Connections: Medicine and Fly Fishing

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Richard Formato, one of the top fly fishermen in the country, the other day about his new project which coincidentally is just the kind of thing we're all about here at VMFF (ie. fly fishing and medicine).

In case you haven't watched the Outdoor, Versus, or ESPN Outdoors channels at all, you may not realize what fishing shows consist of.  Most of what you can find out there consists of close up shots of huge fish hauled in using the "newest and most technologically advanced" lure the world has ever seen.  In my opinion, fishing just hasn't translated to the big screen as well as other sports.  Televised golf, for instance, has been able to capture some of what golf is about: slow panning shots of a fairway, the hushed voice of a sports commentator describing how smooth a back swing is, the close in views of a golfer as he intensely examines the subtle curves of a green, the quiet applause of spectators acknowledging a job well done.  Fishing shows, on the other hand, have missed the point.  Case and point: Bill Dance


Fortunately for the fishing community, I think Richard Formato may have a way to help turn things around.  Richard has just recently begun putting together a show about what fishing is really about; trying to show how therapeutic it can be to be out on the river making long deliberate casts to captious trout.  For example, in the trailer for the show, The Healing Stream (watch it here), Richard helps an Iraq veteran learn how to use fly fishing as a way to help in the healing process.  They also pull in what looks to be like some pretty decent brookies.  (On that note, I'll have to figure out where they were filming so I can plan some future excursions.)

Screenshot from The Healing Stream's trailer

Hopefully in the near future, we'll get to watch more of Richard's work and see more about how fly fishing can be an effective form of therapy.  Keep on the look out for more about this and help spread the word!