When FISHO, a visual feast of fishing subcultures, landed in our post box we were intrigued. The mag itself with its stunning layouts and layered (ad-free) visual storytelling is like nothing we have seen before. Hell, even the courier packaging with its disco ball/fish scale finish was different. Wanting more, we got in touch with Nick Marzano of FISHO magazine. Je fielded our questions and served up this issue’s playlist. It’s “an art-slash-fishing-slash-fashion experiment heavily inspired by disco, Africa, and the 70s.”

When you’re not putting together FISHO, how do you pay the bills?

I’m a freelance creative director, writer, and photographer. 

What are your local waters? 

Primarily the Puget Sound here in Seattle, Washington for coho and king salmon, coastal cutthroat, ling cod and flounder (the last being the equivalent of catching a wet doormat). As often as possible I head inland to fly fish the Skykomish and Snoqualmie river systems for rainbow trout and whatever salmon are running. The scenery here is epic.

What does Nick Marzano of FISHO magazine use for fishing? Fly? Heathenware? Dynamite?

The standard PNW (Pacific Northwest) salmon trolling setup: lead cannonball, spinning flasher, hoochie lure with a sliver of neon-green scented herring. I like a tiny brown caddis for the occasional skinny rainbows I catch. My all-time favourite technique brings me back to my Australian youth, though, and that’s live bait for pelagic species anywhere it’s tropical, toothy and unpredictable. 

What’s the story with this FISHO’s being “Issue:00 Street Gumbo”? Is it a precursor to your first issue? What’s the plan?

Yes, I imagined it as a precursor to a “proper” launch issue that’s more magazine-like in editorial form, with essays and more professional design. The irony is, the feedback on the photo-zine-puzzled-together vibe has been so positive, I intend to keep that format for the next issue. I’ll let it evolve and feel out the format as it comes together. I like the idea of an opening essay to provide context, and then a purely visual body that invites the viewer’s imagination to create its own connections between the juxtaposed images – some abstract, others literal.  

So what can we expect from the next issue?

The upcoming Issue:001 will focus on my home city of Seattle and the surrounding waters. It’ll have a similar format to “Street Gumbo” with a clam chowder flavour that captures the characters, geography, and fishing styles unique to this part of the world. I’m working on the final designs now, which includes a unicorn fishmonger holding a king salmon, a tropical twist on winter fly fishing, and some stunning Skykomish River bridge graffiti. 

How do people get their hands on FISHO? Subscription? Carrier pigeon? The north wind?

Currently FISHO is only available as a limited-edition print. I gift it to folks whose fishing work (photography, curation, fly designs, etc.) inspires me for whatever reason. I send a copy, and in return I get gratitude. Often in the form of a great story, an invitation to fish, a T-shirt, cool sticker, a box of flies… Stuff I can feature on Instagram, add to my basement gallery, and grow the community organically as a kind of fishing exchange programme.   

Featuring William Onyeabor, Letta Mbulu, The Maytals, Talking Heads, Francis Bebey and more, listen to the playlist from Nick Marzano of FISHO magazine on our Spotify profile.

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