Self portrait with trout

By Steve Stracqualursi Original photo by Mikey Wier
Way Upstream Productions Copyright 2008

The Complete Angler - Chapter 3

James Prosek (artist/writer), Fritz Mitchell (producer/editor) and Peter Franchella (cinematographer) produced a Peabody Award winning film documenting Prosek’s travels in the footsteps of the 17th century English writer, Izaak Walton.

Way Upstream now brings you Part 3 of the mini-series - The Complete Angler. In this chapter James fishes a tributary of the Thames in London that Walton fished three hundred and fifty years before, the River Lea. Walton was forced out of London during the English Civil War and returned to the pastoral beauty of his homeland in Derbyshire and the beautiful River Dove in the Peak District.

Way Upstream Productions Copyright 2008

The Complete Angler - Chapter 2

James Prosek (artist/writer), Fritz Mitchell (producer/editor) and Peter Franchella (cinematographer) produced a Peabody Award winning film documenting Prosek’s travels in the footsteps of the 17th century English writer, Izaak Walton.

Way Upstream now brings you Part 2 of the mini-series - The Complete Angler. In this chapter James goes to Ireland to experience what may be the earliest form of fly-fishing, dapping live mayflies impaled on fine-wire hooks for brown trout on the lakes of the Connemara region. He visits with a boy who collects and sells live mayflies to the fishermen, and salmon fishes along the Eriff River.



Way Upstream Productions Copyright 2008

Time to flourish again

By Winter's end, there’s a part of you that can feel like you were plucked from your dinner table and yanked by the mouth into a long struggle with some otherworldly being that grabs you with a big hand and holds you in the air, exposing you to bright lights beyond any you have ever witnessed. But then Spring comes in with its warmth and heals that part of you in an instant. The hand releases you back to your dinner table. A price was paid. Time to flourish again.

Words and photo by El Pescador

Insect Vision

Here's another image from a growing Tim Borski/El Pescador collection. This is a Warholized shot of Tim's son inspecting and being inspected by a large praying mantis.

Original photo by Tim Borski Image by El Pescador

The Complete Angler - Chapter 1

Several years ago, James Prosek (artist/writer), Fritz Mitchell (producer/editor) and Peter Franchella (cinematographer) produced a film documenting Prosek’s travels in the footsteps of the 17th century English writer, Izaak Walton—“research” for his senior thesis at Yale. The film focuses on Walton’s book, The Compleat Angler, a book that many have heard of but few have read. Through Ireland and England, Prosek fishes the same rivers and streams that Walton had. He discovers the art of “dapping,” a method of fly-fishing still practiced now, as it was 350 years ago in Walton’s day. He fishes streams flowing under and around London—spring-fed tributaries of the Thames once central to water meadows, but now surrounded by parking lots and high-rise apartment buildings. And he makes his way into the world of private river-ways, fished by the upper-class who own the land through which the rivers flow. He fishes with English gentry, guides and boatmen, discovering a common bond among anglers that erases social barriers.

Izaak Walton was a simple tailor whose genial nature won him the company of kings. Walton was a proto-conservationist who advocated for the pastoral simplicity that the countryside offered. He wrote the Compleat Angler in the mid-1600s during the English Civil War when different Christian denominations were vying for power in London. Through the course of the book, Walton instructs his fishing companion not only in the technical aspects of hooking, cleaning and preparing trout, chub, pike and eels, but in finding spiritual sustenance in the forest, meadow, and on the stream.

Way Upstream now brings you the video mini-series of the original, Peabody Award winning film - The Complete Angler. The mini series will be composed of the seven individual segments that make up the film. Here’s chapter one, where you'll see James leaving Connecticut for Ireland and England, catching a few trout in his home streams and musing about his youth, fishing, and some Waltonian ideals. He visits the library at Yale and examines a first edition of Walton’s Compleat Angler from 1653. Then he sits for a reading of W. B. Yeat’s poem, The Song of Wandering Aengus, by Harold Bloom.

Paintings by James Prosek

Way Upstream Productions Copyright 2008

Coming Soon

Photo by Tim Borski Movie poster by El Pescador

Trout Season

It’s almost the beginning of trout season. With the stirring of insect and fish comes the preparation of shop, stock, guides and gear. Angling dreams of hatches and takes are mixed with business hopes for ideal water, bookings and revenue. It’s a tangled, intertwined, biological and economic web….and all because of fish. Let the season begin and may your fishy goals be achieved. Feel free to share a season opener comment, story or photo.

Illustration by El Pescador

Bird Vise

Tim Borski takes some interesting photos in addition to painting and fly designing. Here's one photo I received that I couldn't help toying with. The image shows Tim's hand holding a bird that flew into his studio with a fly resting next to it. I've created some unusual versions of this image but here is a version that's close to the original. I used Flickr toys Framer to soften the edges and Matte to frame it up "museum style". This is not your average "still life". Maybe a collaborative series will emerge.

Original photo by Tim Borski

Artistic license exercised by El Pescador

Leap - The Movie

Thanks for the pix. Here's the film inspired by the Leap Day post.

Old School

February 28th marks the anniversary of the very first Way Upstream post. I would like to thank everyone who has visited and especially those who have joined conversations and made their voices heard over the past year. I consider Way Upstream to be a group effort and I feel fortunate to have a global community of people involved who are willing to gauge risk, share ideas and to take action. Keep it up. Now that Way Upstream has reached the one year milestone do you think this blog can be officially referred to as "old school"?

Fly illustration

By El Pescador

Off the grid

By El Pescador
Copyright 2008 Way Upstream

Puzzled

Original by El Pescador Original Photo by M. Wier

11A > 12

SOULFISH

Mikey Wier's film project SOULFISH recently debuted at the ISE show in San Mateo, CA. Here is a 3 minute and 30 second glimpse of the film trailer. I asked Mikey to tell me how he felt about this film now that it's in the public eye. This is what he had to say:

"SOULFISH is a something-for-everyone fly fishing movie. I tried to capture the perspectives of some of the pre-River Runs Through It fisherman as well as the voice of the youth and women in fly fishing today. It's a cool look at travel adventure fishing and a tribute to people who have dedicated their lives to this wacky sport. SOULFISH was a really fun project. I didn't get to do everything I wanted with this project but I am really pleased overall with how it came out. It was amazing to spend time with and learn from all the people who are featured in this flick. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it."

Mike E. Wier

Happy New Year

Way Upstream would like to thank the global community for all the participation, insight, feedback and thoughts provided in 2007. It is with optimism and enthusiasm that Way Upstream enters the new year. I hope the same is true for you. All the best wished. Keep making your voice heard in 2008 and try new ideas.Keep the fly in the water and believe in every cast.

Way Upstream
Copyright 2007

Fly tying season

Way Upstream
Copyright 2007

Need a new image?

The tools to alter and transform images used to be for the highly trained artist and illustrator only. Today that's all changed. Image "toys" are very accessible and pretty simple to use. You can make movies, slideshows, calendars, screen savers, magazine covers and more. All you really need is a computer, a digital camera and a USB cable to be in business.....and the digital camera and cable are optional to some degree. The post image is an example of an underwater digital photo that's been run through a watercolor filter (Microsoft Photo Editor). Then I Hockneyized the image to get the Polaroid effect. Lastly I took the Hockneyized image and ran it through Framer to add the stamp frame. Take some of your fishing images and give these toys a try....just for fun. Who knows, you may find a marketable use for your pictures or at the very least discover some creative ideas.

Way Upstream
Copyright 2007

Selection

I helped organize a couple of Striper Dealer Camps in '05 and '06. These "camps" were attended by fly fishing retail store owners and staff. I was reviewing some of the images from the '06 Striper Camp folder and came across one that I digitally altered to look like a watercolor. I thought it was worth posting. I call it Selection.

Way Upstream
Copyright 2007