Telling Tarpon Tales: Jesse Males and the Story of Casa Mar Lodge
With : backwaterflyfishing
We caught up with Jesse Males, a fly fishing guide turned filmmaker, to talk about his latest project, New Beginnings. Jesse started in Costa Rica, picked up a camera to promote his guiding business, and never looked back. His latest film dives deep into the legendary Casa Mar Lodge, the legacy of Peter Gorinsky, and the fight to preserve one of the most historic tarpon fisheries in the world.
How did you first get into fly fishing, Jesse, and how has that passion evolved into filmmaking?
I have loved fishing since I was about three years old but I first got interested in fly fishing when I was ten. Despite not being a big fly angler my dad had a fly rod in the garage and a few VHS tapes of people catching salmon and trout and such. He taught me how to cast in the backyard way back then, however, it wasn’t until 2011 when I graduated from college and really began to take it seriously. Filmmaking for me came about a few years after I started guiding. I was living in Costa Rica and my friends and I needed a way to promote our guiding business so I agreed to pick up the camera and give photo/video a go. I have always been creative and into art so once I started to figure it out I dove in head first. Now it is all I do during my calendar year. Guiding has taken a back seat to media at this point.
What inspired you to tell the story of Casa Mar Lodge?
I oddly enough ended up living about 500 meters from Peter Gorinsky in Costa Rica. After I was there for a few years my name had gotten around in the small but fast-growing fly fishing community. Some mutual friends of ours introduced us and I began to listen to Peter tell me all the stories of that place. Once I went and saw the fishery for myself I knew I had to document it. The first big project I tried to make was the Legend of Casa Mar back in 2021. The film won some awards and since then I have done my best to grow as a filmmaker and content creator.
Working with Chico Fernandez and Dan Blanton must have been incredible. How did their stories shape the narrative of the film?
Working with Dan Blanton and Chico Fernandez is a dream come true for me. Both of them are people that I had heard so much about and certainly look up to. Having them contribute to the project was huge. Sadly Peter Gorinsky passed away during the making of the film so their interviews really helped piece the story together. Peter’s interview sequences are from my original interview with him back in 2020. They just happen to carry the perfect narrative arc for what the new film needed.
Peter Gorinsky’s passing added an emotional weight to the film. How did his legacy and CRAFF’s work influence the direction of the project.
I knew from the beginning what the story was and how it needed to be Peter passing the torch to Costa Rica’s next generation. This is the only way to preserve that fishery and it is the “new beginning” that the area needs. CRAFF is the perfect organization to help facilitate that momentum in the community.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while filming in Barra Colorado Region, both on and off the water?
The biggest challenge in working on a project like this completely solo is having to do both photography and videography at the same time. Knowing what video clips are needed and what photos are needed is important. Then knowing when to pick up each camera when hooked up on a fish or capturing boat running is all a massive challenge. Unfortunately you can’t take photos and video at the same time, hahaha.
The conservation message is central to the film. Jesse, how do you hope “New Beginnings” will inspire viewers to take action for fisheries like Barra Colorado?
The conservation of Barra Colorado has to take place by the Costa Rican community directly. There isn’t much people can do from the outside except donate to CRAFF via their website. That is the best thing at this time. Everything in latin America takes both TIME and MONEY.
As both the filmmaker and producer, what was the most rewarding part of bringing “New Beginnings” to life for the 2025 International Fly Fishing Film Festival?
As I eluded to above, working on a project like this solo is very difficult. Like the first film, The Legend of Casa Mar, I sought no sponsors of the film. This was a story that I knew had to be told and is certainly one of the most important pieces of fly fishing history we have today. That place single-handedly gave saltwater fly fishing a place to rigorously test rods, reels, and line like no other place. All the greats used to fish it and they all said it was the most exhilarating tarpon fishery in the world. So, the rewarding part is knowing that I told the story in a truly organic way that could only be told by someone close to the story like I was.
