This week we had the chance to sit down with Daniel Massingale, Landon Brasseur, and Andrew McNeece about Bluff Line Media’s latest film, A Cure for Cabin Fever. We interviewed them about fishing tactics, public water vs. private water, and future plans.
FlyLords: How did the idea for this film come about?
Daniel: At first it was more of a shot in the dark idea. I contacted Andrew with the idea of doing a film here in North Georgia with big trout. He was in, and was able to make the trip over New Year’s break. We had a blast filming over the course of a few days and fortunately the fish cooperated. It ended up being an awesome experience!
FlyLords: What tactics were working best to catch these fish?
Landon: I was euro nymphing majority of the time while I was down in Blue Ridge. My rig was a 10’6” 3wt Moonshine Vesper, I ran a Dunnigans Panty Dropper as my point fly and a Catskills Cannonball on the tag. This rig was what I used 90% of the time while I was down there. I looked at it this way. I wanted to throw flies that I figured these Georgia beasts hadn’t ever seen. There wasn’t a lot of pocket water like I was used to fishing but the water was small, the lack of indicator I also believe helped with not spooking any fish.
FlyLords: It looks like this was filmed on private water, what can people expect from the public water in Blue Ridge? How does public vs. private water compare up there?
Daniel: Public water offers a lot of opportunities here in the Blue Ridge area. The chance of a monster is very likely. Though not as common, it’s not strange to hear about 20+” fish coming from the Toccoa River on public access points. The one huge benefit of private water is there is no competition for spots to fish. The habitat is way more managed which makes the chance of catching a bigger fish more likely.
FlyLords: What was the most memorable moment/catch of the trip?
Landon: It’s hard to pick just one memory from this trip. We had such a good time and the people I met were all pretty much unforgettable. One stand out moment to me was sitting on the bank watching this palomino trout feeding. Daniel tells me no one can catch this thing. It was incredibly picky, I watched a couple guys cast a few times and it would just swim out of the way. I put on the most obscure nymph in my box, took a cast and it was on! A size 18 “Perdi-john” gets’em every time!
FlyLords: What’s next for Bluff Line Media?
Andrew: Of course, the pandemic has slowed things down a bit. I hope to meet up with Daniel Roberts, an outstanding angler from Fayetteville, AR, in the next few weeks for episode seven of Ozarks on the Fly, so look out for that. Also in the works is a full-length documentary on the Buffalo National River. I’ve teamed up with Jeff Rose and Arkansas Tourism for this one, and though we are delayed at the moment, I think we’ll be ready to release it next year. The Buffalo is America’s first National River and located in the most rugged region of the Boston Mountains in Arkansas. The documentary will feature a lot of outdoor recreation variety. One outing being a backcountry float in the lower 30-mile wilderness where we’ll be casting for native Ozark smallies like gangbusters! Regarding A Cure for Cabin Fever, big thanks to Daniel and the guys from On the Fly Excursions and Moonshine Rods for having me over. You can also see it in the upcoming Fly Fishing Showcase online film fest in June!
