Friday Fly-Fishing Film Festival 06.07.13

Welcome to a new edition of the Orvis News Friday Fly-Fishing Film Festival, in which we scour the Web for the best fly-fishing videos available. We have a killer selection this week, sixteen more videos that will take you around the world.

For best results, watch all videos at 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. And don’t forget to check in regularly at The Tug, the Orvis online video theater. See you next week with a fresh set of films!

We kick things off with a really cool teaser for a film about fly-fishing in Alaska, from a guide’s perspective. Having spent time as a guide in The Last Frontier, it looks to me as if they captured it pretty well.

Our favorite South African traveling guides are back at it, this time sporting team uniforms. Lots of great shots of big fish, follows, and a few practical jokes.

This short film by photographer Cody Altizer takes a while to get going, but once it does, you understand the intro. Fishing guide Whitney Lacks explains, “This is a story about our need for that one thing that helps us let go.It’s the one thing we can lose ourselves in, and when we’re done, we come out feeling like a new person. It can be on our minds constantly, harassing us like the forgotten lyrics to a favorite song. This is the story of where I lose myself.”

This is actually a promo for a fly shop in Helsinki, but it features some gorgeous footage of two-handed fishing for Atlantic salmon, and it’s simply well made. Plus, I like the dog. That fish at 1:55 is a beast.

This isn’t the world’s greatest video, but I’m not sure we’ve ever had a snakehead-specific video on the F5, so I had to include it. I know they’re invasive and all, but they look so cool.

Here’s some great footage from earlier this year of two anglers exploring the backcountry of New Zealand’s South Island. Lots of great dry-fly eats, but it’s also nice to see that they included footage of when things didn’t go right, as well.

More salty goodness, this time from the Bay Islands of Honduras. Ryan Griffin writes, “My focus was chasing Permit, and after 6 six legit shots and three follows during the week, I finally accomplished the goal and got my first Permit. He wasn’t big by Permit standards, only about 7lbs, but he took me deep into my backing on my 10wt, and landing the fish was the pinnacle of the trip.”

Last week, we featured an experimental film by Ronnie B. Goodwin, and here’s another piece of test footage. According to Ronny, he hadn’t planned to make this into a film, so pay no attention to his shirt changing colors.

Salmonfly time on the Deschutes looks like a blast. I especially like how the “wade-fishing-only” rules force you into making some tight casts.

This is a quick look at what Slovenia has to offer fly fishermen: marble trout, grayling, stunning blue water, and great scenery. I just have to figure out how to get myself there. The way they pose the fish in this shallow water is strangely compelling, though I’d rather see the fish in the water.

This is a director’s reel for Fishpedition Media, so it’s really just a collection of snippets. But there’s plenty of great scenery, cool lighting, and a honking bull trout at the end.

This is a trailer for an upcoming short film on fly fishing for tarpon on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Looks like it could be a great project.

Young Ethan Bennett makes compelling films about “regular guy” fly fishing, with no dramatic shots, trophy fish, or attitude. In the process, he captures what the sport is like for many who enjoy time on the water for whatever it offers.

In most New Zealand videos, it’s sunny and warm, but these anglers are out on the last day of the season, when conditions are considerably less favorable. But it is New Zealand, after all, so of course they catch some beautiful trout.

Here’s a little quickie from the guys at Lowcountry Journal that features some great shots of rolling tarpon, as well as a visit to the medical clinic after an obscene casting accident.

Finally, here’s another great episode of “The New Fly Fisher,” in which Bill Spicer travels to Northern Lights Lodge in Northwestern Labrador on small wood reservoir. They fish for five different species: brook trout, lake trout, landlocked salmon, pike, and white fish.