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 is super salty, with great action from the Florida Keys, Australia, Mexico, Christmas Island, and even the desert nation of Oman. But fear not: trout lovers have plenty to watch, as well. There was a ton of New Zealand footage online this week, but none of it rose to F5 quality, so perhaps we’ll have to wait a week before getting some Kiwi eye candy. Many of the videos this week are beautifully shot, so please watch them a full-screen and in high-definition. 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!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Todd Moen is the man when it comes to fly-fishing video. Last night, he released his tribute to the salmonflies of the Lower Deschutes. What could be better than redside rainbows slamming huge surface bugs?
Silver Lining from Jekyll Works on Vimeo.
For those of the salty persuasion, its also hard to beat this great footage of tarpon fishing, combined with an important conservation message. The shots of fish coming in and the savage eats are spectacular.
0031 Home waters from 0031flyfishing on Vimeo.
This video is called “Home Waters,” but I’m not sure where home is: somewhere in the Netherlands methinks. (0031 is the country code for phone calls.) It doesn’t matter because there are tons of great fish, of many species, on display here.
Chasing the Unicorn from Le Mouching on Vimeo.
The boys from French blog Le Mouching and online magazine This Is Fly go in pursuit of the elusive permit in Punta Allen, Mexico. Will they catch one?
bugflippin| winter midges provo river from bugflippin on Vimeo.
Judging by the number of winter-fishing videos online, Utahns seem a little hardier than anglers in other states. Either that, or they’re more video-happy. You be the judge.
Bream on the Flats of Oman, November 2012 from Ray Montoya on Vimeo.
Not much fancy video stuff on display here, but it features a species that’s never appeared on the F5 before, so I had to include it. Introducing the Arabian bream (not related to our Southern fish of the same name, one assumes). It looks like a great game fish.
Fly Fishing for Winter Grayling from Trout Stalking on Vimeo.
Regular readers know that I love a good fly-fishing video without fish in it. This one comes to us from Germany, where they appreciate the momentary thrill of catching bottom while nymphing.
Exmouth Fly Fishing for Billfish from Krystal Vision Productions on Vimeo.
Western Australia is a saltwater fly fisherman’s dream, with many amazing species willing to attack fur and feathers. This video is focused on billfish and features some heart-pounding sequences.
Below Fahrenheit from Norman Maktima on Vimeo.
Last month, we featured a video by Norman Maktima called “FSHN ain’t OVR,” and apparently he takes that to heart. Here he is again, rocking the cold weather, clearing the ice from his guides, and catching gorgeous trout.
Constant from PA Undercurrent Outfitters on Vimeo.
They’ve got winter fishing in Pennsylvania, too, featuring some badass stonefly nymphs.
Here’s a celebration of “regular guy” fly fishing from Canada. Nothing exotic, or even particularly pretty here, but where there’s water and fish, we want to go.
Would you believe me if I told you that there are trophy brown trout in Africa? In the mountains of the Kingdom of Lesotho (pronounced li-soo-too)—a country entirely surrounded by South Africa—they’ve got some sweet fish in the Maletsunyane River, as you’ll see.
Christmas Island (Kiritimati) Giant Trevally Fly Fishing from the fly syndicate on Vimeo.
We’ve featured several Christmas Island videos of late. This one is kind of a hodge-podge, but there are some great shots of fish (numerous species I can’t even name) and the flats here.
This is a short GoPro video, but I like it for three reasons: the sweet mending technique that leads to the hookup, the playful dogs, and the very nice fish at the end. It ain’t art, but it’s two minutes of fly-fishing goodness.
We end with just a great tale of a life well lived. I sure hope I can wade like that when I’m 90 years old! This guy is the real deal, and he has arranged most of his life around fly fishing on the North Umpqua, which is an admirable project. Have a great weekend!