Okie Noodling

Director: Bradley Beesley  
Country: United States
Runtime: 52’
Language: English
Year: 2001

2001 Awards

A fascinating and humorous look at a slice of classic Americana - the sport of Okie Noodling: catching really huge, carnivorous catfish by using your fingers as bait.

From ancient Native American Indian times, the art of Noodling is kept alive by a rapidly disappearing subculture of Oklahomans.

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Trout Grass

Director: Ed George
Narrator: David James Duncan
Runtime: 48 Mins
Language: English
Year of Production: 2005
Country: United States

AWARDS 2006

For many anglers, a fly rod is more than a fishing instrument. It's an antenna, capturing signals of the natural world. But what of the process that turns ordinary materials into extraordinary tools? And why do people around the world continue to spend their days happily wading in rivers if they do not keep what they capture?

Unveiling the magic of international camaraderie, fine craftsmanship and flowing water, Trout Grass tracks the 10,000-mile journey of bamboo around the world. From a lush forest in China's Guangdong Province to a rustic workshop in Montana this film follows the transition of bamboo from a living plant to a finished fly rod. As a renowned rod maker treks to the source of his inspiration and a craftsman half-way around the world feels the "spirit of the bamboo world" we find what it takes to convert a piece of grass into a six-sided baton ready to conduct an orchestra of trout and water.

From the hands of a builder to the hands of an angler we follow American novelist and fly fisherman David James Duncan (The River Why and The Brothers K) and fly fishing legend Thomas McGuane (The Longest Silence, Ninety-two in the Shade) to one of Montana's resplendent waterways. Here, these two anglers reveal the magic of fishing with a fly rod made of grass and connecting with the order of rivers and flowing things.

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The Underwater World of Trout

Director: Wendell Ozefovich
Runtime: 2x54 Mins
Language: English
Year of Production: 2006
Country: United States

The view under the stream is not as bucolic and stable as you have come to believe. A stream is alive, not just with trout and insects, but with minnows, crayfish, and a varied mix of living things. What looks like crystal clear water is chock full of sticks, leaves, bubbles and larvae. This exploration of a trout's world, from under the surface, opens your eyes to a new appreciation of trout and their living world. Beneath the surface we will see as trout feed on drifting invertebrates and surface flies, and how a trout views an angler through its window.

Water always flows downstream — except when it doesn’t. Trout always face upstream — except when they don’t. Trout use the tail fin for propulsion — but how do they stop? Trout feed primarily in pools and use fast water to hide from predators — or do they? Trout always establish a pecking order and never tolerate other fish in their feeding lie — except when they do. You’ll be surprised how often some basic truths are violated.

This short series explore electrofishing and stream bank restoration that shows that anglers, together with private conservation organizations and government agencies, can work together toward a common goal. 

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