Here in the midwest, passionate hunters and fishermen make up a powerful voice for issues of conservation and wildlife protection. But this group has been somewhat absent in the conversation about climate change. I’ve spoken to a number of outdoor journalists and leaders in a new movement among outdoorsmen to speak out.
Now, a new film will be touring the country to raise this discussion with a critical audience.
BIGFORK, Mont. – Conservation Hawks, Inc., a group of hunters and anglers working to defend America’s sporting heritage, will release an important new film to the public on April 21. Cold Waters, a 10-minute film shot on a spectacular southwestern Montana spring creek, celebrates the joy and passion of fly fishing while educating anglers about the looming threat of climate change.
In October 2014, five respected fly fishermen – Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies, Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia, Steve Hemkens of Orvis, Tim Romano of Angling Trade, and Todd Tanner of Conservation Hawks – came together to fish for wild trout and share their thoughts on angling and climate change. Cold Waters, which is a collaboration between Conservation Hawks and the cinematic team at Conservation Media, focuses on our responsibility to protect cold, clean waters and healthy landscapes, and to stand up for future generations of Americans. The movie has been touring the U.S. as part of the 2015 Fly Fishing Film Tour.Cold Waters was made with unprecedented support from the fly fishing industry. The film’s sponsors included iconic brands, businesses and organizations like Patagonia, Orvis, Scientific Anglers, Costa, Winston, Sage, RIO, Redington, Abel, AFFTA, National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, TroutHunter, Linehan Outfitting Co., Sweetwater Travel Co., WorldCast Anglers, Emerald Water Anglers, Hatch Magazine, The Lodge at Palisades Creek, Angling Trade Magazine and Blue Ribbon Flies.
Thanks for sharing the film, Peter. And more importantly, keep up the great work!
Fishing is about interacting with the landscape in a contradistinguishing manner to that of modern existence. I ain’t religious, but it’s walking up a stream in place, according what some would attribute to the ‘Lord’s original intentions’, and appreciating the timelessness of a perpetually self-righting machine and the vast length it has been running.
You have study the behavior of the local species – both the fish and the midges, caddisflies, &c. that they feed on – and how such is affected by the season and weather. You have to replicate nature: if a particular fly is hatching at present, and experiencing a temporary population spike which the fish are reacting to, one wouldn’t go wrong in having that particular fly replica in their repertoire. The replica itself is taking advantage of what the most attractive qualities of the fly’s physical form are to the fish.
LaFontaine provides healthy doses of these ideas, in a studied style:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/188994.Gary_LaFontaine
My college roommate was a guru at fly fishing, and I went along for the ride on several occasions. It was like watching a master craftsman at work.
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/mercury/pubs/circ_1395/images/HGreportcover.png
Mercury in the Nation’s Streams — Levels, Trends, and Implications
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1395/pdf/circ1395.pdf