I should be out on the river today with two clients, but I could tell yesterday from the rising gauge heights and the rain yet to come, we’d be cancelling. So here we are today at currentseams.com headquarters. Aside from high water, I’m sure this cold front and wind isn’t doing the bite any favors. We’re looking at almost 1,800cfs in the PTMA. It feels really good not to be second guessing my decision.
Back from Lancaster, and it’s bittersweet now that show season is officially over for me. I still have three talks this spring — one this week at the Cape Cod Flyrodders — but I never realized how much I love doing the Fly Fishing Show until I thought about this being the last blast until IFTS in November. I’d never done the Lancaster Show before this year. Here’s what I can tell you. It has a very chill, comforting vibe. The people are pleasant and inquisitive and enthusiastic. It’s a small show, which adds to its charm. I can’t wait to do it again.
Saturday was typical busy for me at the FFS, with two talks and a class. The wild card this weekend was that my wife was with me. She planned to golf while I was doing my thing. At 10am Saturday, I made my way up from my tying table to the seminar room. That’s when I discovered that my laptop was missing. Rut-roh. It’s in the Jeep! Fortunately, I had the talk on a thumb drive, was able to borrow a laptop (thanks, Emily!) and get it configured with the projector (thanks, Frank!) and start just about on time. I can’t thank the show staff enough for coming to my rescue. I didn’t know what to expect, but I drew a great crowd for my 10:30am Modern Wet Fly Strategies talk. The post-talk Q&A was likewise excellent. Meantime, my wonderful wife came back to the show to drop off my laptop, which I had in time for my noon Farmington River talk. Another strong showing, so, as they say during a rock concert, “Thank you, Lancaster!”Sunday was far more relaxed; I had only my tying table (a FFS first for me) and another noon Farmington talk. I took the time to put my money where my mouth is when it comes to learning. I had Lou DiGena show me how to tie his wonderful crayfish jig pattern, the CE (Close Enough) Crayfish. I had Fritz Miller demonstrate how he ties in bucktail to form a thin, veiled collar (Fritz also sells some exceptional bucktail). I asked Bart Lombardo about tying small poppers for smallmouth. The Fly Fishing Show remains a tremendous opportunity to watch and talk and ask questions and learn from the best.
And then, it was over. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat about wet flies. Thank you to the girl who was so excited to see a Snipe and Purple that she was jumping up and down (you made my weekend!). Thank you to Fritz Miller and Alan Rupp for being such swell tablemates. Thank you Heather Purvis for the fly. Thank you for the opportunity to talk and teach and share the wonderful sport of fly fishing. See you at the IFTS in November.
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