Guest post by: Patrick Perry
Images by: Arian Stevens
To kick off the 2024 Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) Behind the Lens interview series, we head out to the Pacific Northwest to the remote Olympic Penisula. Steelhead guide Lael Paul Johnson takes us on an emotional journey through the Pacific Rainforest where he and his new friend Wesley find bliss through a winter steelheading trip.
Flylords was lucky enough to catch up with filmmaker Tyler Soares and star of the film Lael Paul Johnson, to learn more about what went into the making of this film. Check out the full interview below.
Flylords: Tell us about yourselves.
Lael: I am Captain Lael Paul Johnson, owner and guide for Fly Gyde, founder of the F•Y•S•H Foundation, photographer, fly tyer, writer, ambassador and above all, an obsessed steelhead fisherman. I’m originally from Topeka, Kansas where, after training in the army I left in my early 20s to travel the US as a surgical technologist and ended up in Seattle. I never left, and now I’m in my 10th year of living out a childhood dream of being a fishing guide in the Pacific Northwest.
Tyler: I’m originally from New Milford, Connecticut. The first time I picked up a camera was while catching pike with a buddy of mine after school. We were so addicted but had no business buying $7 Dardevle lures at the rate we were losing them. After college, I moved to Los Angeles with my now wife. Over the last 7 years, I’ve worked in tech/marketing, launching products, and building brands. Over the last 6 months, I’ve made the transition to freelance full-time, combining everything I love doing and working with brands I believe in.
Flylords: How did this film come to life?
Lael: What would you do if you had 15 minutes to show the world who you are? I’d asked myself that for a long time. What do you want to represent your legacy if you get your chance? Are you waiting for a chance, or will you make an opportunity? After sorting through those questions over the years, my goal was to help people catch fish, but more importantly, to open doors for other anglers who looked like me, or make it easier for them than it was for me. Getting my story out and spreading the mission of the F•Y•S•H Foundation was best done by showcasing what has helped me in a short film, ultimately hoping to help others. Here’s how it all went down:
The title “Visibility” is a perfect example of a double entendre – from a steelheaders perspective, "watervisibility" is the only thing that can stop us. The second definition of visibility for me, on top of being a steelheader, was asking: How do I become noticed and successful in a profession that typically has not been filled by anglers of color? How do I change that narrative so that I become the example? Those are two things I have been faced with my entire career, but I knew the only thing that could stop me is me, and not being able to show my gift to the world.
Tyler was originally one of my clients who booked a steelhead trip in February of 2022 for him and his now fiancé, Lex. On the trip, we hooked one good one, it came off, Tyler filmed a little and we had fun. After we pulled out the boat, I grabbed my rod and went back to the river for an after-work sesh. Tyler asked if he could go with me, and that moment meant a lot to me. He showed me he was really into this and wanted more, even after a challenging day. In my eyes, a steelheader baby was born!
As I was swinging, I told him more about myself and my plans for the year, and how I wanted to do this film project called “Visibility.” He then told me how he wanted to get into the outdoor industry as a filmmaker. Then, it was just two people opening up about future goals while standing in the water.
I chose Tyler to be the one who would eventually direct this project because he was so passionate and excited about steelheading when I first met him. Tyler has the drive to do whatever he sets his mind to, and that’s who I needed.
I can’t leave out the story’s connection to the F•Y•S•H Foundation. The F•Y•S•H Foundation is a non-profit I created with support from Ford’s Bronco Wild Fund to help others find better mental health through the transformative power of fishing and the outdoors. Without it, I don’t believe this project would resonate with so many people as it has. Understanding how fishing and the outdoors has helped me, it made me want to present that opportunity to others to help them too – regardless of their income, ability, or background. There was a need for this film. Partnering with an organization that aims to help people find that too just made sense.
Flylords: What was your most memorable moment in the production of the film?
Lael: On the second day of shooting, I was inches away from hooking into possibly the biggest steelhead I may have seen. It will have to be a creature of legend that I’ll chase for the rest of my life.
We’re on schedule, launching the boat in the dark, and I decided to take the boat across the river and swing a run I know holds fish that will play ball. All is going well, but it’s a pretty deep, challenging spot, so I’m locked in dredging, big shit! 14′ foot rod, Intermediate head, T-17, a fat Night Crawler, and a hook worthy of getting into “Walter.” I’m 3/4 of the way down, and I see a splash next to the fallen tree I’m swinging next to, and my heart beats fast! The cameras are on, so I just have to hook ’em. I got closer to the tree, and there was no more movement for about six or seven casts, but then something the size of a 25+ pound chinook broke the surface with a big splash, chasing my fly. It was a real HOLY #@!% type of moment that would have gone down as one of my greatest. That feeling epitomizes the excitement that steelheading can bring, with or without hooking a fish. When you are in that moment, the world disappears, and it’s just you, the forest, and the fish.
Tyler: Aside from Jimmy taking stand-up comedy breaks or eating his ramen noodles with pliers, I’ll never forget the morning of our final day. At 4:30am the guys were dumping boiling hot water to get ice off the boat. We pulled up to the river as the sun peeked over the mountains. We were awarded the most breathtaking panoramic view of snow covered trees and mountain tops. We just knew this was the day Lael would find what he was searching for. There was this silence in the air for the first hour, it was pure magic.
Flylords: Tell us about the production, camera gear, and the production crew.
Tyler: The entire film was shot handheld on the Sony FX3 with a 24-70 lens and a ton of batteries. I had to be nimble. The guys were mic’d up for a few scenes, but for the most part, the audio was from a Sennheiser MKE-600 shotgun mic via XLR, so I could have some audio control. I did everyone’s interview 1:1 apart from one another, so no one had a clue what the other had spoken about. I wanted it to be as organic as possible. Not an ounce of this film was fabricated. The only thing we had planned was a 4:30 AM wake-up call every day and flights back home.
If you'd like to catch F3T in your town, head over to the F3T UK schedule and book your ticket now!