There just weren’t enough reasons to go.

Yes, I considered attending solely to record those golden, overripe moments which almost beg satirical coverage (watching fly fishing sycophants fawn over fly fishing celebrities might be worth the airfare alone).

And let’s not forget the endless feigned excitement (e.g. – not falling asleep) over yet another “innovation” or “revolutionary” product that’s just like all the “revolutionary” products that proceeded it.

All quality reasons for going.

Still, let’s be fair to the FFR show; the fly fishing gear thing has never floated the Underground’s drift boat all that high, suggesting I long ago reached that stage where I’m happy with the gear I’ve got.

(Age doesn’t necessarily make you smart, but the years helped me realize that everything I own comes with some costs attached, even if it’s just maintenance and storage.)

Finally, there’s the Underground’s financial returns vs time invested, which suggest a plane flight isn’t the smart course (especially with some big expenses headed the Underground’s way, which is me hinting at some big news coming my way).

Simply put, weighing the cost of flying to Denver against fly gear ennui and ghost-like revenues made the decision easier – along with the realization that staying home and fishing once or twice excites the mind more than trout-painted fly reels and $10 beers.

Still – in a rare (almost human) display of sensitivity – I admit I’ll miss seeing the friends I’ve made in prior shows, and already regret my inability to fawn over a few of my own fave celebrities.

I didn’t soil myself last year when I met Ted Leeson and Jim Babb or crossed paths with John Gierach, but I probably would have thrown up on their shoes if I’d stumbled on all three at once. Such is the additive power of literary fanboy sycophantism.

All is not lost, however. Many manufacturers have provided ample comedic fodder online press kits, and I’ll be perusing those for what we writers technically call “howlers.”

And amazingly enough, the Chuck Furimsky/AFFTA Chainsaw Death Match still rages quietly (at an admittedly subliminal level), and we’ll see some news on that.

Of course, if the Undergrounders have any suggestions or questions about specific news emanating from this year’s FFR, we’re perfectly happy to simply make up a news report for your reading pleasure (a tactic which affords us more creative freedom anyway).

See you not in Denver, Tom Chandler.

UPDATE: I’m still not going to attend, but think the idea above has merit; why be bound by facts and reality when – like the Wall Street Journal Editorial Department – I can just make up anything I want and report it here?  So stand by for (potentially) daily reports from FFR…

As I write this, the Feds are no doubt readying an 80% buyout of the Underground (I figure a billion or so would do it), and there’s only one fly in the ointment: Traffic figures sadly suggest we’re succeeding, rendering us ineligible for bundles of your tax dollars a bailout.

Damn.

Without any hope of gluttony at the government trough, I suppose all that’s left is to continue, and we’ll start with a few broader insights into the recently-concluded Fly Fishing Retailer Show.

(image courtesy Derek DeYoung/Canvasfish.com)

First, Yes, It Was Smaller

FFR is where manufacturers roll out their new trinkets, and retailers either froth at the mouth or simply yawn and move on. The show – small by most standards – saw growth last year, but for all the obvious reasons, it downsized a bit this year.

Fewer booths dotted the landscape, and someone suggested 14% fewer bodies wandered the hallways (since my body was 1.5% larger than last year, I bravely narrowed the gap for the industry just a bit).

What’s new?

First, The Juicy Gossip

For months, unhappy rumours have been circulating about Scott Rods, a company loved by many but plagued by mismanagement and an odd marketing focus.

Given my affection for their rods (I once said they were the bestest brand with the worstest marketing), I was relieved to hear the news was all good.

I stopped by the Scott booth (they rolled out their new A3 rods, proving once again they can pair numbers and letters in relatively uninteresting ways), and they were upfront about their issues and the recent reorganization.

The financial questions have been resolved, and they’re back on track (sigh of relief). In an interesting homage to transparency, they even sent a letter to that effect to their dealers.

Yay, Scott.

What About Last Year’s Underground Favorites?

Last year, a few exhibitors earned Underground favorite status, and visits to this year’s booths confirmed my Nostradamus-like powers of prescience. Simply put, they mostly scored:

Canvasfish.com

Last year, Derek DeYoung of Canvasfish.com was stuck out in the boonies – his marvelous, stylized oil paintings of trout visible only if you liked to walk. For Derek, 2008 was a good year.

His work appeared on the cover of Gray’s Sporting Journal and in a few other magazines, and life, as the artistic types sometimes say, is hopping. I plan to write a whole post about this guy later, but suffice it to say I like his work.

(image courtesy Derek DeYong/Canvasfish.com)

Flybook.com

Craig Langer’s FlyBook hosted online booking system for guides, outfitters and shops only had one customer after launching just prior to last year’s FFR show, but this year, he’s got 30 customers and is growing fast.

Compared to a flashy new fly rod, this isn’t sexy stuff – unless you’re a guide or outfitter who is chewing up all your personal fly fishing time doing menial, mind-numbing office work.

Langer’s online solution is elegant and affordable, and if you’re a guide, it deserves a look. And yes, it’s about time the fly fishing industry as a whole entered the 20th century (and yes, I’m aware it’s the 21st century…).

Lamson Konic Reel

Let’s face it; it’s not hard to make a good $350 fly reel – and there’s no shortage of the things in this industry – but being basically cheap, I’m more interested in the $100 reels that simply always work.

In the good old days, fly fishermen had the clunky-but-bombproof Pflueger Medalist; now the affordable end of the market is awash in a sea of reels produced overseas, many of which are wholly anonymous.

Last year, I pegged the Lamson Konic for “soon-to-be-a-sales legend” status, and I was right; the $120 reel with the $400 sealed drag assembly quickly became one of Lamson’s top sellers, and is credited with keeping Lamson’s growth streak alive – even in the grips of a recession.

The new Lamson Guru

Given my desire to surplus my very-loud LL Bean/Hardy Marquis currently holding all my 6wt lines, the Konic remains a top choice, though Lamson’s new machined Guru reel ($179 or so) and wholly redesigned Velocity also look interesting.

In short, Tommy likes.

This Year’s Themes: Green, and Video

This seems to be the year the fly fishing industry discovered the environment. Given the industry’s dependence on clean water and a healthy environment, that’s a fairly shocking statement.

In all fairness, a few companies have long been concerned with environmental issues (Patagonia, Orvis, Loon to name just a few), but by and large, it’s taken until now for “green” to become the new black.

In fact, “the green thing” largely overshadowed most of the product announcements at the show; all the seminars focused on environmental issues (several of the earlier sessions were sparsely attended).

As a result, there weren’t any seminars focuses on typical topics like online marketing, CRM, merchandising, etc, and for a show catering to retailers, that’s an odd reality.

For example, the biggest show buzz revolved around Simms’ announcement – apparently in conjunction with Trout Unlimited (the other, less-famous TU) – that it was doing away with felt wading soles by 2010.

This isn’t the simple deal it appears to be, so stay tuned for more.

Watching Fly Fishing Instead of Doing Fly Fishing

The other big trend would have to be the explosion in fly fishing adventure videos. They’re hot, and yes, everybody has one, and yes again, even the video geeks were scrambling to add a “green” element to their movies.

The AEG guys were making the rounds – rumor had them hurrying to get their steelhead epic out quickly on the heels of their Mongolia DVD – and several new filmaking faces could be found among the show’s booths.

The full-length, big dollar movie “Drift” by Confluence films (I have a review copy, and I’ll watch it soon) was premiered. Written by Drake publisher Tom Bie, it looks to be a little like AEG for the over-40 set. More after I see it.

Also, the unfortunately named “Fly Boys Fishing” were showcasing their new “Raising the Ghost” adventure video effort. They didn’t cough up a copy for review, but what I have seen of the video suggests adventure and fish porn in equal quantities.

Steve Apple of “Fishsizzle” fame – a quirky little movie that brought annoying fly fishing icon Al Braughtigan to life – showcased a trailer for his upcoming “Hustle & Fish” movie, which frankly looks pretty damn good.

Clearly artistic, but (so far) lacking the posturing, and yes – even a plot thrown in for good measure. More on this one just as soon as we get the teaser.

A few others were making the rounds, including a very interesting Bonefishing video by Charles Rangeley-Wilson.

As you can see, I’ve got a lot of watching to do.

What About Gear?

As you can also see, I’m over 1000 words and I haven’t even started the gear goodies. To do justice to the gear stuff, I’ll fire that post in a day or two.

In the meantime, I’ll whet your appetites with:

• Sage may have hit our funny bone with their Bluegill-specific fly rod, but reel manufacturers weren’t laughing at Sage’s new reels, which are impressive
• William Joseph’s magnetic closure – that’s said to be “one-handable” yet largely waterproof – also scored some buzz
• Also buzzworthy was Simms’ not-yet-released vibram rubber wading boot, though the backstory on this is very juicy indeed
• Patagonia updated its line, and managed to somehow make their industry-legend Patagonia SST jacket entirely recyclable
• Orvis extended their wildly successful Helios fly rod line with the Helios Ion small stream fly rods
• Hardy & Greys launched their revamped USA presence with a lot of impressive gear and a big booth

Stay tuned, Undergrounders – there’s more to come from the FFR show.

fly fishing, fishing, fly fishing retailer, ffr, fly fishing gear, fly rod, fly reel

Powered by ScribeFire.

Fly Fishing Retailer – as is always the case with trade shows – was more notable for the people than the products, though some of the products are pretty memorable too, and perhaps for reasons other than intended.

For example, Sage has apparently done so well with its “Bass” series of tournament-legal fly rods that it’s lovingly embracing the kind of species-specific marketing that has driven fly line manufacturers to develop approximately 1800 largely identical species-differentiated fly lines.

Undergrounders, we give you the Sage “Bluegill” fly rod:

Plus, I’ll finish up the “greening” of the fly fishing industry piece I hinted at in a prior post.

And yes, plenty more Fly Fishing Retailer news to come after I’ve sorted through the piles of literature at the Trout Underground/Man Cave World Headquarters.

See you on the plane, Tom Chandler.

fly fishing retailer, ffr, sage, sage fly rod, fly rod, sage bluegill

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m officially declaring an Underground Emergency.

Am I the only one who thinks “Working” Media is like “Jumbo” Shrimp?

Sadly, I’m camped in a Denver hotel room instead of wading the Upper Sacramento, so I can’t do what an Underground Emergency requires: immediately take up station near my home water (fly rod in hand), and await further instructions.

Life, it seems, is often dark.

Of course, it’s even darker when you’re running on 1.5 hours of sleep and voluntarily subjected yourself to airline travel, so I didn’t exactly arrive at Denver’s Convention Center all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. More like gummy and cranky.

Whaaa, morning already?

Still, as the poets remind us, every long journey begins with a single beer step, so after I quickly skimmed the show and spoke to the handful of folks from the prior year who hadn’t blotted me from their memories (or their show calendars), everything quickly became clear:

I was in trouble.

I was having difficulty understanding even simple, declarative sentences. And my normally razor-sharp journalist’s mind – ever alert for spin and manipulation – found itself kittenishly amused by brightly colored objects and tinselly things (much like the Washington Press Corp).

I thought the “EggiJuaneKenobi” was cute (it’s a sign of the Apocalypse)

Still, I did pick up a few gossipy tidbits circulating around the show, and given the obvious attraction for gossip among the general populace, I’m beginning today’s report with a juicy tidbit:

A highly placed source at Orvis confided they sold 3.5x as many Helios rods as expected (true), and that they were changing the name of the company from “Orvis” to “Helios” (false).

That’s me, collecting Orvis gossip.

Rest assured I’ll keep my ears peeled for more because gossip sells.

The Show Stuff

In a nutshell, here’s my first impressions of the show.

• There are fewer people circulating than last year, though the booth count doesn’t look too bad
• There are more fly reels available than at any time before in the history of mankind
• Everyone’s scrambling to be “green.” Some really are, some really aren’t.
• Adventure fly fishing video is taking off; everyone has one, including the companies using them to promote their business
• FFR is less elaborate than last year (which doesn’t bother me much at all)

Time to Smash & Grab

I’ve got to run back to the show for an early meeting, so the specific product stuff will have to wait. Still, I have time to hand out yesterday’s Underground “Smash & Grab” award – an honor inflicted upon the product I’d most want to stuff in my pants and sneak out of the hall.

Planning my escape exit strategy for today’s Smash & Grab

Normally it’s gear, but I haven’t scouted the gear too closely yet, so I’m awarding it instead to the latest issue of Fly Rod & Reel magazine, which ran:

• Another great Ted Williams essay where he scopes out the Davis Lake project and drops the hammer on “environmentalists” who get in the way of repairing the environment
• Its Robert Traver writing contest award winners
• A Gierach piece on BWOs – a subject I thought he’d done to death, but managed to do well yet again
• A short, smart piece on the Teton Dam project Buster regular by Bruce Smithhammer
• Lots more stuff like the above

Today’s the Big Show Day. You gearhounds can expect to see more of what you love.

See you at the show, Tom Chandler.

fly fishing, fishing, ffr, fly fishing retailer, orvis, fly rod and reel

I thought I’d create a photographic travelogue highlighting none other than… me:

Notice the rich, luxurious carpet. This ain’t Motel 6

On the shuttle in from the airport I passed the Wright-McGill/Eagle Claw building, and realized I still harbor a soft spot for Wright-McGill given their connection to Granger bamboo fly rod company.

Today, most all their gear is manufactured offshore, but the company’s still here – housed in a long, low brick building (that looks old enough to have once housed the Granger rod mill).

Sadly, my camera was buried in my luggage, else you lucky bastards you’d be looking at pictures of the Wright-McGill building and my feet in the shuttle bus.

Normally, outdoor “journalists” arrive at these things expecting to be fed, paid off and bribed in return for fawning, non-critical coverage, but I’m saddened to say I’ve been in town for more than an hour, and I have yet to experience a fawned-over moment.

This won’t do.

In fact, things have become so desperate, I’m being forced to go buy my own lunch before heading to the show (oh, the humanity).

See you at FFR, Tom Chandler.

fly fishing, fishing, ffr, fly fishing retailer, denver, wright-mcgill, fly rods

Still, I’m flying out early tomorrow for the Fly Fishing Retailer Show in Denver, and as always, you get first dibs on the  Underground’s latest travel nightmare unique take on the fly fishing industry.

I can already offer you one hint: Green is new Black in fly fishing. In fact, a glance at the educational sessions on the show schedule reveals 16 environmentally related seminars (most repeat), but zero marketing or online marketing sessions (there was one online marketing session last year).

“Sustainable” is the new watchword, but just how serious is the industry? I’ve got a few ideas, so stay tuned.

Gear Porn

I’ll also be looking at some of the new gear – with an eye for the interesting goodies from smaller companies, who typically lack PR firms (or much savvy).

And yes, I’ll visit the big hitters in a search for handouts, looking for the new and interesting.

And naturally, I’ll entertain suggestions from the Undergrounders: anything special you want covered?

See you on the show floor, Tom Chandler.

fly fishing gear, environment, sustainability, fly fishing industry, FFR

From Angling Trade:

According to Hutch Hutchinson, host of the Orvis/Angling Trade Helios Challenge “we’ll have an assortment of casting challenges and obstacles to simulate natural conditions and increase the challenge element.  This unique event isn’t just a great time, it also gives industry conservation efforts a significant boost of exposure.”

It sounds like fun – and yes, it’s an ideal venue for Orvis to introduce their rumoured new line of Helios “Ion” small stream fly rods (the “Ion” series wouldn’t be our first choice for a name, but it’s theirs, and they make way more money than we do, so…)

Like the Bend, OR course, the FFR installation is supposed to feature true-to-life casting problems, though frankly, the Underground wonders how “real” any indoor casting course could be.

After all, how do you simulate “real-life” stream moments like:

• In mid-cast, you realize you didn’t turn off the stove after heating that can of soup
• At dusk, hordes of bloodthirsty mosquitoes descend like the tiny winged hounds of hell, forcing you to cast with one hand while trying to prevent a reverse blood transfusion with the other
• You stayed up late the night before and drank too much; how do you simulate casting with a hangov… wait, it’s FFR, this one’s covered
• With a crowd watching from the far bank, you hook yourself on your own backcast in a part of your back you can’t reach; you have 20 seconds to solve the problem without anyone noticing

Of course, these are just a few real-life conditions I encounter every day, but I’m sure the Underground’s tail-looping hordes can add a few of their own.

How about it Undergrounders: what it would take to develop a truly realistic casting course?

Best suggestion wins a copy of Craig Ballenger’s not-lauded-nearly enough book: “Shasta’s Headwaters – an Angler’s Guide to the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers.”

Undergrounders, the contest floor is yours.

fly fishing, fly casting, casting competition, ffr, orvis, angling trade, booke giveaway

What does that mean to you – my lazy, shiftless valued readers?

It means this week’s posts (and the first half of next week’s – when I’m actually at the show) will focus on the industry more than the act, and naturally, it’s a theme that invites a lot of commentary from the Undergrounders.

After all, snarky comments about another’s guy’s casting style are liable to start a fight; snarky comments about the fly fishing industry are classified as focus group research.

(See the difference? One gets you beat up, the other makes you seem smart.)

For example, my piece about bamboo fly rod builders weathering the recession focused on a little-analyzed corner of the industry, and generated some thoughtful comments.

Waiting in the wings are a few thoughts about the future of fly fishing media, the Brownliner movement, new gear, and more.

Naturally, once I’m at the FFR show, expect the kind of outsider commentary that made last year’s coverage some of the highest-read stuff on the Underground.

Look for more soon – and get ready to fire up your Industry Pundit persona (expect a few polls too).

It’s time for the Undergrounders to save fly fishing from itself.

fly fishing, fly fishing retailer, ffr, fly fishing industry week