Some of the best fly fishing days happen nowhere near the water. A packed room, a big screen, a raffle table full of gear, and a hundred anglers cheering for a fish none of them caught. In this early episode we talked with Mariko Izumi, who grew up in one of Canada's best-known fishing families, hosted six seasons of the travel fishing show Hooking Up with Mariko on WFN, and was helping run the Fly Fishing Film Tour across Canada when we recorded. Her biggest message: anyone can bring a fly fishing film night to their own town.
Growing Up in a Fishing Family
Mariko grew up in Ontario, about 45 minutes outside Toronto. She told us her grandfather started what she described as the first catch-and-release bass tournament in Canada, and the year she was born her dad and her uncle, Bob Izumi, launched their own fishing TV show back in the early '80s, when there were only a handful of fishing shows anywhere. Fishing wasn't a hobby in that house. It was the family business.
She eventually pitched and landed her own travel fishing series and treated it the way you'd hope: as a rare opportunity she never took for granted. Since moving to British Columbia she's fallen hard for the fisheries there, from white sturgeon on the Fraser River to salmon farther north, and she estimated she was fishing 50 to 60 days a year between fly fishing, sturgeon, and bass trips with her dad.
Why Film Nights Grow the Sport
Mariko made a great point about why these screenings matter. The full films aren't something you can just pull up on TV or YouTube, so the event itself becomes the draw. Good soundtracks, good storytelling, and good characters bring in more than dedicated fly anglers. She said her audiences include bass anglers and plenty of people who've never cast a fly rod. That's exactly who we want in the room if we care about growing fly fishing.
A film night does a few things a fishing trip can't:
- It gets non-anglers curious in a low-pressure setting.
- It connects the local fly shop, club, and guides with new faces.
- It raises money, often for a local conservation group or youth program.
How to Host One: A Practical Checklist
As Mariko described it, the tour works as a turnkey package for local hosts: the tour supplies the films and sponsor swag to give away and acts as a guide, while the host picks the venue and partners, covers the venue cost, and keeps the income from ticket sales, raffles, or charity tie-ins. Details change year to year, so check the tour's current hosting info before you plan. Here's how I'd approach it:
- Pick a partner first. A local fly shop, Trout Unlimited chapter, or fishing club brings an email list and volunteers.
- Choose the right room. A small theater, brewery, or community hall with a decent projector and sound. Size it so it feels full; a packed 80-seat room beats a half-empty 300-seat one.
- Decide where the money goes. A clear cause, like a stream restoration project or a kids' fishing program, sells tickets.
- Build the raffle. Combine the sponsor swag with donated local guide trips and flies from area tiers.
- Promote early and locally. Shop counters, club newsletters, local social pages, and the guides' client lists.
- Make it social. Arrive early, mix before the films, and invite people to the next club outing on the way out.
Bring the Travel Mindset Home
One more takeaway from Mariko: travel fishing is about collecting good information. She mentioned picking up small tips, like details on local bass guides during a family trip to Japan, and sharing them on her blog. When you travel, ask locals, book a local guide when you can, and write down what you learn. Then bring those stories home and share them at the next film night.
Gear
There's no single piece of gear for hosting a film night, but if you're planning one, talk with your local fly shop first. They're usually the best partner you can have. And for the planning sessions and early mornings that follow, our FFIP Logo Angler's Coffee Mug is a fitting companion.
