A few months back at the annual Fly Fishing Retailer show held in Denver, Cloudveil co-sponsored, with The Drake magazine, the second annual Fly Fishing Video Awards party.

The concept was simple: Dispense with the normal after show cocktail party mingle, and deliver some inspiration and entertainment in the form of five minute video shorts. The shorts were submitted by small and smaller budget filmmakers in the fishing world (there are no big budget fly fishing production houses, yet) and culled down to 10 by Tom Bie, editor of The Drake.

The films were then judged by a group of industry experts to pick the best in four categories: Best Story, Best Humor, Best Fishing Film and Best Overall.

We wanted to take a few days of Mountain Culture time and show the winners in the four categories. We congratulate all the talented film makers who won, and thank everyone who submitted [Editor’s Note: see local David Gonzales’ submission “Opening Day: Flat Creek” on our video sidebar].

The video showing today won Best Story and was shot and produced by R.A. Beattie of Aspen. And now, a word from the filmmaker:

”We created this short film originally for the Drake Film Festival, it is part of a larger project called First Descent Alaska, which our company Beattie Outdoor Productions has been shooting for the last two summers.

While the project focuses on the first and second recorded descents of two rivers in the Bristol Bay Region of Alaska, this short film focuses on one of the stronger sub-story lines - the unique relationship between the seasoned Alaskan fishing guide (Mark Rutherford) and his daughter (Kate Rutherford), both highly accomplished wilderness guides. Mark Rutherford owns and operates Wild River Guides. Besides guiding fly fishing in Alaska, Kate Rutherford is also a professional climber and spends the majority of her time “hanging it all out there” in Yosemite.

More information on the First Descent Project is available at www.fishwithra.com.

[Editor’s Note: Yes, we realize it’s snowing in Jackson Hole. But, flyfishing is a popular, timeless, pursuit that can be enjoyed even as flurries fall from the sky. We’re welcoming in the winter with a final farewell to the previous season.]