Outdoorsmen love their outdoor shows. Some shows focus on education, others on unique destinations, some promote hunting or fishing, others advertise gear and products. Whatever your taste is, for the outdoors, there is a recipe for your tastes.
One of my first favorites was called “The Flying Fisherman”. The star was Gadabout Gaddis. He flew a Piper Cherokee airplane to fishing hot spots around the country. This was a weekly show that aired in the 1960’s and in the mid 1980’s.
Gadabout was a great talker. His show was filmed like a home movie. He would narrate them as someone would when watching family movies in the living room.
Roscoe Vernon Gaddis was also a great fisherman. He filmed how to cast, tie knots, and explained why he fished where he was. One show was on the Rio Grande River catching trout. He talked about fly fishing gear and line. He always used a white colored fly line. He claimed it was easy for him to see and camo to the fish since it blended in with the sky. Later in my life, Lefty Kreh talked about colored fly lines. He also believed the same thing and got the idea from Gadabout.
The Flying Fisherman loved to fish. Catching was secondary. One show was about fishing on Thomas Lake, in Colorado. They filmed for 4 days and never caught a fish. I learned more from that show than many others.
There are several volumes of TV shows you can search for. TV compilations from 1986-1987 are available. They are vintage but Gadabout was one of the first great fisherman that even made outdoor shows.
You can watch Gadabout fishing for stripers in Buzzards Bay, bass in Lake Mead, crappies in Grenada Lake, or Blues at Virginia Beach. He enjoyed fly fishing but also used spinning gear and even cane poles. Gadabout was a fisherman first!
Each show started with him flying to a new destination. He was born in Illinois but fished the world! His signature cowboy hat was a perfect fishing hat.
Check out this fishing show pioneer!
Montana Grant
