Catching steelhead in the rivers of Northern California is no easy task. I know this from experience. This is a different story than I would be telling if I was around many years ago. Fisheries all over the world are suffering due to overfishing and Rivers of a Lost Coast takes the approach of looking at this issue through a microscopic lens. This documentary not only gives a view into the glory days of past but shows what a few groups of guys can do to a reasonably sized aquaculture.
The leisure sport of fly fishing (or not so leisurely depending on your level of obsession) is not done in the same vein of commercial fishing. The parallel that they have drawn from large scale fishing to smaller river habitats is pretty interesting. I recommend fishermen and non-fishermen alike take a look at this film if you get a chance. It offers so much more about a certain lifestyle and relationships than just what it means to be a fly fisherman.
Take a look at the trailer and if you really want to get lost for a while check out the archival photos they unearthed from what I am sure to be an innumerable amount of shoe boxes tucked away in the back of closets and attics.
I’ll leave you with a quote that in my opinion defines what fly fishing is…
“If fishing is like religion, then flyfishing is high church.”
Tom Brokaw