces like Montana, New Zealand, Mammoth, Baja, B.C., Chile, Alaska and Arizona.  You can check out some of this other work at http://flyfishffilms.com.  In addition to the book Shadowcasting that I co-wrote, I have given fly-fishing presentations to groups and corporations around the world including Japan, New Zealand and many cities throughout the United States.  Publications like Outside, Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod and Reel, California Angler, LA Times, The Aspen Times, USA Today, and Weekend Magazine have profiled my unique combined film/fly-fishing career.   I have also been featured in dozens of blogs, and have been interviewed on numerous radio shows and industry magazines like Shoot and Real Screen.   For a video that gives you an idea of the other work I have done in the fly-fishing media world check out this video clip (http://flyfishing.hook.tv/Clip.aspx?key=5D55F6C07D929660).

I also founded a productions company, Castle Creek Productions, that has produced more than 300 episodes and segments for television and brands, and we have filmed in more than 30 countries.  As a writer and executive producer, my TV credits include award-winning series on adventure travel like Wild California, The Great Adventure, The Best of California, and outdoor sports like Surfer TV and Explore the Undiscovered, as well as lifestyle series like Creative Juice.  My company’s series have aired on station affiliates like ABC, CBS, and NBC as well as cable networks like ESPN, Fox Sports, Travel Channel, CNBC, Fine Living, VERSUS, DIY, and HGTV.  Our corporate film and commercial clients include Bank of America, Honda, Apple, the National Park Service, and many more.  As on-camera talent, I have also hosted several shows and I am  currently the executive producer and on-air talent for Hook.tv Adventure Guides: Fly Fishing Edition  brought to you by Suzuki, that aired in 2007 on VERSUS, and can be currently seen at http://Hook.tv/AdventureGuides.  This is an amazing series!

I am also an avid skier, kayaker (both whitewater and sea), and yeah, I am a total addict when it comes to fly-fishing.  I live in the Pacific Palisades, California, with my wife Mollie, and my  son and daughter.  I fish in the ocean down the street on the beach as much as I can, or in the local Southern California Mountains.  I fish when I do my shows around the world, and I visit Colorado as often as possible, where my parents live and have a stretch of Gold Medal water near Aspen.  For more information on my fly fishing background visit http://www.flyfishfilms.com or check out my profile on Hook.tv.  I hope you enjoy the Outdoor Channel’s online offerings, but  if it is fly-fishing you are after please consider becoming a member of Hook.tv.  Tight Lines!