Praying to the Fish Gods

"Seriously North" (Trailer) - Official Selection, IF4™ 2018 from IF4™ on Vimeo.

Have you ever experienced fishing that was so dismal, you were compelled to get down on your knees and pray?

That's how desperate the boys from InTents Media became after getting dropped off on the tundra, and fishing for seven days without even seeing an Arctic char. The four Rocky Mountain anglers had flown thousands of miles, camped in rugged conditions, and walked 10 miles per day looking to find the fish of their dreams — brightly colored Arctic char — but no one had yet seen one. Worse, the group was there to produce a fishing film for the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) and seven days into it, had very little that would interest a hyped-up audience.

So they dropped down on their knees and with the cameras rolling, asked God to send some Arctic char their way. What fisherman hasn't at least secretly done this? I have, but it never worked for me as brilliantly as it did for Sam Parkinson, who soon after made a Hail Mary cast and caught a fish that filmmaker Phil Tuttle called "will go down in the history of fly fishing as maybe one of the greatest char of all time."

The greatest char of all time? You be the judge at upcoming showings of the film in Lynnwood, Washington (Feb. 17) or Pleasanton, California (Feb. 24).  For a complete listing of upcoming US dates visit flyfilmfest.com/schedule/us-dates.