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On the fly: An angler’s kind of cast

Scott Spooner
Special to The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO, Colorado

ASPEN – When it comes to high-quality fly-fishing videos and films, we are living in the glory days. Fishing films have come a long, long way in recent years, due in part to the relative affordability of high-quality, waterproof, high-definition cameras and the sheer numbers of fishing bums out there documenting their exploits.

Producing a compelling fishing video is not an easy undertaking. Poor-quality fishing video abounds on the Internet, as anyone can confirm upon close inspection.

Coming soon to Aspen is the answer to every bad fishing video you’ve ever endured – the Fly Fishing Film Tour, which brings only the cream of the crop of this year’s fly-fishing film offerings in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. The Wheeler Opera House is hosting this event for the third year in a row, and we are pleased to invite you again for a night of laughs, beers and good fishing friends.



Headlining the event is a film titled “Geofish,” a movie that could easily appeal to nonangling audiences, let alone fellow fish-heads like ourselves. Four friends embark on an epic 8,000-mile fishing journey in a vegetable-oil-fueled truck to South America, with some truly spectacular fishing along the way. Sprinkled between this and other films are shorts by the now-infamous Hank Patterson, the guide we all hope we never get.

Good things are being said about other entries, such as “Brownbro,” a film about a never-fished area in the Georgia Caucasus Mountains. “Reel” is a film getting a lot of attention, focusing on the Mae Ngao (translated as the “River of Reflection”) in northern Thailand. This tour is the perfect way to get a taste of many different films, all of which will be available soon on DVD at your favorite local fly shop.




The Fly Fishing Film Tour is also a terrific venue for viewing fish gallery art, meeting new and old fishing buddies, sampling local brews and experiencing the traveling-road-show atmosphere of the tour. This tour is not just for dudes, by the way. Women made up 26 percent of last year’s attendees, and female attendance has been rising every year since the tour’s inception. Tickets are available at the door, and discounted tickets can be picked up at Taylor Creek Fly Shops. We hope to see all of you at the Wheeler at 7:30 p.m. on March 12.

“On the fly” is provided weekly by the staff members of Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt.