Honesty - what a concept!

I love fishing.  

I love cooking and baking and eating. 

I also enjoy watching a variety of cooking and fishing shows on TV and the internet.

So – when I see a combination of food and fishing TV – I get excited! 

This morning, June 28, 2014, while having breakfast, I caught an episode of “Farmhouse Rules” on Food Network TV.  

Nancy Fuller - Host "Farm House Rules"

The title was “Fly Fishing”.  I was excited! 

The cinematography was excellent and the production teased with enough trout/stream footage to keep my interest. They were fishing the Kinderhook Creek in upstate NY.  

Kinderhook Creek upstream of Hankey Mull Road

While I have not fished the Kinderhook, I have driven past it many times traveling on holidays spent with family in the NYC and CT area, and always thought I should fish there some day.

The film footage was excellent and the recipes sounded great.  However, one of the things that the star of the show, Nancy Fuller, said early in the show was something to the effect of - she hoped that if they didn't catch any trout that she would have time to buy some trout to cook for her husband David (good name) for dinner.

Well – they all got to the Kinderhook and were all fly fishing and you could tell that they all – except for Nancy, admittedly – knew what they were doing. 

I was thrilled – fishing and cooking – could it get much better!!!!  Well – a local brew or vintage would have helped!

Nancy asked for and received fly fishing help and it all looked very "Real and Honest."  TV at its finest.

And, I was happy - until the first trout was hooked.  

They pulled it up out of the water and it was very obvious that the fish was not only NOT fresh caught, but already gilled and gutted.

Then, they caught a few more – even putting some in a creel showing the tail wiggling – they did not, however,  show the head of the trout being wiggled by hand.  I’ve had some film and video producing experience and this was a very obvious “special effect” – and the trout did their own stunts!  Honestly!

More trout were caught (uh huh) – and as some were brought to net, they were spinning in circles – they looked like cut-bait herring being fished for king salmon in the Pacific ocean!

I have never caught a trout that after being hooked, eviscerated itself and started spinning.  Yet – that’s what all the trout did.  I was no longer happy.

Now, at this point, Nancy – and Nancy, I love your show – Nancy could have come clean and admitted that the fishing was TV magic and the trout were store bought trout and not caught during filming.  

She set it up early in the show!  

It could have been a highlight of the episode!

But no – not once did Nancy tell us that the trout they caught on the Kinderhook were actually from her, or Food Network’s fish monger, or local grocery store.  

The honesty would have been entertaining and refreshing.

Now - all that being said - I am still a fan of Food Network and Farm House Rules – I just hope that they are more forth-coming with the facts of the stories (especially the fishy ones) in the future. 

Nancy and David – I’d love to see you on the water!

Dave