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Rivers of A Lost Coast
(2008)
At the turn of the 20th Century, a handful of pioneers carried their fly rods into California’s remote north coast and gave birth to a
culture that would revolutionize their sport. For a select few, steelhead fly fishing became an obsessive pursuit without compromise.
Leading the pack was the mythical, Bill Schaadt, an off-kilter angler famous for his ruthless pursuit to be ‘in the fish’. The new
endeavor was ruled by a demanding, unspoken code, which made 'breaking in' almost as difficult as 'breaking out'.
By the early 1980s, the Golden State’s coastal fisheries found themselves caught in a spiraling decline. As California searched for its
disappearing salmon and steelhead, these men foraged for their souls.
The rapid decline of our planet’s fisheries is well documented. The devastated fisheries of northern California are a microcosm of the
planet’s larger problems. Once a major salmon producing region, in 2008 state and federal agencies agreed upon a complete closure of ocean and recreational ocean fishing off
the California coast.
While much attention has turned to the crippled commercial fishing industry, Rivers of a Lost Coast examines the situation through the unique,
little-known history of California’s north coast fly fishing community. From this rare perspective, our documentary provides a symbolic, melancholy reflection on a wild
California that has been lost to the growing metropolis.
Rivers of a Lost Coast follows California’s coastal fly fishing community through the rise and collapse of one of the world’s most
magical fisheries. To some, this is a story about time and place, about a California that was. To others, it is a story about who we are, what we need and where we are going.
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