I have long subscribed to In-Fisherman. I've been getting numerous "Renew Now!" notices in the mail, offering me one full year for only $20.

The regular emails I get from the magazine say Subscribe now for only $9. So I waited until my subscription ended with the current issue, clicked on the Subscribe Now button in one of their emails, and learned that due to the pandemic (Huh?) I can get a one-year sub for just $6.

Their credit card system seems to be broken, so I checked the Bill Me Later box. That worked.

It's amazing that people will pay $20 without checking. Most of that goes to the subscription renewal service, not to the magazine. If you get this or any other magazine, be sure to compare the actual magazine subscription price to the renewal price.

In-Fisherman became such a faint shadow of its former self at the point when Premedia bought it that I quit subscribing. I still go back and re-read the issues from its glory days. I have always liked Doug Stange and felt bad when he was left to keep things going when money replaced passion as the driving force.

Outdoor Life and Field and Stream are doing the same things. They:
1. Switched to 4 issues per year
2. Switched to auto billing
3. Auto bill you at the full subscription rate
4. Have fliers in their magazine giving you two years for less that the annual rate

Quite frankly, it’s a bunch of crap. The magazine is only marginally better as a quarterly than it was prior to that, and it isn’t as good as it was in the 80’s and 90’s (remember when they included the regional inserts, Tap’s Tips, and produced 12 issues per year.

I have taken Field and Stream since the late 90’s and Outdoor Life almost as long. I told them to cancel (do not auto bill). It makes me sad as some of the content is good, but I really don’t like that they treat new subscribers better than long-standing customers. They aren’t any better than Direct TV and Sirrus/XM in that regard. They should just pick an annual price and charge that to everyone.

What do you guys do with your old magazines? I wish that I knew a kid that would be interested as that is what got me hooked on outdoor stuff at an early age when dad’s gun guy friend gave me his old magazines. As a child, I knew where dad’s friend kept his collection of Playboy magazines up at the cabin, so my reading list was somewhat diversified.

I give them to my kids.

Do the fish read it?

I suspect that the fish read the digital version, because they always give me the middle fin if I try whatever magic lure was in the magazine. They may be "online" with the magazine, but not on line with me.

The part of I-F I enjoy the most is the monthly "North With Doc" humor piece. Incredibly inventive to come up with tales like that month after month for years. The articles are somewhat fanciful, IMO.

I save all my back issues and when they are at least five years old, I leave them in the doctor/dentist/barber waiting rooms. Just to be consistent, you know.

Only five Rock? Do you black out the name, and address?