Each fall the show season kicks off with the International Fly Tying Symposium. It is in its 33rd year, and that's a long run. Over the last week or so I've mentioned it to friends I fish with and in the business and the reaction I got was, well....crickets, crickets, crickets. What was once a don't miss has become low on my buddies to do list. "Maybe I'll stop by" is what I've heard.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting or watching so many of the greats in the business at this show. Clouser, Popovics, Farrar, King, Stryker, Buzzi, Piaksecki, Petijean, Matson, Cohen, Nelson, Taylor, Silverio, Cordeiro, Calcevechia, I think Kreh, Murphy - always one of my favorites, Walley, and one of the first guys who really got me into this, Dick Talleur. That was back in my trout days. I know I'm leaving names out of course but those are some who come to mind.
When they switched the location from Somerset to Parsippany I kind of tailed off but then hit it again when it started back in Edison. I'll always say the best days of this show and The Fly Fishing Show were the days when it was held at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset. I have so many great memories made at that location, and I think others would agree.
This year I looked for the poster which was put out in advance of the show each year. The image was usually some flies to that guy from overseas that would come over and catch the fall run just right landing 40's while out on Jim Freda's boat. He was name was Theo something. Jim goes back with Chuck and is giving the Saturday night dinner presentation this year. But this year the poster is just a plain banner, which isn't all that exciting.
The show used to be packed with tyers along the outside and tons of vendors on the inside. It was the place to shop for stuff you both needed and didn't need. It was back in 2012 I met Jim Matson of "BrineFly" fame and to this date I still have a bunch of those Pulse Discs. The shows aren't just a place
to learn and buy stuff but to reconnect with like minded people and catch up with old friends or meet new ones. It was a no brainer, it wasn't if you were going, it was are you going both days. Now, times, the shows, and people, are different. The internet killed a lot of that away. Between Amazon, virtual fly shops, and You Tube, you can buy or learn anything and everything these days online. It also seemed years ago you went to see the latest things, and these days just about everything has already been discovered or recreated, and the new people just don't draw like the OG's.
I think part of the problem these days is we do to much negotiation in our heads about everything, and quickly use a risk vs gain mentality to talk ourselves out of things. I joke around with Leif somedays about going fishing, too far, too windy, wrong tide, too north, too south, too far out, too many guys. It's a way of self-sabotaging ourselves out of our own happiness.
The Fly Fishing Show returns to Edison January 24, 25 & 26. I haven't heard about The Saltwater Edge's "Stock the Box" weekend in January as of yet and then there's the Long Island Fly Fishing Expo on March 8th. Things I usually look forward to attending.
I see shift in the industry and how these shows have been going. The big companies went from double or triple displays to a small booth if one at all. Remember the old shows? They were competing for your dollar and loyalty, not so much anymore. I think they, along with the smaller outfitters and
guides, have looked at the dollars and the return on investment and it just isn't worth it. With companies being sold and laying off long time employees nobody's in the mood to break down the Mother Ship and go and party for the weekend. I just get the feeling fly fishing morale, outside of just fishing, is going down.
For those that do vend they may do well because there's not a lot of competition these days on the floor so if you're there and have "stuff", especially bin picking stuff, it could pay off. Years ago you could hit the show, get stamped, walked to the bar and held court with your buds, and then go back in for another trip around. These days it's a pass through the show with your wallet glued inside your pants. Maybe you can't resist the pickle or enchilada guy but outside of some material or a show special you don't go to spend.
I see more fly tying offerings these days at the remaining local fly shops. Andrew and his crew over at Orvis Princeton, Tightlines in Parsippany, the Bears Den in Massachusetts, The Saltwater Edge in Rhode Island, along with local fly fishing groups like the Atlantic Saltwater Fly Rodders and the Bayshore Fly Rodders keep anglers interested and connected with fly tying nights. It's good to see the participation in those keeping the sport going.
Is this the last year of the International Fly Tying Symposium? Chucks been at it since the jump and now Ben runs The Fly Fishing Show. Might we see somehow a combo show? Three days of The Fly Fishing Show is a lot, maybe Friday run the Symposium and then Saturday and Sunday TFFS? It probably wouldn't work because they are so many moving parts. Over the years I been a part of the show from the set-up to the breakdown and it really something to see. But something has to change, or just go away. It's the fall, the striped bass run is on, and guys are all juiced up so it shouldn't be like taking them for a colonoscopy to get them to Edison this weekend, but we will see.