Successful Fly Fishing Strategies

Maybe this is a good DVD for beginners but I honestly have to say the only pointer I learned from was under the title "A Walk in the Woods" or something like that. I found the "small talk", "banter" or as others have called it, "humor" to be very irritating. And speaking of irritating...the dog !!! VERY, VERY irritating. Just not the kind of DVD for me.

One of the best "how to" fishing videos I've ever seen.

With that said, they spend time on blue ribbon locations that for the most part are devoid of other anglers. Almost anyone will catch fish at those locations and not alot of, "we wanted to dry fly fish at location X but there were already others fishing the spot so we switched to location Y and decided to nymph after nothing rose to drys because we caught these nymphs with a seine," which is more realistic of the challenges that the average person faces when fly-fishing.

But again, overall a very good and helpful DVD that I would recommend to any flyfisher-person.

This DVD surprised me. After reading the editorial
reviews and the customer reviews, I assumed it was
good, but I didn't realize how good. I, along with
others in fly fishing, revere the name Gary LaFontaine
for his research, knowledge and friendly personality,
so wanted to see him in action. I also had read that
he considered this the best production he had ever
been involved in.

During my first viewing, I realized that not only was
the DVD filled with valuable information, but that it
was also professionally produced and just plain fun to
watch. You can't beat that combination. And seeing
Gary in his prime is just great; what a shame when he
succumbed to ALS a few years ago. But what a delight
to see him interacting with Dick Sharon and the
"third" member of the team, Chester (Gary's dog). I
watch the show often and recommend it to beginner fly
fishers, advanced fly fishers and everyone in between
because it has good stuff for everyone.

I have been fly fishing for decades, starting in the northeast and since then having fished all over. I have seen almost all the fly fishing DVDs and videos produced and this show is, without a doubt, about the best. It is just what its title says -- about strategies and how to fish different kinds of water, no matter if that water is located in New England, the west, the south or Alaska. The DVD covers rivers (both large and not-so-large), little streams, lakes, bends in rivers, undercut banks . . . you name it.
The viewer learns how to position himself for casting and then why and how to cast the correct fly, be it nymphs, dries, hoppers, streamers -- everything is covered. And the results are beautiful - a variety of beautiful trout are caught and released. We do relate to (and laugh) when we see what happens in one location - where a stream joins a river - with a whitefish and squawfish hooked on nymphs and brought in.
This is not a casting video - as the title says, it's about strategies. And what a joy to see the late author and respected teacher Gary LaFontaine in such fine form. He was such an expert, such a wealth of knowledge and such a nice man. And here he is, not only passing along wonderful knowledge, but also being so friendly and fun-to-be-with. He and Dick Sharon are perfect because they not only educate and instruct the viewer but also entertain, and have a good time doing it. They are a terrific duo.
I can understand why the overwhelming majority of customer reviews for this show (including some from professional guides) are so highly complimentary. This is a DVD that I watch over and over again, sometimes for knowledge and tips, sometimes purely for the entertainment value of being out on the water in my heart and mind when I can't be there in person.

I bought this DVD as a bundle with the Joan Wulff's Dynamics of Fly Casting (the latter is 5 stars). This DVD was slightly helpful regarding how to read a stream, lake or any body of water. Many of the things in this video are not unique to fly fishing, but are very helpful to understand "where" to fish from under a variety of conditions. What's nice about this video is that it presents a number of non-ideal casting conditions and demonstrates how to deal with those "normal" fishing environments. If you're looking for a techniques DVD on how to improve your casting, this is definitely NOT the DVD for you.

What I like about this video is that one guy is a nymph fly-fisherman and the other is a dry fly expert. Regardless, in many of the situations, they teach you one thing: all you really need is a woolly bugger -- forget matching the size and hatch. However, they pull sucker fish after sucker fish, out of the rivers -- not exactly the most inspiring fishing video, but very realistic.

What I don't like about this video is that many of the streams and lakes are from the western half of the US, where you have the leisure of back-casting without fear of snags.

All in all, it's a pretty good video but if I had the choice of buying this over again, I would have bought something else.