In this Week’s Video of the Week, we head down to the Caribbean with Austin Kane and Chris Frieberg in their newest short film; Bonefish Camp. From epic sight fishing on hard bottom flats to inshore wade fishing for Tarpon the crew got into some unbelievable fishing. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Austin and Chris to learn more about this adventure and what made the trip so special. Enjoy.
Flylords: First off wanted to say congrats on an awesome film and adventure. How did this film come to creation?
Chris & Austin: We were College roommates and after college, we were kinda doing our own things. Eventually, I got into the camera world a year ago I was looking for cool stuff to film to build out my portfolio. I knew Austin was doing this fishing thing around the world and we had talked about linking up and filming it. This adventure just made sense for me since it was on this side of the world and Austin had been doing this DIY bonefish camp for years.
Flylords: Austin how did you get into doing these remote DIY adventures? And how did you discover this amazing bonefish fishery?
Chris & Austin: Boots on the ground really. I found this place years and years ago when I was looking for places to take my first big-boy vacation when I was in investment banking. I had a week of PTO in my first 6 months and it was a use-it-or-lose-it policy. At the time I had a girlfriend who didn’t like flying small planes so I searched for a place with a good airport and ferry access that could get us out to the more remote outer islands. It was a pretty unique trip but the fishing is incredible and it’s kept coming back every year. There are so many cool and fishy places in the Caribbean but it’s fun to have some emotional ties to this place.
Flylords: The house you guys stayed in looked like it could tell some amazing stories. How did you find a stand-alone beach house with fishing access?
Chris & Austin: Boots on the ground as well haha. Met a couple of people and had some conversations and finally became close enough with this guy to ask if we could rent his house. It’s exactly what it looks like, It’s pretty rustic and isn’t for everyone.” “From a filming perspective, the house was perfect. It was beautiful and natural, it had this tropical yet rundown feel to it that made the film feel a lot more gritty. It also just had a ton of nautical knickknacks and random stuff around the house that washed up on the beach.
Flylords: Wade fishing for Tarpon is rarely seen. The whole environment and scenario look super unique. How did you stumble upon this tarpon fishery?
Chris & Austin: The tarpon fishing has been a labor of love. There seems to be a lot of variables with the Tarpon. I think much of it is driven by rainfall, not tidal or seasonal as one would think. The odd correlation that we found is if the mosquitos are bad from the rain then the tarpon fishing should be pretty good. It’s something I like to check every year to start to build an understanding of why the fish are or aren’t there. But to be able to sight fish tarpon on foot on firm bottom is pretty unbelievable. It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had in fly fishing. I think of it like Quail hunting. We walk as a group and call out shots to each other. It’s Unreal.
Flylords: Austin as you travel the world looking for new fly-fishing zones and guidable expeditions what do you find yourself liking more; Type 2 Fun Adventure or Fishing?
Chris & Austin: Type 2 fun adventure. I want to go do some messed up stuff and then catch a big fish at the end. The lodge stuff is boring. It’s fun, but hell, let’s get into birding at that point. When you do a lodge trip there’s nothing forcing you to make a decision, you don’t come back physically and mentally banged up like you do with most of my trips. That is what makes a trip memorable for me at least.
Flylords: To wrap things up, what an awesome DIY experience. Austin how can people get ahold of you to go on more expeditions like this one? What other experiences do you offer?
Chris & Austin: Through my website or my email is the best. There’s a variety of expeditions on the site but we’ve got a couple of different on-foot saltwater trips ranging in experience level. Grand-Slam Camp seems to be the friendliest trip, Bonefish Camp tends to deal with more wind, and then we have the PHD level stuff with Djibouti targeting Triggerfish and Giant Trevally. But we’re really excited about our expeditions to Indonesia targeting Red Kaloi and Mahseer. That stuff is unbelievable and it’s an adventure, to say the least. My goal with Kaniak Expeditions is for people to join a trip and make it more effective and more cost-effective than doing it on your own.
Flylords: Did you guys have an idea of how you wanted the story to play out or did the story play out in the post-production after the trip?
Chris & Austin: I knew I wanted to create a documentary-style film so it’s not scripted by any means. I wanted to capture some big catches on camera, the camaraderie of the group, and the beautiful natural scenery around us on this remote island. It’s kind of the classics you want for filming a fishing trip but day to day it was me trying to figure out where we were going and what was involved each day. What kind of gear do I need to bring? What is the ground going to be like? Am I going to be sinking in sand up to my knees? It was super grueling from a filming perspective but super fun to adapt and continue to think ahead of the group while they were working a zone. After the trip, it took about 3 months just to sort through all the footage where the story of the film made sense to me.
Flylords: What’s next? For both of you? Is there another project in the works?
Chris: We’d like to make something else work, it’s just a matter of resources, location, and timing but I don’t think this will be the last trip of Austin’s I’ll film.
Austin: The goal with this project is to get eyeballs on the project and on the type of trips we do to see if people are interested in these stories. We’d love to get another project in the works, It’s just as Chris said though it’s a matter of location, timing, & resources. Gavin, Hal, & Connor were so fun to fish with I would like to get them on another trip as well.
Flylords: Chris we always like to ask, since we are all gear-based people, what was your go-to camera setup for this trip and what trick or tip do you have for shooting in an environment like the flats?
Chris & Austin: Gear wise I brought way more than I should’ve. I brought more gear than clothes. I ended up just recycling my old shirts. I had two Sony full-frame cameras, I thought of bringing a cinema-style camera but I’m glad I didn’t cause I needed as slimmed down of a gear pack as possible. What I learned quickly out there is that less is more. The first day I went out there with a rigged camera and a cage. But with the nature of the trip and how we were kayaking out to these zones, I decided on a camera with a shotgun mic and a medium and a long lens. With this being my first fishing videography project I’m proud of how this project turned out. I think the edit ended up a lot stronger than I anticipated and through this project I found the joy of fishing. I didn’t come from a fishing background, but I was able to understand it and it was an awesome experience to build my skillset and step into someone else’s world.
Flylords: We always like to ask people after their trip if there is a favorite moment from the trip?
Chris & Austin: I think our favorite moment was being able to reconnect with each other. We were college roommates for two and half years and after college, Chris was a professional musician and my life was all about fishing. It was tough for us to keep in touch and our way of seeing each other was when I was able to go to one of his shows. And now that he has started a new chapter in videography and photography it’s allowed us to reconnect and to get him involved in this aspect of my life means a ton. Being able to work on this project together after being friends since we were 18 is really rewarding and super stoked that we were able to make this happen. All in all, I think this project is a great testament to staying in touch with old friends.
Thanks so much for reading. And a huge thank you to Austin, Chris, John, and the rest of the crew on this project for sitting down with us for the interview. Go follow their pages and be sure to check out KankiakExpeitions.com
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