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 very Euro-centric, which is something that hasn’t happened before. We’ve got great stuff from Spain, Sweden, and France, along with a New Zealand entry that’s not at all what you expect. From our fair shores, there are some cool trout and carp videos, as well as one celebrating the beginning of tarpon season in Florida. I must say, the musical selections this week are top notch, although it turned out that last week’s FFF excited our surprisingly large Iron-Maiden-loving constituency. 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!
Les Temps Sont En Train De Changer from Bearnishfly on Vimeo.
We kick things off with this gorgeous video from France, which features an extremely American soundtrack. Who wouldn’t love footage of feeding brown trout set to a little Dylan? Some really great cinematography here to go with wonderful shots of trout taking flies, both real and imitations, off the surface.
Surf & Inshore Fly Fishing 2011 – Intro from Peter Laurelli on Vimeo.
We’ve been big fans of Peter Laurelli’s year-end-review films for a couple of years now, and each one is better than the last. His 2011 film is 35 minutes long, but here’s just the first two minutes. We can’t wait to see the rest.
Strangely enough, our only New Zealand entry this week does not feature huge trout. Instead, it’s a great, self-shot small-stream adventure that does feature some simply gorgeous less-then-trophy-size fish. The angles, the colors, and the use of light really stand out in this effort. It shows another side of New Zealand that’s equally attractive. . .to me, anyway.
CRAZY IVAN from fishbeer on Vimeo.
What do you when the river you want to fish is swollen with rainwater? Why, you fish anyway, of course. These guys look like they know how to have a good time on the water, no matter what the conditions are, and the Pere Marquette will almost always produce the fish you seek.
O2NATOS Trailer: The Beginning from o2natos on Vimeo.
This short trailer packs a lot of fishing action into just 50 seconds, and it’s enough to make a guy yearn to return to the Spanish Pyrenees. I expect to see a lot more from these guys, based on their website.
March Poon from Ganesh Chatani on Vimeo.
Okay, a hint to aspiring filmmakers: using a soundtrack by the Pixies will almost always get you into the FFF. Some great POV stuff of a tarpon hookup and bite. Ganesh Chatani has 32 videos up, so we can expect to see more as the tarpon season progresses.
I can’t believe they didn’t use the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” as the soundtrack for this one. Rocking the South Platte River in Denver for golden bonefish is a time-honored tradition among Mile High anglers, and check out the pigs available right in the city.
Billed as a Preview for 2012, this video promises plenty of good things to come from a couple of very young anglers from Alberta, Canada. The professional quality suggests talent beyond their years.
Something beautiful from Sweden, here: as the video description says, “”A short trailer from last year’s material that shows the future of fishing trips and movies that will come. Join us for awesome fishing videos and sick fun entertainment that will make you fall off the chair.” That’s a pretty big promise.
Our second video from the Spanish Pyrenees in this FFF, a trailer for an upcoming DVD, offers a wide array of great scenes, some featuring very cool tracking shots. I’ve fished in Spain twice in the last few years, and I cannot stress enough what a fantastic experience it is. I don’t know why it’s not a more popular destination for American anglers.
Adrift – No.4 – Brooks and Done // Fly Fishing Western Wisconsin Trout from Labor // Design // Minneapolis on Vimeo.
Although this video starts out with more driving than our audience likes, it also uses some cool video-editing techniques that set it apart from the run-of-the-mill fly-fishing product. And I’m a sucker for small-stream, brookie stuff, of course.
East Walker River from Oscar & Lauren on Vimeo.
We finish with some California dreamin’ from the East Walker River near the Nevada border, pretty much due east of San Francisco. The additional pooch footage make it a lot of fun. Have a great weekend!