Can ‘Mending The Line’ be a boost for fly fishing?

Can ‘Mending The Line’ do for fly fishing what ‘A Rivers Runs Through It’ did more than 30 years ago?

The new low budget movie went to number one on the list of the most popular films on Netflix, topping favourites like ‘Irish Wish’, ‘Damsel’ and ‘Shirley’.

Played out against breathtaking scenery, ‘Mending The Line’ tells the moving story of two war veterans brought together by fly fishing – Ike Fletcher played by Brian Cox and John Colter played by Sinqua Walls (main picture).

In teaching the injured Walls how to fly fish, Fletcher tries to convey that it’s not catching fish that is important, but the therapeutic values that can help with recovery.

The friendship that develops between the two men becomes mutually healing for both of them. The emotional pain endured by these wounded warriors is a tough watch at times, climaxing in a poignant scene where Fletcher puts their shared trauma into words.

‘A River Runs Through It’, starring Brad Pitt and directed by Robert Redford, was released in 1992 and prompted a boom in fly fishing. Now the fly fishing industry is hoping that ‘Mending The Line’ will have a similar impact.