“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” – Norman Maclean
The genesis for a fly fishing film tour was born between a few young trout bums standing around a fire, having a few beers, in the afterglow of an epic dry fly session on a Patagonian springcreek. That moment was during the filming of the seminal Trout Bum Dairies – Patagonia. We thought a film tour would be a great way to generate some DVD sales (remember those) and get some buzz going in the fly fishing community.
In the almost 20 years since that moment, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge.
The four guys I made the film with formed a company called A.E.G (Angling Exploration Group) and they started the Fly Fishing Film Tour. Back then the concept of a fishing film tour was generally regarded as a crazy idea that wouldn’t have legs. Little did anyone know how the media landscape would evolve; those were the days before YouTube and social media platforms.
The new concept hit the sweet spot with fly fishing audiences who were keen for some excitement in the off season. Over the next decade, the tour grew organically, garnering the support of many local fly shops and the industry as a whole.
The festival platform was a springboard for fly fishing filmmakers to reach a larger audience and connect with sponsors. The advent of accessible, budget friendly, high spec cameras brought with it a wave of great films and the tour helped launch quite a few careers.
The right idea at the right time.
During the same timeframe I started the RISE Festival which has gone on to annually tour in 12 countries throughout Oceania, Europe and South America. Just recently, the Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) joined forces with RISE to form the world’s biggest fly fishing film tour.
The combined world tour comprises more than 250 shows across the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, France, Germany and more.
Combining both tours brings with it many benefits including a greater pool for film selection, the free Stonefly magazine, some great audience giveaways and prize draws. Film makers also benefit through larger exposure and better access to sponsorship and film maker funding. Which all makes perfect sense on a commercial level but personally this union has a more profound effect than just a better product.
It is poetic that through the meandering bends of time the two tours followed their destiny to become one.
Corporate Information
Adventure Entertainment is a digital media business based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Australia. We specialise in running community focused film tours, publishing niche adventure and outdoor magazines and digital platforms. In 2023, Adventure Entertainment acquired the USA based Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T), and is thrilled to now be bringing that together with RISE for the local community. The combination of F3T and RISE makes the combined tour the most expansive festival of its kind, adding to its increasingly important influence in the fly fishing film genre.
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