The Riffle: Film Fest!

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Film Fest!

You probably have already heard of the Fly Fishing Film Fest. If you haven't, it's a fun event where a plethora of short fly fishing-themed films are shown back to back, and fly fishing enthusiasts get together to watch, critique, and tell each other their fishing-related tall tales. At least that's what has happened at all the Film Fests I have been to. They are all great fun!

I was lucky enough to be asked to do some demonstration tying at the Film Fest that occurred last night in River Falls, Wisconsin. I and three other guys tied flies and chit-chatted with patrons for the 2 hours before the films started. I like to tie flies, but my favorite part of events like this is seeing old friends I haven't seen in a while and getting caught up on their lives and their fishing escapades. And I saw plenty of old friends, so the time went quickly.

Three Stimulators

I did get a few flies tied, as well. I tied Stimulators, since they are fairly large and people could see what I was doing fairly easily. It always takes me some time to figure out what to tie at events like this because my specialties are small dry flies, but small dry flies aren't very visible for people unless they are standing right behind me or sitting on my lap, and generally speaking, things like that are frowned upon by event organizers.

I didn't get to see all the films since I was off doing other things, but the ones I saw were very good. I especially enjoyed a film that I believe was titled "Confluentas", but don't quote me on that. It was about small river fishing for Bull Trout somewhere in North America. The story was good, and the video of huge Bull Trout being caught in a tiny creek was jaw-dropping.

All in all, it was a great night. Over 500 of my fellow fly fishers enjoyed great films, fantastic food, and exciting fellowship centered around our finny friends. If you have a chance to attend a Fly Fishing Film Fest in your area, I would suggest you do.