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, we’re pretty much concentrated on Argentina and Scandinavia, with just a couple exceptions. Where were all the U.S. filmmakers this week? Perhaps the high water caused by massive runoff out West has resulted in a brief halt to the fishing-video-industrial complex in North America. Never fear, though, because we’ve got plenty of great dry-fly action, absolutely ginormous trout, and even a contest you can enter. The quality of filmmaking just keeps going up, and every week it becomes more and more difficult to choose what goes in the FFF and what other great stuff we have to leave out. Remember: We surf, so you don’t have to. Enjoy!
Wow. The quality of the video you can shoot with a digital SLR these days is astonishing. Here’s some great footage of cruising trout, some sweet takes in shallow water, and just plain gorgeous landscape imagery. Kinda makes me want to go back to Argentina ASAP (although it helps to remember that it’s actually winter down there right now).
Clear Waters from Luke Bannister on Vimeo.
In the comments on the bowfin post earlier this week, some folks expressed a desire for “more traditional” fly-fishing content. Well, here you go. Casting cane rods to wild trout in the wilds of Wales is almost as traditional as you can get. There are a few fish here, but it’s mostly a mood piece that really captures the serenity of a lone angler on a small stream.
Saltwater Diaries Babyshark from The Fly Fishing Nation on Vimeo.
I’ve seen plenty of sharks on the flats, but it never really occurred to me to cast to one. Seeing how this little guy fights, however, I might pack some fleshy flies and bite tippet next time I head out after bonefish. Listening to the howling wind in this video, one suspects the search for bones was difficult, so the anglers decided to make the most of it.
Dry or Die Rolf from Rolf Nylinder on Vimeo.
You gotta love Rolf. The boy does love to fish, and he makes no attempt to temper his childlike glee when he hooks this fine brown on his first cast. It’s only later that we learn how the day before had an effect on his reaction shown here. Yeeeap!
No finer moments! from Simon Graham on Vimeo.
Many years ago, Jeff Currier told me about fly-fishing for pike in salt water off Finland, and I’ve been fascinated by the concept ever since. This trailer focuses on the best part of catching any fish, the release, and it whets my appetite for the finished film.
Rio Gallegos – Las Buitreras Fishing from Solid Adventures on Vimeo.
The Rio Gallegos, in far southern Argentina, is known for its huge brown trout and incessant wind. Hooking one of these monsters isn’t easy, but the payoff is spectacular. This video describes the fishery and explains one man’s fascination with it over a couple decades.
The Shadow Cast Competition from Jazz and Fly Fishing´s Jazzcam on Vimeo.
We’ve featured several Jazz and Fly Fishing videos in the FFF over the last several months, so I was excited to learn that they’ve launched a contest to discover the world’s best “Shadow Caster.” I suspect that this is going to generate a lot of fun entries.