And in truth, the conflict between the two has subsided into a kind of trade show cold war – both sides maneuvering quietly for small victories instead of trying to decimate the bad guys in one fell swoop.

The Undergrounders who haven’t burned their memories away via too much drug use will recall last year’s dust-up between the Fly Fishing Show and the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA), where AFFTA took direct aim at Furimsky by hosting a competing Denver show on the very same weekend.

As we noted in prior posts, AFFTA didn’t exactly win the war, and with the departure of AFFTA director Robert Ramsay, it seemed as if the matter was settled.

Instead of going quietly, AFFTA tried again – this time forming a new alliance with the International Sportsmen’s Exposition (ISE).

ISE’s popular series of sportsmen’s shows appear all over the country, but their participation in the fly fishing segment of the industry has faded over the last few years, in part because the Fly Fishing Show’s fly fishing specific focus.

Still, AFFTA pounced on an alliance with ISE like a big trout pounces on sculpins, and several AFFTA member companies will be appearing at the two AFFTA-supported ISE shows with significant fly fishing participation (San Mateo & Denver).

ISE and AFFTA will also be hosting a “Discover Fly Fishing” booth, and a side-by-side comparison of seminars suggests the celebrity wars are running about even.

A glance at the exhibitor lists suggests Furimsky’s Fly Fishing Show enjoys considerable grass roots support (I received emails from several small businesses who supported Furimsky’s show after prior “trade show death match” posts), while the larger manufacturers (AFFTA members mostly) are leaning towards the ISE shows.

It’s this last fact which seems to bother Furimsky the most, and in a printed statement he said:

Many exhibitors and others ask me why is this competition and split continuing? I thought it was over after last year’s results clearly lost money for the trade and AFFTA, and our show had triple the attendance than the AFFTA expo. You would think fighting today’s economy is enough of a problem that should bring us together. The sport is not big enough to split and confuse our shrinking market.

Meanwhile, AFFTA continues to insist its “sustainable growth in the fly fishing industry” mission isn’t met by Furimsky’s shows, though last year’s rhetoric about wanting a new revenue stream to fund the organization seems to have disappeared into the aether:

“AFFTA’s primary strategic objective is to support our members by growing consumer demand for fly fishing products and services,” said Alan Gnann, AFFTA Chairman. “This agreement with ISE, producers of the largest and longest-running outdoor consumer events in the marketplace, creates the most powerful promotional and educational platform our members have ever had. The highly regarded show concept showcased at our January 2008 consumer Expo in Denver will be used as the model for our collaborative efforts with ISE to produce the finest fly fishing events in the country.”

The ISE and Fly Fishing Show consumer trade shows have coexisted for some time; the question now is whether the AFFTA’s partnership with the ISE shows will do long-term damage to Furimsky’s show – and whether they’ll deliver the new fly fishermen AFFTA so clearly wants.

What remains unclear to me is the nature of the problem between AFFTA’s board and Furimsky. I ask folks, and everybody offers up a different answer, and at this point, the conflict has taken on the patina of a blood feud – one that probably won’t be settled quickly.

Being a largely anti-social fly fisherman with little stomach for crowds, I’m not a big trade show attendee, though I’m considering making the drive south this year. How about the Undergrounders? Any plans to attend the ISE or Fly Fishing Shows? Any preference for one over the other?

See you at the shows, Tom Chandler

The Fly Fishing Show dates
Denver, CO
January 9, 10, 11

Marlborough, MA
January 16, 17, 18

Somerset, NJ
January 23, 24, 25

Charlotte, NC
January 30, 31

Bellevue, WA
February 6, 7,8

Portland, OR
February 14, 15

Pasadena, CA
February 21, 22

Pleasanton, CA
February 27, 28, March 1

ISE Outdoor Expos (San Mateo & Denver offer the most fly fishing content)

San Mateo, CA
Jan 8 – 11, 2009

Sacramento
Jan 15 – 18, 2009

Denver
Jan 22 – 25, 2009

Phoenix
Feb 27 – Mar 1, 2009

Salt Lake City
Mar 12 – 15, 2009

And surprisingly, it’s not industry heavyweight AFFTA.

Last year, fly fishing’s industry trade association (AFFTA) announced its first consumer trade show in Denver — a trade show held on the same weekend as Chuck Furimsky’s long-established Fly Fishing Show.

The resulting furball had all the tragi-comedic elements of Shakespearean farce; given its stated intent of growing the sport, why was the industry trade association trying to snuff out an existing show?

AFFTA President Robert Ramsay repeatedly said it wasn’t a personal thing; AFFTA simply felt it was time to gain a little traction (and a revenue stream) from a string of consumer shows while trying to grow the fly fishing market for its members.

Of course, when a trade association targets one of your most profitable trade shows, it might be hard not to take it personally, and Furimsky countered AFFTA’s move with a fair amount of heated rhetoric.

As time passed, the words grew more contentious, the whispering picked up intensity, the threats emerged, and exhibitors were forced to decide which show to attend. Many thought AFFTA’s show — which could count on the attendance of most of fly fishing’s bigger manufacturers — was a major favorite to win.

At the Fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver, the whispering came from every point of the compass.

Some said Furimsky was difficult and deserved his comeuppance. Others said this was simply a bungled money-and-power grab by a panicked AFFTA and its bigger fly fishing manufacturers, who were facing a stagnant industry and disliked the discounting that occurs at Furimsky’s shows.

The Jabs Just Keep Coming

Predictably, after the January showdown, both sides claimed a moral victory, though it wasn’t long after that AFFTA’s President Robert Ramsay — the point man in AFFTA’s effort to launch a string of consumer trade shows — announced he was leaving AFFTA’s top job.

The announcement was immediately pounced on by the Furimsky camp as proof the AFFTA consumer show was a failure.

Then the Underground’s post-show article incited a fair amount of “spirited” commentary from both sides of the issue.

Kenji Haro — director of Denver’s Fly Fishing Retailer Show (a successful dealer-only show that’s run in the fall), posted this comment on the Trout Underground:

I think the point of the AFFTA show was that Chuck’s was not contributing to the industry growth…. fine for the art of bamboo rodmaking, but how does that get more people involved in the sport, which can support your local shops and eventually garner more interest in your niche? Did The Furimsky show give proceeds, even a little, to the association that supports the sport in DC and does outreach to get more people aware and involved?

The Fly Fishing Show’s Dave Seward responded with a salvo of his own, including an allegation that they had offered funding to AFFTA, but that AFFTA simply wanted too much:

As far as “give a little, to the association that supports the sport in DC and does outreach to get more people aware and involved” that is a whole can of worms, no pun intended. At one time The Fly Fishing Show was willing to donate 10% of booth rental fees of every AFFTA member back to AFFTA, they wanted more to put it simply (You can check out this effort on utaff.org/constitution.html “let the Truth be Known” also check out Business as usual).

Furimsky himself also chimed in, and amidst the volleys of charges and counter-charges, the truth will likely never be clear to those without backstage passes to the AFFTA board’s decision-making process.

AFFTA Opts Out of Death Match Weekend

In what Furimsky’s camp cites as a clear victory, AFFTA recently announced they weren’t going to reprise their Denver consumer show, but would instead merge their “successful” show concept with outdoor trade show giant ISE. From the AFFTA press release:

“This agreement with ISE, producers of the largest and longest-running outdoor consumer events in the marketplace, creates the most powerful promotional and educational platform our members have ever had. The highly regarded show concept showcased at our January 2008 consumer Expo in Denver will be used as the model for our collaborative efforts with ISE to produce the finest fly fishing events in the country.”

AFFTA would incorporate “Discover Fly Fishing” pavilions within ISE’s Denver and San Mateo shows aimed at recruiting new fishermen into the sport.

Furimsky — who has maintained all along that his show does plenty for the sport of fly fishing — announced he was partnering with the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) and launching in-show recruitment pavilions of his own.

Plans are being finalized to present an “Introduction to Fly Fishing” area staffed by men, women and youth members of F.F.F. that will provide free instruction to any of the tens of thousands who attend the shows. All questions and help requests in every aspect of fly fishing will be professionally responded to by qualified and certified F.F.F. instructors and show personnel.”

Last Show Standing…

Frankly, it’s hard to see a lot of winners in this mess, though Ramsay’s departure and the sublimation of AFFTA’s consumer show into the ISE shows suggests AFFTA no longer has the stomach (and perhaps the budget) for this kind of fight.

Furimsk’s Fly Fishing Show has earned the title of “Last Show Standing,” and while the true behind-the-scenes machinations which led to this furball remain unclear, what is clear is that AFFTA’s new President — Gary Berlin — is walking into a situation requiring a little fence mending.

Also left unclear is the role played by the AFFTA Board of Directors: former AFFTA President Ramsay repeatedly said the decision to launch a competing trade show was the result of a unanimous decision by AFFTA’s board — which includes representatives from industry heavyweights Umpqua, Sage/Rio, Frontier Travel, Simms, Cloudveil, Ross, Orvis and LL Bean.

If this somewhat select group was handed the goal of growing participation in a stagnant fly fishing industry — and their best answer involved a divisive attempt to terminate an existing fly fishing show and claim its revenues for their own organization — then the fly fishing industry as a whole might be headed for a rocky ride, and not solely as a result of economic forces.

As always, the Undergrounders should feel free to add their perspective below. See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

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