William Hurt wanted to play the role of Paul McCullen. He also fished in Montana with the novelist Norman McCallen. When Hurt asked McCullin if he fished well enough and whether he could play his brother, McCullin jokingly replied that William Hurt fished well, but he was almost his brother.
The salmon in the film was raised in a pond in Montana. Before they appeared on the scene, they were put into a car with a large sink and given special ventilation. In fact, no hooks were used in the shooting, and the fish did not bleed. Under the supervision of the Montana humanitarian organization, each fish’s jaw was tied with a thin line.
Before the filming started, no actor had any fly fishing experience.
Although Edie McClurg played Stephen Shellen's mother, in fact Edie was only six years older than Stephen.
Robert Redford has been devoted to Norman McCallen, and finally got the right to film his autobiographical novel
.
