Last spring was our official release of Montana Wild soft goods. Throughout the season we put our products to the test both on the rivers and in the mountains. This short video is a quick view of the product in the field and also a sneak peak at some of the great films we have scheduled for release in 2015. To buy a hat or shirt go to: www.montana-wild.com
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/124179566 w=580&h=440]
Big shoutout to everyone who have shown us support!
Last spring we had a small window to fish a dry section of river that can only be fished during high water. With runoff in full force and cloudy conditions in the the forecast, we set out searching the flood waters for streamer chasing trout. Here is our latest short film FLOOD WATERS.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/121924556 w=580&h=440]
Our signature series of Elk Ridge Snapback hats from the film can be purchased here: http://montana-wild.com/store
-Travis
The winter here in Western Montana has been mild to say the least so far. Temperatures through January and now February have been well above normal and conditions resemble spring. This has been frustrating for hunting coyotes but a blessing to all the fisherman who have had enough of winter already. After the F3T recently toured through Missoula I’m sure most anglers have been out on the water ripping lip. It was so warm the river had bumped 1100 cfs in a day and we were riding out the flat before it dropped again. The forecast was looking gloomy with a strong likelyhood of rain throughout the afternoon. We weren’t super sure if today would be the best day to float. We quickly decided that given it was Monday, what other way would be a great way to kick off the week, so we hit the road and met up with our good friend Josh Rokosch. The boat hit the water and a few bends in the river later and Travis had a solid rainbow.
The next couple hours were full of hookups mainly by Travis. I bet he had me beat 10 to 0 at one point!
And yes vibes were solid all around.
The fishing was surpassing our expectations for what one would think fishing in February would be. There was a short period of time where I almost tied on a skwalla just to see what would happen. I didn’t but the rest of the day was full of plenty of laughs and a few more trout.
Stoked to get back out and see what this spring has to offer!
Bully Decals are now in stock! You can purchase them here> http://montana-wild.com/store/shop
-Zack
With our film Bucknasty Browns coming out on this year’s Fly Fishing Film Tour we wanted to put together an informative write up on how to make a sick fishing film. There are a lots of guys out there trying to break out onto the fishing scene and hopefully this will provide a little insight on how we create our films and help you on your next project. We have 5 of the 12 steps included here. For the full write up visit YETI’s Field Notes page @http://yeticoolers.com/pages/blog/12-tips-from-filmmaking-pros/
#2. Pick Your Location – Amongst filmmakers and photographers alike this is a big one. Some locations are much more appealing than others. By putting yourself in a scenic setting that is conducive to a camera being pointed its direction, your chances of getting quality shots goes up dramatically. This is something to be thought of ahead of time and even better if you can go pre-scout the area. Take a day or two and go fish your location. Figure out where you can catch fish. What angles would capture that fishing spot the best? What time of day will light the water the best for that location? How difficult is it to get there with camera gear? The list goes on and it’s helpful to carry a notepad with you on these scouting trips. With location you also need to think about what time of year is the most ideal for your story and filming? Do you want to film in the winter when the colors are drab and bleak or would late spring when everything is green and vibrant work best for the feel of your film? If the location has a unique story this will also strengthen the piece if you are telling a narrative throughout the film. With that being said this brings up the question of whether you want to disclose the location or not. There is no right or wrong here, this is a personal decision based off your ethical beliefs. If the water is well known it’s common to use the name. If the story revolves around the fishery then it’s also common to use the name. If it’s a secret spot or something you don’t want others fishing then don’t say and be very careful of what you show in the film. In today’s world there are lots of ways to figure out where someone was especially when they have filmed there.
#8. Show the Eat – One of the coolest parts about fishing is seeing the fish come up and gobble your fly. Whether it’s a redfish eating a popper or a brown trout slamming a mouse, it’s always captivating watching the fish take the fly. Get great shots of the eat and instantly improve the appeal of your film.
#12. Fish the Golden Hour – The golden hour is the time of epic golden light just after sunrise and just before sunset. The lighting is dramatic and just about anything filmed this time of day will look sick. If you can line up your best fishing action to take place during this time of day you’re ahead of the game.
#3. Know Your Camera – This is a big one and deserves its fair share of time invested. Having shots that are well exposed, framed correctly, and in focus will make huge leaps and bounds in your film. This means you need to know how to control and optimize the settings on your camera. Spend some time online seeing what information and feedback is out there on your camera. Once you are comfortable with it go do some tests. Shoot in different lighting conditions, different weather, and with different angles and focal lengths. What looked good and why? What looked like crap and why? Be open to criticism and solicit it. You’ll be better off in the long run. Additionally have a tripod and know how to use it well. Shaky footage is hard to watch. If you don’t have a tripod learn ways to stabilize your camera.
To read the full article please visit > http://yeticoolers.com/pages/blog/12-tips-from-filmmaking-pros/
-Zack
When planning a to shoot a multiple day film in a territory you are unfamiliar with, you need to plan ahead of time for every detail of the trip. The success of such a film/fishing project is no easy task, and one forgotten piece of gear could put the outcome of the film in jeopordy. The planning started back in January 2014. A night of tying flies for an upcoming steelhead trip, soon turned into a business meeting, accompanied by talk of searching the unknown waters of Oregon.
After picking our location and deciding on what dates would best fit our schedule, the plans were made. What gear to bring? What flies to fill our boxes? Food? Beer? Cameras? The list of unanswered questions seemed ominously long. First on our list was fly selection. After plenty of online research and phone calls, we found a man by the name of Nate, who owns Dry Fly Innovations. Nate runs an Idaho based fly tying company that produces some of the most detailed handcrafted flies we had ever seen. The word that kept pulsing the air was ‘small’. The bugs for success would be size 18-22 dry flies. After rummaging through a small selection of microscopic bugs that Nate had sent us, we knew this caliber of bugs were out of our fly tying league. I was used to tying large streamers and fluffy mouse imitations.
The location we were headed was full of mean, thuggish browns. With our dry fly stock planned, we also spent time filling our streamer boxes full of our own hand tied Lord of the Rings inspired streamers. We are firm believers in mouse patterns as well, and stocked a large quantity of foam mouse patterns.
Next was fly rods. With the notion of catching 20″+ browns, we made sure to load our rod case with a couple Orvis Helios2 7wts 9′ tip flex rods. Our dry fly presentations would be slung by Orvis Helios2 5wts 9′ tip flex rods and an Orvis Superfine Glass 4wt (the ultimate miniscule bug slinger). The fly rods would be accompanied with an assortment of Bozeman Reel Co RS Series reels and Orvis Mirage reels. Using some of the best rods, fly lines, and reels on the market, we had no excuses other than angler performance for bad casts.
We had recently visited with some fellow anglers about the new Scientific Angler Sharkwave fly lines, and the talk was impressive. After numerous calls and emails, we were stoked to have Scientific Anglers on board for our project, and even more hyped to put some of their new lines to the the test. The Scientific Anglers Sharkwave Ultimate Trout lines would be our go to on 5wt and their Mastery Series VPT 4wt line on the Superfine glass. For our deep running 7wt lines we chose to spool up the Streamer Express WF-200-S, which is still the best sinking line I have ever casted.
Tippet and leaders were full on SA fluorocarbon, keeping the end of our lines hidden from even the spookiest brown trout.
Our trip would occur during Montana’s runoff. This time of year has weather that can change daily, so waders were a mandatory item on our trip. The Simms G4 & G3 waders were packed, alongside the new easy on/off G4 Boa Boot. We beat the crap out of our boots and waders, being predominantly wade fisherman. Nothing ruins a fishing trip like leaky waders, and knowing we were backed by the best waders in the business had our minds at ease.
Glasses. Our #1 tactic for hooking fish and filming it at a top notch level during this trip was to spot fish from high overlooks and then plan an attack. We needed our sunglasses to cut through surface glare and the Polarized ChromaPop Smith Optics were the perfect lens for the job.
Most of our filming shots took lots of time to plan in order to be executed correctly. Pulling double angles without interference required us to first, spot a bucknasty brown trout, and then setup the cameras appropriately. Without knowing where the fish was going to feed on a size 20 bug made the chance of capturing the shot very difficult. Fortunately, we had great success finding fish from above and capturing some amazing fish eats during the trip.
Once our main fly fishing gear was dialed, we planned food, camp locations, and beverages. Doing multiple days, we needed our food to stay cold without spoiling and chose to bring both the Yeti Tundra 75 and Yeti Tundra 50 for beverages.
We loaded the Yeti 50 with an assortment of our favorite Big Sky Brewery beers and energy drinks.
With our Decked truckbed unit, we were able to organize and pack all our cameras, fly fishing gear, food, coolers, and other misc items for three people to live comfortably for numerous days.
If it weren’t for the extra layer of storage in the DECKED drawers, I don’t think the trip would have been possible in one vehicle. After grabbing our last odd and ends at the Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop, we were set and ready for adventure.
Make sure to check out our film Bucknasty Browns at the 2015 Fly Fishing Film Tour.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/111073051 w=580&h=440]
-Travis