Fly Fishing is a Joke 

Many people are misled by the title of this film. That was intentional. It was done before "clickbait" was a thing. My intention was to break assumptions. Thanks for watching and letting me know what you think. I actually do read the comments.

I have fly fished for fifty-seven years. I prefer to cast small dry flies to large rising trout but of course am happy just being on the water even if it means nymphing for 11" stocked trout. I actually get more satisfaction out of fly fishing now than I did when I was 17 years old. At least now I know what I'm doing and the feelings are just wonderful. I'm almost 73 now and am hoping for at least another ten years of good wading and then find someone to row my drift boat for me until I can no longer cast.

I stumbled upon your vid only due to my work related research about fishing gears. I found no valuable information I was looking for. No list of gears to bring. No recommendations of specific brands, places to fly fish. No "dos and donts". Not even a fishing technique. Instead, your vid took me there all the way to the scenes, to the other side of my monitor. It got me really relaxing first. Then strangely, it started making me rather unsettled. I got jealous. it made me angry. It made me forget all about my research and watch it through. I will probably keep coming back to this video for years to come, hopefully watching it without feeling jealous or angry eventually. I think you woke up something deep inside me. Thank you very much for such a great video, one of the best you see on RU-vid, I say.

Just beautiful. You're a wonderful filmmaker and your video and audio are a perfect and just tribute to fly fishing.

thought it was the most useless thing ever, then i caught a shitty canal tuna on my 8 wt and i was hooked, one drag screaming football on a 8 wt and you will understand why we love it. i dont even need to catch fish anymore to have a good time.

As a still photographer of landscapes and fish and a fly fisherman for over five decades, I think you hit the nail square on the head. Beautiful work and thoughtful narration. I only wish I could do as well. Thank you for your gift to us.

For me, it's the entire experience! Getting out of the crowded city and as the skyscrapers fall away and the mountain rise before my eyes, I instantly, without realizing, let out a big sigh of relief. I love the drive to my fishing destination, the camping, the folks I meet, the time on the water even when I'm not catching shit, the music I listen to, the type of books I read when on my trip. The sense of peace it brings me is unmatched in anything I have experienced in life. I remember when I caught my first fish on my own tied fly and the joy it brought, but the same joy as when my son caught his first at 6 years of age. I live in British Columbia and while the elitists are definitely still around, it has become so popular with your everyday, blue collar, easy going man and woman up here who are less judgemental than many others in different sporting types. Thank you for the video, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Kudos! This is the best film about fly fishing I've watched in a very long time. Beautiful footage and intelligent commentary. It captures the true spirit and nature of our sport which to me is the reason why I have been a fly angler for way longer than I now care to admit. Let's keep on smiling...

WOW! I love the intro and the sound track. We just subscribe to your channel. As always happy fishing and tight lines. Fish On! Can't wait to see this channel grow.

Thank you! I will be attempting to get there this summer. Can't wait! Any suggested pattern you would use in middle July to early August?

Beautifully shot - a nice perspective. We enjoyed it so much we added it to a playlist - thank you for publishing!

I came across this video 6 or 7 years ago and find myself returning to it often. It is powerful and moving -- underscores and reinforces everything a fly fisherperson experiences, consciously or subconsciously. Something in this video (more likely many things) will stick in your head forever -- a reflection of your experience, your joy, your passion. I expect that something is different for everyone, but I promise you it is there. This is pure art on many, many levels. Thank you.

I love to fish and intend to try fly fishing. I have always loved being on the Water fishing for a variety of species and your words and photography brought back many memories. I think you have captured beautifully the essence of fly fishing.I couldn't help but feel grateful for having experienced moments like these. Beautifully written and filmed.

Pretty bold title. Then again...pretty film as well :). I really enjoyed it and I hear your message. Thank you for this.

very inspiring, as a young fisherman and an amateur film artist.... I give you praise!

It is pretty obvious who watched the film, and who commented on the title. Definitely well put together.

Greetings from the antipodes, I've watch this a several times now and it never gets old, love the narrative. Thanks for creating this mini masterpiece. You should really try out your stuff in NZ or Australia. We have some amazing fishing here. Cheer, Craig

Wonderful ending shot at 8:45...beautiful sunrise/smile! Question, where is the location setting at :45...I want a photgraph of me casting there. Thanks!

Dude, poetry. This is alluding to the soul. Preach man, SING! I LOVED THIS! Don't stop doing this man. This is wonderful, too many synonyms of the same word; beautiful, gorgeous! I'm no elitist, and I'm younger and poorer that the "younger, less financially secure" crowd you presented in the video, but you better believe you persuaded me to try this and take it home. Thank you. Almost felt like crying at the end. Almost.

Beautiful. Words can't describe how true fly fishing is portrayed in this video. Being an avid fly fisherman I smile when casting a line for different reasons than that of my family. Thank you for sharing.

Fellow filmmaker and fly fishing addict. Fantastic work. Last scene was really cool. Love the sun coming in and blowing it all out.

at 50 second mark that is a great shot of stormcastle on the Gallatin river. Beautiful video!

Beautiful .... Fishing has been a part of my life , all my life. I am 59 years old. Now more than ever I treasure the moments that I can get away even if it's for just an hour or two and cast a line, read some water, and get lost in the Stoke. I thoroughly enjoyed Your JOKE!

Loved your film. Fished yesterday, January 27, on a Colorado tail water in 55 degree sunshine. Although I got skunked it was still a great day of serenity and scenery with friends and the river.

this was awesome! i just picked up fly fishing this past May and fell in love with it the more i cast. great documentary. keep up the great work!

Well done! Great use of metaphor, composition, and editing. Definitely MFA work. I hope you received a good critique from your professors.

Wow. I feel the same way. When you get stressed, go fly fishing. I find that joy when I get a fish, and let it go, and the water wacking your hand. Wow, great film.

Wow, great video! I love How you narrate the video. I can't believe you have thumbs down on this, clearly people don't get the art of photography.

You hit the nail on the head, no matter who you are, what you believe or how you fish... it's about that smile :) The reason and method may differ between each person, but the end result is all that matters. Great film, thanks for sharing

Thank you for that. A beautiful piece of filmmaking about a beautiful passion of many of us.

Very good thoughts on the sport/art/pastime or whatever it is we do. The beauty of it is you can ponder and consider, and also just live in the moment. Thanks for a lovely little film.

Great Video, I live near and fly fish in many of the Montana shown in this video! I love the ending where it all comes clear and it made me smile knowing that is exactly how I feel!

This was wonderful. I thought it would be a bash, yet I’m glad I watched it all. This is really well done great job!

Very nice, this brings back memories of my Montana fishing trip many years ago! I fished the exact location in your film on the Gallatin. I was told by my guide, that this is the location that they filmed the River Runs through it, and if you watch closely near the end of the movie you will see this location. Each person gets something different from fly fishing, however I agree, they all laugh, and it seems like a joke. Thank you for sharing.

Your comparison of analyzing a joke vs hearing a joke and observing but not participating in fly fishing is well done! You have skills as a videographer as well as a wordsmith. " . . . and as I fished, I experienced the simple joy of losing myself in actuality. And then . . . I smiled!" You put into words exactly what I experience. I've smiled . . . and, yes, even laughed after a perfect cast. Thank you!

The mindset of fly fishing and the joy is just like a Pitcher throwing a Strike or even a No-Hitter. It's the art, the complexities, the focus on perfection and in all this, it's just being outside and getting lost in nature. I too am a photographer who just got bitten by the Fly.

4:02 Please someone tell me what fly that is!!! I've never seen that technique as far as I know. but Ive only been tying flies since August 2022.

Great video. I love fly fishing and its part of me. I enjoy spending time in the nature, taking long hikes even spraining my ankle to get to that wild trout stream that no one has been to in years. Fly fishing is what makes me alive. Living in NYC where everything is crowded fly fishing gives me an opportunity to enjoy one day in nature and come back to the city feeling fresh like I just came back from 15 day vacation in Aruba, and I am not exagurating

I grew up in far-northern New England near Canada. My entire family and I fished, trapped and hunted. Then, no one thought fly fishing was an elitist sport. It does have a calming effect on the soul as a respite from today's frenetic activities. And, it's poetic but not elitist. However, maybe the further you live from fishing locations, the more likely fly fishing becomes elitist due to equipment costs, place to maintain/store equipment, and travel/time/distance costs. Living near the source is much simpler.

This makes me think about one of my favorite poems. It's about how if you overanalyze something, you take the fun away. The romanticism, the magic is gone. It becomes sterile. It happens with everything, and this video is a good example of that. When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars

The video said some people say you might as well use a spinning rod/reel, if your using a bead head nymph ? I'm just wondering why they say that? I love using those and trout seem to like them.

I'm never going to give up my spin rod, because I can fish with every fly,lure,bait I want to and catch more fish doing it. But I enjoy the art of making flies, fly fishing and this video. Well done.

Keep coming back... and sharing.

Started fly fishing recently after a lifetime of coarse fishing (I am 40 this year). Oh how foolish I have been... Hopefully fishing the River Dove in Derbyshire soon (Izaak Walton and Charles Cottons stomping ground!)... The peace, craft and simplicity is tempered joy... Loved this film!

This is such a good video. You sir are blessed with a gift! Keep using it.

Extremely well done! I did not expect that it was done by Montana State University. The quality and content show that it is. Way to go MPTV!

I was going to make some smart remark about fly fishing a joke at the beginning of this clip. After finishing, I could not agree with you more. Great Job!

watching this on a winters night in ireland dreaming of big trout ..great video

Enjoyed the video greatly! I'm 66, living in Alaska, a fly fisherman, and this puts the entire process in focus. I too, was smiling at the end. Then I heard the monkey joke and laughed out loud! Thanks for sharing, and I'm sure you received an A+ for your efforts.

The more I listen to your story,the more Im realizing how this can be applied to everyday life. What an inspiration. Thankyou.

liked the vid, was interesting. Nice to see new fisherman enjoying the time. You might try keeping your wrist straight, no turn and stopping your back cast at 12 before your forward cast. Old Miramichi fisherman, had to learn from the old pros before I was allowed to fish the water. ;-)

Great work. Well worth the watch. Thought-provoking and beautiful scenery. Just being out of doors is enough for me.

This is a truly captivating video. The story through the lens is absolutely inspiring. It is amazing how unique fly fishing actually is.

That was beautiful. I'm thrilled that you felt it. Its a rhythm, not your rhythm, natures rhythm. You cannot dictate the pace and sometimes it takes a little while to find it, but, when you do your in tune with it, it's like...your in tune with God.

It IS a joke, one you get to craft in a myriad different ways and depths. You can tie yourself, you can buy the most expensive or the least expensive gear possible, you can write the punchline as you go. It's a wonderful joke to be a part of. Keeps me coming back for more every time. Throwing line versus throwing lures. Presentation. Bad presentations still somehow getting a huge trout to hit. It's wonderful, and I love your video.

This video is amazing. It does such a great job of summarizing why fly fishing is so special to me.

The act of fishing is like the act of reading a poem. And the last thing you should get from a poem is meaning. But the joy of poetry is as old as the joy of fishing.

Great video! Although I will say, pretty cruel to post such a thing in the dead of winter. I have the itch!

I have been fly fishing for nearly 60 years and am still hooked. Your film and its sentiment is wonderful but the best thing is you were smitten like the rest of us. Well done sir

great work, I worked on a show a few years back and I recognize some of these rivers

Hello, what are the locations from 2:10 to 2:20? Beautiful!!

Well, that's what I consider a well thought of short movie (including the intriguing title which gets "vocally explained" so humorously at the very end of the clip). I have no prior information on the author's work but with this short movie he certainly "nailed down" one really deep aspect of what we do, and in a new and interesting way. I shared the video on my fb with these lines: "Older I get, more I like fly fishing from a contemplative angle...a very nice and intriguing footage...especially the smile on his face near the end...that's what its all about (for me) ;-) " .....

Your conclusion nailed it! Great little film that captures the spectrum of our sport/addiction/ meditation.

Now this is a dandy video! you captured the sport in words and video. Now almost five years on I hope my message finds you living your dreams and loving life, best wishes from New Mexico

Great video! I really enjoyed it.Also it made me "smile". Thanks.

I first fly fished while a teenager in the late 1950's. I caught a few RB trout and had a lot of fun but mainly I spin fished. I moved to Southern Idaho in 1975. Between there and the surrounding states I experienced Fly Fishing that was almost unbelievable. I had days on Silver Creek south of Hailey Idaho that taught me to fish midges, days fishing the Green Drake hatch on the Henrys Fork Of the Snake at Island Park Idaho but some of the funnest days were on the Madison River Montana during the Stone Fly Hatch where at times the trout had their mouths so gorged with the real thing and still taking my Sofa Pillow, and are those Madison fish wild. One September four of us went to fish summer run steelhead on the Deschutes in Oregon...I am here to tell you if you have never fly fished wait no longer, get a rod and some flies some where and go do it, you will never be the same.

Thoughtful and well executed film, congratulations

Great title, comparison, and execution. Very, very well done. Thank you for sharing.

how lovely, how insightful, how true. We all fish for different reasons. I used to spin cast and now I teach fly casting and guide occasionally. I dream, I think, I meditate, I observe and I don't always fish!

Great film! I love fly fishing. Its a blast. The ceiling also rises a lot. It also forces you to meditate (focus). Landing a fish is a magical thing. Its primal, it also just feels better on a fly rod like you worked for it. This film is awesome!

At the end of your video - I smiled. Thank you,

great job on the film wonderful shots and narrative. :-)

Absolut great I watch it so often,with a tear in my eyes,. You're a star,great job.

Really well narrated Being a fly fisherman for nearly 15 years I must admit it's a real addiction Just started tying flies, well that's another store on its own Thanks for the fantastic dry fly strike

This is a great clip, some nice cinematography as well.

I used to fly-fish all the time, but got away from it when I got my own boat. All my expensive fly tying tools fell into dis-repair when I discovered the biggest trout could be caught with streamer tied with dogs hair fished behind a dodger with no more effort than a simple boat ride.

Q: What did the fish say when it hit a concrete wall A: "Dam!" Looking forward to our first fly fishing trip, taking a rest from our busy life.

I made reference to your video in an article that I plan to publish in a magazine for dog show handlers. I show dogs and fly fish and the article is about how similar the two sports can be. In the initial presentation i did not mention your name or the name of the video. I would like permission to give you credit. We can talk privately if you'd like. Thanks for the inspiration!

Well put and some excellent footage!

Fly fishing is a meditative joke. Enjoyed your movie very much. Thank you.

I just started this week my first fly fishing. And it's true what you say. I laught very loudly after catching big trout. I simply was sitting on the edge of the river and was laughting like I just heard a great joke. Great video.

Fly fishing is the joy of seeing that fish at the end of the line on that fly that no hard lure can imitate. Seeing that small stream brook blow on that dry, having that brown smash that streamer, feeling that line when smallies tap your buggers, enjoying time on the water and having satisfaction in the views and the fish. This comes from a 20yr old, I've fly fished for 4 years and fished all sorts of flies for freshwater species. Caught bass, trout, carp, pike, hooked into numerous musky. It's something completely on it's own. I love it, but also love to fish conventional swimbaits and big baits. Just an addiction we all have to a different degree

A very poetic, video essay. I certainly hope your examiners were impressed.

I'm not very good at it, and every time I go out on the water I try to get better. Even if I don't hook a trout, it always humbles me to be in nature. To disconnect from society, social media, and the noise.. there's nothing like it. Always brings a smile to my face. Great film.

Is the guy 3:33 on some sort of platform off the boat or is he wading crazy fast???

That captured a wonderful part of my thoughts, perceptions, and life . Thank you for your thoughts!!!

🤣 Very well done! Bravo! I just got introduced to fly fishing not long ago and found myself chuckling self-consciously as you explained why “Fly fishing is a joke”. I was with you the whole journey... from truly puzzled to...I don’t know...a wide-eyed impassioned neophyte? Whatever the label, I just know that peace and calm when I was first doing it. Nothing like it. Like a joke.... best enjoyed without question. 🎣

Excellent journalism. I watch this about 15 times already.

What an amazing video. Great insights and wonderful imagery.

A simply beautiful video - I'm what might be called a, "An all around fisherman", meaning I own a center console boat which suits all my fishing and my fishing buddies fishing needs. And so I own boat rods and surf rods and spinning reels and fresh water bass gear as well but every time I go out with friends - none of whom are fly fishermen, at some point in the day I start wishing I were fly casting to any fish at all because as much as I've always loved fishing - since the first time I went out in a little wooden dory on Long Island Sound with my Dad and a couple of his buddies fishing for flounder - I've been hooked. I didn't fly fish back then but at some point I happened to be watching Gadabout Gaddis fly casting on a river in Scotland and though I was only a lad of about 10, I knew I would become a die hard fly fisherman or at least try the sport. That expression of my passions had to wait until a series of events on a pond in Rhode Island where I spent every spare hour spin casting with an ultra light Fenwick rod and a Mitchell 300 spinning reel. The vast majority of trout fisherman on Olney Pond - the ones using flies - all used similar ultra light spinning gear with very light test Mono lines to which we attached a round plastic float and a length of fly leader. To that leader we tied an endless variety of our favorite fish catching flies without knowing the first thing about the patterns we were using or exactly what those flies were supposed to mimic. Then one day an older and much wiser fisherman mentioned that if I really wanted to catch trout that I should go out and buy myself a fly rod because, "While using spinning gear was perfectly OK on Olney Pond it would be a lot more fun to fly fish using real fly fishing gear." I took old Mitch at his word and without the slightest knowledge of Fly Fishing rods and reels and line and everything else associated with fly fishing I started out my new interest by visiting one fly rod dealer after another to handle as many rods as possible and reading reading as many books on the subject as our Public Library had on its shelves addressing our magical sport and so for the last 50 or so years I've been a fly fisherman deep in my heart but one willing to fish - that is cheat - with any gear at all as long as I were fishing, so when I head out on my own I fly fish and when a friend or my son comes along we fish the way they want which is perfectly OK with me - fishing is after all just getting out on the water and having fun.

I agree ...I GUESS...one of the best Bamboo rods makers I ever saw came from a lower middle class family from Paris,ID......

Que buen video espectacular, veo que hay imágenes de Argentina, de donde son los lugares??? 🎣🎣🎣

One of the best video I have ever seen beautifully done thank you from Idaho

Fly fishing to me is like bow hunting, the challenge is greater, but the reward is awesome! That being said, it tickles me greatly to watch fly fishermen, watch me catch oodles of fish out water they where just on... With my spinning gear made from fly rod blanks. Catch and release, Tight lines everyone!

YOU'VE made some amazingly CLEVER AND LOGICAL POINTS!! Such Famous Fly Fishers, as Lee Wolf, Lefty Kreh, Billy Pate, Charles Ritz (the millionaire and founder of Ritz International Hotels)! All with the exception of Charles Ritz, have had U.S. Commorative Postal Stamps, with, their names and Color illustrations of their faces, on them!! Believe me, I'm beyond happy for them !! Except, some of these individuals, also have done or did, Spin or Bait Casting, but not so much with a "Baitcasting" levelwind reels!! Because, many of them are intimidated with these "Levelwind" reels, as an inexperienced person, can end up with a bad Backlash, commonly referred to as a bird's nest :-) !! Which means going home unless, they have a fresh Spool of fishing line or another reel filled with LINE etc. LOL :-),

wow that brought tears to my eyes ! Very well put together, hope you got AAA'S for that!

being a photographer I truly understand. nice piece

I don't fish at all but I do appreciate a good perspective and great cinematography. Well done.

You made me cry man. it's the best fly fishing video I've ever seen

I went fly fishing last year after being a saltwater angler all my life. I live on the coast and have no nice places to fly fish where I live. My dream is to be able to live in a place where I can enjoy the sport to the max potential.