The International Fly Fishing Film Festival is making its way through the region in February, showcasing exciting expeditions to plentiful waters across the globe.
There’s Vivid Dreams, a film about a trip to Iceland to chase trout. The story line follows Nic Heslop, a young man who films his fishing idols Gilbert Rowley and Phil Tuttle in their quest to find the ultimate aquatic prize.
Canadian filmmakers Fred Campbell and Renaud Furlotte visit isolated areas of Nunavik in search of Arctic char, Atlantic salmon and brook trout in Tunulik.
Anglers wade through sparkling crystal clear Caribbean waters in South Caicos and traverse the Amazon jungle in search of the peacock bass in Pinawaca.
“You’re living this trip through their eyes and you want to go there. These films get people excited,” said film festival founder Chris Bird.
Bird, who operates a fly fishing media business called Bird Marketing Group, said he started the festival in order give locals the opportunity to see major films that would usually only circle through big cities. The festival is travelling throughout much of Western Canada and the U.S, but locally there will be screenings at Key City Theatre in Cranbrook on Feb. 9, Centre 64 in Kimberley on Feb. 10, Ponderosa Events Centre in Canal Flats on Feb. 23 and Vogue Theatre in Fernie on Feb. 29 — all at 7 p.m.
Bird was raised in the area and grew up fly fishing on the Bull River with his family, and he said the serene and peaceful landscape is what keeps bringing him back to the local rivers and lakes. Outdoor sports, he said, are the quintessential Kootenay experience.
“Hunting and fishing is kind of synonymous with the Kootenays. We live in a really cool place with opportunities to get lost out there.”
“Cranbrook exists because of the things around it, things like Summer Lake, Bull River Valley, Kootenay River Tributaries,” he added.
Fly fishing is different from regular angling in that it mimics the fish’s natural food source. Fishers use the artificial fly to imitate movements that a insect would make on the top of the water rather than trying to provoke a reaction from the fish like spin anglers do.
There’s a creative component to the hobby as well. Many fishers craft their own artificial flies out of wood and feathers.
Bird said that for him, it’s all about spending quality time outside and crafting a strategy to lure the fish in. It can be difficult to land a fish, so it’s an activity that requires a love for nature and a modicum of patience.
“My favourite place to go is where you can reset your mind,” he said.