With chainsaw death matches so rare in this industry, frankly, it’s been huge fun.

First AFFTA fired a shot across “The Fly Fishing Show” owner Chuck Furimsky’s bow when they went head-to-head with his Denver consumer show.

That worked about as well expected (#fail), and I thought the matter was settled (#fail X2).

For example, the remnants of AFFTA’s failed consumer show combined with the ISE show, and this year, they’re again going to compete directly (on the same weekend) with Furimky’s Denver show.

AFFTA, apparently, are slow learners.

Now it’s become clear AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Retailer (dealer) show is staggering.

Despite sizable amounts of industry cheerleading (and you know who you are), staying awake through the Fly Fishing Retailer show the last three years has generally required large doses of powerful, illegal stimulants.

In fact, for months now, speculation was rife the ailing FFR show would be combined with the sizable Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, and when the AFFTA Board of Directors voted that idea down, most of us wondered exactly what the hell they had in mind.

Turns out, nothing (at least if we read our press releases correctly).

Adding to the general hilarity, Furimsky clearly hasn’t forgotten the direct assault on his Denver show, and he’s proposing a Florida-based dealer trade show, touting the location’s lower cost.

Now it appears that Nielsen Media – the company that owned and operated the FFR show in the past – may be moving in for the kill.

Simply put, there’s blood in the water, Undergrounders (and we know what that means).

First, AFFTA issued a painfully long-winded press release explaining why they rejected the Outdoor Retailer show option (Warning: powerful stimulants may also be needed to read the following, which sadly includes the phrase “thinking outside the box”):

LOUISVILLE, COLORADO. Since April, 2009, AFFTA has been in discussions with Nielsen Business Media, owner of the FlyFishing Retailer Expo (FFR) to determine how to improve upon future FFR shows. Nielsen shared AFFTA’s desire to improve upon the design and production of future FFR shows.

Thinking outside the box, as the owner of the Outdoor Retailer Show (OR), Nielsen offered to create a “show within a show” by combining FFR with the 2010 Summer OR Show in Salt Lake City. David Loechner, Nielsen Sr. V.P., delivered the “show within a show” proposal to the AFFTA Board at their meeting in September.

According to AFFTA Chairman, Alan Gnann, “When the Outdoor Retailer proposal was first brought to the AFFTA Board’s attention, the Board was interested in the opportunities this combination offered. The thought of having our show within a show the size and caliber of OR was initially felt to be a reasonably good fit.”

Unfortunately, when the AFFTA Board received the final floor space proposal from Nielsen, the total space allocated to the fly fishing industry was grossly insufficient; the separate space to create the “show within a show” concept was not offered nor was space allocated for indoor casting ponds. In addition, many AFFTA members stated that the timing of the OR Show was not a good fit for the fly fishing industry. Therefore, citing these deficiencies, the AFFTA Board of Directors rejected Nielsen’s proposal.

Immediately after the AFFTA Board voted to reject Nielsen’s Outdoor Retailer proposal, AFFTA and Nielsen engaged in good-faith negotiations to allow AFFTA the opportunity to acquire the rights and licenses to the FFR show. Unfortunately, these negotiations were unsuccessful and AFFTA asked Nielsen to either produce a 2010 FFR show or terminate the agreement.

According to Gnann, “Nielsen and their predecessors have been great partners and collaborators for many years. Prior to the downturn in the economy, trade shows nationwide were generally profitable and well attended. However, the current economic climate dictates that AFFTA and Nielsen pursue a different business model. Therefore, as of November 30, 2009, Nielsen released AFFTA from its show production contract. It is now time for AFFTA to move on and determine its next course of action.”

“Since April, the Board of Directors has been working diligently with Nielsen to consider a wide range of options and combinations for FFR,” said AFFTA President Gary Berlin. “Because of confidentiality and non-compete provisions in the Nielsen agreement, the AFFTA Board has been unable to notify the industry of the on-going discussions or issue a press release on the status of the show. Now that AFFTA and Nielsen are no longer contractually obligated, the AFFTA Board is considering multiple options for a 2010 fly fishing industry trade show, including hosting a standalone show or combining with an existing show.”

Berlin promises to keep the fly fishing industry up-to-date on AFFTA’s plans for a 2010 fly fishing industry trade show.

Sure, it’s whiny. Sure, it’s clear AFFTA is lost, and like men everywhere, they’re refusing to stop and ask for directions.

And yes, am I the only person in the whole industry amused by the thought that AFFTA will keep us “up-to-date” on their plans for next year’s trade show?

(AFFTA is to fly fishing bloggers what Dan Quayle was to comedians – a dependable source of material.)

Blood in the Water, Fins On The Surface

Meanwhile, Furimsky’s dealer show is still on the table.

And yes – based on an email received from Outdoor Retailer’s PR agency – we can now plainly see a shark’s fin (a rare Nielsen’s shark) as it knifes through the water, heading directly for AFFTA’s leaking, dangerously overloaded lifeboat.

First, SOAR Communication’s Maura Lansford opens fire with:

In the letter, Haroutunian invites members of the fly fishing industry to join Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in 2010, as the FlyFishing Retailer Show will no longer take place in its current format. The conclusion that the fly fishing industry cannot sustain a stand-alone event in the current marketplace follows months of discussions with members of the fly fishing industry.

As part of its Summer Market event, Outdoor Retailer has offered to provide a new venue and demo experience for FlyFishing Retailer participants, along with an opportunity to grow the fly fishing category into other segments in the outdoor recreation market.

The in the press release portion of the email, former FFR show director (and current Outdoor Retailer show director) Kenji Haroutunian lights ‘em up with:

Fly Fishing Industry and Outdoor Retailer to Join Forces in 2010
From our 30 years of experience producing scores of specialty-sports tradeshows including 11 years producing FlyFishing Retailer, it is clear that the fly fishing marketplace will be better served now and in the future by expanding its reach to include the overall outdoor specialty marketplace. We are convinced that the best opportunity to grow as a market, and build on the core strength inherent in the fly fishing market, is to be connected to a larger collection of relevant businesses at Outdoor Retailer. Therefore, the entire fly fishing industry is invited to join Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Trade Show in 2010 as the FlyFishing Retailer Trade Expo will no longer be held in Denver

A Winning Opportunity
More than 25 percent of FlyFishing Retailer companies already exhibit at Outdoor Retailer, and those that haven’t are now invited to participate in the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2010 Trade Show. For more than 27 years Outdoor Retailer has provided a specialty wholesale watersports culture that thrives on a national and international level. At OR, consistently more than 20,000 professional participants advance the sales process not only in their own category but across multiple lifestyle segments within the overall specialty outdoor market. Please visit www.outdoorretailer.com now for more information about participating in Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

Ahh, my Undergrounders – it’s the classic “boy meets girl, boy loses girl” love story. Only with trade shows. (See how we make this stuff clear for you?)

First Nielsen sends AFFTA on its merry way, then circles back and does the trade show equivalent of hitting on the attractive women in the group, suggesting they come over to Nielsen’s place for margaritas and chips while leaving their useless, beer-swilling, farting boyfriends behind.

Given AFFTA’s track record, I’d book a flight for Salt Lake City.

***UPDATE: Angling Trade (industry blog) says AFFTA sources have said there will be an “AFFTA-endorsed trade show sometime in 2010.”

That’s not the same as saying it will be standalone fly fishing show, though you’d assume that would be AFFTA’s goal.

The site also revealed AFFTA revenues and attendance figures from the last few years of FFR:

According to sources, gross income for the 2009 event was somewhere @ $460,000, in 2007, gross income was over $700,000… exhibitor numbers went from 234 in 2007 to 146 in 2009

Note that these are “gross” numbers – not net. It’s not clear to us if Nielsen was losing money on the show, but a 1/3 decline in exhibitors speaks volumes about the shows viability in its current state.

Oddly, the Underground’s newest tax deduction isn’t the only thing kicking, whining and soiling itself; it appears the AFFTA Board – when faced by the grim reality of a Fly Fishing Retailer show in steep decline – made An Important Decision.

They just don’t want to tell us what it is yet.

Oh.

The Seamy Background

Despite a great deal of industry cheerleading leading up to this year’s Fly Fishing Retailer Show (and a fair amount of post-event gushing by a few), it seems the FFR show is indeed struggling.

Wicked Outdoorsy posted this somewhat damming article on their blog, suggesting that something needs to change.

With the vendor list shrinking from almost 200 to 150 since 2008, it’s clear that things aren’t all peachy in FFR land, and in fact, industry 800 pound gorilla Orvis didn’t even appear at FFR until the last minute, apparently reversing a decision to skip the show.

The owner of one of fly fishing’s major retail sites told the Underground he rarely attends FFR since manufacturers and reps bring everything to his buyers, often long before the public sees them, so FFR offers little value beyond the networking.

Then there’s the elephant in the room; are anglers increasingly turning to online sources for gear, and if so, what affect is that having on traditionally fly fishing retailers – the FFR show’s primary target group?

What’s Going to Happen Next?

With FFR facing the double whammy of a recession and what appears to be a general decline in interest, what’s a fly fishing trade organization to do?

One possibility is a show that hits different regions every year, and another obvious idea is to fold the fading FFR show into the sizable Outdoor Retailers show in Salt Lake City.

Indeed, that’s the course favored by Moldy Chum (one of the Chum team works for Patagonia, and attends both shows), and Moldy didn’t seem all that happy when he learned the AFFTA Board had met and ruled out folding FFR into the Outdoor Retailer show.

The discussion in the comments section beneath the Wicked Outdoorsy post covers this possibility, and in fact, the director of both shows weighs in with good information.

The AFFTA Board apparently didn’t agree (as per this post from Angling Trade), though it seems as if they’re not going to tell us why until the end of the month.

One hopes they’ve got a plan, but then again, this is the same group that thought it was a good idea to go head-to-head with Chuck Furimsky’s Fly Fishing Show in the consumer show arena, and got their fingers burned.

Furimsky – who still hasn’t forgotten what AFFTA tried to do – is pitching an idea for a dealer show of his own, though this one would be held in Orlando (taking advantage of cheap airfares, lodging, etc).

Given the enmity between Furimsky and AFFTA, we can safely assume Furimsky would have to go it alone with a dealer show, and that he’d be fighting AFFTA for their own members.

Outdoor Retailer Plan a Boon, or a Bust?

While we already know the AFFTA Board voted against joining the Outdoor Retailer show (we just don’t know why, or what’s going to happen instead), I doubt this idea is going away anytime soon.

After all, a little cross-pollination with the outdoorsy set wouldn’t do fly fishing any harm; it’s a sport that’s in danger of erecting a wall around itself (witness the 8% increase in fishing license sales, yet the slow decline in the number of fly fishermen).

Still, would fly fishing simply get lost in the OR show (as some suggest), or is it about time the sport lost its isolationist tendencies (don’t pretend they don’t exist) and joined the rest of the outdoor world?

The Undergrounders Weigh In

This is what’s cool about the Underground – I let my readers do all the heavy lifting. Sure, I’m a brilliant writer who occasionally posts bikini pictures, but in truth, I actually ask my drunken barely conscious slacker readers what they think, and then ignore you when you answer.

It’s crowdsourcing at its finest, so I put the question to the the Undergrounders:

Should FFR try to go it alone? Should it stay Denver? Or should it fold itself under the massive wing of Outdoor Retailer, and hope all the outdoor jocks decide to give the sport a try?

We ask, you answer…

See you in the comments section, Tom Chandler.

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…

After all, REI stores feature climbing walls, Bass Pro Shops features huge fish tanks, and we’ve already mentioned Orvis’ “sporting clays” style casting course.

Soon, we’ll have another fly fishing industry entrant into the fray: San Francisco’s Leland Outfitters – already a very active online marketer – is opening a “fly fishing ranch” in Sonoma, complete with retail store, casting ponds, mini-stream, and a few other goodies [ed: The article isn't clear, but the ranch appears the ranch is a pay-to-play site, which we could have guessed, but didn't]:

sonomanews.com > News > Sports

Lots of work remains to be done on the rest of the ranch, but Leland staffer and local resident Eddie Schoenbin gave me a tour this week. It will be a real fly-fishers’ dream spot when completed, including casting ponds (with trout in them), a little stream in between the ponds, a meeting and seminar space and other amenities. No specific date has been set yet for the shop opening, but watch this newspaper for an official announcement. By the way, the ranch is not open for visitors, and there’s lots of work going on, so it is best to wait until they announce the opening before heading out there.

It appears to be a gutsy move in a tough economy (though it’s likely all this was planned long before the economy did a startling imitation of platform diving into a glass of water). And lest we forget, a major fraction of the fly fishing world’s revenues are spent in large, metropolitan areas.

Orvis rolled out its Bend retail store and casting course with a pretty serious media party (the Underground was invited, but had to attend a class that weekend, which suggests responsible behavior is hugely overrated), yet it’s probably too soon to get a clear sense of the casting course’s usage and effect on the retail side of the equation.

So what do the Undergrounders think? Will fly shops soon require an “attraction” to remain viable in competitive metropolitan markets – and in the face of competition from lavish big box retailers? Are you more likely to buy from Leland’s retail shop in Sonoma because of the amenities (casting pond, etc).

Undergrounders, the floor is yours.

fly fishing, fishing, fly fishing retailer, leland outfitters

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

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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

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