Did you attend the Pasadena FF show today?

[rkfiske]

If so, was it worth it? Got sick a few day ago and am kind of on the mend, wanted to go today but thought it best to wait another day. Would you recommend going tomorrow? I'm interested in the talks and all that but I'm curious if there are lots of manufacturers there and if there are any deals on things?

[tomsakai]

Ryan, I was there. If you were there last year, this year was slightly worse as far as # of exhibitors. I went to the Jason Borger seminar on nymphing and the Maggie Merriman seminar on reading streams; both were good. I'm glad I went for those but the rest of the show was a waste. None of the major manufacturers were there (Sage, Simms, Ross, Echo, TFO etc.). Troutfly is there with good deals on flies; Fisherman's Spot was also there with good deals and there were a couple of booths selling hackle (Keogh and Jayfair). I did buy a decent dun cape at Keogh (fly tier quality not a graded quality); at $30 I thought it was a good deal. Tom.

I did see and talk to Jazzonthefly (Andre) and Wandering Blues (Curtis) as well as some of the Long Beach and Orange County fly club members.

[beachbum]

As Tom said, it was smaller, and none of the major rod makers, or wader manufacturers were there. On a good note, I threw some really nice bamboo rods (really really nice), got some great deals on flies (Spot and Performance Anglers), and saw lots of folks. We had fun, and thought it worthwhile.

[WanderingBlues]

Yo Ryan! It was worth it to meet some folks and put faces to names (who knew Tom Sakai's real name was Tom Sakai based on his screen name? ). The seminars were pretty good as well. The exhibition was pretty sparse. Frankly, I was bummed the manufacturers decided not to make a showing. I think Hardy & Grey and Galvan were the only manufacturers there. Fisherman's Spot had the best booth for purchase deals. The sweetgrass artists were awesome- I'd love to be able to afford a bamboo rod.

On the way home, I stopped at the local shop (aka BassPro) and bought my son his first pair of breathable waders and boots and spent a few moments discussing the home waters with Curt & Vince. That was more worth it than the expo.

PS I'm scouting tomorrow. Last week it was high, but running clear.

Curtis

[rkfiske]

Thanks for your input guys. I may sit it out then, since 15 bucks is a little steep when I could go and spend that on tying material instead!

[Artin]

Well, as with all the other posts I agree with the sparseness of the show. I also got to check out the cane rods... They are very expensive true... but really nice
There is a buzz out there about this being the last show though.... because of the bad turn out....

We'll see.

Artin

[RSetina]

Sounds like it was a good choice to go out for Dim Sum with Sherry's brother and sister-in-law. Did anyone go to The Hat for lunch? It would have been nice to see you guys there, but we would have spent money we shouldn't anyway!

[fflutterffly]

Karen and I went up to pleasanton thinking it would be a bigger show, but there were no large manufacturers there as well. Why is it that the companies think we don't want to find out about their products? Anyone... Anyone? I'll be going tomorrow, but just to see some friends and maybe purchase some small things. Thanks for the update guys.

[jazz on the fly]

I went to Jason Borger's nymphing seminar and Ed Engle's tailwater seminar and fly tying demo and all three were excellent. As far as all the exhibits were concerned I was done looking through them within 30 minutes. In addition to fewer manufacturers being there, I also noticed there were fewer lodges / outfitters there. I remember Henry's Fork Anglers being there last year and getting to chat with Mike Lawson. Talking to someone with his knowledge and experience was cool enough, but the fact that he sounds like Hank Hill (from King of the Hill) is also an added amusing bonus.

[8NoFish]

i attended saturday. i agree with all the other posts...the show was smaller and the big manufacturers were absent. nice bamboo and nice people at all the booths that were there. like last year i was disappointed with the small amount of fly tying materials for sale.

unfortunately, i have to agree that the $15 for admission, $9 for parking and $3 for a bottle of water was probably not worth it. last year i was lucky enough to chat with AK Best for at least a half hour, which was a real treat.

the highlight of the show this year was the fact that i got to chat for a long time with my old friend, Mas Okui, who was tying at the show. for those who aren't familiar with Mas, some people consider him one of the masters of Hot Creek. he was also instrumental in getting Manzanar declared a national historical site and the development of the museum/interpretive center there. decades ago, Mas was my American History teacher at Gardena High School...since i was a classic underachiever, Mas was tough on me and rightfully so, but he was also one of my favorite teachers.

unfortunately, i missed seeing some other friends, like Darrell Kunitomi (FlyKuni), who i think was working the Fisherman's Spot booth earlier in the day.

[rkfiske]

Thanks guys, I ended up not going, but stopped by the sport chalet in la canada this afternoon and talked to Chuck there. Seems he agreed the show had gotten smaller but I guess he was still happy to make it out to it. Made me think maybe I should have gone anyways. But I spent about 15 bucks on a few hooks and stuff I needed at SC so maybe that was money better spent!

8NoFish, I perused your blog, your illustrations are awesome! Love your copper john!

[8NoFish]

hi rkfiske,
thanks for the nice complement! i appreciate it! the copper john is one of my favorite illustrations. i'm behind in posting on the blog, hopefully i'll find the time to put up some of my more recent stuff soon. i use the blog as sort of an online gallery to show potential clients my illustration and photography work, so i don't post too often because older posts get relegated to the "older posts" button and are not shown on the first page after that...i don't know if that makes much sense....

unfortunately, unless you were in the market for a bamboo rod, a Galvan reel, a Greys/Hardy rod or cheap flies, you didn't miss much passing on the show. the times i have attended, i wanted so much to be impressed, but went home at least a little disappointed. i wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a show in LA next year. it seemed like there were more people wearing show vendor name tags than there were attendees who paid to get in.

the $27 i spent on admission, parking and a bottle of water would have been better spent at Marriott's, Fisherman's Spot or Sport Chalet...i really hate to say that, but its true. i wish i could say that it was a great show. i'm glad i went, but the show could have been much much better. i'm sure Chuck Furimsky tries very hard to put together a great show, but the big companies in the fly fishing industry just don't support the LA show at all.

i'd have to say that i doubt if i will attend the show next year.

[briansII]

Karen and I went up to pleasanton thinking it would be a bigger show, but there were no large manufacturers there as well. Why is it that the companies think we don't want to find out about their products? Anyone... Anyone? I'll be going tomorrow, but just to see some friends and maybe purchase some small things. Thanks for the update guys.

Unless something changes, Sage and other big name fly fishing companies will not be attending Fly Fishing Shows. From what I read, some industry politics are keeping them away. I'd post the link for the discussion, but I can't find it anymore.

......and if i'm wrong about this, please, somebody set me straight.

The early Fly Fishing Shows in Pleasanton were great. All the top manufacturers were there, plus a lot of shops with things to sell. Seminars, and presentations all day long. After going to the Fly Fishing Shows, I saw no reason to go back to a ISE for my fly fishing needs. Sage and other manufacturers were at the San Mateo ISE this year. That was the only show in Ca. where some of the big names attended.

briansII

[Ken@theSpot]

See my show follow up post here viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3379 If we get after the manufacturers maybe they'll come next year.