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 a little short on the saltwater stuff, but it offers a wide variety of destinations, species, and styles of presentation. From New Zealand’s South Island to northern Norway, anglers catch some remarkable fish and travel through stunning landscapes. There are a couple quite long videos that are worth the time invested. If you have to save them for the weekend, please remind yourself to come back for them. 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!
We kick things off with what seems to be an oddity: a video about float-tubing for trout on New Zealand’s South Island. “Who would float tube in the land of incredible river fishing?” you may ask. Well, . . .these guys. And they catch some beautiful fish, too.
From New Zealand to the Florida Keys, where some South African anglers test their mettle against some pretty big tarpon. Occasionally, they find their mettle wanting. There are a couple examples of the famed “flats boat line dance” in this one, too.
This is a mixed-media video about a trip into the Wind River Range of Wyoming, in search of beautiful golden trout. There are plenty of cool bug shots, and the colors of the fish are pretty stunning.
Some of you surely missed this gem from the mind of Big Pete Kutzer, so I figured I’d throw it in here, as well. You know what they say about all work and no play. Rest assured that we’ve got more casting videos on the schedule, too, as soon as the lawn greens up a bit.
Meanwhile, in Lapland, they fish for Atlantic salmon to the beat of heavy metal. Big water, two-handed rods, and beautiful fish are the order of the day. That salmon at the end is a true beast.
Arctic seatrout from Nordic-Photography on Vimeo.
This video is simply gorgeous, in sumptuous black and white, which captures the northern Norway winter and a sudden storm. The underwater shots are crystal clear, too.
Ilsa Blanca from Joey Woodruff on Vimeo.
This has a home-movie feel to it (soundtrack aside), but there’s plenty of action for baby tarpon and snook. Plus, there’s a sweet ‘cuda, although the angler breaks out the spinning rod for that one. Barracuda on the fly is one of my favorite pastimes, so I assume they just didn’t have the right gear.
neVer haVe to woRRy from Matthias Esslinger on Vimeo.
I suspect that viewers of this video will fall into two camps: those who really dig it, and those in whom it induces seizures. Plenty of intense editing work clearly went into this, and the way it works with the soundtrack is impressive.
CATCH THE MOMENT Fly Fishing New Zealand 2012 from CatchTheMoment on Vimeo.
Normally, I put the really long videos at the bottom, and at 19 minutes, this one qualifies. But it’s so well done, interesting, and full of great fishing that I thought it deserves a higher place. A ton of work went into shooting and editing this, and it’s well worth your time.
Montana Slam from Henry Emack on Vimeo.
I have caught the Wyoming Cutt Slam (which I highly recommend), and here’s a look at a Montana Slam on the Gallatin River. You’d think there’d need to be a cutthroat in there, too, but who’s to argue?
This video comes with very little in the way of description, but it features some excellent steelhead action, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.
Here’s another wintry entry from Scandinavia, shot on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. I applaud the hardiness of the angler.
Bulls on the Fly from Mountain Made Media on Vimeo.
We normally associate bull trout with wild rivers, but here’s some lake fishing for these big char. The video itself isn’t particularly compelling, but that very large trout at the end certainly is. That is a SLOB.
Here’s a little bit of sweet early-spring steelhead action from Michigan, shot on Tuesday. Fly Fish the Mitt has been on fire lately with the great videos.
This is one Japanese man’s love letter to fly fishing in the American West. While the translation may sometimes be lacking, I think we can all understand what he is getting at, and he captures some great shots of bugs, flies, and fish.
Easter Action from Nicholas Kneipp on Vimeo.
Let me know in the comments if you’re sick of seeing these Murray cod videos from Australia. Although I realize that there’s not much variation, I just love seeing these vicious strikes and hearing the angler struggle to contain the hooked and angry fish.
Here’s another long one from New Zealand. It doesn’t feature the same high-quality images or editing as “Catch the Moment,” but there are some great spot-and-stalk sequences, as well as plenty of epic battles with gorgeous trout. Have a great weekend!