The Buckin' Fish Film Festival

By Christian Chavez

Cast. Catch. Film. Repeat.

The main ingredients you'll need for a captivating fishing video. But what else can make a great fishing video? And why am I even talking about this?

The Seedskadee Chapter of Trout Unlimited, located in Green River, Wyoming, is offering our first fishing video contest. We truly love the outdoors and the waters of southwestern Wyoming where anglers can create memories and hone their skills. This video contest will allow people of all ages and backgrounds to showcase their creativity, angling skills, and passion for the outdoors.

The top video finalists will have their films screened at the Fly Fishing Film Tour event at the Expedition Island Park Pavilion on March 2nd, 2018.

Videos will be judged on three main criteria.

Creativity
We've all seen hundreds of fishing videos before, so making one should be easy right? Well, nobody wants to watch the same video over and over, so finding a way to add your own personal touch in a creative fashion will be an important aspect of your submission. Maybe you like fishing alone in secluded, high country streams; this dynamic is going to produce a vastly different video than someone who enjoys floating down large rivers with a group of buddies. Some people like to spin fish while others find it sinful to touch anything but a fly rod. And why would you head for deep water in search of 30-pound lake trout when you can skip along the surface for exciting smallmouth bass takes?

Maybe because those are both awesome!? So think about how you can make a video that truly encapsulates the experiences that you enjoy having when there's a rod in your hands. How is your video going to be unique, and what will be the differences that truly make it stand out from all the rest?

Message
Trout Unlimited maintains the mission to conserve, protect, and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watersheds. So while all videos should show the enjoyable experiences that are had on the water, it might not be a bad idea to show what you've done to incorporate this vision into your fishing expeditions.

Perhaps you are an advocate for proper handling when practicing catch and release who can speak to that throughout your film. Show how you care about the waters that hold the fish we love to catch, and share with the world why you love them. Make a video that sends a message to the audience. Explain your story, and help others develop the same respect for the outdoors that you have. Keep the Trout Unlimited vision in mind and create a video that will inspire others in a positive way.

Awesomeness
This criteria goes hand-in-hand with creativity, but it should be mentioned that the awesomeness of your video will likely determine if it's a winner or not. How fun can you make your 8 minutes? Communicate the fun and joys of fishing, and demonstrate how they can positively impact anyone's life. Whatever you do, don't forget to make it awesome!

Why a Video Contest?
The Seedskadee Chapter of Trout Unlimited wants to get all fishermen/women out and enjoying the outdoors. We also want to spread the knowledge that conservation, protection, and restoration are extremely important to the continued use of the beautiful waters that contain our favorite fish.

Whether you're sight fishing for carp down on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir or casting to small, high country brook trout in the Wind River Range, your actions can affect the rivers and waters that you interact with. It's up to you to decide if that impact is going to be positive or negative.

Sharing your love for the outdoors and the waters in Wyoming can help to inspire others around you including the upcoming generations to join the effort in protecting what is important to us. This gives every angler the opportunity to demonstrate to a wider audience how they feel about the streams and lakes where we spend so many hours searching.

Sunlit Cutties.jpg

And what is it we are all searching for? Everyone has their reasons why they love fishing, so that's up to you to decide; but if we do not influence others to care for these recreational areas, then we are going to limit the joy that they can bring to future generations. So this video contest is just one way we hope to nudge others to influence those around them.

Contest Rules:
1. All anglers and videographers must comply with all regulations from the land agencies and the Wyoming Game and Fish department.
2. Anglers must attempt at least one recognized Wyoming Game and Fish fishing certificate including the Wyoming Cutt-Slam, any of the Youth Fishing Challenges or the Xstream Challenge.

3. Must be filmed in Wyoming
4. Must be no more than 8 minutes in length
5. The challenge or certificate attempted must be stated in the video.
6. Enter your video via flash drive by January 1st, 2018. Send or hand deliver with your name, address, and e-mail to the Green River TU office: Seedskade Trout Unlimited 520 Wilkes Dr. Suite 4B Green River, WY 82935

Don't forget to use #STU2018video and #seedskadeeTU on social media to keep us updated on your film making progress.

By entering your video into the Seedskade 2018 Video Contest you hereby give Seedskadee Trout Unlimited permission to use your video wherever/whenever and acknowledge that it can be posted on the Trout Unlimited's National page.

Christian Chavez is a member of the Seedskadee Trout Unlimited Chapter in Wyoming.