Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Internets for the best fly-fishing footage available. This week, we’re pretty trout-centric, featuring New Zealand browns, Argentina rainbows, and Arctic char (okay, technically not trout) from Sweden. For you salt lovers, there’s a long film on fly fishing in Belize that will have you checking flights to Punta Gorda. While our West Coast compatriots endure historic runoff, things are heating up east of the Mississippi, so there are lots of reasons to watch. Enjoy!
Jurassic Lake – Argentina from The Fly Fishing Nation on Vimeo.
By now, most of us have heard of the giant rainbows of Argentina’s “Jurassic Lake” (which is really called Lago Strobel), but what’s particularly cool about this video is the focus on an angler landing a huge fish in one of the lake’s feeder streams. He’s fishing in water that looks like looks like my favorite 6-inch-brookie stream, but what he pulls out of it could easily eat the fish I’m used to catching.
Les Vaches et les Mouches from Jazz and Fly Fishing´s Jazzcam on Vimeo.
The guys from Jazz & Fly Fishing are building a great library of quirky videos that feature some great dry-fly fishing, but the deadpan sarcastic speech that opens this video is one of my favorite things they’ve done so far. It’s followed up, of course, with gorgeous browns feeding on the surface, all shot by the angler himself.
Grand Slam from Brady Crouch on Vimeo.
Having been tortured by both permit and tarpon, I can only dream of catching a Grand Slam. This video, shot over three years during trips to Belize, shows the wide variety of flats and mangrove fishing available off the coast of this small Central American country. The smiles on the anglers’ faces as line peels off their reels is a good indication of how spectacular the fishing can be.
A year in the business from Ben Paull on Vimeo.
Ben Paull shoots video for a San Francisco fly shop, so he has plenty of access to great imagery. This gorgeous montage features everything from the tropics, to Northwestern steelheading, to casting on practice ponds. He’s got a great eye for capturing the essence of his subjects. My favorite shot is the last Spey cast and how the line shoots.
Nordic Fly Fishing Tales – episode 2 – the lost river from Rolf Nylinder on Vimeo.
The Frontside Fly boys from Sweden are back again. (How they manage to churn out this much great video is beyond me.) In this edition, you’ll learn why Swedes hate being “squeezed by the Germans,” as well as how to imitate a goose. Unlike most of their videos, this one actually has a story arc, which is pretty fun–sort of a “Lost and Found” theme.
Barry and Cathy Beck just might be the nicest people in fly fishing, and they host trips all over the world. This video, shot on a New Zealand adventure, shows what a hardcore angler Cathy really is. Barry shot this in super hi-def (1080p), so if you’ve got the bandwidth, crank it up (using the button on the lower right of the player) for maximum beauty.
Fly Fishing from Kyle Walcott on Vimeo.
We finish with a short piece by guide Kyle Walcott, who had the pleasure of working on a Rivers of Recovery trip and guiding a war veteran. It’s amazing what his angler accomplishes with one-arm. It’s also great to be reminded yet again of the healing powers of beautiful water and trout. Have a great weekend!