The Deuce

I love to explore new areas in the hopes of finding some sweet new semi-secret spots.  If you can pop more than one steelie out of one of these spots, you've surely located a winner.

The Deuce-A BC Steelheading Selfie from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.

Big Browns Ripping Line

Nymphing Basics For Trophy Trout and Steelhead - Trailer from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.

Click through to check out the trailer and, if you like, to purchase the video on Vimeo on Demand.

West Coast Wild

West Coast Wild, a fly fishing adventure series I've recently been a part of filming, would love your voting help to get their web series funded to the tune of as much as $60000.  This series will follow the life struggles, epic adventures, and evolving relationships among a group of fly fishermen as they trek in to the wilds of BC.  If successful, West Coast Wild will be one of 15 BC creator groups to receive a $10000 grant to film a pilot episode.  If we’re named the top project among these 15 groups, we’d be given a further $50000 to film the complete series.  Here’s a link to our pitch.

Maximizing Your Votes

To ensure voting is fair and not “gamed”, you’re required to sign up (top right corner) at Storyhive with your email address to be a community voter.  If you just want to vote for our project, you’re allowed to cast 5 of your 10 allotted votes to our project, West Coast Wild.  If you want to make it more likely our pitch will get funded (please, please, please), you can get as many as three bonus votes to apply to our project.  To get these three additional votes, you can complete your entire profile instead of just filling out your email address, you can apply your remaining 5 votes to other projects, and you can SHARE any project (West Coast Wild hopefully).  If you max out, you’ll have been able to cast 8 votes for West Coast Wild.  If you need any help with maximizing votes, email rwheeldon@flyfishingfantasies.com and I’ll do my best to help.

Voting

To vote, sign up or log in to Storyhive’s homepage.  Then move your mouse over any image and hit the VOTE button.  On mobile displays, tap on the image to see the vote button.  On any project page, hit the big yellow VOTE button located top right.  Voting begins on November 10th and runs for three weeks.  Please vote for our project, we’d really appreciate the help.

The Fish Bowl

This is a FFF original.  It was some of the very first video footage I ever shot with the idea of "putting it out there".  The camera was standard definition but the scene was solid gold in my opinion.  Two fishing buddies working as one.  One working the rod, the other being the set of eyes.

Two feet further up.  That was right over him.  He bit it, he bit it, he bit it....

The Fish Bowl--Steelhead Edition from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.

Playin' a Player--Dry Fly Steelheading

What’s a Player

Spring has sprung.  Which means the best time of the year is almost upon us, summer run time.  If in your summer forays you can get a steelhead to come up multiple times, you’ll have found what many steelheaders call....a ”player”.  What can you do to turn a riser into a player?

Playin' a Player--Dry Fly Steelheading from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.

Try, Try Again--But Not Too Hard

The first thing to do is to make the same cast again.  Sometimes this will do the trick.  If not, try working a little above the rise, a different angle, or a little below the rise.  Don’t move too far below the original rise point or you may line the fish and put it down for good--especially in unbroken, glassy water.

Switch it Up

The next thing to try is changing flies.  This serves two purposes.  First and foremost, it gives the fish a different look that may spark some interest.  Secondly, the fish gets rested a little while you tie on a different pattern.  I remember a fish that took a run at my buddy’s fly a couple seasons ago.  The fish wouldn’t solidly take any of his other offerings.  He even went back to his tried and true pattern a couple times with no luck.  We carried on down river and as we passed the same run on the way out he dropped the original pattern over the fish and it hammered it on the first cast.  The calamity that followed happened so quick that we didn’t get the camera set up in time.  The fish screamed through the tailout and ran the rapids below to the next pool.  In response to the line pouring off his reel during the fish’s long sustained run, my buddy leaped off the greasy log jam into chest deep water to try and follow but the fish eventually unbuttoned him in the pool below.  The moral of this story seemed to be that resting the fish was key.  It’s often worth a try.  At times you can just stop and have a sandwich before trying the fish again.  The fish may take immediately after it has been given a little rest.

Have Confidence

When you do change fly patterns, the pattern you tie on should be another one you have confidence in.  Smaller, darker, and more drably colored are all good suggestions made by many past writers.  If you don’t have many patterns that you’ve had success with, fish a fly that others have confidence in and act like it should work until one does.  Every fly that catches somebody a steelhead caught that person their first steelhead at some point.

Work the run the same way you did earlier with this new fly.  Again, avoid spooking the fish by moving too far downstream.  In the video, I worked the run for almost three minutes before the fish rose again.  It eventually rose a second time and shut down a second time.  When I switched to a third fly, the fish took solidly on the second cast.  In the end, this fish didn’t make it to hand but if you learn how to play these players, some otherwise missed fish surely will.

Fly Fishing Fantasies’  2012 dry fly steelheading video release, Paid in Full, can be purchased at flyfishingfantasies.com or your local fly shop.

Polar Shrimpin' Ain't Easy

Steelhead Vibes - Salmon River from BLOODKNOTS on Vimeo.

Homegrown

Peeler from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.

To Infinity

Dry Fly Steelhead--New Trailer

Skate from Fly Fishing Fantasies on Vimeo.

Nymphing for Big Browns

For the text and photos (of browns to the mid 20 range) that tie this trout fishing techniques piece together, check out yesterday's blog entry entitled Fall and Winter Coastal Nymphing in Sage's blog, THE CURRENT.

Spanish Fly Fishing--Big Browns Edition

Two foot browns interest you?  Get past the shaky camera work and just flat out oogle multiple big thick brownies.

The International Fly Fishing Film Festival--2012 Entry

At least if you don’t make the World Cup of Rugby squad you can still be named a non-traveling reserve. Unfortunately the International Fly Fishing Film Festival appears to have no such faint hope clause. I guess a video can’t really blow its knee and need a replacement flown in.

Here’s the trailer for Dry Steel--Fly Fishing Fantasies’ unsuccessful entry into the 2012 IF4. Like last week, I’m seeking feedback from former IF4 and F3T attendees that have insight into the type of videos that make it in or that you’d like to see make it in. Please share your thoughts in the comment box on Vimeo or in the comment link on my blog at flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com. Much appreciated for any constructive criticism you have or, in Caleb Rheinhold of Fish Porn Fix’s case, any shredding you need to do. I’m hoping to make improvements and make the grade in the future.

Am I some kind of ___hole?

Think Positive
As a steelheader, it's important to think positive all the time.  These fish ain't easy so you gotta believe you're gonna get one on the next cast, on the next trip, in the next pool...  


Going Off
I posted the trailer for my unsuccessful entry for The 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo to get some constructive criticism as to how I could improve for future film tour submissions.  My blogging buddy, Caleb Rheinhold, of Fish Porn seemed to have the day off and as a result, he went off.  Because I want to focus on the positive, I'll just copy some of the good points he made.  I'll save his unminced yet very thorough critique for me to learn from or you to find on Fish Porn for yourself if you so desire.  


20x As Epic As RA Beattie?

Here's some of what Caleb had to say (in blue):

This is about catching steelhead on dry flies. Steelhead are notoriously  pretty much impossibly hard to catch on wet flies, and this mofo has enough time on his hands to make his time on the water that much more difficult. Let me give you some food for thought: this video  was the coolest thing since sliced bread because those bad boys were eating top water. Now that I’ve had some time to calm down since I saw that piece of dirtiness that RA blessed us with, I’ve realized this isn’t even that cool because 1.) those are redfish and they eat anything and everything and 2.) because topwater “gurgler” type flies are around for a reason. Either way though, topwater eats are the shit and I hadn’t seen anything like it on video yet and my mind was blown. But this is at least 20x as epic as that. This is STEELHEAD EATING ON THE TOP. You don’t even fish for them that way unless you’re some kind of asshole. But if you can pull it off, I’d say you’re doing some epic fishing. And that’s what this is, epic fishing.


Sold
Now RA Beattie, whom Caleb refers to, is pretty near or even at the top of the fly fishing film heap so these comments are massive in my eyes.  I really respect nearly everything I see from RA.  Caleb finished his critique by saying:  

I’ll be buying Roy’s DVD. I’m a sucker for fish porn. 

If you want a taste for why Caleb's so keen on our footage, check out the official trailer.






If you gotta have the video after that, go to flyfishingfantasies.com or your local fly shop to purchase.  We usually ship the very next business day.  If your local fly shop doesn't have it, ask them to order it in or order direct from us.

Skate Trailer

Our trailer went to The Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) and all it brought us back was this rotten T-shirt.  Well okay, not totally true, it actually brought us back a very nice bottle of bourbon (collectors quality really) and a pretty sweet hat.  Thanks for that F3T.  The part that was true was that my edits were unsuccessful in making both the F3T and the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) cuts.


Here’s the trailer for Skate--Fly Fishing Fantasies’ unsuccessful entry into the 2012 F3T.  What do you think is missing?  If you’ve ever attended either of the festivals and have some insight into the type of videos that make it in or the type of fishing you’d like to see make it in, please share your thoughts in the comment box on Vimeo or in the comment link on my blog at flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.  Much appreciated for any constructive criticism you have.  I’m hoping to make improvements and make the grade in the future.  

Fly Fishing Fantasies' 62 minute January 2012 dry fly steelheading DVD release, Paid in Full, can be purchased now at flyfishingfantasies.com or your local fly shop.  If they don't have it, ask them to get it or get it direct through us.

Pacific Northwest Steelhead--Screaming Reels Edition

I've owned lots of fly reels over the past 30 years but in the words of the great philosopher AP, Islanders are the "Shaguar" of reels.

Learn to Skate Dries for Big Steelhead in Time for Spring

Fly Fishing Fantasies' dry fly steelheading video, Paid in Full, released in late January 2012.  I'm finally getting a chance to let y'all know how to get your hands on a copy.

The piece-de-resistance of this video has to be Skate U--a dry fly steelheading tutorial featuring a whole wack of great dry fly attacks while it teaches you the key points to take a steelhead on the dry.  The introduction is incredibly sweet as well featuring a few of our biggest steelhead smacking dries and plenty of great scenery.  The video also includes the dream day where double digit steelhead are hooked, a slideshow of memorable steelies, some funny outtakes, and a very important conservation segment.

Here's the DVD jacket:

You can order your personal copy through flyfishingfantasies.com or purchase at your local fly shop.

Next Cast

Dry fly steelheading piece created for one of our awesome sponsors, RIO Products International, makers of outstanding fly lines.

Boldly Go

Boldly go, or just dumb___?  When it comes to videos, DVD's look to be on their way out.  Can Blu-ray be far behind?  Fly Fishing Fantasies has chosen to host their new release, Paid in Full, online.  What're the benefits to YOU?

Benefits of Online Video Hosting versus Disks:

1. better picture quality than standard DVD’s
2. cheaper than Blu-ray
3. internet hosted so you never have to worry about damaging or losing (aka your fishing buddy lifted it) your DVD/Blu-ray or worry that you can’t play it once disks and disk players are totally phased out
4. you can purchase from home and be watching your video the same day in some circumstances (ie we are not out filming)
5. you can watch from any computer with an internet connection
6. more money goes to the filmmaker and less to production costs, shipping and middle men making it more likely that the “starving artist” will live to tell another story
7. more environmentally conscious than printing and recycling of disks and packaging

I'm sure there are other good reasons.  Please, fill me in.

Steelhead Rising in Huge Numbers

ETA


Paid in Full boasts over twenty dry fly steelhead rises and they're coming your way in a matter of hours.  If all website work goes according to plan tomorrow, our steelhead sight fishing and dry fly fishing masterpiece, as voted by me, will be available for purchase by late tomorrow.  I'm ecstatic with the final product and given the feedback we've received from several fly fishing industry insiders, many other people will be just as impressed.


The Difference


Unlike some fishing videographers, we keep the camera running by packing lots of batteries.  The result?  You get to see the rise, the take, the hook set, that initial frenetic run and all the incredible surroundings that steelhead call home.  You also get to see steelhead approaching twenty pounds that fell victim to a well presented dry fly and the xxxx-eating grin on the face of the guy that presented that fly.  In addition to carrying lots of batteries, we also use wireless lapel microphones to bring the authentic sounds of a screaming Islander Reel.


I can't wait!


Take your last look at our previous trailer below if you choose as it'll be replaced by Paid in Full's official trailer within hours.


If you can't see the video link, go to flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.

Cutties--Love 'em!

Having been weaned on cutthroat, I really liked this piece.  I'm used to the sea run variety but these westslopers are pretty fish as well.


If you can't see the video link, go to flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.