It is an adaptation of the 1983 Sierra Club novel of the same name by David James Duncan[1] and stars Zach Gilford, William Hurt and Amber Heard.

The coming-of-age tale centers on a young man named Augustine "Gus" Orviston (Zach Gilford) and his quest for an elusive Rainbow Trout, which is a metaphor for his internal search for self-knowledge.

Gus and his quiet, younger brother are audience to his parents; avid fishermen whom cannot seem to find an agreement over their separate loves of bait and fly fishing.

After briefly glimpsing Eddy at a fishing exhibition and her passionate argument to save Oregon rivers, restless Gus has had enough of conforming to a life he doesn't feel he is fit for.

This boils over when Gus takes a day trip in his canoe and finds the body of a man deemed missing by the papers a few weeks earlier who has died while fly fishing.

Things begin to look up for Gus as he teaches the neighborhood children to fish and sells handmade flies and rods to support himself.

Soon after, when a chance encounter with a beginner fly-fisherman turns into an impromptu newspaper interview with a well-known local journalist, Gus finds a way to promote his tackle shop and get in contact with Eddy by releasing his location and letting "the young woman who left her fishing pole and trout with him" know that it's available at any time.

[citation needed] In June 2008, actors William Hurt and Amber Heard joined the cast; filming began in Portland, Oregon in July 2008.