TROUT GRASS
A FILM BY ED GEORGE AND ANDY ROYER
“A fly rod extends a fly fisher’s being as surely as do imagination, empathy or prayer.”
Coursing from the verdant hills of Southern China to the sparkling streams of Montana, Trout Grass is a story of passion, international partnership and the discovery of place in our natural world. This unique documentary captures the 10,000-mile journey of bamboo’s transformation from a hardy species of grass to a super-conductive split-cane fly rod.
The film tracks Hoagy Carmichael on his first visit to China where he experiences the country’s mystical bamboo forests. As a legendary split-cane fly rod craftsman and author of the art’s seminal study, these far-off lands have fueled Hoagy’s dreams for 40 years. Next, we meet master-builder Glenn Brackett, who taps into “the power of unseen hands” in his Montana shop while converting this hardy piece of grass into a stunning and responsive river wand.
Out on Rocky Mountain waterways, narrator David James Duncan and fly fishing legend Thomas McGuane reveal the magic of fishing with a fly rod made of grass and connecting with the order of rivers and flowing things.
Winner of Best Feature Film or Best Short Documentary at four film festivals; cited by Chicago Tribune as “One of the Six Best” videos of 2005.
