The 2025 Fly Fishing Film Tour is fast approaching, bringing another exciting lineup of captivating stories from the water. To get you pumped for this year’s films, we’re sharing an exclusive look at the filmmaking process through our F3T Behind the Lens series. Be sure to check out the full 2025 schedule HERE and grab your tickets today!
In this Behind the Lens article, we sit down with filmmaker Jack Beaudoin to discuss his newest film, Mouse Trap. The film dives into the obsession of hunting trophy brown trout at night with mouse flies. Set on the White River in Arkansas—a giant brown trout factory—the story embraces the grind of trophy hunting. We sat down with Jack to learn more about the film, the grind of night fishing, and his journey into filmmaking in this exclusive interview. Check out the full interview below!
Flylords: First off, excellent job with the film Mousetrap. Can you give us a little background on who you are and your journey into filmmaking?
Jack: “Thank you! My name is Jack Beaudoin, and I grew up outside of Detroit. My journey into filmmaking started about ten years ago when I started freelancing. In 2019, I hit the reset button on the direction my work was going and began to pour it all into building a fishing portfolio. It was a big leap, but I couldn’t be happier with that decision. This latest film, Mouse Trap, is a culmination of this journey and the friends met along the way.”
Flylords: Can you tell us about the films characters and how you crossed paths wth them?
Jack: “As is the catalyst for many friendships these days, Trevor, Westley, and I met through Instagram in 2021. With Trevor running Stealthcraft boats in Baldwin, Michigan, Westley guiding on the river that’s right next to the boat shop, and me a couple of hours away with a camera, it was only right we team up. Through fishing and filming, they are now some of my best friends.”
Flylords: What is it about the White River that compelled you to shoot your film there?
Jack: “The White River is a trip that Westley, Trevor, and some of their friends have taken for the last five years. These guys are true mousing and brown trout addicts; if there is a river with both quality AND quantity like that, they’ll be there to fish it. Creating a film around it was the next natural progression. They had the experience on the White, so it was up to me to tell the story.”
Flylords: Filming a mousing film at night seems tricky. What challenges did you face along the way?
Jack: “This was by far the most challenging and taxing film I have ever shot… from 9 pm to 6 am every night, sitting in the pitch black..waiting and waiting and waiting. Shooting at night is a very restrictive feeling. There are no natural light sources, so you have to get creative. Unfortunately, there is only so much that can be done, and when you are just trying to stay awake, having nothing to shoot is not ideal. Despite all that, we were able to get the shots and tell the story we were after.”
Flylords: What went into preparation for this film and the two-week journey?
Jack: “For me personally, I had just returned from Alaska for a job, so I was already in fishing film mode rolling into this Arkansas trip. The equipment was ready to go, so I really didn’t have too much prep work. Westley, on the other hand, spent countless hours tying mice flies in every variation. You can even see in the film that the tinkering never ends. Throughout the week, he was constantly altering patterns, sizes, and colors until we had it dialed in.”
Flylords: At the beginning of the film, the crew is catching a lot of good fish but not a true giant. What was going through everyone’s heads as the days were counting down?
Jack: “When you’re filming a fishing film, there’s always pressure to catch fish. After the first week, we caught some nice fish, but not the one we were after; the pressure absolutely started to mount. I questioned what the hell I was doing in a boat in the dark for nine hours every night. Is this worth it? Is this river overhyped? Should I go back to school and get a desk job? You begin thinking about the time, money, and effort this is all taking. Those thoughts got louder and louder with each unsuccessful night that passed.”
Flylords: Looking back, were there any fish that got away that the crew thought might have been true giants, and if so, tell us a little more about it.
Jack: “The first few nights, we were losing a lot of fish, but we believe that’s because they were small. Once we dialed in our tactics and switched up flies, we weeded those out. From then on, it seemed like every fish that ate and was hooked stayed hooked. That being said, there were absolutely some rolls and attempts to eat that sounded like boulders hitting the water…Hey, at least they let us know they’re around!”
Flylords: At the end of the film, Trevor finally hooks the giant you were after. Take us through what was going through your head from a filmmaker’s standpoint.
Jack: “When Trevor hooked that fish, it was absolutely the most surreal handful of minutes that I have been a part of on the water. I don’t think more than a few words were said by any of us during the whole fight. Our trip, film, and what felt like our lives were in Trevor’s hands! The initial moments of ‘Oh my God, it’s actually happening,’ to ‘Oh my God, he could lose this fish,’ to the most relieved and excited I’ve ever been when it hit the net. It was a top life moment for all of us, and the question of ‘did that really just happen?’ was repeated often as we passed a bottle around.”
Flylords: After night fishing for two weeks, how was it coming off the “night shift” and returning back to normal life?
Jack: “Surprisingly, adjusting after coming home wasn’t too bad. My internal alarm woke me up at 4:30 for about a week, but that was about it. That said, getting adjusted at the start was much tougher. Staying up all night for a moment’s notice to get the shot was definitely tricky.”
Flylords: At times, this trip seemed like a bit of a grind. Looking back, was the hype of the White River worth it?
Jack: “The fact that you have a chance at a fish of true trophy proportions, in my opinion, makes a trip to the White River worth it. But would I go down to mouse it? Absolutely not. I think that’s a one-and-done mission for me. That trip took years off my life.”
Flylords: What makes these giant White River brown trout so difficult to catch?
Jack: “The trickiest thing about the White River is one hundred percent its extreme fluctuations in flows from the dam. It’s a tailwater fishery, but unlike most Western trout rivers, flows can change in an instant. You could catch a fish at noon in a 10-foot pool, and at night, that same spot is now barely covered by water. We saw multiple boats stranded on the riverbed who had no choice but to wait for them to raise the water.”
Flylords: Who are some of the people who made this film possible? Any ‘Thank you’s” or dedications you want to make?
Jack: “I would like to give a huge thank you to Scientific Anglers for always backing us on our adventures and Stealthcraft Boats for making sure we get around on those adventurers. I also have to give a special thank you to Westly and Trevor. Without these two and their dedication, this film would not have been possible.
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