Have you ever stood up in front of 800+ cheering fly fishers? Have you ever stood alone on the stage in front of a beer-lubricated crowd that’s been whipped into a frenzy by the great “Hank Patterson” and then blown away by some truly incredible fly fishing films?

Because that was my Saturday night. The legendary fly fishing town of Missoula, Montana was deep in the throws of an epic “Down The Hatch” tent revival, and the powers-that-be at Orvis handed me a microphone and sent me out on the stage of the Wilma theater with a mandate to talk about our new film CHROME.

Here are six excellent reasons you should make a point of catching CHROME in the Fly Fishing Film Tour this winter.

Last October, on a blue-bird, 80 degree day, a handful of amazing, iconic anglers hooked up to fish a beautiful Montana spring creek and talk about the single largest threat to America’s trout fishing.

Steve Hemkens of Orvis drove over from Jackson Hole. Photographer extraordinaire Tim Romano flew up from Colorado. Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies made the short drive from his Madison Valley home. Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia flew in from … well, I honestly don’t have any idea where Yvon flew in from. All I can say for sure is that he was there.

I’m thinking about driving up to British Columbia in the morning to sneak in a little dry fly fishing. It’s crazy, but I just can’t get Neil Young out of my head.

Old man sitting
by the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by,
Blue moon sinking
from the weight of the load
And the buildings scrape the sky,
Cold wind ripping
down the alley at dawn
And the morning paper flies,
Dead man lying
by the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes.

It’s a tough time to be a fish. Eastern trout are nearing the end of the line. Salmon are suffering. Our oceans are in trouble.

You might think that putting together a fly fishing movie with Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies, Steve Hemkens of Orvis and Tim Romano of Angling Trade would be an absolute blast. And while that’s true (you can’t fish with Craig, Yvon, Steve and Tim and not have a good time), the pressure was intense.