2016 Film Highlights
Luckily for us fans of fishing flicks, the guys and gals that make these movies keep raising the bar.
This was the most competitive submission season we’ve ever had and we had to say no to several
films that we really liked. The quality of the best films we received this year is simply a cut above
anything we’ve ever seen before.
With backdrops ranging from Bolivia to Saskatchewan, Montana to Virginia, Patagonia to the
Seychelles, these films feature fresh, dynamic stories amongst some of the best fishing footage
that has ever been shot. Period.
From the hunt for the world’s largest brook trout to the pursuit of billfish on the fly, gargantuan
pike, acrobatic golden dorado, ferocious GTs and herculean BC steelhead these films showcase
remarkable places, larger than life characters and fish that will haunt your dreams.
Finding Fontinalis - Director, Travis Lowe. Location: Patagonia – Spurred by rumors from
local guides and gauchos, a crew of intrepid anglers, including Yvon Chouinard, Brian Gregson and
Bart Bonime, head to Patagonia in search of the world’s largest brook trout. This film explores the
story behind a famed 16 lb. brook trout caught on Canada’s Nipigon River then takes us to the
opposite end of the globe, likely the only other place that such a fish still swims, in pursuit of its
equal.
Jungle Angler: Legend of El Dorado – Beattie Outdoor Productions. Location: Bolivia – Recent
trips deep into Bolivia have brought R.A. Beattie and his crew a new perspective on the uniqueness of
fly fishing in the jungle. With each step deeper beneath the canopy, with every cast into unexplored
pools they journey towards the last real savage border to be explored by fly anglers. Their pursuit of
Golden Dorado helps build a bond with the local people who have a unique connection to and
reverence for this incredible freshwater predator.
Tidewater – Two Fisted Heard Productions. Location: Virginia – Three years ago, adrenaline
junkie Art Webb barely escaped a rock climbing fall with his life. During his recovery, Art found a
substitute thrill: pursuing marlin and other billfish with a fly rod off the coast from his home town,
Virginia Beach. As Art began to tell his friends about his experiences offshore, two fellow fishing
fanatics, Brian and Colby Trow, could not resist. This is a story of these three anglers on a fly fishing
adventure to catch marlin in their backyard waters of Virginia.
Water is Life – Castaway Films. Location: Argentina, Seychelles, Zambia – Filmmaker Grant
Wiswell has spent the last two years circling the globe attempting to showcase how water connects
three incredibly diverse fisheries while at the same time capturing the best fishing available in each
location. On both counts he has succeeded in spades.
From Argentina’s Jurassic Lake and 30” rainbows that will readily eat a dry fly to the bull-headed GTs
of the Seychelles and the carnivorous tiger fish of the Zambezi, this film contains some of the most
remarkable fishing ever caught on film.
Chanos Chanos (Milkfish) – Cpt. Jack Films. Location: Seychelles – Perhaps the most challenging
fish to catch in the Seychelles is the fabled milkfish, a turbo-charged algae eater growing to 40
pounds. A team of South African anglers have not only caught these amazing and very secretive fish,
but also pioneered the techniques that have allowed these vegetarian and notoriously difficult fish to
be caught. It’s hard to accurately describe the sheer speed, breathtaking acrobatics and technical
prowess needed to convert a fly cast to a connection with this greatly unknown species.
Turning Points North – Beattie Outdoor Productions. Location: Saskatchewan - While Jeff
Currier and Ron Striker were raised in completely different places and followed completely different
paths to “live the dream”, they hold in common a history of taking a leap to shape their lives. Ron
stacked shelves in a grocery store for 17 years before becoming a bush pilot. Jeff started in a fly shop,
working for $4.75 an hour. Since that time, he’s shaped himself into one of the foremost angling
authorities, fishing in more than 50 countries and landing more than 300 species on the fly in salt
and freshwater. Both men describe how they went from the bottom rung to doing exactly what they
wanted to do in life. Woven with these human stories is some of the baddest, most-predatory pike
fishing footage ever captured.
Chrome – Conservation Media. Location: British Columbia – Featuring Kate Taylor, Dylan Tomine,
Tim Romano and Tom Rosenbauer, Chrome is the story of friends gathered in the effort to pursue
and protect Wild Steelhead.
The Scandinavian Way – In Waders Media. Location: Montana – A battle between nations breaks
out on the banks of a Montana spring creek. A group of European anglers is convinced that their
American counterparts have lost any connection with the traditions of fly fishing’s past, while the
American’s believe the Euro’s are still fishing in the stone age. Hilarious trash talking ensues as these
groups square off and attempt to prove which methods are best served to fool wily Montana trout.
Geobass: Best of the Worst – Motiv Fishing. Location: Anywhere there’s bass. – The Motive crew
returns with never-before-seen footage and stories of their efforts to pursue any bass anywhere
anytime!