Experienced angling journalist and former magazine editor David Guest has launched a newsletter designed to build a community of people who love sharing and reading great fishing stories.
The Hook-Up is powered by fast-growing media platform Substack and will publish a new edition twice a month from February 2026.
The newsletter features fascinating long-reads from anglers around the world about their greatest fishing adventures and what fishing means to them, as well as providing a place to celebrate angling culture.
So far, The Hook-Up has already covered Irish ferox trout record holder Ceri Jones, renowned journalist and catfish obsessive Johan Struwe, Nordic fishing guide Eric Axner and YouTube fly tying sensation Erin Hyde from She Ties Flies.
“Like most new ideas, creating The Hook-Up was born out of my own frustration at the current state of fishing content and how it is consumed,” explained David.
“Rather than creating something that exists simply to meet the needs of an algorithm or a social media trend, The Hook-Up is a platform that exists to tell stories in their full and uncut forms. Think of it as an old-school magazine feature but in digital form – not so focused on tactics or tackle but more on people, place and adventure.”
David draws on almost 20 years of experience in journalism in the fishing and outdoors industry. He was editor of Tackle Trade World for six years between 2011 and 2017 before joining American magazine Fishing Tackle Retailer as a contributing writer between 2018 and 2021.
He also had a stint as deputy editor of Nous Media title Flyfishing Journal and, more recently, worked as a copywriter and editorial consultant for major brands including Svendsen Sport and Pure Fishing.
“I’ve been blessed to meet some amazing people in fishing throughout my career,” David continued. “I now want to use my skills as a writer and journalist to help share the stories of those people for the entertainment and enjoyment of other anglers. Fishing culture is something that should be celebrated and shared.
“Because the next best thing to actually being out fishing yourself is reading great stories about it to inspire your next trip out.”
You can find The Hook-Up on Substack at thehookup1.substack.com or on Instagram at @thehookup.fishing
