Posting From the FFR Retailer Show Floor: Send Lawyers, Guns & Money

There’s a trout painting I can get behind, by Derek DeYoung of Canvasfish.com

I’m stealing a few bytes of bandwidth from the Hyatt, and typing furiously before the Underground’s aging laptop battery goes fins up.

The first morning of the FFR Retailer show has been interesting to say the least; I’ve scribbled 2/3 a notebook full of notes, and probably not about the stuff you think I’m scribbling about.

In truth, the bigger companies get plenty of product hype spin coverage in the mainstream fly fishing media, and I’d rather hang around with the lesser-known — but possibly more interesting — smaller manufacturers around the periphery.

And while I don’t have the time (or the battery) to write the real reviews now, here’s what you have to look forward to:

Rod Daze

Let’s cut to the chase; there are more companies selling fly rods than people to buy them (maybe). In my buildup to a more comprehensive article on the resurgence in fiberglass fly rods, I spoke to Tom Dorsey at T&T (an interesting, high-energy, delightful guy).

His commitment to glass is admirable, and his Heirloom glass rods are gorgeous, wildly desirable things. The rumors of the company’s demise are also greatly exaggerated. Expect plenty more on this one.

I also stopped by the TL Johnson Rod Company and spoke to Terry Johnson, whose glass rods are really glass/graphite hybrids. I didn’t get a chance to cast one, but the tapers seemed reasonable, and the finish is impeccable.

A visit to Cortland/Diamondback didn’t exactly fill me with confidence about the future of the Diamondglass line; there weren’t any on display, and there was some waffling about the future of the rods.

I’m going to try and track down someone with a more definitive stance, but if you’ve ever coveted a Diamondglass (and they’re covet-worthy if you’re a glass-aholic), then maybe sooner is better than later when it comes to buying one.

Fiberglass Shocker of the Day

UPDATE: No glass in the Sage bass rods. Also, they’re coming paired with a Sage fly line.

I haven’t played with it yet, but apparently Sage rods — the same company that pushes new technology as the resolution of all your casting woes — is apparently coming out with a line of fiberglass bass-oriented fly rods.

More on this as I find it out.

Other Stuff

There’s too much to report here, but some of the highlights include the news that Saracione Reels are back in business selling a traditionally styled spey reel. Hot damn.

A stop by Kerry Burkheimer’s booth was seriously fun stuff, and he’s a custom rod builder that’s going to get some serious ink photons on the Underground.

Plus some book news and other cool stuff — and I’m getting a line on the Chuck Furimsky/AFFTA catfight over the conflicting fly fishing consumer shows here in Denver. I can sum that one up nicely: Send lawyers, guns and money.

Finally, in a dark corner of the hall I found Derek DeYoung hanging around — a young artist whose brightly colored trout paintings brought a smile to my face.

You can see more of them at canvasfish.com, and I’ll write more about him later.

Until then, see you in the aisles, Tom Chandler

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