We all get frustrated when winter arrives. Basically, except for reservoir fishing and second category fishing, fishing is closed, and we dream while tying flies, leafing through magazines, spending hours on the internet, and at best, diving into a book to dream of elsewhere! Of course, there are always the lucky ones who treat themselves to trips to the other side of the world or, at worst, to the tropics (the tropics, winter isn’t always the best season…).
There are also those who distract themselves with other activities, such as cycling, hunting, or, for mountain dwellers, skiing! Ah, skiing! Let’s talk about it, whether it’s downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, or snowboarding. Once you start to love it, it’s like fly fishing: you can’t do without it… Snow is captivating, and even if you don’t ski, a good pair of snowshoes will give you that very special feeling of exertion, fulfillment, and satisfaction.
So for all those lucky enough to be able to fish in winter, there’s a combination of fishing and skiing! Here are three films that will open up new horizons for you!
The first, Westbond, is about a group of college friends who go skiing and fly fishing in Colorado. Amazing landscapes, off-track skiing, and huge fish!
The second, Snow to Fly, takes things up a notch. Here, we’re going fishing, still in the Rockies, but on snowboards! We’ll be heading to lakes where there’s plenty of action!
And finally, the third and perhaps most surprising event: Fly Fishing Race! We all know about biathlon, where France often makes it onto the podium. You know, that thing we see on TV when there are big competitions (get ready for the Olympics!) where guys ski cross-country at breakneck speed, getting their heart rates up to over 120 beats per minute, and then suddenly have to start shooting at targets, calming down so that their hearts are beating at only 85 beats per minute, concentrating to hit the bullseye, and then skiing flat out again to the next targets! Well, some clever people took inspiration from biathlon and did the same thing with fly fishing in Bavaria around Lake Ruhpolding, which everyone who goes fishing on the Traun in Siegsdorf knows well, especially since this competition was organized by the famous Rudi Heger !
Fly fishing and Biathlon
Every year a huge sports event is happening here in our area in southern Bavaria, Germany. The circuit of the Biathlon World Cup is moving in every year and world class biathlon athletes compete in different races. Thousands of tourist join the party and cheer for the athletes. 2012 was a special year because the World Championships of Biathlon were happening in the little Bavarian village of Ruhpolding. Actually we knew that some of the world best athletes are fanatic fly fishermen and they love to fish during their free time. About 2 km away from the huge biathlon stadium there is a private, pristine alpine lake full of trout. Thus we had this idea about racing to the lake on skies with their fly rods on their back… This little movie tells the story of world class biathlon athletes from Germany and the US team competing in skiing and fly fishing. It is spring time and the Bavarian alps are still full of snow. They race to the lake and compete against each other. The music is made by Lowell Bailey. One of the American athletes. They fish at this unique and pristine Bavarian lake for trout and have lots of fun together. The full story shows who wins and how the competition finally ends.