Amato Media

What Amato Media does

Amato Media, operating legally as Frank Amato Publications, Inc., is a privately held independent niche media publisher founded in 1974 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company produces and sells fishing and outdoor recreation content through three primary product lines: two flagship subscription magazines (Salmon Trout Steelheader and Great Lakes Angler, both now offered digital-only), a catalog of more than 500 book titles covering techniques, regional river guides, fly tying, species-specific strategies, and outdoor cooking, and ancillary fishing maps, DVDs, and art prints. Commercial activity is conducted direct-to-consumer via a Shopify-powered online storefront at amatobooks.com with multi-currency checkout (USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, AUD) and free domestic shipping above $100.

The underlying technology stack is conventional e-commerce rather than differentiated platform IP: Shopify storefront, blog/CMS, email newsletter, and organic social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest). Revenue mechanics are predominantly one-time unit sales of physical media at price points ranging from $5.95 to $59.95, supplemented by annual digital magazine subscriptions and a discounted gently-used and out-of-print inventory line. The customer base is a long tail of recreational anglers, fly fishers, salmon/steelhead specialists, and outdoor cooking enthusiasts, segmented primarily by use case rather than by buyer type.

The business has no disclosed external funding, no institutional or enterprise customers, no parent company, and no recent M&A activity; it is family-operated (Amato family) and has remained privately independent for over five decades. Geographic reach extends across the USA, Canada, and select European markets via the multi-currency storefront. No AI/ML capabilities, patents, or technology partnerships are referenced in the available data.

Name

Amato Media

Legal name

Frank Amato Publications, Inc.

Website

https://amatobooks.com/

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Amato Media (Frank Amato Publications, Inc.) is a privately held Portland, Oregon-based publisher founded in 1974 that produces two fishing magazines, more than 500 book titles, maps, and art prints for recreational anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, selling direct-to-consumer through its amatobooks.com Shopify storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor & Fishing Media Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Book Retailers and News Dealers (459210), Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Fishing & Tackle Retail (CRAMABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fly Fishing Specialty Retail (CRAMALAD), Fishing Gifts, Collectibles & Licensed Gear Retail (CRAMALAO)

Keywords

• Fishing books
• Outdoor media publishing
• Angling magazines
• Fly fishing guides
• Fishing maps charts

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: One-time purchase of fishing and outdoor books, including new titles, gently used books, and out-of-print editions at various price points ranging from $7.95 to $59.95.
2. Map & Chart Sales: Sale of fishing maps and charts, including river maps, regional fishing guides, and river journals priced between $5.95 and $24.95.
3. Magazine Subscriptions: Subscription services for Salmon Trout Steelheader and Great Lakes Angler magazines, offered in digital-only format.
4. Art Prints & DVDs: Sale of art prints featuring fish species and wildlife, as well as instructional DVDs on fishing techniques.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Amato Media publishes and sells fishing and outdoor recreation content directly to consumers through its amatobooks.com storefront. Its catalog includes over 500 book titles covering species-specific fishing techniques, fly tying, regional guides, and outdoor cooking; two flagship digital magazines (Salmon Trout Steelheader and Great Lakes Angler); regional fishing maps and charts; art prints; and instructional DVDs.

Product overview

Amato Media operates as a media publishing company with two major fishing magazines (Salmon Trout Steelheader and Great Lakes Angler) and a portfolio of over 500 fishing and outdoor-related book titles, fishing maps and charts, fly fishing & tying books, art prints, and videos. The company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and has been serving outdoor readers for over 50 years. The product portfolio is organized into several collections: Fishing Books (technique, historical, and scientific fishing information), Fishing Maps & Charts (regional maps and boat launches), Fly Fishing & Tying Books (from the publishers of Flyfishing & Tying Journal), Gently Used Books (bargain section), Art Prints (fish and wildlife artwork), Frank's Books (company history), and Videos/DVDs. The company also operates two magazine subscriptions available in digital format.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Salmon Trout Steelheader: Magazine covering salmon, trout, and steelhead fishing
• Great Lakes Angler

Products and services

• Fishing Books A catalog of more than 500 published book titles on fishing and outdoor topics, covering techniques, regional guides, species-specific strategies, fly tying, knots, cooking, and history. Targeted at recreational anglers and outdoor enthusiasts purchasing individual titles through the amatobooks.com storefront.
• Fishing Maps & Charts Regional fishing maps and charts covering specific rivers, lakes, boat launches, and fishing techniques across regions including Oregon, Washington, Northern California, Alaska, and Colorado. Priced between $5.95 and $24.95 and sold to individual anglers.
• Fly Fishing & Tying Books Specialized book collection on fly fishing techniques and fly tying, published by the team behind the Flyfishing & Tying Journal. Targeted at dedicated fly anglers seeking pattern directories, casting instruction, and nymph/dry fly techniques.
• Gently Used & Bargain Books Discounted section offering collectors, out-of-print, and gently used fishing, hunting, cooking, and history books, DVDs, and maps at reduced prices with savings of $7 to $37 off regular pricing.
• Art Prints Art prints featuring fish and wildlife subjects, including the Native Trout of North America series and other outdoor artwork, sold as individual pieces to outdoor enthusiasts and collectors.
• Videos & DVDs Fishing and outdoor-related instructional videos and DVDs covering techniques such as tying, casting, and species-specific approaches, sold to individual anglers.
• Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine Digital subscription magazine covering salmon, trout, and steelhead fishing techniques, regional tactics, and angler stories, sold on an annual subscription basis to sport fishermen.
• Great Lakes Angler Magazine Digital subscription magazine focused on Great Lakes fishing, including species coverage, tackle, and regional strategy, sold on an annual subscription basis to sport fishermen.
• Frank's Books Books about founder Frank Amato, his passion for steelhead fishing, Pacific Northwest fishing history, and the company's publishing legacy, sold to readers interested in angling heritage.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stackpole Books: Stackpole Books is a long-standing publisher of outdoor, hunting, fishing, and nature titles, with a catalog of technique guides, regional guides, and reference books directly comparable to Amato's 500+ fishing titles. Both serve recreational anglers through direct-to-consumer and bookstore channels.
• Lyons Press: Lyons Press (now part of Globe Pequot) is an established publisher of outdoor recreation, fishing, hunting, and nature books. It competes in the same niche category of technique-driven fishing titles and regional angling guides as Amato.
• Falcon Guides: Falcon Guides publishes how-to and regional outdoor recreation books including fishing, hiking, and camping. Its instructional fishing catalog overlaps directly with Amato's technique-focused titles such as steelhead drift fishing and fly tying books.
• Down East Books: Down East Books is a regional book publisher with strong fishing and outdoor titles covering New England waters. It shares Amato's model of niche geographic authority (PNW for Amato, New England for Down East) and direct-to-consumer book sales.
• In-Fisherman: In-Fisherman is a long-running fishing media brand covering freshwater species with magazine, digital content, and TV programming. It competes directly with Amato's Salmon Trout Steelheader and Great Lakes Angler magazines in the recreational angler content category.
• Fly Fisherman Magazine: Fly Fisherman is a specialized fly fishing magazine with instructional content, gear reviews, and destination guides. It directly overlaps with Amato's fly fishing and tying book collection and Flyfishing & Tying Journal heritage.
• Wild River Press: Wild River Press is an independent publisher specializing in fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation books. As a smaller-scale niche publisher with a similar title count and category focus, it is directly comparable to Amato Media.

Broad incumbents

• Outdoor Life: Outdoor Life is a major mainstream outdoor recreation magazine covering fishing, hunting, and adventure. It is a broader incumbent in the outdoor content space, overlapping with Amato's fishing coverage but serving a wider general-interest audience.
• Field & Stream: Field & Stream is a long-established outdoor magazine and digital publisher covering fishing, hunting, and conservation. As a large generalist outdoor media brand, it overlaps with Amato's fishing content but operates at significantly broader scale.
• Orvis: Orvis is a major fly fishing retailer and content publisher offering fishing gear, apparel, schools, and editorial content. While broader and retail-led, Orvis's content, schools, and fly fishing guides compete for the same recreational angler audience Amato serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/frank-amato-publications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amato Media