'Deadliest Catch' producer helps promote El Dorado County

The producers of the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" are helping El Dorado County promote the county's natural, historical, cultural and agricultural resources.

Pilot Hill resident Jaime Tafoya said he was interviewing local business owners for the county's Economic Development Department a few months ago when he met Todd Stanley.

The owner of Boil Line Productions in Lotus, Stanley and his brother Doug are best known as the producers and cameramen for the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," about crab fishermen in Alaska. The show has entered its fourth season, according to the Discovery Channel. An earlier version of this story was incorrect on the number of seasons the show has had. For more on the show, go to: http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html As Tafoya collected information from Stanley as part of the program to aid the county in business retention, the two men hatched an idea to employ Stanley's talents to promote El Dorado County.

Now they're going around the county filming segments for a "sizzle reel," or pilot for what they hope will become a regional TV series spotlighting El Dorado County's amenities and tourist attractions.

"Jaime was doing business visitation and knocked on the right door at the right time," said Sam Driggers, county economic development coordinator.

Tafoya met with Driggers and with Jody Franklin, tourism director with the El Dorado County Visitors Authority, who agreed to oversee the pilot project.

"I was very excited about it," Franklin said of Tafoya's proposal.

It's a big undertaking, she said, but "he had already gathered talented people."

Tafoya, who has been active in efforts to restore the historic Bayley House is Pilot Hill, approached Hollywood actor and Cool rancher Perry King.

King had appeared in a fundraising video for the Bayley House and agreed to be the host for the El Dorado County program.

"He will open and close each segment. Then we will have a field correspondent," Tafoya said.

For the pilot, he said, "We wanted to get a random sample (of the county's amenities), so we mapped out possible topics, then looked at the logistics."

They worked with the Divide Horsemen's Association to capture activities along the county's equestrian trails, and they followed the River City Beemers, a BMW motorcycle club, along the back roads.

They've also filmed agricultural operations at county Supervisor Ron Briggs' organic farm in Gold Hill. Footage of Masque Ristorante in El Dorado Hills will spotlight the county's culinary offerings.

With attractions including whitewater rafting, historical sites, wine country, Apple Hill, Lake Tahoe, the Eldorado National Forest, the Rubicon Trail, annual festivals and shopping venues, Tafoya said, "there's enough stuff, we could do a weekly show. It's mind-boggling."

Some funding for the project is available through the Visitors Authority, but Tafoya said the project also seeks support from El Dorado County businesses and organizations.

Tafoya said the pilot will be shown to the county Economic Development Advisory Committee next month, and a presentation to the South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce is planned in June.

Franklin said the Visitor's Authority will conduct market research to identify the audience for such promotional efforts and how they like to receive information.

With the market research in hand, she said, the group would be in a position to pitch the pilot to a television station serving the Sacramento region.

Franklin said she is gratified that the effort is being driven by local talent.

"The more you start talking to people, the more you realize all this talent is right here," she said. "They keep coming out of the woodwork."