Welcome to the Nigel Tufnel Memorial “This one goes to eleven” edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Web for the best fly-fishing footage available. (And please remember that Christopher Guest also played fly-shop owner Harlan Pepper in “Best in Show,” which makes this reference even more appropriate.) This week’s collection is one of my favorites so far, with videos of new locations and species never before featured here. Your knowledge of world geography will be put to the test, and once again you’ll be forced to ask yourself the question: “Why don’t I live in New Zealand?” If you have a the bandwidth and the processing power, watch these films at full-screen and in the highest definition available for the best experience. 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!
Quick geography quiz: Where are the Faroe Islands? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Actually, they’re about halfway between Scotland and Iceland and are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. As you’ll see from this gorgeously shot film, the Faroes have a stunning, stark beauty and remarkable mountain lakes full of insect life and brown trout. This is the first video from the Faroes to be featured in the FFF, but I hope we see more in the future. Make sure you watch this one in hi-def.
If you’ve ever wondered what’s so great about saltwater fly fishing, this video should answer all your questions. Featuring explosive strikes, big jumps, tough fights, and spectacular underwater footage in a tightly edited two-minute package, the video will have you wishing you were up to your ankles in warm tropical seawater with a fly rod in your hand.
As some of us are coming to the realization that our fishing for the year is mostly over, New Zealand fly fishers are just getting started. Check out this guy’s first dry-fly trout of the season: it’s the kind of fish that would be the highlight of the year for most anglers. Those folks down there enjoy an embarrassment of riches; just check out the shoulders on that brown at 5:45!
Here’s something considerably less scenic, involving highway overpasses and drainage ditches around Denver. But when you’re chasing carp on a fly, you go where the fish are, right? And these guys seem to be having a hell of a good time close to home. That’s a true slob caught by the “bearded one” at the end.
Barra Fishing on Fly- Qld Style from Damon Chapman on Vimeo.
Barramundi look like an amazing game fish, based on this video from the Land Down Under. They strike hard and jump like tarpon. These guys seem to be having a once-in-a-lifetime day, with every fish they landed over 1 meter long. And so you don’t have to do the math, that “23 kilo” fish at the beginning is over 50 pounds!
mad from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.
Ivan, who makes these “Yukon Goes Fishing” videos around Montana, is apparently a graduate student, but I don’t understand when he gets his schoolwork done, since he cranks out great fly-fishing footage at a steady clip. This week’s installment takes him to the Madison in search of big browns on streamers. He doesn’t catch a monster, but he does come across very cool evidence of just how gluttonous late-fall trout can be.
Steelhead Fly Fishing Trip: Olympic Peninsula Washington from Joey Macomber on Vimeo.
More great stuff from the lens of Joey Macomber of Beattie Outdoor Productions, this film follows a group of anglers on an annual trip to the Olympic Peninsula in search of wild steelhead. Not only do you get to cast for fresh, wild steelies, but there’s apparently a good chance of a Sasquatch encounter, as well.
Finally, here’s a bit of bug goodness from our friend Dave Jensen of Fly Fish Alberta. They get some amazing hatches in the rivers of the region, which brings the big brown to the surface. Dave and his wife, Amelia, enjoy taking advantage of these circumstances. Have a great weekend!