Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Internets for the best fly-fishing footage available. There are loads of great videos out there, and more are posted every day. Every Friday, you can find the best of the best posted here, for your pleasure. We surf so you don’t have to!
This week, we’ve got a pretty salty mix, featuring wild baby-tarpon action and an epic striped marlin battle in Mexico, plus a little bit of Cuban spice. Trout lovers will enjoy the views of monster New Zealand browns, as well as a double-header from our favorite Swedish filmmakers and goofballs. Finally, another edition of our “Fly-Fishing for Weird Stuff” series pits an angler against a wary kitteh (but don’t worry, cat lovers: it’s for a good, heart-in-the-right-place cause). Enjoy!
Crazy Tarpon at Isla Blanca from Angling On The Fly on Vimeo.
This video shows the many ways all hell can break loose when you throw flies at baby tarpon. This dogfight starts with a solid strike, and then the fish tries every trick in the book to get away, while the angler struggles with the mangroves, the boat, and a tarpon that won’t quit.
I guarantee that, by the end of this video, you’re gonna be jealous of Mike Kirkpatrick, who seems to regularly catch two or three of what most of us would consider “trout of a lifetime” in a single day. The fact that he happens to live on the South Island of New Zealand certainly makes his job easier, but it’s astonishing how many 8+-pound browns he holds up for the camera. These self-shot vignettes are remarkably well done, given that the poor guy has to film and reel in those monsters.
This is Bungary – Stefan Ågren full part from Rolf Nylinder on Vimeo.
This is Bungary – Harald Nylinder full part from Rolf Nylinder on Vimeo.
Our favorite Swedes–the guys at frontsidesly.com–have embarked on a series of videos that focus on the group’s individual members. The first two installments profile Stefan Ågren and Harald Nylinder, showing the boys casting to big, surface-feeding fish in waters across northern Europe and Iceland. There are the usual whoops of joy, big smiles, and unbridled excitement that make all their films so much fun to watch.
Zapata Peninsula, Cuba from Eric Kiel stills.film.stock on Vimeo.
Many Americans still view Cuba through a lens that stopped filming in the 1950s, and this video has a period feel to it. The boats aren’t flashy, the guides aren’t decked out in the latest gear, and there’s no thumping music in the background. But there is great footage of flats, mangrove-lined channels, and beautiful bonefish. Hat tip to Moldy Chum for this one.
If you’ve ever felt the urge to try to catch a giant striped marlin on a fly, this video will serve as either a catalyst or a cautionary tale. A double hookup off Cabo San Lucas offers plenty of action, from exciting teasing and strikes to long-distnce leaps by majestic fish, but you also get a sense for just how much work it is to subdue one of these bluewater giants. The shot at the very end of an exhausted angler (who’s in a lot better shape than most fly fishers I see, including me) suggests this kind of battle requires strength, stamina, and heart.
So, you’ve found what appears to be an abandoned kitten, but it won’t let you approach it for a rescue mission. What can you do? This ingenious angler uses all his fly-fishing wiles to create a happy ending. Here’s his story.
Last week during the Hammond School fly fishing summer camp, the campers and I came across this kitten up on the Saluda River just above the Mill Race rapids. The kitten was sitting on the side of the road under the guard rail near where we’d parked. It was pretty hot out and the kitten looked pitiful going through trash looking for something to eat. One of the boys said I should try to catch it and keep it as a pet, but I explained that my husky, Max, would not like that idea. The boys insisted though, so I tried to grab the little guy and he ran right into some poison ivy to hide.
The kids made me promise to come back later and get the kitten–they thought I could get it in a landing net.
When I came back later that evening I’d forgotten my net. Some hook-less rigging of my fly rod did the trick though as you can see in this video.
Sorry about the bag on my hand. I’m allergic to poison ivy… My new little friend got a bath when I got it home.
So now the kitten is living in a kennel with my housemates and I, but it needs a permanent home. If anyone out there wants a kitten or knows anyone who might be willing to adopt this little guy, please let me know. I can be reached at [REDACTED].
I haven’t figured out if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but I was thinking Sally or Sully might be a good name or maybe Millie or Milton…
Yet another example of way we can use fly-fishing gear for land animals. Have a great weekend!