Friday Film Festival 02.24.12

Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Web for the best fly-fishing footage available. There was such an embarrassment of riches this week, I can offer a baker’s dozen videos that will take you from New Zealand, to Canada, to the Indian Ocean, and back to North Carolina, with plenty of other locales in between. Plus, our friends in Sweden seek to revolutionize winter fly fishing in ways you won’t believe.

But I also have a request for any of you who watch these videos on a mobile phone or iPad: Some readers have had difficulty watching both the vimeo and youtube videos, but it’s not clear to us why. So, please, if you are watching these on anything but your computer, please leave a comment about your viewing experience, positive or negative. Our goal is to ensure that everyone gets to enjoy our Friday fun. Thanks, and see you next week with a fresh set of films!

Catch & Release from Chris Maher on Vimeo.

We kick things off with a great compilation shot on the Truckee River and featuring some sweet rainbows, browns, and a gorgeous little golden trout at the end. Nothing fancy here: just plenty of really beautiful fish.

running of the bulls HD from Alexander Del Hierro on Vimeo.

Here’s a trailer for an upcoming film (to be ready for the 2013 festival circuit) about chasing bull trout in Canada. One of our art directors walked past my desk as I was watching this, and he said, “That’s a small bull trout!” But I suspect that the filmmakers are saving the big ones for the final product.

Here’s a fun demonstration of the power of Euro-nymphing, as well as the schooling tendencies of trout in winter. Watch as Gilbert Rowley lands 5 trout in 5 minutes. It’s pretty impressive. To be fair, though, I once saw coarse fisherman Mick Thill land 10 fish in one minute.

A few years ago, I fished with guide Alvin Dedeaux in the Vail Valley of Colorado, and I remember that he talked some about the bass fishing in the Texas Hill Country, where he spends the off season. Based on this video, the bassin’ is as good as he said it was.

The Bonefish Chronicles: 10 lb + bonefish from Willy Vallely on Vimeo.

If you’re only going to catch one bonefish in a video, make sure it’s a good one. A case in point: this 10-pound-plus monster.

Tennessee Musky from Bend Pool Media on Vimeo.

We don’t find a lot of good musky-fishing videos, mostly because so few fly fishermen actually catch these toothy “fish of a thousands casts.” The chances that someone will have a camera along when such an event happens are slim. Luckily, these Tennessee boys captured some cool footage and a couple nice fish.

We’re so used to seeing giant brown trout from New Zealand that they might lose some of their appeal. But I doubt it. Here’s a fine one-cast, one-fish video featuring a 7-pounder.

Living in Motion from Paul Swint on Vimeo.

Paul Swint works for another fly-fishing company, but it’s hard to believe, after seeing this video, that he works at all. There’s a little bit of everything in here: salt water, fresh water, firearms, truck drifting, cliff diving, . . .the list goes on. But the best parts are the gorgeous locations and the fine trout.

CLOUDYBONES from h2obonefishing on Vimeo.

Everyone knows you can’t catch bonefish on cloudy days, right? Someone should tell these guys from The Bahamas that they’re doing it wrong.

Monster Bow on the Taylor River from Doug Hensel on Vimeo.

Not much angling action here, just one monster rainbow trout. This, apparently, is why anglers will brave the cold to fish Colorado’s Taylor River in midwinter.

Fly fishing from Adam Moffat on Vimeo.

There’s not a single grip-and-grin shot in this lovely video by Adam Moffat. Instead, it’s just a paean to the beauty of the sport itself—to the solitude, the mist, the rhythmic casting…oh yeah, and the dreadlocks.

BASS from Chris Campbell on Vimeo.

Photographer Chris Campbell went bass fishing this week near his North Carolina home, and sent me a link to his video. I especially like the underwater stuff at the end.

Finally, here’s something truly fabulous from Sweden: a video about the new sport of “flycefishing.” Since I don’t speak Swedelish, I am not sure how much of this is a joke, but I love it nonetheless. I might even have to give it a try. Have a great weekend!