April Vokey on a small, unnamed B.C. coastal stream
October 29, 2013
By Ross Purnell, Editor
I just heard from an executive at CBS News that they'll be airing a profile of fly fisher April Vokey during the Nov. 6 episode of 60 Minutes Sports on Showtime.
This is the same show that brought the free-solo feats of Alex Honhold to international attention more than a year ago, and has profiled many other non-traditional or adventure sports such as big-wave surfing with Garrett McNamara (and correspondent Anderson Cooper), and the tragic death of extreme kayaker Shannon Christy. Now 60 Minutes Sports turns an eye toward one of fly fishing's young and influential personalities, April Vokey, of Chilliwack, British Columbia.
Why is this important? You might ask, "We have plenty of fishing shows to choose from, why do we need another?" The simple answer is that this won't be a fishing show. 60 Minutes Sports is not part of the hook & bullet media, and they will bring April's story to an audience that is largely uninitiated with fly fishing.
They picked the perfect person for the profile, as April has done as much as anyone in recent years to bring "outsiders" into the fold, particularly women, as her company Flygal Ventures specializes in instructional workshops and seminars— many of them just for women— as well as guided steel heading in B.C. and hosted trips around the world. From an industry standpoint this could do much to bring new faces into the sport. For everyone else, maybe it means your friends and co-workers might be asking a few more questions about fly fishing.
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According to Kevin Tedesco of CBS News/60 MINUTES, camera crews and Bill Whitaker of CBS News followed her to Turneffe Flats Lodge in Belize earlier this year, and also captured her wading her home waters of the Pacific Northwest.
More about April Vokey: She is a Patagonia brand ambassador, on the G.Loomis pro staff, the RIO products advisory team, and is a regular contributor to FLY FISHERMAN and Fly Fusion magazines.
April Vokey on a small, unnamed B.C. coastal stream. Ross Purnell. April Vokey tying flies on the Dean River where she has been a full-time guide every summer for the past four years. Ross Purnell.
