Fly Fishing

NFFB REVIEW: Video Librarian

The New Fly Fishing Basics

Pick up a nymph, tie a woolly bugger streamer, and grab a bunch of dry flies--it’s time for fly fishing! Offering a great introduction to the sport for beginners and a good refresher for old hands, this high definition DVD provides simple, clear-cut instructions and gorgeous visuals. Hosts Jim and Kelly Watt cover fly tying, knots, equipment, basic fishing and casting, as well as advanced techniques, demonstrating an obvious love for the sport throughout. In fact their gentle enthusiasm is downright contagious (a friend who watched the program with me had to be nearly hog-tied to a chair by his wife to keep him from lighting out for the local sporting goods store). The “174th fly fishing related program released by Bennett-Watt HD Productions,” who know their subject inside out, this is highly recommended.

Editor’s Choice. (4 stars=Excellent, highest rating)

NFFB REVIEW: American Angler

The New Fly Fishing Basics

The New Fly Fishing Basics DVD ($29.95) from Bennett-Watt Video Productions is an introduction to fly fishing presented in a clear and comprehensible fashion. Program hosts Kelly and Jim Watt demonstrate the basics of knots, flies, and equipment, and they offer expert casting instruction. What makes this DVD work is the clever use of computer technology: split-screen views, diagram overlays of casting action, and a caster’s-eye view. Soon to come in DVD format is “Fly Tying Basics with Dick Talleur” part of the “How To Fly Fish” series. New & Newsworthy section.

NFFB COMMENTS FROM VIEWER: Ron McElroy, Senior Technical Training Instructor

The New Fly Fishing Basics

…I received the DVD “The New Fly Fishing Basics” for Christmas, and wanted to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed the DVD. I am a Technical Training Instructor, and appreciated the instructional techniques used. Well done!

NFFB REVIEW: On The Water

The New Fly Fishing Basics

…And what great tools these are! The New Fly Fishing Basics features ESPN’s Fly Fishing Video Magazine’s hosts Jim and Kelly Watt explaining just about everything you need to know to get going in the sometimes confusing world of freshwater fly fishing. Their friendly, low key style makes them great teachers and by using stop-action and slow motion techniques they explain the right and wrong way to cast. Later in the DVD they get into knots, equipment, fishing techniques for moving and still water and there is even a short section on basic fly-tying. The title is actually a bit of a misnomer – there are some advanced casting techniques that will allow the viewer to come back to the DVD even after the basics are mastered and still learn more. I watched this DVD and went fishing that evening, and after their explanation (the best I’ve seen) of the causes and remedies to the dreaded tailing loop, I had a great outing: no “wind knots”, no tangles, no lost flies… OTW Product Reviews

NFFB REVIEW: Cabin Life

The New Fly Fishing Basics DVD

DVDs – which allow viewers to pick and choose the

segments they want to watch – are a perfect medium for instruction. The instructors here are Jim and Kelly Watt, hosts of their own fly fishing television series on ESPN and The Outdoor Life Network. Segments include basic and advanced casting techniques, a primer on equipment and basic fly tying. This DVD is a pleasure to watch and learn from, thanks to alternating male/female narration, rhythmic pacing, effective use of slow-motion repetition, reinforcing graphics and beautiful locations, including streams in Ireland and rivers in Argentina.

Cabin Bookshelf

NFFB AWARD: The Videographer Award of Excellence

2002 Instructional Category

HTFF REVIEW: Tackle Trade News

How To Fly Fish DVD Series

... features seven instructional programmes which give easy and quick access to a range of techniques and tips, from tying flies to saltwater casting and from how to read water to details of knots and the best way to tie them. Marketing vice president John Wehman explained... “Our fly fishing topics are in a simple menu format that allows viewers to choose what to watch and in what sequence. This makes our programmes easy and fun to use. The learning curve goes way up when a viewer can concentrate on

learning about the fly they want to tie rather than getting frustrated messing with their video player.”…

HTFF REVIEW: On The Water

How To Fly Fish DVD Series

...Bonefish School & Billy Pate’s Saltwater Fly Casting Secrets kind of takes things to the next level, at least for those of us who spend most of our time on the ocean or in estuaries... Employing much more exaggerated motion with heavier equipment then you’d normally see in fresh water, Pate makes a good case for his system, which will surely benefit anyone who has to deal with strong wind and “big gun” fly equipment .

The Dick Talleur DVD, Fly Tying Basics presents eight of what are arguably the most important and effective patterns used throughout the country for trout... Now, with DVD, you can stop on a close-up image and see the finest detail of the tier’s craft with absolute clarity. Talleur teaches in a patient, methodical manner and offers many tricks

and tips along the way.

No more stopping, rewinding, or pausing on a shaky image to analyze a cast, knot or fly-tying procedure DVD’s let you move from place to place in an instant and then stop on a crystal clear image. You could even stick one of these babies in your laptop (assuming of course that it has a DVD drive), set it up next to your tying bench or perhaps on the backyard picnic table as your practice your casting or even down to the stream and have all the great information contained only a mouse click away.

HTFF REVIEW: Saltwater Fly Fishing

How To Fly Fish DVD Series

Since the 1980s, Bennett-Watt Entertainment has produced

hundreds of how-to and where-to videotapes for anglers. The

company now has a series of digital videodiscs (DVDs) with the family name “HOW TO FLY FISH.” Saltwater fly fishers might find two of the DVD programs particularly helpful. “Knots for Fresh & Salt Water” covers more than two dozen

connections and various aspects of rigging, including the Bimini twist, Hufnagle knot, haywire twist, and big-game leaders. “Bonefish School & Billy Pate’s Saltwater Fly casting Secrets” covers a lot of ground – casting, presentations, flies and fly tying, finding fish, and more. Bennett-Watts DVDs use a simple menu format to allow viewers to find what they want almost instantly. Tidings & Scuttlebutt - Gear Guide

KNT REVIEW: Booklist

Fishing Knots For Fresh & Saltwater

Hosted by cable television fishing program hosts Jim Watt and Kelly Watt, this DVD “teaches all you need to know about knot tying.” With little preliminary information, the hosts demonstrate how to tie a nail knot, braided mono loop, surgeon’s loop, and Albright knot. Then, according to Kelly, the “fun part” begins, when she introduces knots that attach the leader to the fly. These knots are then tested for strength and durability. Other fishing experts demonstrate knots for various uses (big game fishing, specific fish, etc). The footage (some taken onboard fishing boats) is extremely crisp and clear and includes plenty of close-ups. However, instructions are not captioned or recapped, making this most appropriate for experienced anglers. Buy according to demand and interest.

KNT REVIEW: Video Librarian

Fishing Knots For Fresh & Saltwater

Teaching anglers how to tie nearly every knot (30 of them!) used in fresh or saltwater fishing, this comprehensive instructional guide presented by veteran anglers clearly demonstrates the techniques used to create such colorfully named fishing knots as the Blood Knot, the Nested Nail Knot, the Bimini Twist, and the Spider Hitch, and covers topics ranging from tying knots for leaders to judging knot strength. While the speed of some of the demonstrations seemed a bit quick for inexperienced fishermen (although the back scan button on the DVD will allow viewers to watch it over and over), and the information could have been better organized (it’s nice to know how to tie the knot and understand the reasons for its use at the same time), these are minor criticisms. Given the popularity of fly fishing, the wide scope of the program, and the wealth of insider tips form the presenters here, this is sure to be a popular and useful title for fishing enthusiasts and is recommended.

KNT REVIEW: Library Journal

Fishing Knots For Fresh & Saltwater

Fishing Knots from the “How To Fly Fish” series,

teaches the basics of knot tying. Jim and Kelly Watt, of Fly Fishing Magazine, present step-by-step instructions for knots used to attach backing to reel, leader knots, and knots for tying leader to fly or lure. Close-up photography and the use of rope and colored filament permit ease of viewing. …well organized and will work well for visual learners. The Watts deserve kudos for their

enthusiasm of a topic that some might consider “a snooze”. In truth, according to the American Sport Fishing Association, more people fish than play golf or tennis

combined, comprising an industry with an economic impact of more than $100 billion…(a) welcome addition to public libraries needing to fill the gaps in their sports and recreation collections.

FTB REVIEW: Video Librarian

Fly Tying Basics with Dick Talleur

...Combining excellent close-up camerawork with clear and nicely-paced instructions, Fly Tying Basics with Dick Talleur is definitely recommended for recreational sports collections.

LAK REVIEW: Video Librarian

How To Fly Fish: Lakes

...features renowned fly fishing instructor Bill Marts, concentrates on the art and science of fishing for trout in lakes. ...Marts explains how to become a more effective angler in still waters as opposed to the moving water found in streams and rivers. Topics include equipment, flotation devices, fish sighting, and strike detection, among others, all serving up useful tips and techniques for catching the wily trout....

RMW REVIEW: Library Journal

Beyond the Basics & Reading Water

...does a fine job of leading the angler along the path of increasing appreciation for, and success in, fly fishing...The session “Bugs! Entomology,” a comparison of aquatic invertebrates with the artifical flies developed in their imitation, is fascinating...

NHOFT

REVIEW: Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Magazine

New Hooked On Fly Tying: All About Hair with Chris Helm

...is part of an extensive list of titles. Combine a professional production company with expert fly-tying demonstrators and you get the New Hooked On Fly Tying series. The film quality is excellent. Chris Helm is an acknowledged expert on deer hair and tying with deer hair and that is what this program is about. Helm opens with a lengthy introduction to whitetail deer & deer hair. Simply excellent! This is deer hair from the point-of-view of the fly tyer. Helm explains how seasons change deer hair, why some hair suits different applications, and where on the skin different hair types come from. Then get tying! Helm only ties one large Bass Bug, but frankly that one fly is a mini-masterclass in spun & stacked deer hair tying. The emphasis is on technique, not pattern. I picked up more about tying with deer hair in half an hour than I could in years of tying – and that’s exactly the point. Although the example is a bass fly, the materials, tools, and skills transfer to any fly with a deer hair body or head.