Where are my fishermen (and women) out there? I know the fishermen in my family enjoy taking their favorite sport beyond the rod and consuming themselves with magazines on the subject, articles, documentaries, and movies. And they do have some great films on the subject, including some great ones about fly fishing, so I decided to collect a list of some of the best 2023. Check out this list of the best fly fishing movies 2023.
If you enjoyed this list of the best fly fishing movies 2023, check out these other articles: Best disaster movies on Netflix, Best graduation movies, Most expensive movie sets, movies that deal with addiction, best DJ movies, best Earth Day movies, best football moveis on Netflix 2023.
Best Fly Fishing Movies 2023
A River Runs Through It
Plot: The Maclean brothers, Paul and Norman, live a relatively idyllic life in rural Montana, spending much of their time fly fishing. The sons of a minister, the boys eventually part company when Norman moves east to attend college, leaving his rebellious brother to find trouble back home. When Norman finally returns, the siblings resume their fishing outings, and assess both where they’ve been and where they’re going.
A River Runs Through It was directed by Robert Redford and won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Many scenes showcasing the sport of fly fishing were filmed on the Blackfoot River, having viewers find their newfound love of fly fishing.
Star Cast: Norman Maclean, Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer, Tom Skerritt, Emily Lloyd
The River Why
Plot: Gus leaves the city to live and fish in the wilderness and begins a search for self-discovery; during his quest he embraces his love of the wilderness and finds romance with a beautiful woman.
Star Cast: Amber Heard, William Hurt, Zach Gilford, Dallas Roberts
Trout Bum Diaries
Plot: The Trout Bum Diaries, Volume I: Patagonia’ is a fly fishing adventure film that is the result of five months of sleeping in the dirt on a 12,000 kilometer journey across the bottom of South America. The film is done in a high action style with narration between music sequences.
Star Cast: Chris Owens, Ryan Davey, Brian Jill
Low & Clear
Plot: A meditation on friendship and life in the disappearing wilderness of the West, ‘Low and Clear’ follows two formerly close friends who re-unite for one last fly fishing trip. Over the course of their time together they come to understand how much they have each changed both on different paths in life and how these changes now threaten the friendship.
Star Cast: J.T. Van Zandt
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Plot: Dr. Alfred Jones is a fisheries scientist who one day receives an unusual request: A businesswoman named Harriet Chetwode-Talbot wants his help in fulfilling a wealthy sheik’s request to bring sport fishing to Yemen. Jones declines at first, but when the British prime minister’s spokeswoman latches on to the project as a way to improve Middle East relations, he joins in. Romance blooms as Jones and Harriet work to make the sheik’s dream come true.
Star Cast: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked
Tapam
Plot: Showcases a quest to catch a huge tarpon from a float tube. This exotic adventure fishing trip takes them some of the most beautiful parts of a Central America, where the pair find some incredible fly fishing for large tarpon.
Star Cast: Jan Bach Kristensen, Daniel Goz
Where the Yellowstone Goes
Plot: Where the Yellowstone Goes follows a 30-day drift boat journey down the longest undammed river in the contiguous United States. Intimate portraits of locals in both booming cities and dusty, dwindling towns along the Yellowstone River, illustrate the history and controversies surrounding this enigmatic watershed leading to questions about its future. Connect with colorful characters, get lost in the hypnotic cast of a fly rod, and experience silhouetted moments of fireside stories on this heartfelt river adventure.
Star Cast: John Hall, Sarah Elizabeth Hall, Robert Hawkins
Chalk: Bedrock of Fly Fishing
Plot: Chalk is a feature-length film about the past, present, and future of the chalk streams of England. These streams shaped the sport of fly fishing, and many of the techniques of the development of fly fishing that are still used today.
FISH MOVIES
The Perfect Storm
Plot: Based on a true story, the film tells of the courageous men and women who risk their lives every working day, pitting their fishing boats and rescue vessels against the capricious forces of nature. Their worst fears are realized at sea on Halloween of 1991, when they are confronted by three raging weather fronts which unexpectedly collide to produce the greatest, fiercest storm in modern history — “The Perfect Storm.”
Star Cast: Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney, John C. Reilly, William Fichtner, John Hawkes
Gone Fishin’
Plot: Joe and Gus are lifelong friends who seem to encounter disaster wherever they go. They’re ecstatic when they find out they’ve won a fishing trip to Florida, and quickly embark on a road trip. But their adventure takes a turn for the worse when they cross paths with a smooth-talking con man who makes off with Joe’s car. They hitch a ride with two women — Rita and Angie — and find themselves in outlandish situations.
Star Cast: Joe Pesci, Danny Glover, Nick Brimble, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield
Alamo Bay
Plot: Embittered Vietnam veteran Shang feels like he is at war with the Vietnamese immigrants who recently moved into his small town hometown of Alamo Bay. He sees their presence as a threat to his Gulf Coast livelihood, shrimp fishing, especially after his boat is repossessed. Shang’s ex-girlfriend Glory refuses to buy into the townsfolk’s racism and instead sticks with her Vietnamese immigrants hires, even though the xenophobic backlash is becoming increasingly violent.
Star Cast: Amy Madigan, Ed Harris
The Old Man and the Sea
Plot: An old Cuban fisherman has not caught anything in 84 days. Despite the devotion of the young boy who brings him coffee and food, the fisherman fears he has become perpetually unlucky. On his 85th day of fishing, the old man catches a small fish and decides to keep fishing.
Ernest Hemingway’s slender masterpiece has been filmed several times, first with a 1990 miniseries with Anthony Quinn.
Star Cast: Spencer Tracy, Felipe Pazos