Maine Fly Fish: Maine Fly Fish -> The Good Life,film review

Tait and Jax jumped into the pool outside, the steam rose into the air and Kevin waded in behind them. The temperature was a cool 40 degrees while the water must have been closer to 80. It was sunny with a crystal clear, blue sky, the mountains were watching us from a distance and I was in a lawn chair with my winter jacket on and my shades, awaiting a massage. This my friends, is the “good life.”

We were in the tiny town of Bethel, Maine on a chilly March day as we anticipated the premier of Carter Davidson’s third fly fishing movie, THE GOOD LIFE Tall Tails from the East. A dip in the pool for the boys and a massage for me at the lovely Bethel Inn, was prep time before the showing. After that, we enjoyed a great meal at the pub downstairs and walked over with Jim Bernstein, a dear friend and one of the stars of the movie, to watch it in a nearby building. Once there, we enjoyed drinks in the jovial spirit our fellow fishing bums deserved and hunkered down for the viewing. Tait and Jax grabbed their seats in the front row and away we went! THE GOOD LIFE Tall Tails from the East, By Gray Ghost Productions.

Kevin, Tait and Jax are among many anglers in this fantastic film that highlights the triumphs and even a couple of tribulations of the beginning, middle and end of an angler’s day. How each explains the world of fishing and how it meshes with, or is “the good life,” captures the audience. The Atlantic coast is the host as the tour starts with our very own Kevin McKay in the Florida Keys catching sharks and peacock bass! With beautiful footage and the right amount of humor, we are immediately drawn into one fisherman’s story if his version of “the good life.”

A moving clip of women in varying phases of recovery from breast cancer are shown as they tout the good life as the hope they feel when fly fishing at ‘Casting For Recovery’. This is a camp women attend where they learn fly casting and fly fishing techniques as well as how precious life is and how hope is really what fishing is all about each time you cast a fly!

Later in the film you see Tait and Jax shown as sneaking out of school to grab their dad’s boat to head to the local crappie and bass pond, to catch and net a few on their own. Sitting on a large rock the two boys tell their tales of what it is like to fish with each other. Of course, this makes a mom proud, what can I say!

Another fisherman in the film is Jim Bernstein from Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop in Cape Neddick, Maine. Here Jim tells of the concerning case of the change in striper population decline over the past five years or so. In addition, he is concerned about the chemicals found in fish coming out of our oceans. His passion for fishing, as he describes the early morning ocean scene, is obvious.

Each story told is different, yet tells the common theme of the good life and how simple that really is to achieve. It really makes me wonder why everyone doesn’t fish. I have my own life, and the thing about fishing is it makes you stop and realize how good you have it no matter what you have.

For me, watching THE GOOD LIFE just simply makes me want to get out and fish. The footage and scenery is fabulous. The choice moments of slow motion of that fly line paired with the aerial views from above add to the movie’s sense of peace. The music is awesome and the tales are great. I laughed and cried the first time I watched it. It also makes me grateful that my compact family of four all love to fish together and that we are indeed ALWAYS, living the good life.

Kevin and I review movies annually it seems and we have our favorite producers you could say. Carter Davidson is definitely right there. You might think it’s because my family is in this film. Perhaps. But, it is also because Carter has a gift for sharing the experience of fly fishing in a way that points straight to the heart of what viewers want to see in a film about fishing; beautiful fish, scenery, good music, some laughs and emotion.

Jennifer Bowman-McKay
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