My 15 Minutes Of Fame

A couple weeks back, I got a phone call from Citytv's Senior Producer asking me if I would guide the host of a signature segment showcase called 'Nick's Nosh'. Marina had explained to me that she had an idea for a show where the host learns the art of fly fishing, then (hopefully) catches a trout and cooks it up for a nice shore lunch. I had to think about it for a few seconds as the idea of keeping trout didn't sit all that well with me but after some consideration and the agreement that it would take place at a put & take stocked fishery that winterkills almost every year, I agreed to it.

We got to Chickakoo Lake this morning at around 10:00am and I proceeded to get all my equipment and tackle together for the shooting while they prepared their expensive audio and video equipment. They hooked me up with a wireless mic and then explained what they expected from me. I've had some radio experience in the past but this was my first time in front of a camera (my fifteen minutes of fame I guess). My instructions were to keep my conversations directed at the host and never look at the camera. Well, how hard could that be? Actually not hard at all. I just tried to forget it was even there. Ok, I looked at the camera three times in the four hours we were shooting but Nick (the host) told me I was a natural. Could be he was just blowing smoke up my ass but I really hope I did myself justice.

We started the shooting by setting up the float tube that Nick was to use and then the pontoon boat that would float me around for the afternoon. We soon moved on to casting instruction, pretty much the same way I teach my clients but this was sort of a crash course as we needed to get on the lake quickly to secure a trout for the frying pan. So after Nick got the basic idea of casting a fly rod, out on the water we went. It was a nice change for me as once on the water, I didn't have to guide him but rather just keep an eye on him and give him pointers as the producer needed a trout and their hopes were mostly with me (although they were really hoping Nick would bring one to hand). We both got into fish but we were having a real hard time keeping them on the hook. I finally brought one to the net but it had bumps all over it from parasites called cercaria (similar to Swimmers Itch). These parasites can not hurt humans as we are not it's proper host (its proper hosts are snails in its pupa stage and birds in its adult stage) but a trout with these under it's skin sure wouldn't look very tasty on camera. So that little guy went back and luckily I got another to the net and this one made tv history. After we got back into shore, I packed all my equipment while Nick started preparing his salad and garnishings. I then grabbed the trout and brought it over to the picnic table and proceeded to clean it as it seems nobody there had ever cleaned a trout before. The last time I cleaned a trout was probably around 15 years ago but it came pretty easy once they found me a sharper knife. Once cooked up, we again appeared on camera where Nick presented the trout with the salad and garnish and proceeded to eat it. He then asked me if I'd like a bite and I passed. Nick then asked why I don't eat what I catch and I explained that I do occasionally (if it's Walleye) but that I'd rather release it to catch another day.


They appeared to be very happy with what they shot and graciously thanked me. The show is to air during the news hour on Monday, August 18 so keep an eye out for it. Hopefully I didn't embarrass myself to much. They're also sending me a disk with the final footage so I'll try and show that off here on my blog. The funny thing is, my fifteen minutes of fame (and four hours of taping) is really only about four minutes long after editing. I guess that means the universe still owes me 11 minutes.