Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour “teh Interweb” for the best fly-fishing footage available. This week, to kick off the long holiday weekend, we’ve got a wide array of tasty fishing action that will probably whet your appetite for travel, new species, and fun with family. You’ll see what it’s like to catch Atlantic salmon on dry flies, learn how to avoid becoming lunch while releasing a snook, and discover the majestic Murray cod from the Land Down Under. There’s some important family stuff here, too, about fathers, daughters, and sons. (No moms, unfortunately, but we’ll get to that in a later FFF.) Remember: We surf, so you don’t have to. Enjoy the films and have a fun, safe long weekend!
You know what Atlantic-salmon fishing is like, right? You pay thousands of dollars to make thousands of casts on Miramichi or Margaree just to feel a single strike or maybe catch a grilse. Uh, not according to this video, which features some amazing dry-fly strikes from incredibly aggressive salmon. I wanna go there…NOW.
After I saw the savage strikes and big fish in this video, I had to look up “Murray cod” on Wikipedia. Turns out, it’s an Australian freshwater species that can grow to six-feet long and 250 pounds. That allotta fish! My only problem with this video is that the angler doesn’t have enough logos on his vest. What’s up with that?
Isla Blanca – Cancun Fly Fishing from Angling On The Fly on Vimeo.
Catching a Grand Slam–a tarpon, permit, and bonefish–in a single day is quite an accomplishment. Add a snook to the equation, and you’ve got yourself a Super Slam. Just watch out for the toothy predators hanging out in the mangroves as you’re releasing a fish. As one guy puts it, “Be careful. You’ll lose your hand.”
Welcome to the Jungle: The Deschutes River Stonefly Hatch from Outside Bend Productions on Vimeo.
The one summer I guided in Montana was the “Year without Stoneflies,” as the hatch was the worst in recent memory. Figures. Watching this video, you can understand what all the fuss is about and why anglers get giddy when the first huge stoneflies start to appear.
Fly fishing is full of stories about fathers and sons (see below), but daughters don’t get enough attention. That’s why it’s so great to see a young woman enjoying a fantastic day on the water with her dad, and the big New Zealand trout are fun to see, as well. I hope my daughter grows up to be as good an angler as this young woman.
Back in September, just after this blog was launched, we featured the original trailer for the film Tapam: A Fly Fishing Journey. Here’s a second version, with an extra minute of amazing tarpon action. Catching one of these beasts from a float tube takes skill and a certain amount of bravery.
Father and Son from William J. Meyer on Vimeo.
Here’s a son’s beautiful tribute to his father, a die-hard fly fisherman. The filmmaker writes, “I made this video with and for my father, Larry Zander, who died a few weeks ago, on May 27, 2011. He was 78. For those of you who knew my Dad, you will instantly recognize him in his natural habitat. To those of you who never met him, just know the river was his Church.”