Fishing celeb promotes Rainy Lake

Although the fabulous fishing on Rainy Lake isn’t exactly a secret, even more people will know about it come next year.
That’s because a fishing celebrity made his way here last week—and he’s not just going to tell his buddies down at the bait shop how good the fishing was.
The fishing guru in question was none other than Jimmy Houston, who has his own fishing show on ESPN in the United States called “Jimmy Houston’s Sportsman Digest.”
“We had a good time and caught a few fish,” Houston said modestly last Wednesday after a third day of intense fishing and taping. “It’s the first time I’ve fished this lake.”
Houston was here, as a guest of Campfire Island Lodge, to tape episodes for his TV program and promote the lodge as a destination.
In the end, Houston shot two full shows, one on bass and one on northern pike, and accumulated a lot of extra footage—including underwater footage.
“We fish all over the world and the fishing’s good all over the world,” he said. “Rainy Lake is good.”
But what’s the big deal? Why is having a big name like Jimmy Houston come here and shoot television shows so beneficial?
“The big deal is a lot of people will see Rainy Lake [through the two episodes],” he explained. “The shows we shot here will probably be seen by seven-eight million people all over the world.
“It will see two million viewers on ESPN2 alone.
“A lot of people will come here because they saw the shows,” Houston continued. “When people watch . . . they watch for a lot of reasons, but they are looking for a place to go fishing.”
Fishing shows like his are considered third-party endorsements of products and places. Rather than a lodge like Campfire Island buying advertising (especially TV advertising, which is extremely expensive), they will reach a large target audience for less money by putting a crew up for a few days.
The second factor of a third-party endorsement is that rather than the lodge telling people through magazine advertising or the like that they can produce big fish or a lot of fish, a well-recognized angler like Houston is giving the lake and the lodge his endorsement.
That goes a long way with people.
“Those two million viewers are looking to catch fish and have fun,” Houston noted, adding that anglers are pretty good about sharing information so by word of mouth, even more people will learn of the fishing.
“Fisherman are that way,” he said. “They’ll share information with each other.
“Outdoor fishing shows create a great economic impact in the areas they are shot,” he remarked.
Houston said there is one reason why fishing shows are so successful in promoting lakes and areas as fishing destinations. So what’s the big secret?
“We’re gonna strike out several times a year,” he said, adding the fishing on Rainy Lake wasn’t disappointing. “Here we had two-and-a-half [out] of three days of good fishing and weather.
“We don’t show the bad days,” he said, letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. “Usually every other day is a bad day. We’ve gone all day without catching a fish at times.
“That happens. That’s fishing. We show ya the good days.”
So now that the cat’s out of the bag (i.e., that even the pros can get skunked), what can you do to “arm” yourself better for the fish out there?
According to Houston, despite all the advances in technology and gear, from fishing rods and digital reels to boats, motors, and chemically-sharpened hooks, the greatest have been made between the anglers’ ears.
“The number-one improvement?” he repeated the question, then pausing. “The overall skills and knowledge of the fisherman.
“All the equipment has advanced greatly, but the thing that’s caused fishermen to catch more fish over the years is knowledge,” Houston stressed.
He explained that between fishing shows like his, the numerous fishing- and gear-related publications out there, and merely having younger anglers starting out with more knowledge than their predecessors has created this increase in knowledge.
But will the knowledge of great fishing on Rainy Lake impact the area in more than an economic way?
Houston has seen fishing areas become less productive or even destroyed after being profiled in shows—though it doesn’t happen all that often since these shows are done every day all over the world.
In most cases this happens in areas with smaller bodies of water, with little or no regulations to protect the fish, he explained.
“It’s amazing to me there’s not too many people fishing this lake,” Houston said. “There’s a lot of water out there and not a lot of people to throw a lure into it.”
He noted Rainy Lake’s biggest asset—other than the superb fishing—is it’s proximity to the United States. “If you can throw a bait a long way, you can cast to the U.S.,” he joked from the Campfire Island dock.
With good road access (so people can bring their own boats) and a relatively close fishing populous in the central U.S., Houston said Rainy Lake has a lot of potential.
He found that even the 16-hour drive from Oklahoma wasn’t that taxing.
Houston said the shows shot this summer will be edited this fall and winter and appear in next season’s set of shows—his 27th year on the air.
Whether an influx of people will be lined up at the border in the next few years eager to try the waters of Rainy Lake because of the shows remains to be seen.
But you can be sure a lot more people will know where Rainy Lake is and what the fishing is really like—on the good days.
(Fort Frances Times)