The Oscars: CFS' 2025 Fly Fishing Film Tour Awards
There are four questions a pretty good fly-fishing film has to answer in order to be considered truly great.
The Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) came to Portland last week, and I had the chance to go check out some fun films, and say hi to some friends. I wanted to give a few commendations for my favorites.
But first: The entire experience is a rip-snorter. There are merch giveaways, libations, and plenty of crowd participation. Sometimes local fly shops host pre- (and after-) parties, where fun is had and even more of that sweet, sweet merch is given way.
Most broadly, the Fly Fishing Film Tour is a great early-season energizer. It's something everyone who fly-fishes—whether you're a trout snob, a steelhead junkie, or salty dog—can get excited about.
Promotional stills from some of the F3T selection screened in Portland this year
Step inside:
- What is this?
- Jump to the films
- See which films got awards
- Some notes for fly-fishing filmmakers
- The films I missed and want to watch
What is this?
If you're a regular newsletter reader you know I love fly-fishing video. When done right, a great video can really raise the stoke.
It reminds me of the feelings I'd get watching skateboarding videos in my teens. We'd watch a VHS from Videojack (real name, they had all the Bones Bridgade videos to rent), then be ready to shred. It fired you up to go out on your own and try new things, and be creative.
Even when a fly-fishing film is not so great, it's at least new information for we voracious consumers of all things fly-fishing.
This is my attempt to offer some laurels to the films I loved from the 2025 Fly Fishing Film Festival (F3T) and invite you to share your thoughts, or send along your favorites.
What isn't this?
Whether I liked them or not, I'm not here to lump negativity on any of these films. This isn't a swoop-and-poop. All these films took time, energy, and love to make.
I'll include some common areas where I thought films might do better in general, but the model here at Current Flow State—around any creative work—is very much "praise or ignore".
If you made one of these films that screened as part of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, or even if you went so far as submitting a film that didn't become an official selection, thank you for bringing your creativity to the sport.
Why the Fly-fishing Oscars
The Current Flow State Fly-Fishing Oscars are named after "Oscar," my best friend's oscar chiclid (Astronotus ocellatus), who lived to a ripe age of three on a diet of feeder goldfish released into its tank in sadistic delight.
They, of course, bear no resemblance to any other filmic or fly-fishing awards, living or dead.
Why just the F3T?
There are other fly-fishing film festivals out there, both here in the United States and internationally.
Here are the two other active fly-fishing film festivals I know of:
The F3T is the biggest and most global, having absorbed the RISE film festival a couple years back and now co-operating in some regions. The main reason we're focusing on the F3T is it came to Portland. Hopefully next year I can check out some of the films at IF4.
As Current Flow State grows, I'm going to do my best watch the latest and greatest, festival screening or not, and continue to share them with you in the weekly newsletter and other yet-to-be-determined locales.
Got a film coming out you want to share? Please add me to your list of people to notify.
What do I know?
I've been watching and analyzing commercial creativity for the past twenty or so years, first as associate editor at Advertising Age's Creativity magazine and AdCritic.com, then as editorial director of Contagious magazine, and now as a group director at a global design studio.
As a writer, I've reported out deep-dive long-read case studies of brand and industry content creation efforts by the likes of Patagonia, YETI, Red Bull, and Nike.
And now I'm responsible for a team of writers and content strategists at a big digital product design firm, where we've designed and shipped experiences for the likes of PGA TOUR, YouTube, the Mellon Foundation, the Steve Jobs Archive, and more.
Most importantly, I LOVE to watch people fly-fish, both live, and as depicted on the big screen. When I lived in New York in the 2010's, far from reliable fishing, I'd host an annual bo ssam feast at my apartment where we'd over-imbibe and screen my bootleg copy of the classic, Tarpon in salutations to the Key West gang.
But wait, Nick, aren't all these just glorified ads?
Well, yeah. Most of them. All but one? Maybe?
Advertisements, ego trips, calls for attention and relevance in a modern world where nothing makes sense and everyone's upset about it. That's all true.
But, it's still fun to watch them. Whether or not you're hypnotized into buying something you don't really need at the end, there still might be some beauty and human connection in there. Open your heart.
On to the films!
