Classic Friday Fly-Fishing Film Festival 04.19.13

[Editor’s Note: I am speaking at the 2013 Orvis Guide Rendezvous in Missoula today, so here’s a classic F5 with some great stuff. I will make up for it next week with a killer selection, I assure you.]

Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Fest, in which we scour the Internets for the best fly-fishing footage available. We’ve got a five videos to stoke your passion for fly fishing as we wait for spring to arrive. The weather has turned downright balmy up here in Vermont, so the thought of casting big streamers on Opening Day suddenly seems less remote. . .despite the foot of snow that remains on the ground. Enjoy!

A Steelhead Family – Official HD video 3.1 from Andrew Hardingham on Vimeo.

We start this week’s festival with a beautiful film about a Canadian fly-fishing family—the Clays—whose members share a passion for steelhead. You may never see a another family that features so many accomplished Spey casters, and the way the parents and children are bonded by their love of water and fish is remarkable. The film is gratifying on several levels.

You’ve heard of “noodlin'” for catfish down South by now, but how about catching a huge brown trout with your bare hands? Apparently, native Americans were quite skilled in this technique, but here’s a short video of a New Zealand guide sneaking up on an unsuspecting trophy and plucking it from the water. It’s not fly-fishing, but it’s cool. How long before the “Guides Gone Grabblin'” video hits the market?

Red Like Winter: the Trailer from Waterline Media on Vimeo.

The marshes of southern Louisiana are known for their monstrous redfish, and this video captures the beauty and the excitement of stalking these behemoths in shallow water.

Trout takes from RA Beattie on Vimeo.

For me, the best part of trout fishing is the moment when the fish takes the fly. In general, I find watching an angler battle a fish for a long time to be kind of boring. So RA Beattie’s “Trout Takes” is a film after my own heart. Nothing but strikes—and some heart-stopping refusals—the film will get your pulse racing.

Fiske 2010 from Niklas Karlström on Vimeo.

I know that I’ve been on a Scandinavian kick lately, but I can’t help it. Those northern Europeans make beautiful mood pieces about fly fishing that I could watch all day. The fall colors, beautiful trout and grayling, and the haunting music make this one special.