And remember if you place an order on their website use the "AVERAGE" discount code to receive 15% off your order. I don't get a taste, it's just their way of taking care of the people who support those that are part of the Squimpish team. I'll be at the Squimpish booth in Edison in a few weeks.
In a bunch of recent posts I talked about the lack of snow and rain that is healthy for our spawning rivers for striped bass. There's mixed forecasts out there with some calling it a rain event and others
leaving the window for an apocalyptic snow storm. I think it's going to be one of those NJ Turnpike line things that is snow for the west and north and the rest rain. But New England is up for some weather. Boston looks like they may get 6-18 inches depending on who you listen too.
And just 38 minutes from Beantown is Marlborough, Mass., where this weekend The Fly Fishing show tour kicks off. It's starts in Mass, goes to Denver, before coming back to the east and landing in Edison. I'm not sure how that weather will affect the show. They're used to that up there and there's nothing like a nice place to go inside and hang than a fly fishing event whern the weather is crappy outside. And as far as Sunday, the 4-12 Patriots face the 6-10 Jets at Gillette stadium at 1pm. The game means nothing for their seasons but that is a huge AFC East rivalry. So you may lose a couple of people to that, but it's a Sunday, Sunday's are usually slow, except back in the day when people would come back for last minute deals. Those vendors are all gone these days.
I looked at some of the schedules and talent line-ups for the upcoming shows, and not just The Fly Fishing Show. What you hope for is some new blood, well you need the old blood as well, to make their appearance. New people sharing new ideas, experiences, and knowledge that keeps the sport going. We could all do less with the social media stars, many self-created, who may or may not have the experience and knowledge to really sit at the table, but they do. At times I think shows are stacked with
names just to fill slots, and seats, and present whatever they have. That could be fly tying or giving a presentation. They should make it a point, if they are going to give a presentation, that it be updated, and have fresh content, different when they presented it the shows last year, or at the local fishing club meetings. Seeing the same people each year, after year, after year, giving the same presentations or pimping the same stuff, is well, boring, and for the consumer, a waste of time and the entry fee. The organizers really need to be dialed in to the local sport to make for a great show. Now that's not to say some of that stuff isn't timeless, and built this sport to be what it is, but eating the same food every night gets a little old.
So I was surprised to see a name from the past pop up. I remember buying my copy of the 2001, Sight Fishing for Striped Bass, written by Alan Caolo. It was a must get and read for me especially when I started venturing up to Martha's Vineyard to sight fish for striped bass. I see that he will be
giving a seminar as well as a class up in Marlborough. He will also be coming down to the Edison show and be giving a seminar there. Now for me, if there was one reason I would go to Edison, it would be to
see Alan's seminar. He's also doing an albie from the shore talk as well. That's why organizers of these hows should know what people want, be in touch with the movers and shakers in the sport, and most importantly, and pay the talent who brings them in. Give the people what they want and they will come.
There's some other shows around the area. First though, Theresa and I will be spending the weekend up in Newport in a few weeks attending Peter Jenkin's The Saltwater Edge "Stock The Box" event, and then the next weekend it's the Edison show. That used to be THE show, and it's a wait-and-see kinda thing these days, we'll see what the 2024 show brings. There are also boating and fishing shows from Atlantic City, Philly to up near New York from now through the spring to keep the cabin fever at bay.