Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Web for the best fly-fishing footage available. In this week’s collection, we witness the beginning of trout season in New Zealand, which is hopefully the harbinger of many great videos to come over the next six months. We’ve also got great steelhead action from Oregon, big-river cohos on the Skeena, and excellent saltwater action from the annual fall migration on the Atlantic. Meanwhile, in Africa, a couple of hipster anglers cast for tigerfish while dressed like they’re doing a photoshoot for Abercrombie&Fitch. Our final film is a rumination on one of the most important things we do as fly-fishers—waiting. There’s a certain full-circle nature on display in this week’s selection, which may or may not be a metaphor for something. 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!
The Kiwis are back! Spring has sprung in New Zealand, and this video follows three buddies on a backcountry trip for Opening Day of trout season. Crikey, what a first day of the season it is! If your trout year kicked off like this, you might have to quit the day job and see how far you could follow this incredible streak of good fortune.
Fly Nation Season 2 Trailer – Return to the Skeena from Fly Max Films on Vimeo.
Here’s a great trailer for season 2 of “Fly Nation,” which takes the viewer on an epic trip to the Skeena River for coho salmon. Great cinematography, music, and scenery make this one a winner. Kudos for the timing of the ending, especially.
Last week, we featured an epic albie blitz off Montauk, so now it’s time to show some stripers and bluefish, as well. There’s some spin-fishing here, but all the cool action is with flies. The shots of huge shoals of bass just under the surface hammering bait are astonishing. You can also see that there are more than a few folk out there trying to take advantages of the blitz.
Johan and Rolf goes fishing from Stefan Ågren on Vimeo.
Rolf and the boys from Frontside Fly return with some great fly-out fishing action from northern Sweden. The clarity of the water and the size of the fish make for fantastic shots of strikes and fights. Check out the cast that Rolf makes once he locates “Mr. Head and Tail.”
Specks in Hand from My Leaky Waders on Vimeo.
It would never have occurred to me to pair saltwater fly fishing for speckled trout with the psychedelic sounds of the Flaming Lips, but it works here. This video offers a cool look at shore-casting for specks and then tagging them for future research. Some nice underwater shots of releases, as well.
Okavango tiger fishing from Ryan Schoeman on Vimeo.
The tigerfish of the Okavango Delta are on many an angler’s “bucket list,” and this video follows two rather stylish fly fishermen into the heart of Africa. There, they drink, dance, play pool, plus catch some fish, including several species of bream, in addition to toothy tigers. The “fish on/fish off” titles are a nice touch.
Eastern Oregon Splendor from marty sheppard on Vimeo.
Pacific Northwest steelheading is often portrayed as an “extreme” endeavor, requiring anglers to endure terrible weather, long fishless periods, and spooky fish. This video of a cast-and-blast adventure in eastern Oregon makes the sport look darned fun. The fish aren’t huge, but they seem to be willing, and none of the anglers looks even slightly miserable.
Waiting from Luke Bannister on Vimeo.
How’s this for coming full circle? We started with opening day in New Zealand and end with the last day of the season in Wales. This is a beautiful little film that captures a very common experience we can all relate to—bathed in the soft golden light of an autumn evening. Have a great weekend!