The T.F.M. Fly Fishing DVD Review

This review has been a long time coming since I first viewed most of these DVD's this past August while flying from Charlotte to Denver and then back again on my way home scribbling notes in a tablet.

Fly fishing films are something that I typically have a lot of expectation in and am often disappointed. This list is all the keepers from a larger stack that I've viewed over and over the past couple months.

HUSTLE & FISH is unlike anything that I have ever seen in the realm of fly fishing cinema. The boys at Rollcast Productions made a fly fishing film about making a fly fishing film and somehow it all makes wonderful sense!


Sharp writing, story line, soundtrack, and most importantly unreal fish footage is meshed together to be my favorite movie in the mix.

NERVOUS WATER is a long journey with RA Beattie and his crew fishing some amazing places. This DVD is three and a half hours long and besides a few overlaps in content the fourteen films are downright spectacular. RA's got a knack in the edit room and he can lay down film over the music that is nothing short of perfect.


My favorite cuts from Nervous Water are Green Screen, Solvenia on the Fly, and First Descent Alaska.

I like RA's style in that he tells the story of not only being there but what it took to get there which is certainly an important part of the process.

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON takes you on a stunning adventure into the New Zealand backcountry fishing mice to wild trout slurping big flies during the day in still and moving water.


Unbelievably filmed from in the air and streamside my only complaint with this film is that at 36 minutes long it left me wanting more. Carl McNeil can we get a director's cut or something?

RIVERS OF A LOST COAST has gotten a lot of hype over the past few months so naturally I wondered if it would live up to all the chatter. This film chronicles the loss of the steelhead and salmon fishery of the California coastal rivers along with telling stories of a few of the more notable anglers that devoted their lives to the runs of big fish that used to push up into the rivers. Part vintage film, photos, drawings along with interviews made for a film experience that really spoke to me.


I was haunted by this film and left with the feeling that every special waterway with a history deserves the masterful touch of Skinny Fist Productions to tell it's story.

SKAGIT MASTER is a DVD that you need to own rather than borrow if you have a two hander rod and know you need to hone up on some Skagit skills.


Ed Ward walks through the casting techniques in a way that is understandable and easy to see through his demonstrations. The film also tells his story and where this style originated.

Finally, NO SPORTS ALLOWED dropped their first DVD this year which is certainly worth the $10 (shipped!) asking price.


Marc Crapo, aka Rowdy, and his friends take you on a short list of western locations touching big fish and having a great time doing it. An excellent example of what fly fishing should be all about.