"Guiding Traditions" | a Short Film Capturing the Beauty of Fly Fishing the Catskills

It's almost time—I can feel it in my bones. It's a combination of instinct, desire, and an itch that needs to be scratched. Ice-out is nearly here and soon I'll be on a river with a fly rod.

Watching Fly Fishing Films To Get Through the Winter

To help get me through the last two months until spring, I watch a lot of fly fishing films. An evening on YouTube can take you down a black hole of some good and some bad—very bad—videos. But every once in a while, mixed in with the good and the bad, you stumble upon one that is exceptional.

A fly angler casting to trout in a Catskill stream. — Solitude in the Catskill woods. | photo by Thomas Barzilay Freund

Rarefied Air

It is rare to find a creative piece that has all the markings of a professional filmmaker who understands fly fishing. The cinematography, sound, and visuals rival the best in filmmaking, while the heart of fly fishing is caught in simple moments. These are works that border on art and only a handful people have the ability. Todd Moen's work always comes to mind when I think of this level of filmmaking.

Discovering a Gem

Now, add another filmmaker to the list of the best out there: Thomas Barzilay Freund. He has an eye for detail that commands attention, and his work made me pause while watching his short film, Guiding Traditions. I don’t usually expect to see this caliber of craftsmanship in fly fishing shorts.

The golden color of a brown trout face just above the water in stream in the Catskill mountains. — Finding gold in the Catskill mountains. | photo by Thomas Barzilay Freund

An Eye for the Details of Fly Fishing

I initially started watching the film because of the content, but the images Freund captures were so subtly stunning that I found myself pausing and rewinding the video to have a second look, and then a third. His ability to capture the detailed, complex beauty of a brown trout, or the vibrant colors of a native brook trout is extraordinary.

A brook trout caught in the catskill mountains — The thin white line on a brook trout's fin indicating it is of the char family. | photo by Thomas Barzilay Freund

Finding Beauty in the Simple

You know Freund is a fly angler by the way he elevates the mundane rituals of fly fishing—tying knots, casting lines, or organizing fly boxes—and turns them into quiet acts of grace.

A brown trout caught in one of the Catskills many creeks. — A chunky brown. | photo by Thomas Barzilay Freund

Adding the Catskills to My Fly Fishing List

The film accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: it makes you want to visit the Catskills and experience the fly fishing for yourself. It showcases the region's legendary dry fly fishing and nymphing opportunities for brown trout, rainbow trout, and native brookies, in the many rivers and streams that wind through the Catskill Mountains.

Guiding Traditions- The Film

Guiding Traditions, an AnyCreek film, is an 11-minute fly fishing short that completely immerses you in the sport, the environment, and the culture of fly fishing in the Catskills. Thomas Barzilay Freund’s gift for capturing the subtle beauty of the sport will leave you with a deeper understanding of why fly fishing has such a hold on us. KB