With decades of production experience, countless miles on rivers, and a sixth sense for delivering high-quality and informative masterclasses in fly-fishing, Jackson, Wyoming-based Fish Camp is on a mission to inspire a deeper connection to water through education, adventure, and stewardship. Working with best-in-class instructors who guide you through the basics to advanced techniques so you can fish smarter, cast better, and land more fish, Fish Camp's subscription-based model offers an endless video library of tips and tutorials for all levels of anglers.
Started by friends Jon "JK" Klaczkiewicz, Will Egan, and Anthony "AJ" Swentosky, the young company is changing the game when it comes to producing engaging, easy-to-access fishing content that aims to give you the tools and education to help maximize your skills and time on the water. We sat down with JK to learn more about what makes Fish Camp tick and their inspiration for bringing the company to life.
3BIRD: What was the inspiration & idea behind creating Fish Camp?
Fish Camp: The inspiration really came from the friends and guides who fly-fish and the direct experiences we have had over the years learning the nuances of technique, etiquette, and what’s going on with the rivers and places we love. There are so many different personalities in fly-fishing and everyone has their own take and own experience to enhance the angler’s journey. We saw a unique opportunity to bring that knowledge base and experience together in a platform that can be shared and hopefully inspire others. It’s a masterclass meets fly-fishing for all stages from beginners, to intermediates, to the more species-specific and technique-specific expert level stuff, and the added benefit from learning from multiple personalities which is fun in the process.
3BIRD: What's your subscriber/business model?
We provide three different options to get the Fish Camp experience: an annual membership billed yearly, which also includes exclusive member benefits and discounts, a monthly subscription which gets access to all the course content with new courses added regularly, or if you are just interested in one particular subject from a particular instructor we also provide a la carte individual courses available for purchase.
3BIRD: What is Fish Camp creating for audiences that might not exist out there right now?
I have had close to 30 years of filmmaking experience in the outdoor adventure space and really wanted to bring a level of production value to Fish Camp that is not typical for instructional content. It goes beyond just masterclass meets fly-fishing with the level of epic b-roll and visuals. We have been lucky enough to shoot so much of this content with our instructors, but also have been lucky to be friends with a lot of fly-fishing film makers who also work with our instructors which helped us enhance the visual experience for Fish Camp. Obviously, there is a ton of content on YouTube and other resources, a lot of which is great, but we really wanted to curate an experience with best-in-class instructors who really care about the angler’s journey and how that journey benefits our ecosystems, and who really care about sharing their knowledge. We also really wanted to bring a level of conservation and etiquette into our platform that is not always associated with the “tactical” knowledge of a lot of other how-to and gear videos out there. Of course we all want to be better at catching fish, but as one of our instructors, Kirk Deeter of Trout Unlimited points out, “How anglers interact with the water is in and of itself a conservation issue. It’s only natural—if we’re helping people become better anglers we should also help them become stewards."
3BIRD: What's one thing you want viewers to walk away with from Fish Camp's work?
One thing? Wow! I would have to say ... really a curiosity. We have so many epic human beings (guides and outfitters) who are genuine in how they love and care about what they do and we get to share that on Fish Camp. They really embody the paradigm that the journey is the reward, and as one of our instructors, the legendary Jeff Currier, says in his Carp course, “The coolest thing about fly-fishing is that you are never done learning.”
Learn more about our partner Fish Camp HERE.
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