Oh, to be Brian O’Keefe for a day last summer in western Alaska.
O’Keefe served as Todd Moen’s fishing subject in Moen’s new short film, “Alaska Fly Fishing with a Mouse,” that’s been crawling the interwebs with a vengeance over the last few days. And rightly so—the footage of massive Alaskan rainbows erupting beneath mouse patterns skittered across the water is nothing short of stunning.
And, of course, it’s O’Keefe on the business end of the fly rod, that lucky SOB.
Mousing has become something a cult discipline in the fly-fishing world, and one trip through the film (you’ll watch it at least twice—trust me) is enough to understand why. When rainbows, Dollies and even Arctic grayling blow up a mouse pattern … well, there’s nothing like it, really.
The film is just Moen’s latest is his ongoing series of fly-fishing films that span the globe, and it’s easily among his best. The fish, the scenery … it’s tough to beat, and winter-starved anglers will love the fast action for top-water trout. Oh, and the rainbows in the Aniak River? They’re really big.
If chasing big trout, char and grayling with mouse patterns is on your list, you’ll enjoy this short film. And if it doesn’t have you looking into that long-awaited Alaskan fishing adventure, nothing will.