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 finally offers some great New Zealand video, featuring sight-fishing to big, wild brown trout in the low-angle light of autumn. On the other side of the planet, Scandinavia is well represented here, as are Russia, Spain, and Germany. On the home front, check out all the fantastic trout action from the Rockies and Midwest (including a little bit of Sturgis sound effects). Every week, I’m surprised and delighted by what I find in my research for the FFF. 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!
“CLOSED – GONE FISHIN” from BLOODKNOTS on Vimeo.
During the height of the season, time off is precious for a guide. Here’s footage from an annual adventure for the staff of Western Rivers Fly Fisher in Salt Lake City. You get to watch an angler miss a fish, wait it out, and then get another shot, which is pretty cool. His subsurface pursuit and netting technique are unusual, though.
Finally, some good video from New Zealand! Two mates head into the bush for some late-season fishing, despite some dire weather reports. What they find is incredible sight-fishing for spectacular browns. The low angles of autumn light make it even more dramatic.
Hard to get! from Inwaders Media on Vimeo.
There are no trophy fish here, but this footage from Denmark is simply lovely and cool. I dig the starkness of the shots where you can barely discern what’s water and what’s sky. If Bergman were making fly-fishing movies, they might look something like this (without the color, of course).
May Fly Fishing in the Midwest… from RT on Vimeo.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the guy who made “Reverb,” about punk-rock anglers, starts this fly-fishing video with the roar of Harleys. But once our heroes are on the stream, there’s lots of cool editing, effects, and shots of the nonfishing parts of such an adventure.
From Germany, here’s some cool footage of fly-fishing for trout and whatever that thing is at 2:35 (barbel?). Lots of cool underwater stuff, surface takes, and a leaper, too.
Cool Water from Paul Swint on Vimeo.
Nothing but slob brown trout in this video. I don’t know where this was filmed, but I wanna go there soon. I like the sound effect at the end, too.
Russia’s Kola Peninsula is a Mecca for Atlantic-salmon enthusiasts, and it’s not hard to see why. From the stunning helicopter flight in, to the stark scenery, to the hard-charging fish, this looks like one for the bucket list.
It’s not high-def, and the picture quality isn’t great, but there’s plenty of saltwater action on display here, from the coast of Costa Rica. The roosterfish get bigger as the video progresses, and it looks like Uwe and Christof are getting serious arm workouts.
This is labelled a teaser from 5wt Films, but it doesn’t say what it’s a teaser for. Holy cow: check out that brownie at :55! This one moves from freshwater to salt, providing a little something for everyone.
Pesca con mosca en Catalunya from Titín on Vimeo.
I’ve been trying to tell people about Spain’s phenomenal fly fishing ever since my first visit there in 2009, but few believe it’s as good as I claim. Maybe this video will help people understand.
Balla bågar from FeskeBloggen.com on Vimeo.
I love this guy for his unalloyed excitement about fly fishing. His totally cool fly-fishing-wear, while offering little protection from the elements or the mosquitoes, brings a new level of fashion to the sport. Finally, how awesome is it that he refers to his quarry as a “poop ‘bow”?
Vassijokka Lappland 2012 from Inwaders Media on Vimeo.
Finally, here’s some gorgeous footage from a trip to Lappland from the same crew who gave us the seatrout video above (a twofer!). Beautiful grayling and Neil Young really seem to go together. Who knew? Have a great weekend!