The Magazine of the Flyfishing Film Tour - Stonefly ANZ

PRESENTING PARTNER

EDITORS

Toby Ryston-Pratt, Nick Reygaert

DESIGNER

RETAIL PARTNERS

TOUR PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

Marine Raynard

2023 FILMMAKERS

Elsa Caruso & Cale Berry, Chris Kitchen, KGB Productions, Aussie Fly Fisher, Kane Chenoweth, Costa Films and Livit Films, Flylords, Gregory Markus Hegel, Dave Greig

TOUR CREW

Nick Reygaert, Moses Arthur, Lara Gamboa, Frely Langgoyan, Daphne Bercilla, Gwen Bermejo, Mark Omilla

COVER IMAGE

Artwork by Matthew Stockton

THIS PAGE IMAGE

Hannah Clement celebrating the biggest trout of her life.

Photo: Jeff Forsee

CONTENTS IMAGES

Elsa Caruso & Cale Berry, Chris Kitchen, KGB Productions, Zento Slinger, Flylords, Hayden Dobbins and Austin Coit Kane Chenoweth, Costa Films and Livit Films, Flylords, Yokanga.

VISIT US ONLINE flyfilmtour.com.au / flyfilmtour.co.nz

PARTNERSHIPS

Toby Ryston-Pratt

Email: toby@adventureentertainment.com

Phone: +61 413 183 804

PUBLISHER

Adventure Entertainment ABN 79 612 294 569

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY

MEDIA PARTNERS

Stonefly acknowledges and shows respect for the Traditional Custodians of Australia and Aotearoa, and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

STONEFLY™ and F3TFISH™

are trademarks of FLY FISHING FILM TOUR

PANGA® 28L WATERPROOF BACKPACK AU.YETI.COM / NZ.YETI.COM

West,

After You’ve Gone, P20

The Belt Buckle, P16

Bleed Water, P32

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AS

WE SEE

IT IS GREAT TO BE BACK

Four years ago the Covid Pandemic abruptly halted the film tour in Australia and New Zealand, after 14 successive and successful years of bringing the best fly fishing entertainment to cinema screens across both countries.

Much has happened since then, including the amalgamation of RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival with the Fly Fishing Film Tour. Both tours started in the same year, 2006, RISE went on to tour Australia, NZ and Europe while the Fly Fishing Film Tour grew to be the biggest tour in North America.

Combining both tours brings with it many benefits including a greater pool for film selection, an updated free tour magazine, some great audience giveaways and prize draws. Film makers also benefit through larger exposure and better access to sponsorship and film maker funding. Which all makes perfect sense on a commercial level but

personally this union has a more profound effect than just a better product.

The first film I was involved in making was the seminal Trout Bum Dairies – Patagonia. I started RISE in order to market that film and generate some DVD sales (remember those). The four guys I made the film with formed a company called A.E.G (Angling Exploration Group) and they started the Fly Fishing Film Tour. The genesis for a fly fishing film tour was born between a few young trout bums standing around a fire having a few beers in the afterglow of an epic dry fly session on a Patagonian springcreek. It is poetic that through the meandering bends of time the two tours followed their destiny to become one. Enjoy the festival and we will see you next year.

- Nick Reygaert, Rise Founder & Tour Manager

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” - Norman Maclean

Chris Reygaert enjoying some time in the sun in Fiordland, NZ. Photo: Nick Reygaert

About the Tour

RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival is back after a three-year hiatus during COVID. The festival will be back in Australian & New Zealand cinemas starting in August 2023 and traveling for more than two months. In its 15th year, RISE is on a mission to celebrate our fly fishing lifestyle by bringing you engaging stories, from around the globe, of big fish and the inspiring characters that chase them. It’s the only way to kick-off the new fishing season!

In even more exciting news, RISE has now joined forces with the Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T), the world’s biggest fly fishing film tour. By bringing these two brands together, we will be able to provide the local fly fishing community even more great content, prizes and excitement.

For many, the Fly Fishing Film Tour and RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival have become so much more than just going to the cinema. These annual fish-fests have become a true celebration of fly fishing, it’s an excuse to get together with friends and reminisce about the past season as well as look forward to the season to come.

RISE was founded by New Zealander, Nick Reygaert, the man behind Gin-Clear Media.

Your feedback is encouraged by us to continue rolling out a better tour each year. If the tour doesn’t visit where you live and you would like to see the tour come to your town contact us for possibilities.

Adventure Entertainment is a digital media business based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Australia. We specialise in running community focused film tours, publishing niche adventure and outdoor magazines and digital platforms.

In 2023, Adventure Entertainment acquired the USA based Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T), and is thrilled to now be bringing that together with RISE for the local community. The combination of F3T and RISE makes the combined tour the most expansive festival of its kind, adding to its increasingly important influence in the fly fishing film genre.

The combined world tour comprises more than 250 shows across the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, France, Germany and more. Adventure Entertainment runs a number of film tours across Australia and New Zealand including Warren Miller, Reel Rock, Women’s Adventure Film Tour, RunNation and more as well as publishing the leading outdoor magazines in the market including Wild Magazine, Vertical Life Magazine, Trail Run Magazine, Chillfactor, Snow Action and others.

Contact us at: Nick Reygaert, Rise Founder, nick@flyfilmtour.com

Official Selection

4 OF A KIND

Directed by Livit Films, Produced by Costa Films

Read the behind the lens interview on P28

WEST

Directed and Produced by Dave Greig

Read the behind the lens interview on P14

AFTER YOU’VE GONE

Directed and Produced by Flylords

Read the behind the lens interview on P20

THE BELT BUCKLE

Directed by Elsa Caruso & Cale Berry, Produced by FOSH

Read the behind the lens interview on P16

CAPE YORK

Filmed and edited by Kane Chenoweth,

Produced by Aussie Fly Fisher Production

Read the behind the lens interview on P24

BLEED WATER

Directed by Chris Kitchen, Produced by KGB Productions

Read the behind the interview on P32

THE SELFISH GENERATION

Directed by Yokanga, Produced by Augenlicht

Watch the trailer on Flyfilmtour.com.au

Read on to go behind the lens of a selection of these great films. Behind the lens content is republished with permission of Flylords.

To read more great fly fishing content, visit www.flylordsmag.com

Fly Fishing Film Tour / Rise Schedule

Here are the dates of the Fly Fishing Film Tour / Rise Schedule for Australia and New Zealand. If your city is not in the list and you would like to get the Tour to you, please contact us by email nick@flyfilmtour.com.

AUSTRALIA ACT

• Canberra, 24 AUG

Dendy Cinemas

NSW

• Bowral, 22 AUG

Empire Cinema

• Sydney Premiere, 02 SEPT

Aussie Flyfisher

Ritz Cinema

• Sydney Northern Beaches, 13 SEPT

Glen Street Theatre

• Avoca Beach, 21 SEPT

Avoca Beach Theatre

• Cooma, 21 SEPT

Cooma Twin Cinema

• Blue Mountains, 23 SEPT

Mount Vic Flicks

• Jindabyne, 12 OCT

Jindabyne Cinema

QLD

• Cairns, 18 AUG

Tropical Sportfisher Cairns

Performing Arts Centre (CPAC)

• Brisbane, 29 AUG

New Farm Cinemas

SA

• Adelaide, 13 OCT

The Regal Theatre

TAS

• Burnie, 31 AUG

Metro Cinema

• Hobart , 02 SEPT

The Peacock Theatre

• Launceston, 30 AUG

Star Theatre

VIC

• Melbourne East, 21 AUG

Classic Cinemas

• Melbourne West, 23 AUG

Sun Theatre

• Ballarat, 24 AUG

Ballarat Flyfishers Club Rooms

• Bright, 14 SEPT

Sun Bright Cinema

• Albury Wodonga, 14 SEP

The Lincoln

• Bendigo, Check Website for Date

Theatre Royal Castlemaine

• Geelong, DATE TBA

The Pivotonian

WA

• Mackerel Island, 15 SEPT

Mackerel Islands Lodge

• Perth, 19 SEPT

Luna Leederville

• Pemberton Trout Festival, 10 NOV

NEW ZEALAND

NORTH ISLAND

• Wellington, 15 SEPT

Penthouse Cinema & Cafe

• Auckland, 21 SEPT

Event Cinemas Queen Street

• New Plymouth, 21 SEPT

Event Cinemas

• Palmerston North, 28 SEPT

Event Cinemas

• Tauranga, 28 SEPT

Event Cinemas Tauranga Central

• Napier, 5 OCT

Globe Theatrette

SOUTH ISLAND

• Christchurch, 20 SEPT

Lumiere Cinemas

• Nelson, 23 Sept

The Suter Art Gallery

• Arrowtown, 4 OCT

Dorothy Browns Arrowtown Cinema

• Wanaka, 13 OCT

Cinema Paradiso

More info and tickets available at Flyfilmtour.com.au / flyfilmtour.co.nz

WHEREVER LIFE TAKES YOU,

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WEST

Interview by Nick Reygaert

Directed & Produced by Dave Greig

Photographs by Dave Greig

Location: West Coast, New Zealand

Species: Brown Trout

Gin-Clear Media: ‘West’ is your first film in the RISE Tour, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I grew up on the West Coast and have enjoyed the outdoors since I was a little kid. I only really spin fished as a little fella which I now know is a bit of a swear word amongst fly fishermen. It wasn’t until my mid 20’s I picked up a fly rod. I thought I better give it a crack after walking up some stunning river valleys while hunting and seeing some nice fish in awesome looking water.

There was nobody in my circle of friends who fly fished, so I did everything the hard way. I went through a heap of gear and had my fair share of tantrums on the riverbanks, until I slowly started to get the basics down. It wasn’t until a few years ago, I started fishing with my neighbour Rich, who’s the other guy in the film. Rich is a keen fly fisherman and has been at it for some time. It was at this point I started to

hone the finer skills and understand the game a bit better. I have always enjoyed carrying a camera round on hunting trips so that part naturally carried over into fishing.

Gin-Clear Media: There are some very large brown trout in the film, did you know there were big fish where you were going or was it good luck?

I had a bit of a hunch as I have grown up fishing the rivers. The areas pretty well known for the fishing.

Gin-Clear Media: It seemed like most of the trout caught in the film, ate dry flies. Why are such big fish eating off the top?

I’m no expert here, but we were in the middle of the summer spell and there were a lot of hatches going on, mainly cicadas. The fish looked to make the most of the high value meal and got a little reckless with there feeding behaviour, which made for some exciting fishing. A little less fishing pressure also helped.

Gin-Clear Media: What was your favourite part of this trip?

I’m a big fan of the backcountry trips. Its what sucked me into fishing in the first place. We were lucky to have some

great fishing on the trip but it wouldn’t be anything without the scenery. I appreciate backcountry fishing all over the country but I have a little bit of bias toward the coast as its where I’m from.

Gin-Clear Media: What kind of camera set up are you using?

It’s a pretty “run and gun” setup with a Sony A7 IV and a swag of different lenses. I’m pretty keen to invest in a bit more kit to lift the quality of the films, although I generally try to dodge the camera shop as it always hurts the pocket! Its not a cheap hobby.

Gin-Clear Media: Any other projects in the pipeline for you?

I am looking to make another fly-fishing film next season so I’m just kicking round a few options trying to figure out what one will make for a good story.

Gin-Clear Media: What do you hope audiences take away from this film?

Not a lot to be honest! It’s a light-hearted story with no real message or narrative. Just a couple of mates going for a fish. If anything, id hope it reaffirms how massively privileged we are in this country with our outdoor opportunities. We have access to some of the most stunning there is, with some amazing fisheries - In my opinion. It’s definitely not lost on me.

one life so much water now you can explore it all

THE BELT BUCKLE

For this installment of F3T Behind the Lens, we sat down with filmmakers Cale Berry and Elsa Caruso to discuss their latest film “The Belt Buckle”. The film takes us to the wild, wild, south of Australia, where four competitors fight for a champion position to gain the elusive, Belt Buckle. Cale and Elsa both run @fosh_au, an Australian Fly Fishing page on Instagram.

Interview by Nelson Oxley

Directed by:

Elsa Caruso & Cale Berry

Produced by: FOSH

Location: Australia

Species: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout

FLYLORDS: So, who are you?

ELSA: During the day, I am an advertising creative. But outside of work, I’m an avid fly fisher, outdoors lover, writer, filmmaker, and partner at FOSH. I grew up with a dad who loved fly fishing and a mum who loved horse riding. So, I got a taste of that world from a young age and loved every part of it. Still do. Through my content, I aim to inspire and encourage more women to get into the sport and out on the water.

CALE: I’m an advertising creative five days a week, and a nature lover, fly fishing obsessed filmmaker the other

two (oh, and as many sick days I can turn into days on the water too). I began fly fishing in the North East regions of Victoria, Australia. FOSH was born when I started bringing my camera with me on every trip to begin documenting the incredible places and great fish we were catching.

FLYLORDS: How did this film turn from an idea into reality?

ELSA: With the Belt Buckle, we wanted to branch away from the more traditional fishing films you see and focus on a story-based narrative rather than a documentary about one trip. We wanted to blur the genre lines, melding together Australian sarcasm, epic westerns, and of course, fly fishing.

However, due to the utterly unpredictable nature of the sport, following a script word for word was impossible; no one could predict who would catch what. In truth, we wrote the script in sections and filmed as we wrote, starting with the things we could control; the legend

of the Belt Buckle, the rivalries, and the characters. As the season went on, we documented each trip and every great fish, filming constantly, working each notable moment into the story, and dropping it all into our editing software. It was a fascinating exercise in creativity, patience, and adaptability.

FLYLORDS: Were there any difficulties around filming when fishing was slow, there was bad lighting, or, etc.?

CALE: The filming of this project had its ups and down. Our main difficulty was that this entire film had to be shot over one full fishing season. It wasn’t just one trip’s worth of footage and content to sort through. This was 4-5 months of footage shot across Victoria and Tasmania. And just like every fisherman knows, you can never really tell when something amazing might happen on the water, so we had to try and film as much as possible. The second most significant difficulty would have been the ever-changing story that developed over the season. We had storyboarded and planned out the entire film, characters, and backstory, but we couldn’t predict who would catch what. But thanks to long-life batteries and being vigilantly behind the camera at all times, it came together in the end and was well worth it.

FLYLORDS: We’re there any stressful moments for the crew with the fear of not getting to take the

prize home: the belt buckle?

CALE: The season was truly a wild ride! The one thing we needed was a big fish to round off the season and to win The Belt Buckle. This isn’t exactly the easiest thing to plan. No matter how many trips you go on, a big monstrous brown or rainbow trout isn’t a given. However, it wasn’t long into the season when two of us out of the four had caught some stunning fish, and that fear soon disappeared.

ELSA: Unlike my character in the film, I’m not a particularly competitive fly fisher. Don’t get me wrong, I love catching great fish and showing these boys what’s what, but I have other goals on the water, like enjoying myself. It was more stressful ensuring that the whole cast caught some good fish to really raise the tension of the film.

FLYLORDS: Do you have a favorite shot from the film, can you give us a backstory on it?

ELSA: I have two. My first one has to be Max fighting that sea run smelter. Everything about that sequence is perfect. Max’s performative fighting style, with the slow but dramatic music and the fish flipping out of the water… You can’t get a better shot than that. The second is Riley’s title card shot. His eyebrow raises just at the perfect moment, casting a fierce and hilarious air

around the character. It sets him up perfectly.

CALE: It’s hard for me to pick a favorite shot. It might have to be the same as Elsa’s favorite, the shot of Riley walking through some prehistoric tree stumps in the water, the scenery in that location is next level, and Riley’s hair illuminates the shot.

FLYLORDS: What equipment were you using to shoot the film?

CALE: As any fisherman knows, there’s nothing like packing light while spending long days on the water, so I try and help myself the best I can with a small, nimble, but very powerful camera. We use the Canon R5, a fantastic all-around camera that covers all our stills and video while fishing. The camera has great slow-motion capabilities, too, and excellent Clog RAW functionality, which is super important when it comes to grading your own film. The Canon 24-70 f2.8 is my go-to lens on the river, and when I feel up for it, I’ll bring along the very heavy 70-200 lens for those beautiful long shots.

FLYLORDS: It seems like there was a lot of competition–and a lot on the line. So, who talked the most trash on the water?

ELSA: I think everyone will agree with me on this one… Cale… definitely Cale. No question about it.

FLYLORDS: Was there any instance of “the one that got away” that could have changed the champion on the belt buckle?

ELSA: I am already getting annoyed thinking about losing this fish. So, Cale and I got up early on the last day of one of our trips to the high plains to get some good drone footage of both of us fishing. Cale had only had this drone for a week or so, and he was still figuring it all out, so he wasn’t the speediest with getting it up in the air or back down. I was standing in the middle of a stunning, wide stretch of water. It would have been roughly twenty meters across, and I was standing directly in the middle.

Cale was downstream on the left bank, controlling the drone hovering above me. It had been very slow, with little activity, but the sun and some bugs were coming out. Long story short, I cast across to the right bank and hooked onto an absolute monster. I didn’t have a net because it looked messy in the shot. I began screaming to Cale to come over with the net as I fought this fish. Getting to the bank was impossible, so I got it right in front of me. I could see it in the water.

Cale was still trying to land the drone, and taking forever, I might add. The fish popped off just as he landed the drone and started to leg it over to me. I was devastated. It could have been the winning fish… It’s still a sore spot for us. We don’t really talk about it.

FLYLORDS: What’s next for the Fosh team?

Not even we know! And that’s what we love about it. But we’re hoping to move further away from the documentary style regularly seen in the fishing world and push our storytelling further into another short

film, potentially in the horror genre. We are always looking for ways to create more, do more, and be more innovative with what we make. It’s what we love to do.

FLYLORDS: Is there anyone you want to thank for helping this film come to life?

Huge thanks to the rest of the cast, Riley Berry and Max Caruso. The film wouldn’t have been possible without them and the amazing characters they portrayed in the film. Also, a special thanks to both of our sponsors

Manic Tackle Project and Smith Optics Au. We use their products religiously; they make our time fishing on the water the most enjoyable it can be.

Special thanks to Cale & Elsa for taking the time for an interview, be sure to follow along for more content on their page, @fosh_au. To check out the full film, get your ticket for the Fly Film Tour on flyfilmtour.com.au or flyfilmtour.co.nz. Interview republished courtesy of Flylords.

AFTER YOU’VE GONE

Up Next in this year’s F3T Behind the Lens line-up, is Flylords very own film “After You’ve Gone”. Our very own Jared Zissu and Max Erickson are here to shed further light on this incredible story of life, fishing, & passion. From her home mountains of the Adirondacks to the deep fjords of Patagonia, Rachel Finn pursues her shared love of exploration and fly fishing for her late husband Jeff Kirschman. With the help of Spring Creek Lodge, Itati Lodge, and the Set Fly Fishing Crew Rachel embarks on an adventure through Argentina unlike any other.

Interview by Landen German

Directed & Produced by Fly Lords

Photographs by Zento Slinger

Location: Argentina and Adirondacks, New York

Species: Brown and Rainbow Trout and Golden Dorado

First Things First, How did you meet Rachel Finn? What a fantastic individual. How did you guys come up with the idea of chasing trout and dorado in Argentina?

Flylords: When we were brainstorming the concept for the film we wanted to accomplish two things. Develop her backstory, and showcase her exuberance. We needed to show Rachel in her space, then let her loose somewhere where her personality could shine. She’s been to Argentina with the Set Fly Fishing crew and it was a natural fit to bring her back.

From the looks of it, the fishing and scenery looked incredible. Was it hard to consolidate footage? With that being said is there a particular shot or scene in the film that is your absolute favorite?

Flylords: We shot over 20tb during the roughly 3 weeks

of principal photography. That mapped out to upwards of 40hrs of footage. Post was a heavy lift on this film (shoutout to our editor Jeb Burroughs) and we spent two months straight cutting and recutting the film.

My favorite scene in the film is the buildup to Rachel’s big dorado. From dawn to dusk showing tired hands and hours of casting, built with the song “deep river” behind it. Catching a large dorado was a spiritual and meaningful experience. We didn’t want to make this sequence feel ‘cool’ or ‘epic’ because that’s not what you feel when you’re hunting for these fish. It’s meditative and quiet, a moment where you’re tuned to the present. If you have a message you are trying to convey through this short movie. What would that message be?

Flylords: Losing someone is hard, Rachel’s personality and outlook on life is an admirable approach to moving forward with life after loss. When things get hard it’s important to keep going and make sure you’re doing the things that make you whole.

What was the filming timeline like? Did you guys have an idea of what you wanted or a vision? Or did the film naturally unfold?

Flylords: We started with 3 shoot days in Rachel’s hometown in the Adirondacks then two full weeks in Argentina with Set Fly Fishing. The idea was clear from the beginning, however, as with any documentary, the story took shape as we shot and the post was a marriage between the initial conception, points we wanted to hit, and unexpected moments and story points we found along the way.

As a crew, you’ve all got quite a bit of experience with trout, how did the trout fishing in Argentina differ from our home waters in the US?

Flylords: The trout in Argentina are mean. These things are trigger-happy and ready to kill anything that comes into range. Deerhair bass bugs ended up being really successful flies. A big profile and a lot of noise was the key to queuing these trout to your offering in the high spring water. It’s all the insanity that happens after the lights go out in the lower 48, under the high sun.

Rachel described fishing for Golden Dorado as a “full-time job”, can you elaborate on this? The hours fished, the heavy tackle, and the heat I assume were all a price to pay.

Flylords: First off – all those elements are part of the experience and part of the excitement of this fishery. That being said when you’re looking for Dorado in big water like the upper Parana you never know when the ‘moment’ is going to happen. These fish share characteristics with musky, striped bass, and large predatory trout. They’re shy, yet they live at the top of the food chain. It pays to be ‘on’ for every cast, mentally and physically prepared for the next strip to connect you with a 30lb pissed-off slab of gold.

I think I’m asking for the people here, what was Rachel’s cigar of choice? And was there an Argentinian version?

Flylords: Backwoods. She’ll smoke another if the opportunity arises, but Backwoods are her top pick. She ran out on a previous trip and this time was sure to bring PLENTY of extras.

The accommodations at Spring Creek Lodge and Itati Lodge looked incredible and so did the food. Does the crew have a favorite meal on the trip?

Flylords: They were all incredible whether it was on the water or not. They consistently go above and beyond in all aspects, but the food, wine, and presentation were

stellar. I think it really depends on who you ask, they made so many incredible dishes that could appeal to anyone differently.

Lastly, For the folks that want to experience Argentina, its culture, and its incredible fishing what are some pointers that you can give to be prepared for their trip?

Flylords: Be ready for anything. There are so many different water types, and fish behaviors, you never know what you’re going to run into. If you’ve ever had

a stupid idea you wanted to try in the States, this is the place to experiment. Feed ‘em bass bugs, try to skate up a trout on a hitched bomber, whatever crazy idea you have, there’s probably some fish there who will respond to it and you might be surprised with your results.

Cheers to my good friends Jared Zissu and Max Erickson for taking the time to shed some light on this incredible film. Photos from Zento Slinger of Team Flylords. You can catch “After You’ve Gone” at the Fly Fishing Film Tour’s stop nearest you. Interview republished courtesy of Flylords.

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CENTERFIRE

AS ANGLERS, WE SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY

CAPE YORK

Have you ever dreamt of taking a helicopter ride to an untouched flat teeming with Giant trevally? How about driving through the red dirt roads of northern Australia, catching multiple ‘Anak permit in a single day, and achieving the northern Australian grand slam with one of your best buddies? For some, an adventure is incomprehensible. But, thanks to the Aussie Fly Fisher, we get a glimpse into this fly fisher’s utopia. Cape York is filmed & edited by Kane Chenoweth and highlights the adventure of American angler, Dave McCoy, joining Aussie Fly Fisher, Joshua Hutchins, in the wilds of Australia. For this installment of F3T Behind the Lens, we sat down with the Aussie Fly Fisher himself, Josh Hutchins.

Interview by Andrew Braker

Filmed and edited by Kane Chenoweth

Produced by Aussie Fly Fisher Production

Location: Cape York, Australia

Species: Various South Pacific Species

Flylords: What was the inspiration for this film?

Josh: The initial inspiration for the film was to bring an American to Australia for an experience unique to northern Australia. Cape York is a very iconic part of the North. It’s a very wild and remote place. And, there’s a lot

of diversity in it. The east side of Cape York is primarily known for the Great Barrier Reef—the beautiful clear and sandy cayes, atolls, and reef systems along that side. But, the west side is made up of river systems, estuaries, and species diversity as well.

Aussie Fly Fisher has been taking clients to this area for a while, primarily due to the draw for the ‘Anak permit fishery. This film was a chance to highlight that fishery, but also highlight the various other fisheries within this area.

Flylords: Traveling to Cape York seems like a feat upon itself. Tell us what it takes to travel to Cape

Josh: What we did for the film was slightly out of the normal. The lodge we have in Cape York is on the west side. So, when the average person comes to visit, they usually fly into Sydney, connect to Cairns, then hop on a short flight to Weipa. And we basically go fishing from there.

However, in terms of the film we wanted to switch it up and access the east side with the helicopter. Since the east side of Cape York is dependent on wind conditions, this was a bit of a logistical beast. We only had a couple days where the wind wasn’t blowing, so we had a short window to make that section of the trip happen.

Flylords: Have you considered offering guided trips via helicopter? GT fishing by helicopter sounds like a wild experience.

Josh: We’ve definitely talked about the helicopter thing, but it would only be able to happen during the three to four months where the wind isn’t blowing. For a large part of the year Cape York receives a South East trade wind that renders the east side unfishable. But, for the three to four months when the wind isn’t blowing, it’s one of the most magical places on Earth.

Beyond the seasonal window, you would also have to judge the daily weather before committing to a full day with a helicopter. But, if the weather is looking nice on a given day, you could jump in a helicopter and do some crazy things.

Flylords: What is your favorite species to target on this trip?

Josh: For most of our season, the jewel of the crown is the permit. That’s what most folks travel for. But, one of my favorite things is a giant trevally in shallow water. I think that’s a really cool fish. Particularly if you’re wading on a shallow flat, knee-deep in the water, with a large GT swimming along—maybe even with its back out of the water. I know a permit is probably a trickier fish to catch, but I just love the aggression of a GT eat. We connect with a lot of permit every year, so for me to have an opportunity with a shallow GT, that doesn’t happen as often.

Flylords: The film highlights some of the classic Australian species that might give viewers the heebee-jeebees. Is there anything people need to worry about when visiting a place like Cape York?

Josh: We may have built up the “Austalianisms” a bit. Even though we may play up the idea that everything will kill you in Australia, it’s not completely true. Our goal was to showcase a wild area, full of species diversity, and put that in the eyes of an American coming to visit. This diversity included its fair share of snakes and crocodiles, but that’s all just a part of what makes this place so special.

Flylords: In the film you found a school of permit that seemed “easy” to catch. An easy permit sounds like an oxymoron. Were they really easy to catch?

Josh: That day I think we hooked 12, landed 9, and lost

3. And the 3 that we lost were because they were smaller fish and I tried to near-pull them in. For that situation, as long as you could have laid out a reasonable cast, I would consider those fish as an easy permit scenario. It’s not always like that every day.

That particular scenario was a sequence that you don’t get to do in filming too often. In fact, Kane was filming on the boat, then he was on the shore with a long lens, then he was on the shore with a drone… We would catch one, then we would say “Let’s put you over here and catch another one. Then we’ll put you over here and catch another one.” Then at the end of it, Kane, who has never caught a permit, caught one! He gets back on the boat and says “I’ve got one more angle.” And I said “no no no”. You’re going to catch a permit.” Within 10 minutes, we got him a permit.

Flylords: What do you hope audiences take away from this film?

Josh: Part of my mission being an Australian fly fisherman, and being lucky to see a lot of places around the world, is to express to the world what these places are like. If you grow up in an area and only know that area, you could perceive that to be fantastic, you could perceive that to be average, or you could perceive it to be whatever if it’s the only thing you’ve ever seen. I believe that Australia has incredible fisheries, and I believe that, historically, there hasn’t been much international knowledge about Australian fishing.

So, part of my overall mission is for people to know what’s offered in Australia. And for Cape York, I want people to see this film and think that this looks like a fantastic place to go. I’d love to go and do that at some point in my life.

Flylords: What’s next for the Aussie Fly Fisher?

Josh: I’ve got a pretty busy year as a guide. People are traveling more again, so we’ve got more American guests coming our way this year. I’m challenging myself to tail 100 permit. But, if I end up tailing 50, I’d be happy. I guess you have to set some outlandish goals.

And, when I’m not guiding, I’ll be spending time with the family. I’ve got three little boys and they’re starting to

enjoy their fishing. I’m really enjoying taking them out.

As for filmmaking, you can count on more Aussie Fly Fisher films on the way.

Thank you Josh Hutchins for taking the time to talk about Cape York. Check out flyfilmtour. com.au or flyfilmtour.co.nz for more. Interview republished courtesy of Flylords.

The Bandit is Back

Stealth just got even stealtherer. There’s so much stealth here that we had to invent a new word.

Airflo’s camouflage tipped Bandit line has been given the Superflo Ridge 2.0 treatment. Greater flexibility, zero compression, reduced stiffness and reduced friction in the guides. What you get is more stealth and less spooked fish. Lucky for you, fish can’t read.

What do you do when you have a fan favourite fly line? You make it even better. So, isn’t time your mend your line?

4 OF A KIND

For this installment of F3T Behind the Lens, we sit down with the “4 of a Kind” crew to learn about the pursuit of the Permit Africanus in Oman. In the Costa and Livit Films production, you’ll see Jako Lucas and Oliver White battling through big swells to achieve their goal of catching this fourth and final species of permit. In this interview, we learn about the filming, fishing, and challenges of chasing permit on the Omani coast.

Interview by Will Poston

Directed by Livit Films, Patrick Rhea

Produced by Costa Films

Photos by Hayden Dobbins and Austin Coit

Location: Oman, Arabian Sea

Species: Saltwater, Africanus Permit

Flylords: What was the inception of 4 of a Kind? Or how did this idea become a reality?

Costa: Oliver and Jako had brought up the idea in the past, along with Nick Bowles of Ocean Active Fly, and we jumped at the opportunity to help bring it to life. To

be part of a pursuit like this with these storied anglers was too good to pass up, and we felt it was a story that should be shared.

Flylords: It sounded like this project was a bit of logistical nightmare, care to elaborate?

Costa: As Teddy Roosevelt once said, “nothing worth having comes easy”. While it certainly wasn’t the easiest project to plan, Nick Bowles and his team were invaluable thanks to their local knowledge and resources, and it always helps when you’re working with seasoned pros like Oliver and Jako. Step one was connecting in Europe en route to Dubai, and then ultimately heading to Salalah, Oman. The crew stayed in

various spots, including Bedouin camps, along the way, which kept things interesting. Transportation was also a critical piece of the puzzle – planes, trucks, boats and camels were all amongst the modes of transportation on this trip.

Flylords: In the video, it looked like you guys were fighting some serious swells. Tell us about permit fishing in this different environment.

Jako and Oliver: Yeah, I mean, the crazy thing is, you know, the permit are in the swell, right. So the most honest reflection of the fishery down there is like, when you’re looking at this cliff wall coming down and meeting the ocean and there is a six-eight foot swell coming up. These fish are riding that swell and then eating on the top of these rocks and then getting tumbled and washed down.

Flylords: You both have fished for and caught other species of permit all over the globe. What was different or more challenging (maybe) about the Africanus?

Jako and Oliver: For sure, there are some similarities between the other three species of permit, like the Anak, the Blochii, and the Atlantic. But for the Africanus, you need a completely different technique to successfully target them. Like Oliver said earlier, fishing this bizarre landscape up against these muscle beds and crashing waves and not really stripping the fly. Like the technique is just kind of very, very unique.

Also, there’s always also been this big question about which specific one of these four permit species are the toughest to catch and which one is regarded as more difficult than the other? Which is a question I always got in the Seychelles when I was guiding there because somehow this whole story developed that Indian Ocean is are really easy place to catch a permit. Sure, but the way that I kind of describe it is like this: you’re fishing Oman or you’re fishing the Seychelles pr you’re fishing Australia…these are all really well looked-after, very low-pressure areas. Inevitably, those kind of scenarios that you’re gonna fish are gonna be easier to connect, as those fish are happier, less pressured, and have seen far fewer flies than permit in the Florida Keys, for example.

Also, I’ve chased Indo permit on foot for the most part, and that is kind of a controlled environment. Nick was a legend with the boat, like positioning us for the exact right place to make the cast for the Africanus. I think they’re all more or less the same. They’re all permit.

Flylords: I’m sure you all were doing a ton of research and trying to track down intel on this new permit species ahead of the trip, but how did that all match up against what you all experienced on the water in Oman?

Jako: For sure, initially we scoured the internet to try and gather as much information as we could. But in reality, when you go on Google and start looking at stuff, there’s very little information. The only thing that I knew about them, prior to actually knowing we could effectively target them, was that knew my dad caught one on bait in South Africa. So, I didn’t really ever deem

them possible to target on a fly rod for sure. And yeah, it was just kind of a little bit daunting.

For the most part, we relied on our guides Nick and Stuart. Nick’s been there for ages, and he’s known about it for a while, but we definitely relied on their expertise for the most part.

Oliver: This was my second trip to Oman, and for sure the online research gets you enough to be curious. But the other guy that really put me on this path for the Permit Africanus was Ray Montoya, who is an expat and lived Oman for a bunch of years–super interesting dude. And you know, I’ve still never even met the guy, but I consider him a buddy. We chat on Instagram all the time, and he planted the seed for me and told me how they feed and how he was catching them.

But I think in this case, the real credit goes to Stuart. I mean Nick’s the man. Nick is the driver of the thing, and he brought in Stuart, who is stud of a fishing guide coming out of the Seychelles. And so putting somebody like that in a place like Oman where there’s still so much exploring to do and just kind of giving them the resources and tools to make it happen was huge. I mean, Stuart has a Chittum out there–he is like running around the Oman coast on a Chittum exploring, figuring sh*t out. He cracked the code, man. That was a total, total game changer.

Flylords: So, I wont make you guys divulge any bigtime secrets, but you had mentioned there was one fly that those fish really wanted….care to add some color to that?

Jako and Oliver: To be honest with you, we had like zero success with the other flies. But I know they have caught them in the past on the other permit-specific, classic flies that we all think permit will eat. But this one specific fly Stuart created absolutely dominates. It was like the Aphlexo fly for the Seychelles where it was just something where you’ve gone from catching a couple of fish, to now having fish immediately react to this new fly. It got to the point where we only had one of these magic flies left, and we were taking turns with it. Like I’m cutting the fly off my rod and tying it on to Jako’s rig, so he could get back in there. It was that disproportionately successful.

Flylords: Were there any frames/lenses that really shined fishing these Omani ocean cliffs?

Costa: There were multiple frames worn, but Jako mostly wore Santiago, from our Untangled Collection, while Oliver went with Ferg – both with green mirror lenses to better see the Africanus to get the job done.

Introducing the new RAW CCC series. Higher density carbon blanks for increased sensitivity, quicker recovery and ultra light swing weight.

AS ANGLERS, WE SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY

BLEED WATER

For this installment of F3T Behind the Lens, we connect with Chris Kitchen of KGB Productions to talk about their film “BLEED WATER” with the Harrison Brothers. New England is not widely known for its trout or river fisheries, but Dan and Tom Harrison have developed quite the reputable operation up there with their dedicated, hard-core approach to guiding. Follow along to learn more about their fisheries, their story, and this awesome film! BLEED WATER is a bad*** film that you’re not going to want to miss!

Interview by Will Poston

Directed by Chris Kitchen

Produced by KGB Productions

Location: Western Massachusetts & Southern Vermont, USA.

Species: Brown and Rainbow Trout, Pike

Flylords: Chris, thanks for taking a second to connect with us. Before we dive into your 2023 F3T film, Bleed Water, can you share some background on you and KGB Productions.

KGB: KGB Productions has kind of been my baby of me collaborating with people who enjoy working in outdoor media. I started out by making ski films, and then we’ve just grown to do all sorts of commercial and editorial work. I spent some of my early years in Jackson guiding fishing trips and exploring that region’s infamous rivers.

I always strayed away from filming fishing, as that was one activity I enjoyed that I hadn’t been filming, but about 5 years ago we decided to make a fishing film. Since then, we’ve made 5 others, all of which featured on the F3T

Flylords: Let’s hear about how you all learned about the Harrison brothers and their unique approach to fishing New England’s rivers and streams? And then turned that idea into a full film?

KGB: I first heard of the Harrison Brothers through Rex at Simms and I was fascinated with the fact that these guys fish all over the world and came back to fish and guide in western Mass. I actually grew up in Mass and had no idea that this fishery even existed, so that was intriguing to me, as was doing a trout film in New England. It seems like that part of the world often gets overlooked although it’s got a huge fly fishing community base and in many ways it’s where fly fishing kind of originated in the United States. There’s so much history there, and it’s great to get some recognition. Once I started talking with Dan and Tom and heard about their passion for finding and discovering new fisheries and running new and different rivers, I was very intrigued and knew we had a good story.

The Crew behind Harrison Anglers

Flylords: The Harrison Brothers pride themselves and have built a business on fishing remote, hard to access stretches of water. I imagine that presented

some challenges on the photo and videography front. Care to explain?

KGB: It was interesting to film with the Harrison Brothers. I’m used to showing up at nice boat ramps with bathrooms and an easy way to put in the boat and take it out . With this, we were dropping boats off on the side of the highway or winching them down Cliffs or dragging through fields. I don’t think we ever went to an official boat ramp. For many of these rivers, easy boat ramps don’t even exist. In fact, half the time we’d pull up to the spot, and I’d be like “we’re putting in here? Where?” For filming, we had to slim down our gear and we brought just essentials which is still a lot. Everything had to be portable as we would portage the whitewater with our gear and then let them run the boats without it just in case. Also the whitewater day nobody had run that section, so we had to figure out what we wanted to shoot and not shoot as it happened. Normally you have an idea of the places where you would catch a fish or shoot scenic or have a plan. For the whitewater day, it was true in the moment documentary shooting.

The Harrison Brothers approach water differently–they regularly launch boats at places other anglers wouldn’t even consider!

Flylords: Dan and Tom Harrison, definitely seem like fishy, very fishy, guys. What was it like filming and fishing with them?

KGB: Dan and Tom and all the guides are very fishy dudes, as they fish some really tough water. As we say in the film, some of the stretches we were fishing have 30 fish per mile, but these guys have figured it out and know how to fish their water. They definitely have the brother vibe and their difference is what makes their guide service strong. Tom is “the general,” he’s the business man, the logistics guy the day to day guy. Dan is the dreamer, the one with the big ideas, fun loose but dialed. I mean all these guys can fish, tie flies, and really understand the fisheries and are great entertainers. With any sort of guide service, they feel an immense pressure to catch fish and protect the fisheries, and I think they manage that well. For filming its nice to catch a bunch of fish–that helps the film but was not our only focus. These guys were working hard for 12 hours a day plus tons of driving. We ended up doing two trips with them one in the summer and one in the fall and coincidentally we just happen to come the weeks that were the toughest fishing of the season. Seems to be on par with filming even with the tough conditions these guys put in 110% every day and worked every opportunity we had. I’m sure they do the same for their clients. You can see how much they care and how much thought and knowledge goes into the rivers they are guiding. They all seem to truly love guiding and whether they are guiding or have a day off, they are all on the water for 250 days or more!

Flylords: In the film, you all covered many different types of water and fish species. Can you tell us a little more about the Harrison Brother’s different fishing techniques and types of fish they’re targeting?

KGB: What’s cool about the Harrison Brothers’ operation is that it’s a year-round operation. They are

targeting trout year round but they’re also able to fish other species such as Pike and provide winter fishing opportunities too. I mean they use every technique in the book, from deep nymphing to euro nymphing to streamers and  dry flies and all sorts of variations and techniques. I mean you have guides like Phil Nogee who can tie any fly in the book and has specific flies he’s developed for these waters but you won’t find them in a fly shop. And then Cam Chioffi, a Junior fly fishing world champion. Just like Tom and Dan, their guides are continuously changing and adapting and innovating. Even as more pressure comes to the rivers, they are able to stay on top and produce.

Flylords: On that note, did you have a specific fish or film sequence that was particularly memorable for you

KGB: There’s always that one fish that got away from you but what stuck out of this is we’re fishing a river (I probably can’t say the name of it ) and it’s one of those post industrial rivers where there’s like less than 100 fish from mile maybe 50 which seems like the odds are dismal and it’s just been like overcast and raining all day and we had just been nymphing and every one of their holes that were supposed to produce didn’t. It just got to that end of the day where you’re like “man are we really going to get skunked again (because the previous day we did)?” And then Dan just hooked into this big fish starts freaking out yelling it’s a big one. Cam jumps out of the boat  and ends up netting it. I mean literally end of the day, it was just a nice healthy big brown trout, and I think for me as a filmmaker we can always work around that we did not catch a big wild fish, because we have we caught some fish on film and we are trying to tell a more comprehensive story, but I think for the crew and the guides it was kind of their favorite river and they wanted to really prove that big Browns are living in there, kind of to us more than anything. And to the world and for

them, I think it was more of a win, a real moral booster. I mean obviously we love the footage but like that just kind of built the group morale after two kind of bad days and then you know we went into those next three days and really got what we needed for the film.

Flylords: Any stories from shooting that might not have made it into the final film but you’d like to share?

KGB: It’s a small but tight community. It’s cool that Dan and Tom kinda started the thing there and now there are many other guides and river users and they all help out. There doesn’t seem to be any competition or animosity. And of course what makes every guide service special is the guides and their personalities.

I think another cool story that’s in the film but I want to reiterate, is that originally we were trying to go to another area and check out the streams where they had found some big natural brows in real skinny water but the water levels were too low so we kind of improvised last minute and ended up running that white water river which wasn’t initially our plan before the trip. But it was a river that these guys were all honestly interested in checking out. Some of them had been eying it up for years  So, we literally kind of went into it blind and made it happen, and I hope that came across in the film. It’s kind of the spirit of these anglers, and I think of us as filmmakers

when we figured our original plan isn’t going to work out, and just audible and make it work. We all just jumped into it no questions asked and did it. That’s a cool thing when a crew coalesces and comes together like that. Those guys are definitely my friends now, and I can’t wait to get out with them again.

Flylords: While KGB was heading up the production of Bleed Water, I’m sure this was a full team effort–care to highlight any partners or others involved in the film?

KGB: I got to thank Matt Fournaris the principal camera and editor on this project. He put a lot of time into it and two trips and literally slept 4 hours a night it seemed.

I also must thank Fool Hardyhill. It’s an off the grid Glamping camp with cute structures and a common area, and they are part of the fishing community. Thet put us up and fed us and served as a home base. It’s a home base for Harrison Anglers too, and it’s just got that good community vibe.

And of course Tom and Dan and all the guides. They don’t really need the publicity and they took a lot of time during prime season to make this work and they were with us from dawn to deep into late night shenanigans.

Interview republished courtesy of Flylords.

OUTDOOR APPAREL ENGINEERED TO LAST

BORN IN THE MOUNTAINS®