If you have read this blog for now going on 13 years you know I tell it like it is, good, bad or indifferent. I'm always honest, and most times self deprecating. I have had a love/ less than love relationship with Orvis for just about that same time. I started fly fishing 30 years ago and Orvis has been a part of that since. I was part of their Orvis Endorsed guide program for 6 years, contributed images to their catalogs, and made a cameo in one of Tom Rosenbauers books. My less than love relationship with Orvis started when guides in the Endorsed program, one we paid to join, were given the same "perks" as any other working guide. Wait? We're part of the family that only use your products in representing you but a guide who fishes clients with Scott rods and Lamson reels and Simms waders gets the same love? That really bothered me.
And then as our world turned and became more political and divided, Orvis, like other brands and manufacturers, established their "positions" and dug in, not caring who they offended in the process, even their most loyal and long time customers. But a company can do what it wants when it wants. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If you don't like Howard Stern, don't listen. If you don't like Donald Trump, vote for someone else.
I first got bothered with Orvis when they started trying to appease the younger-sleep-in-your-car-drink-PBR anglers. I remember in one catalog there was an image of one guide throwing a PBR to another in a separate boat. Really? Or last years cover with an angler drinking what appears to be a cold one. What does that say to anglers fighting alcoholism? You need to drink to have a good day on the water? If we are going to do everything that is right, not offend anyone, then you can dissect all of this.
Then 50/50 On the Water was born. It is interesting. One of the goals of 50/50 was to "increase gender parity in fishing". What gender, women? But anyway. Months ago I ranted about the sexualization of women in fishing, specifically fly fishing, you can see that HERE. I won't go into details, won't put up any fly fishing women pics, or name names. But I will say this, a big fat gnarly looking dude behind the oars from Montana in an ad is accepted equally, and needed to sell, as is a beautiful (as defined by the world and industry) woman in a beautiful setting casting, walking or sitting with a fly rod. It doesn't "work" the other way round. Below is an excerpt of an interview with Jackie Kutzer from Orvis. Additionally, 50/50, looks to "change the perception by showcasing authentic imagery and stories for women to fly fish", which I wholeheartedly support.
But back to why I am writing this. And what's funny, when I titled this post, it's the same title as when I ranted in January of this year, hence the (2) in the title. So yesterday on Facebook a
post popped up from Brian Grossenbacher. A photographer who has stuck through the hard times of making a living producing images and doing a great job of it. He has provided images for most of the big guns in the industry, including Orvis, who he has worked for a lot. You can his work consistently in Orvis books and catalogs. In his post yesterday he was thankful to have been on assignment for Orvis in Minneapolis. There he worked with local fly fisherman and guide Ashley White who was the model for the shoot. I couldn't help
 Brian Grossenbacher photo |
to try and recall why Minneapolis rang a bell. Then it hit me. That city was the scene of the rioting in June 2021 following the death of George Floyd. Days and days of protests, violence, and destruction. Is it coincidence or by plan that this city was chosen to spotlight Urban Angling? The wounds of the   city are still open but some recovery has occurred since last summer. If this wasn't coincidence, what was the deliberation at the table at Orvis like? What other cities could be showcased as the company tries to export new angling possibilities and getting more people interested in fly fishing? Was the company trying have an image or just deliver some message? Trying to juxtapose what occurred last summer and what can be experienced this summer with a fly rod in hand in the Twin Cities? I'm not sure.  I remember last year Orvis was the first company to take the Brown Folks Fishing Pledge. The BFF website states the Pledge "establishes a benchmark for learning and a commitment to addressing racism and inequality in fishing and its industry". In order to be apart, organizations  |
must "commit" to a list of requirements, or are they demands? Reading further down there is explanation as to why this was created. "At Brown Folks Fishing our work seeks to reimagine fishing as a gateway to conservation. We reimagine because the framework of conservation as it exists is deeply rooted in white supremacy, erasure, and colonialism." Yes, if I had a company I definitely sign on to this, that would be a very good move in todays world.
I won't use words like "woke" or "pandering" or "appeasing", but are these companies really targeting their moves and advertising to their base that pays their bills and salaries? Are the trucker hat kids and the urban anglers the ones booking the expensive trips and buying $900, actually Helios 3's are $998, fly rods? Remember the song, "It's my party and I'll...", well you get it.
When the presser showed up on the Orvis Blog, HERE, pages the comment section blew up. I won't go into what was said, you can edit for yourself. But one post, from a self described as "Brown", stood out......
When I think of riots I think of Newark, where I worked as a fireman amongst the ruin that was left decades later, and Los Angelos, in the early 1990s, well before the 24 hour news, well opinion, cycle was invented. What if we existed as we are today back in 1967 in Newark? What would fly fishing companies do to cater to their non-base?
Would there be a copy of their catalog sitting on the newsstand next to Life magazine, which featured an iconic journalistic imagine of a wounded Joe Bass Jr, who survived, taken by photographer Bud Lee. I can see it now. A nice cover shot of my man Juan Rodriquez standing on the banks of his favorite fishing hole, the Passaic River, which runs through New Jersey's largest city. Some things just make me go mmmmm, at times Orvis is one of them.
