Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Web for the best fly-fishing footage available. This week’s collection is heavy on the trout, with a dose of Atlantic salmon and steelhead thrown in for good measure. The saltwater community is represented by just a single bonefish vid, but I would expect an onslaught of films from the flats over the next few months. It’s exciting to see so many anglers shooting video even in the dead of winter. More and more of the best fly-fishing films are being posted on vimeo, rather than YouTube. Let me know if you’re having any problems viewing the vimeo stuff. Remember, we surf so you don’t have to. But if you do stumble upon something great that you think is worthy of inclusion in an FFF, please post it in the comments below. See you next week with a fresh set of films!
We kick things off with a sweet entry from Alberta, Canada, featuring great camera work and stunning brown trout. The focus on insects really makes the connection between the river’s bug life and those chunky trout.
Bonefishing Andros Island January 2012 from FlyAddict on Vimeo.
Five guys from New England escape Old Man Winter by heading to Andros Island in The Bahamas. What do they find? Big bonefish, of course (not to mention a shark or two). Sure looks like fun to me on this rainy, raw February day in Vermont.
King of the Herd from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.
Are you guys sick of Ivan’s videos from southwestern Montana yet? Nah, me neither. He’s got a fun style and a good eye for what will capture the imagination of a fly fisher. The fact that he lives so near to these great trout rivers doesn’t hurt. So I say, “Keep ’em coming, Ivan.”
Let me start off here by admitting that there’s some poor fish handling (dragging a fish up on the rocks) and the sad dispatching of a large salmon in this video. (As long as it’s legal, we’ll leave the ethics of that up to the individual angler.) But there’s also some fantastic angling action and a peak into how Scandinavian anglers work. I’ve always wanted to fish Norway, and this video only makes that desire stronger.
Early Morning Sipper from Al Simson on Vimeo.
I have been to Tasmania, on one of my favorite fishing trips of all time. This video offers some great atmosphere and a sense of what it’s like to cast into one of the island’s large impoundments (Tassies often call them “lagoons”), which hold some giant trout.
An Arvo On The Carp- Leaked Footage From Brothers In Fly from Ben Hohnke on Vimeo.
How about some heavy-metal carping from the Land Down Under? These guys seem to be having a blast and land some real honkers.
Precision from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.
This video features some of the sweetest steelheading footage we’ve seen in awhile. Witnessing the strike and the leaps of one of these marvelous fish makes me want to head to the Pacific Northwest.
Trout Flurries from Julien Jarry on Vimeo.
Ah, winter fishing! In most parts of the country, it’s not about monster fish but about getting on the water and connecting with the river. If you can get a few trout to fall for the nymph, even better.
Long Week from BLOODKNOTS on Vimeo.
Asher Koles, one of the anglers in this video, emailed me a link to his film to see if it was FFF worthy. Here’s his answer. I really like the camera work and the underwater shots, which must have resulted in some cold hands.
One in Winter from ryan peterson on Vimeo.
Here’s some more steelhead goodness, in a film that doesn’t shy away from the realities of the sport, including the time and dedication required, as well as the miserable conditions to be endured (not to mention the dunkings). Luckily, the locales are stunning, and there’s some quite beautiful stuff here.
Fly Fishing North Carolina Wild Rainbows from Robert Gibbes on Vimeo.
More fantastic small-stream fly fishing from the southern Appalachians, as a couple of Tar Heel anglers chasing hatches of winter stoneflies on wild-trout streams. The iced-up guides don’t seem to stop them much.
Finally, here’s an older (2009) trailer for a Norwegian film that I stumbled across. Gotta love some ski-in fishing. There are lots of great bug shots, as well as some sweet dry-fly strikes here. Have a great weekend!