Published Mar 21. 2010 - 14 years ago
Updated or edited May 31. 2017

Video review: Mayfly Madness

Big fish, big bugs, great passion

Very nice and cozy journey together with Swedish anglers Johan Klingenberg and Ulf Börjesson in the pursuit of brown trout in the streams of southern Sweden.


Info
Author: 
Johan Klingberg/Ulf Börjesson/Jussi Sjölund
Publisher: 
Mountain Media
Publishing year: 
2010
Minutes: 
60+50
Price: 
19.90
Euros

Reviewed by: 

This is a little and all too unknown fishing video gem. Swedish anglers Johan Klingberg and Ulf Börjesson take us on a charming row of fishing trips iun the lush southern Swedish landscapes hunting mayfly hatches... and trout!

This is not an instruction video as such, but more like a road movie where we follow Johan and Ulf planning and traveling around the countryside during several seasons in the hunt for the brief mayfly season and the short hatch periods that trigger the amazing fishing that we witness in some great sequences in the video.
The video covers the waiting, the scouting, the thoughts about development in an environment that could be a trout fisher's heaven, but has been marred by draining, damming, water usage for irrigation not to mention the heavy nutrient pollution from the surrounding farming land.

The conditions seem difficult with small streams, overhanging trees, few hatches and even fewer and more scattered rises. But against these odds Johan and Ulf manage to cast to, hook and land some reallu beautiful brown trout. Their joy of the catch is obvious and the video very clearly expresses the fulfillment of catching the first fish of the season, the most difficult fish, the largest fish... well, any fish at all, actually.

The dialog in the video is Swedish and mainly there for the ambiance, because on the soundtrack the narration is in English - with Swedish and German also available. The English and Swedish narration is very well performed by Johan and Ulf themselves who take turns in talking us through each scene, sometimes steeplechasing each other through one scene, sometimes commenting each other's efforts, sometimes speaking us through their own endeavors. The German narration is done by a speaker and excellent as it is, it's still third person and not as intimate and personal as when the main characters tell their own story.

In all this I shouldn't forget the main character: the video! Excellently filmed and produced by Jussi Sjölund, who's the guy behind Mountain Media.
The video is just as it should be in a production like this: non-intrusive, beautiful, full of ambiance slow and meticulous, focused on the people and the environment. We see what we expect to see: the rises, the casts, the takes, the fights, the landings and the releases... and as I said the joy of catching fish. This is old fashioned video production in the good way: nice to watch, relaxing, like being their on the bank, sitting and watching two friends having a great time.
Many video producers have forgotten - or forsaken - this way of doing things, but as much as I love the anarchistic, up-tempo, wild and crazy videos, it's really nice to see something "old school" if you'll excuse the expression, which is used in the very best meaning!

The video follows Ulf and Johan to many different waters during three mayfly seasons and plays for an hour, which feels just right. You can then traverse the bonus material, which is both covers tackle choice and some fly tying - and of course some appetizers for more Mountain Media videos.


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