Fly fishing shows

[Sean Juan 0]

Two of the more popular fly fishing shows in New England have been canceled for this winter. Taken as a percentage thats a huge reduction in an area where fly fishing is a fairly popular sport and has many "flavors" salt, trout, and warmwater all in a relatively small geographic area.

 

Just wanted to see if guys in other parts of the country/world are experiencing a similar trend.

 

 

[Redwings1 0]

Here in the Midwest the shows seem to be as strong as ever :dunno: There are very definitely different crowds for the shows based on the city in which they are located, but each shows seems to be doing pretty good despite the generally crappy weather during show season.

[Gregg A 0]

They seem to be on a regular schedule out here. But who has time to watch tv. Between work, tying for the swaps and trying to book rodeos for next summer, tv in a luxery right now.

 

Havent heard didley about the annual shows yet, starting to get a little worried if they arent advertised soon.

[Harold Ray 0]

I hope they are here to stay. I went to my first at the Conclave of the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers and had a blast, two solid days of watching nothing but fly tying and talking to great people. There were other things going, but I was doing what I wanted! This was in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

 

I am going to another three-day show at Mountain Home in March, The Sowbug Round-Up, 10th Anniversity Show.

 

There are going to be several other smaller ones in Texas and Louisiana over the next few months; I'm looking forward to them.

 

Ray

[Sean Juan 0]

I'm talking about the annual trade shows not television shows.

 

Here in Neew England two of the bigger three day shows have been cancelled - persumably because they are not viable.

 

I was curious if this was a trend or just isolated (the argument could be made that New England had too many shows). If this was a general trend I'd suspect that internet sales or perhaps even the general interest in fly fishing may have dropped off - that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

I look forward to the shows each winter - I especially enjoy the casting pool - but recently this seems to have been minimized. I remember when I was a kid they used to have competitions and stuff, now its mainly about moving product.

[Ephemerella 0]

I count at least 3 gone:

-The World of Flyfishing Show (FlyFishingUniversity) in Danbury, formerly in early January

-FlyFishingExpo in Wilmington, formerly in early March

-The Arts of the Angler (FlyFishingUniversity) in Danbury, formerly in mid November

 

The FlyFishingExpo has been running for many many years, a real shame to see it go. Lot of TU and FFF booths. I have noticed that in the past few years it has gotten smaller.

 

A few years back there used to be one in Providence RI, too.

 

Too bad, I like to see, handle, and buy materials there, especially odd stuff.

-E

 

[pcg 0]

Sean,

The usual monster fly fishing show is taking place in Marlboro, MA, this year (January 18 - 21). It's always packed to the gills, and has all the usual exhibitors. If you've never been, I recommend it highly. If you need more info about location, email me on the side...

[sandflyx 0]

Th whole fly fishing (hype) has dyed down somewhat..even shops have gone by the wayside. I've seen this happen before. Only the deadicated ones will be around. so the shows will drop along with the hype.

[Guest]

Is it possible there is so much information available on the internet that fly tyers and fly fishermen can satisfy their needs online without attending the shows?

 

 

Have a good one

Pat Carroll

[maddog48 0]

I used to go to a show in Worcester Ma when I was stationed in NH. That was the first week in February. Is that one still going on? There was one in Boston also that was cranking up as I was moving to Arkansas. The shows here are doing okay. The Sowbug Roundup seems to get bigger and better every year. :yahoo: It's billed as a celebration of fly tying and it's in March every year. Last year they had tyers walking up asking to get in to tie. They had to turn them away. They're talking this year about cutting down on vendors to make room for more tyers. I think one of the things that makes this show so successful is it's only a $5 admittance fee to get in to all three days of the event. Plus .. the majority if not all of the seminars are free. The Conclave held in Mountain Home seems to be getting smaller and smaller every year and one of the chief complaints heard is the admittance fee plus you have to pay for all seminars. It makes a big difference. Then I've been going to the Summer Expo over in Memphis. Good show and allot of fun.

 

 

 

Mike

[sandflyx 0]

cost is a big thing with me and some other people on fixed incomes...having to pay 14 bucks to get in each day and then pay for all the rest, seminars, food, and then try to buy materials, plus gas to go...I can stay home and order on line anymore..I like to see new things and see the tyers but the cost of going anymore cancels it. with the hype on steelheading you would think there would be a show near the gl'slike Buffalo...

[Robert_S 0]

I think what happens after a while is people start getting bored with seeing the same tyers doing the same patterns year after year. The materials you can get online at the same price so people figure that they will take the show price and other costs and put that money towards materials. The problem with getting new tyers is the cost to just be there. Unless your a real big name you don't get paid anything, and you have 3-4 days lodging to pay for, gas and you maybe loosing a day or two work that you won't get paid for.

[pcg 0]

Shows are good places, though, to see old friends--guides, salesmen, fellow fishermen. I've seen new products, great demos. The cost is minor--& common on: who can't pay $12-14 for such cheap entertainment? There's always a table with my local chapter of TA there, great charities, & usually 3 or 4 big name tyers. I met Norm Norlander there, which made a huge difference in my tying. Talleur taught me some cool caddis tying techniques one afternoon when everyone else was wandering elsewhere. There's always something new, & always something worthwhile. Don't let any of the "I can buy materials on the internet" discourage you from hitting your local show!

[Guest]

I ran across this and I thought it was appropriate for this topic. I would think if attendance is down then dropping the price to get in the door or make it free would bring people back. If people don't show up vendors quit paying the booth fees and the show would cease to exist.

 

http://www.snakerivercutthroats.com/expo_new.htm

[pcg 0]

And there have been a number of inquiries about shows in Massachusetts. This is the web site for the MArlboro show in January:

 

http://www.flyfishingshow.com/marlborough/

 

($14/head under you're under 12, then $2)