All right folks, die Fische wants to hear from you, so crack those knuckles and get ready to tickle your keyboards. In an effort to step up the quality, layout, and abilities of this blog, i’ll be taking it pro over the next couple of weeks with a whole new layout and set of features.
As part of the huge revamp, i’d love to know what sort of features or information your looking for. Google fishing maps? Videos? Product reviews? Stories on adventures? A store with “die Fische” hats and stickers? Photos? More Twitter and Facebook updates? Stories from other contributors? Do you read the blog on a PC, iPad, or smartphone? Water levels? Etc.
Feel free to “comment” and leave as many suggestions (good and bad) as you have. As anyone that writes a blog knows, a lot of time you’re writing in a vacuum with “stats” as your only indicator on peoples feelings about your work. Instead i’d like to open this blog up to you and tweak it (as much as i can) to your interests.
Please ponder and respond so i can help make this something special for the Austin (and beyond) fishing community.
petri heil,
die Fische
Die Fische 
Honestly, this is my favorite blog site. If you do want to add contributors though, I would love a crack at it.
Thanks a ton Ekafsi. I’m mulling it all over and will let you know what direction we’ll be taking.
I think you’ll always make people happy with maps and reports. Because folks want to know where the fish are.
I almost always read on my PC.
And of course, if you want a contribution on beach fishing the Puget Sound, I’d be more than happy to put a story together for you.
Best of luck Eric. Its kick ass that you’re raising the bar.
I agree, maps and reports are key. That’s much of the reason i’m taking this whole shindig over to WordPress.org. Lately it’s been impossible to post interactive maps and all the other things that started off so great on this incarnation of the blog.
As for the contribution, i’ll let you know. I’m still trying to figure out the logistics of contributions in the new blog that will be taking shape soon.
Thanks for the words,
eric
I would love to hear product reviews from a regular guy that likes to fly fish and will tell it like it is versus some dude with a financial interest in whether his $700 rod sells.
We may not always agree with you on it but at least it’s an honest, unbiased review.
Thanks RSR,
This is definitely something i’ve been thinking about for a while and i’m glad to see someone else other than me might be interested in it. Your input is appreciated, the new update will be here soon.
With your close proximity to the hill country it would be nice to see some articles on other rivers like the Medina,Nueces,Llano,Sabinal etc. If your willing to travel maybe the Brazos or Colorado when the sand bass are running or if you really want to go fringe how about some chain pickerel on Caddo lake? We live in a great state for fly fishing with it’s great diversity and although most of the fish we catch aren’t salmonids we should be damn proud of what we have. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Tejas,
I appreciate the input a ton. It’s hard to get out to rivers further away thanks to a full time job and family with child, but i do agree that branching out would be a welcome change. I’ve tried to focus on the immediate Austin area but absolutely feel that the options are starting to run a little thin. Maybe if we get a little rain and i can get the family camping somewhere nice i could share some other rivers with you soon. I’ll see what i can do, thanks for the feedback.
I check this blog religiously and have told all of my friends interested in fly fishing to read it. I think product reviews would be awesome especially on flies. I would like to maybe see tactic and review videos for certain flies. For instance, I have never fished with a dahlberg diver before but picked some up the other day on a word of advice. I would love to see a video talking about your favorite colors, where to, or ways to fish the fly. I am starting a fly fishing club at my school and will have everyone reading this!!
Thanks for everything you do for the sport!
David
Thanks for the suggestions David! I appreciate them and will see what i can do.
Until coming across your website last Sept, I didn’t even realize fly fishing existed in Texas. I just thought that was for mountain streams and trout and $500 rods. After reading your blog, I bought a $40 fly rod, some flies, and since then have managed to find a time between work and raising 2 young kids, to fish about once a week. There is certainly something uniquely Austin about your blog. I like the way you emphasize that it is not about the gear at all, but about the experience. I say that because a few of the comments here suggest that you review gear, etc. That would be fine, but I’d hate for your new and improved blog to lose that budget-minded, laid-back-Austin, I’ve-got-30-min-to-fish-before-I-have-to-be-at-work-and-I-still-need-to-grab-a-bite-at-Torchy’s vibe.
In January, my family and I were fortunate enough to move from central Austin to within about 100 yards of Bull Creek. I’d like to think that I now know many of the great fishing spots along the creek from St. Ed’s park to Lake Austin, but I’ve probably only scratched the surface. Of course most of those spots are nothing but depressing, scorched earth right now. But with tonight’s visit to the creek, I still managed to land a few decent sunfish and one largemouth in my 30-min-to-fish time (after putting the kids to bed but before nightfall.)
Thanks for the great blog and inspiring me to fly fish right here in Austin, and to do it with a cheap rod, a few flies, and a pair of flip-flops.
Thanks for the comment BSC, it’s always rewarding to hear that someone got tuned into all the amazing fishing there is around here. Rest assured that even if i do review any gear it will be items that are in fact in line with what you described, fishing gear that is affordable, and only stuff i personally own and use. Working retail and having a family i simply can’t afford high end rods and don’t know if i’d even by them if i could…(hmmmm actually i probably would).
Also, there is no need to fear about the “going pro” comment i made. I’m simply upgrading to a site that will allow me to post more varied video (Vimeo) that will be more accessible on multiple platforms (iPad and iPhone), as well as the ability to embed Google maps which isn’t something i’m able to do any longer on my current site. I promise that the look will be slightly different but the information and content will be much better. And “no”, the vibe will never change. I am all about making the most of every minute possible on the water, Baja Shrimp taco in one hand, affordable rod in the other, a sunfish on the end of the line and a smile wiped across my salsa stained face.
thanks again,
die Fische
I’ve given some serious thought to this and I see no reason to change anything. Good photos, good writing, good attitude. You will grow and change with time and the blog can’t help reflecting that, all the improvement that’s needed. As a recovering English major, there are some spelling blips I’d like to step on but that’s a minor pedantic quibble. Keep up the good work.
Dang. Really? I hope there aren’t too many. Are there reoccurring spelling / grammatical mistakes i make? I’d really love to know if there are since i prefer to have this blog thought of as a well thought out jumble of words and images and not a blog that seems as though it was written by a modern day teen (not all of them mind you, i.e. David) raised on texting, acronyms (OMG. LOL), and bad bands with worse names (Limp Bizkit, Korn, etc.) ((oh man. i think i just dated myself by mentioning bands that annoyed me in my late twenties and early thirties…dang!))
Anyway, let me know if i’m making repeat offenses as i’d love to stop them.
As i mentioned in my response to RSC, the content won’t be changing that much, it’s more being able to make it more multimedia friendly as well as revamping the semi-tired layout.
Let me know what you think of the blog in a few weeks, and call me out when i make mistakes…it’s the only way to break bad habits. (Keep on mind SOME literary mistakes are poetically intended, spelling mistakes though? Never.)
keep in touch,
die Fische
Rereading my post, if you would be interested in a spelling/grammar nazi to make corrections, I’d do that job for free.
Nothing serious, the only ones that spring to mind are the old lose/loose and its/it’s bugaboos. As for grammar, I agree that technically incorrect grammar is often good grammar. I don’t recall you using any bad grammar.
Otto and Die Fische your making my head hurt. I don’t get the i/I? Any how. I really look forward to seeing how you up your game. I would not change anything its a well written blog with awesome info however the things that have been mentioned will only make it better. I look forward to reading each one when they come out. Thanks