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Gullkroken, the hall of fame, the fishing Oscars, the Scandinavian angler’s party that was held in Norway by the magazine Hooked is dead. There will not be another Gullkroken this year… and it’s very sad. It is very sad for two reasons:

  • First, the event was AWESOME! It was a real party, we had lots of fun and you could meet all the fishing people in one place, all in a good mood with good music. The organization was amazing, and again we would like to thank Hooked to have made this event possible for the past 4 years.
  • Second, the reason why Gullkroken is not happening this year is due to the lack of money, the lack of sponsors. And this is what we are not happy about. Fishing magazines, fishing blogs are working for the industry, without us, anglers wouldn’t know which gear to buy, what’s new on the market, where to go, what to do… But unfortunately, a lot of brands in the field are not playing the game. We even heard: “we don’t need to advertise, everyone’s wearing our gear by the river, that’s our advertising…” Well, maybe, but how did they know about your gear in the first place, dah?! If the industry doesn’t support magazines, e.zines, blogs or fishing websites, sooner or later they will die, as Gullkroken did. I believe it’s more an European issue, I remember meeting the heads of fly fishing major brands once, and when I suggested they advertised with us, the answer was, see our French representative…yeah of course and the french representative said: I can afford to advertise for 500€ a year… oh, really? 

So, yes, we are worried, because what happened to Gullkroken can happen to all of us, the industry is taking all the benefits of the press and blogs, but they are unwilling to invest. What should we do? Stop quoting them and ask our readers to sustain us? Internet is free, no one is ready to pay for information, no matter how good it is, we are in the  business of leisure. But look how the Europeans fly fishing magazines got thinner, the press is not going well and it is not fair that the industry which is improving worldwide doesn’t support their major allies, press and blogs. Not fair, and probably not wise either.