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 quite globe-spanning and features a video that makes incredible use of the International Date Line. There’s a little bit of everything—saltwater, warmwater, steelhead, and trout—in plenty of interesting locations. But I want to add a homework assignment to this FFF, as well: Since we spend so much time looking at these videos and often critiquing them, let’s give the filmmakers some feedback on their craft. In the comments below, please discuss what you love about fly-fishing videos (big fish, great locations, etc.) and what you dislike (too much driving footage, horrible music, etc.) Maybe we can play a little part in helping fly-fishing filmmakers make the most crowd-pleasing videos possible. It seems like a useful exercise. And 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 a future FFF, please post it in the comments below. See you next week with a fresh set of films!
Mad River Staging from Echo Productions on Vimeo.
Testing the local waters early in the season, these Ohio anglers didn’t find a lot of fish, but they did shoot a beautiful little video that captures the cold, small-stream experience. A few signs of spring and some sweet little browns can warm the heart of a fly fisher on a chilly day.
Andros Bonefish 2011 from Lee Kuepper on Vimeo.
But if a northerner really wants to get warm in the winter, he should head to the tropics. This highlight reel from Andros Island in The Bahamas features plenty of sun, gorgeous flats, sweet bonefish, a scary shark who doesn’t seem to want to be unhooked, and a thirsty crab.
Paloma River Lodge, Chile – December 2011 from Casey Morley on Vimeo.
This is one of the best “vacation-style” videos we’ve seen. Shot in December on a trip to Chile, it features some lovely shots, gorgeous scenery, strong editing, and a a real sense of fun. Not to mention some honking trouts.
Kings of the River from distill productions on Vimeo.
We posted a low-def YouTube version of this trailer back in August, but I was excited to see a new, HD version show up on vimeo. It’s worth revisiting this one in all its glory to marvel at the monster golden dorado of remote Bolivia. Warning: a couple of f-bombs toward the end.
Spirit of the Fly from RobertGibbes;HighWaterAdventures on Vimeo.
The delayed-harvest season in the mountains of North Carolina offers some excellent fishing for big trout, and these guys score on the Davidson and Mills Rivers, and on Avery Creek. The beast of a brook trout at 3:00 is probably a brood-stock fish, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting a catch in the midst of all those smaller browns.
There are a couple of super-cool things about this video from Japan. The first is that it was shot today. How amazing is that? Obviously made possible by Japan’s location on the other side of the International Date Line, the same-day fishing-to-editing-to-posting shows the incredible power of this medium. The other cool thing is, of course, the lovely native yamame trout, which seems every bit as mesmerizing as our brookies.
Montana adventure….. Fishing, Moose, Golden’s & my awesome wife!! from Tracy Moore on Vimeo.
The actual fishing doesn’t start until after the 2:00 mark here, but the video does a wonderful job of capturing the excitement of all that can happen on the way to the river. Not sure the handgun scene was necessary, but the rest is fun and serves as a good lead-in to the actual float trip at the end.
Rompin Sailfish – Shorts from Strip Strike Fishing TV on Vimeo.
FFF regulars will know how much I love adding a country to our list of destinations posted here. That’s why this sailfish footage from Malaysia caught my eye. According to Wikipedia, “The town of Rompin is known for its recreational fishing. From the months of March to November, prime Sailfish season, anglers from all over the world travel to Rompin to try their luck with the famous billed fish.”
River:1 – Work 0 from CP Flyfishing on Vimeo.
I guess if you own a fly shop, you have the option of closing it up and heading to the river. For many of us, the problem might be when to keep the thing open if there’s fishing this good in close proximity.
Slovenia is definitely Old World, but there’s something exotic and mysterious about it to me. The waters look brilliantly clear, the fish healthy, and the scenery magnificent. I wanna go.
East Side Chromes from Three Of Trout on Vimeo.
Good think Spring Break happens when there’s hot steelhead fishing in the Great Lakes tributaries of Ontario. These anglers ran into some spotty weather but managed to land solid fish from several different streams.
Here’s some good stuff from British Columbia, with Roy Wheeldon showing off some useful and productive nymphing techniques, while catching a couple browns over 20 inches. The cast-and-strike scene that starts around :49 is particularly nice.
This filmmaker had a cool idea: to put a camera in the water next to a spawning bed to film a bass eating a fly. Aside from the two strikes, which are awesome, it just interesting to see the fish in its natural environment.
Czars of the Brookie from Bug Chuckers, Inc. on Vimeo.
I included this video for its weirdness alone. Why a group of guys from the East Coast would make a Russian-themed video in the Southeast is beyond me. Maybe that’s why I like it. Have a great weekend!