At the Fly Fishing Retailer show I met Steve Apple and he handed me a copy of a new fly fishing film he made called Fishizzle. I didn't know exactly what to expect when he said it was "different" then most of the other films that have been released over the past few years. Within the first few minutes of the film I realized this was not going to be another film that was purely a sensory overload of fish porn from beginning to end. Don't get me wrong I love all of the films I have seen over the past couple of years but I am always excited to see people being creative and pushing the envelope. The unique thing about Fishizzle Is that a large portion of the movie is scripted and I was actually quite surprised that the acting was fairly good considering it is a fly fishing film and not a polished Hollywood production.
Fishizzle Is a hilarious story where Steve a long-time fly fishing guide in Alaska decides to quit the guide business to "grow up" back at his home in Seattle. Steve finds himself working at the local Woolrich store and spending time with his girlfriend instead of being north with his buddies guiding for rainbows, dollies and salmon. Throughout the movie Steve is "home sick" as he finds himself daydreaming about the times he spent in Alaska and the camaraderie he shared with his fellow guides. Steve's daydreaming constantly gets him in trouble from his giant of a boss who is constantly hounding him for "not caring about wool" to his girlfriend giving him the stare of death when he is dreaming about Alaska instead of helping her choose an outfit.
Because Steve has so much free time on his hands he decides to start watching the countless hours of video he shot during his time in Alaska. During these scenes we get our fish porn as the guides and clients hook into some truly impressive 25in+ rainbows and some unbelievably massive kings fresh from the ocean. There is some very good footage of rainbows smashing big streamers immediately summer salting and going on powerful jaw dropping runs.
The fish porn is mandatory and well done, the acted scenes are often comical but the biggest thing I personally got from the film was the bond that is shared between guides that often spend every summer together for years. It was very cool to see some behind the scenes footage of guides interacting with their clients and each other. I'm married with a son so the chances of me experiencing a summer guiding in Alaska is about as likely as me becoming an astronaut so I have to live vicariously through films like Fishizzle.
In the end, I personally liked the film but I could see where there might be some that feel it is a bit too quirky for their tastes. Like I said Steve promised me it would be different and he delivered and had the guts to be unique and I applaud him for that. These filmmakers need our support if we are going to continue to see new exciting films in the future and they deserve to be successful.
Visit the Fishizzle website for more information, trailer and ordering information.
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Hatches Magazine Subscription
Price: $6.95 for each issue
The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.
