02.04.25 Changes to the beaches from the South to the North....

     We'll see if "AC is Bangin'" this year. That's a catch phrase from One Stop Bait & tackle which calls that jetty home. The latest beach replenishment project in New Jersey just finished after 1,278,000 cubic yards of sand were pumped onto Absecon Island with some of it near the Absecon Inlet. That at just a cost of $38,000,000. The picture above is standing on the jetty looking towards the Ocean Casino Resort, originally aka Revel. 

     That jetty is a crowd favorite for those from "Monopoly City" and is known as a great eel soaking place. On one side you have, well had, a great pocket on higher water, and on the other 

the opening to the inlet with Brigantine Beach just across the drink. It's a great place for post-spawn stripers to stop over for a night of revelry and a good meal on their way up north. Below is a updated picture after the project was just about completed.

     If you look up a bit you can see the nub of a groin there which is known as the Vermont Avenue Jetty. It was there in 1978 when Al McReynolds landed what was the once World Record striped bass which weight 78 pounds 8 ounces. 

     You know the problem with "nourishment". Any troughs and pockets get destroyed which holds crustaceans, shellfish, and baitfish, which attracts predators. What you wind up with are gently sloped beaches that extend forever, until the ebb and flow of tides pulled the sand off the beach forming sand bars. And that sand south of the jetty and inlet will migrate north with the littoral current and shoal up. Below you can see how the beach and the groins and jetty looked before the pumping began. 

     The beach sits in front of the Ocean Casino Resort and is a big draw for guests and locals alike. So I am sure the money and politics of it all came into play. Tourists means money. Money means politics and this time Frank Pallone isn't involved, that's Congressman Chris Smith's territory. 

     Ocean County will get the pleasure of their beaches being replenished as work is about to begin from this week into the summer. Below is a tentative schedule,

• Seaside Heights and Park (Jan & Feb)
• Ortley Beach (Feb and March)
• Lavalette (March)
• Bay Head into the Manasquasn Inlet (During the spring)
• Mantoloking (During the spring)
• Brick Beaches (Early summer)
• Toms River - Northern beaches (early summer)

     This go around will cost just $73 million dollars. The last Ocean County project, completed in 2019, had a price tag of $130 million attached to it. According to the Asbury Park Press $2.6 billion has been spent replenishing beaches since 1922 and $500 million of that since 2012 when Sandy hit. 

Just in time for the fall. "New Jersey and You", and striped bass, perfect together. 

02.02.25 "I like big flies and I cannot lie..."

 

        Let's face it sometimes striped bass, and other swimming predators, just like the meat. While those in the trout game live and die by "matching the hatch" the same can be said, in a way, for those that like to fish for opportunistic eaters like striped bass. It's hard to believe that sometimes especially when you're throwing a size 2 albie flies into snot bait the guy next to you is catching them on a six-inch pink Hogy. Or when you have a beautifully tied almost exact replication of a sand eel and the spin angler next to you is getting them on a needle plug. 

     While we all like to think "I'm dialed in" one has to admit that sometimes you've just tossed your offering into the path of a patrolling striped bass and they chose to check it out, which they can only do with their mouths. And if your "bait" has six or nine hooks in it there's a good chance that their "sampling" of your plug, metal, or fly, will hook them. Winning! I guess.

     Big flies, let's say those tied porportionally correct on a size 6/0 hook or greater, have been all the rage for the last, let's say, eight years. Bob Popovic's Beast Fleye, which has been in the making since the early 1990's, hit the vices all across the world with some tiers maybe even surpassing, I mean visually, the Master himself. That's not disrepectful, that is what Bob would want. He would take that as a win. 

     Again this year at TFFS fly tier's tables were loaded with all types of big flies. Above is the lot that Brendan Gomez had readied for the show. Let's be real, his flies, along with some of the other more well known talented tiers, create beautiful pieces of art that can be displayed or fished. Of course the concern is that a 60-100 dollar fly may find its way into the fly-shredding mouth of a bluefish, or lost with a bad knot on a big fish or hard backcast. 

     While I have seen Bob walk the shows admiring, and respectfully critiquing, the work of tiers showing their Beast Fleyes, or large Hollows, or Bulkheads, I think he was more impressed with tiers expanding, not necessarily improving, the core foundations of what he brought to fly tying. He was, with a shred of doubt at first, intrigued with the possibility of building large flies with metal shanks, something that Blane Chocklett brought to fly tying. He was also impressed with Jason Taylor's use of different materials in building those bigger flies which was different then with only using bucktail. 

     While Gomez's work above is impressive in its own right, does it represent, as they say in the Capital One commercial, "What's in your wallet?" As Bob would say those bigger flies have a time and a place. If you happen upon a blitz of bass crashing through peanut or adult bunker then you're in. If you have just dropped a larger Deceiver in the current and it looks to irresistible to eat then you might get a strike. But, in order to really maximize your effort on the beach and boat being in the ballpark of "It's what's for dinner" really helps. 

     So yesterday after hours of schoolwork I decided I needed a break. I went into my fly tying room and placed a AHREX Bob Clouser 5/0 hook into my PEAK LIRS vice. (How's that for product placement, which does zero for me in the end). I was in the mindset that in order to do productive fly tying cranking out a large fly would be what I needed to do. But after some January practice sessions, along with time sitting at the Squimpish booth, I have enough arrows in the quiver for the start of the season. 

     I then looked over to my smaller PEAK vice. One I use for smaller "normal" everyday flies, which is what gets the job done most of the time. Small baitfish patterns, crabs, eels, and worms probably make up a large part of their opportunistic eating when it's not balls to the walls blitz feeding. 

     

      That's not to say that when there's no bait around, but stripers are on the move, that a larger fly or metal lip won't get bit. I attribute a lot of that to reaction strikes rather than something trying to eat to satiate a hunger. Couple opportunity, with annoyance, and you're gonna get slapped. I see that moreso when fishing in rivers, where a oversized multi-hooked plug gets hit 1,000 feet from where the angler stands because it swam from in front of a holding spot to behind it where bass maybe pointed into. The bass is thinking "Get the f&%k out of here" while the angler thinks they just out fooled a 30 pound fish. C'mon man.      

     So if you are an early season fly fisherman and need to stock up on flies don't forget to downsize and go smaller. While yes, most anglers are trophy fish hunters, there are a large percentage of us who enjoy just fishing for fishings sake, and are just as trilled for a properly swam fly getting eaten as they are fishing for giants during a blitz. 

     Think of your own diet. Do you sit down for a Denny's "Super Slam" breakfast every morning or finish the day at the "All You Can Eat" Korean buffet? No, it's finger or fast food throughout the day between those big chow-down orgies like you might see next weekend during Super Bowl Sunday. Sometimes smaller is better, at least in the water, but not in the bedroom. 

02.02.25 History repeats itself in the Potomac...

      In a purely striped bass way when I think of the Potomac River I think of one of the natal rivers that are a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Sadly, this week the Potomac River was the site of a plane crash between and American Airlines passenger plane and an Army helicopter that killed 67 souls on board. The mid-air collision occurred near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

    It was just a few weeks past the 40th anniversary of Flight 90 that crashed into the Potomac after striking the 14th Street Bridge. Both incidents occurred on the water's boundary between the states of Virginia and Maryland. In that crash 69 people were killed with only one crew member and four passengers surviving. 

     In 1982 there was no cable TV, no social media, and the coverage was only extended beyond the local or national news broadcasts. During major events they would break into local television programming to bring live coverage. 

     During the rescue efforts in 1982 a civilian on his way home from work stopped to see what was going on. it was during the dead of winter and rescuers on land and from the air had been trying to save the five survivors who were trapped and frozen in the Potomac. 

    Lenny Skutnik watched from the shore and later said he couldn't stand to watch the woman struggle and suffer anymore. He decided to jump in the river and swam to save Pricilla Tirado, whose husband and infant son died in the crash. While the efforts of the first responders can't be minimized the actions of Skutnik cannot be overlooked. 

I think the true heros are the everyday people who stop and act, and risk their life, to save another. 

     In addition to the Potomac crash Philadelphia had a crash last night that killed seven. In that crash a medical airplane carrying a 6-year old and five others perished. Sadly, the girl had just completed life-saving medical treatment at the Shriner's Hospital and was returning to Mexico. A woman on the ground perished in that incident. 

It's during these times we must think of the people that are deeply affected by these tragedies and thank God, or whoever our higher power is, that it wasn't you or your loved ones, that have endured such a horrible event. 

02.01.25 And the show must go on...

     Last Sunday I was looking through my stash from The Fly Fishing Show. I wondered if other attendees had a similar take. While I am sure some guys and gals were sitting down in front of a new vice, or maybe making some casts in their frozen yards with their new rod set ups, most of us had things tucked into our pockets or in small bags as we left the show. But those small purchases can add up. 

     What I realized after last weekend that stickers have become the new brochure and business card. Stickers are cheap, especially if buy them by the 1,000s. Just a quick online search found a company that'll do 1,000 stickers for $300, which includes the initial set up. 

     My collection this year wasn't impressive. It was like a disappointing Christmas morning when you were a kid. Some things I scored from the show are, a Jeff Currier striped bass mug that Theresa surprised me with, some AHREX hooks, of course some BUZFLY tails, some Squimpish materials, a Joe Nicosia fly, and some straps I won at the AFFM afterparty. Tom Lynch split his two beer glass winning's with me so I have a HMH leather wrapped glass for when I like to sit and sip a Guinness. And of course I fell for the fish measuring orange balls, more on that in the future. But then I also got a little somethin' somethin' that I'll see if it works before I break it out for all to see. One of those great idea zero chance of it working things. 

     While I'm not a freshwater fly tier many at the show were and jumped to the Tightlines booth where there were tons of Collins Hackle Farm saddles and capes to choose from. From the 

sounds of it this was a Holy Grail kind of find and I saw several people with long stringy things drapped over their arms as they looked through the bins. The above collection was posted by Jersey guy John Collins, who I know as one of the Catskill method fly tiers. 

     During this week, while I was in the trenches at school and at the hospital, I thought of those folks who take their fly fishing traveling show on the road. While "Having a good show" is great if you're a one day and done person, like me, several "do" the circuit. They either follow The Fly 

Fishing Show around or jump in and out of shows that are relatively close to home. But let's look at Brad Buzzi. His bucktails are a major draw at every show. Yes, you can get them elsewhere but it's hard to find a more consistent and affordable source. Each year I see lots of activity at his booth but this year I noticed less and less bucktails as the days wore on. He told me he had a great show which also means his stock gets depleted. So this week he was busy down in the BUZFLY basement finishing up tails for the upcoming Atlanta show.

      Above is Joe Cordiero's, of Flatwing fame, car which he must put 50,000 miles a year on as he goes from Maine to Florida and other points east and west. And at each show he sells he wares, as well as online. While selling is good keeping up must be another thing. I mean how 

many naked chickens can there be at these feather farms? Do they kill them and take their feathers, saddles and capes? Or do they give them haircuts and it all just grows back? 

     This weekend is the TFFS at Atlanta. Many of the vendors and tiers that did Edison make the 850 mile trek south. That's a lot of time, miles, and money to do part of the circuit. A guy on the perimeter of the show floors selling high end flies may make enough to cover his costs and might be able to give his wife a few $20 bills when he gets home but really how much do you make. I kind of liken it to when I guided up on the Delaware River. Driving from New Jersey, gas, tolls, lodging if I didn't sleep in my truck, lunches, shuttles, and the guide fees really cut into my bottom line where I had to question was I running a business or supporting a hobby? Thank God for the tips, which I really don't like, as I think it is just an expected thing and awkward at the end of the day, especially for those don't have it like that. Do nurses get tips? Teachers? How about a box of donuts or an apple. Just shut up. 

     The Edison show was big to the eye but as I discussed was made up of a lot of vendors packed in a single 10 x 10 or 20 x 10 foot booths. There were a lot of destination and guide operations and not all that many suppliers and shops that made picking and shopping part of the show.  

     Thankfully shops like Tightlines from New Jersey did the hard work which satiated those who attend the show as their yearly one-stop shopping event. And while there was always attendees at their booth, and at the register, there is such a huge investment in time, work, and overhead to be able to bring it all to the show. Sadly, the internet and online sales have taken such a big chunk of the fun of attending these shows to the point where a ShopRite bag grabbed from the truck is all you need to carry home those stickers and the few items you may have purchased. 

     The Atlanta show is in day two of the three-day weekend. You can see the size of the venue compared to the Edison show. While I have never been, it looks like it could be a one-dayer. I matched up the booth numbers with the list and saw several vendors who were at Edison

so they have seen a market, or a business need, to take the show on the road. Again, gas, tolls, lodging, food, beer, staffing, and don't forget the initial costs of the products they are trying to pimp out. It's a hard-knock life this fly fishing industry and everyone is competing for their slice of a very niche pie. I see those in charge don't spring for the show floor carpeting. Guys, it does make a difference. 

      The Fly Fishing Show tour heads to Washington, then Denver, and California, before finishing up in Lancaster, PA, which I might attend this year. The only other show that I do over 

the winter months is The Long Island Fly Fishing Expo which this year is held on March 8th in Hauppauge, Long Island. If I can couple that show with a stop over at our friends house in Nesconset that weekend then I might see if Theresa is down for it. Otherwise it's a long drive there and back for a single day show. 

     We're a month away from some of the opening and closings of waters where striped bass are known to haunt. Down south we will see parts of the bays and tributaries close while up north here in New Jersey our back bays and rivers open March 1st. If you are dialed in to a fishery 

then you know a lot of it is all about water temps and flows. Looking at the early predictions they are calling for a wet February, either snow or rain, with higher than normal temperatures. Perfect. Give me good flows and tolerable air and water temps and I'm happy and ready to kick off 2025. 

01.31.25 Great video honoring Bob...

 

     At the start of the ceremony honoring Bob last weekend the American Museum of Fly Fishing shared this video with the attendees, and have now shared it on You Tube. It was really well done. It's good to hear Bobs' voice, and message, in his own words.  It's still tough to process his passing. Enjoy. 

01.28.25 Designating June 1 as "Bob Pop Day" is in the works....

     According to a press release from the New Jersey Senate Republicans, Senator Carmen Amato, Jr., Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblyman Gregory Myhre have introduced legislation (SJR-146 and AJR-209) to designate June 1 of each year as “Robert ‘Bob’ Popovics Day” in New Jersey.      

     It is only fitting that in the shadows of the Delaware River in Bob's hometown of Trenton that dedicating June 1st to Bob is in the works. As the presser reads,

“Bob was a respected Marine veteran, legendary fisherman, owner of the Shady Rest Restaurant in Bayville, and loving family man. His tragic death shocked the community with many still mourning his loss. In representing the interests of our constituents, we introduced legislation to designate June 1 as Robert ‘Bob’ Popovics Day’ to not only honor Bob’s memory, but to promote his remarkable qualities which earned him the respect of so many.”

The Delegation’s legislative resolution reads as follows:

“This joint resolution designates June 1 of each year as “Robert ‘Bob’ Popovics Day” in New Jersey.

“Born in Trenton and residing in Seaside Park for many years, Robert “Bob” Popovics has been a longtime resident of the State of New Jersey. On November 1, 2024, Bob passed away due to his injuries from an accident at the age of 75.

“Bob has made numerous contributions to his community, the State, and the United States. Bob proudly served his country with the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

“Additionally, having taken over the establishment from his parents, Bob and his wife operated the Shady Rest restaurant in Bayville, New Jersey. Bob was also well-renowned in the fishing community for being an avid fly fisherman, master fly tyer, and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pop Fleyes, a custom fly tying and educational company. His fly designs have been considered groundbreaking and his community meetings led to the creation of the Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders.

“To recognize Bob’s numerous contributions to the New Jersey community in which he lived, the fishing community, and the United States, it is altogether fitting and proper to designate June 1 of each year as “Robert ‘Bob’ Popovics Day” in New Jersey.”

01.27.25 The Fly Fishing Show 2025 recap....

      Well here we go. My 'The Fly Fishing Show' recap is something I look forward to every January. While it's only the view through my eyes I have been going to the show for thirty-plus years and have been around it long enough to be able to report the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

     A good show, to me, means that you got what you wanted from it. For the ones that are new to the sport it can be a place to buy some gear, watch some casting or fly tying demos, find a guide, or plan a trip. 

     

     That can also include getting some new ink, buying 30 flies for $20, or even getting some gutter guards for your house. I don't know if the gutter people will be back next year as every time I passed the booth it was either unattended or didn't have many people showing interest. 

     I had my bestie with me this weekend and somehow we survived the weekend without coming home with $3,000 worth of new pots from the "nice guy" at the Cutco booth. Theresa was there for a lot of time and every time I went to look for her she was camped out there, which had me nervous.  

     For the veterans of the show it's always a place to come and catch up with familiar faces and connect with new ones. During my time cruising the show or sitting to tie up some flies there was a resounding introduction that I heard over and over again, "I follow you on the (Insta) Gram and it's nice to finally meet you". Social media has done wonders for shortening the curve of introductions, but I don't know how far it has gone to increase the true friendships that last and extend out beyond a shared hobby. Several of the vendors and fly tyers stated to me, "Enough with the "Friends" I need somebody to buy something".

     And for those two groups I think the show was good. Again just my take on it all. But I wonder how it was for that middle group if you will. Not a beginner to the game, and not in any established circle, but kind of floating between the two. There were some heavy hitters amongst the crowd but if you weren't in the know they could just pass you by in the aisles or even picking through the bins at one of the shops or vendors that came to display their wares. 

     Last year I broke down the number of booths by what they brought to the show. Visually we sometimes judge the show by it's size and what is cramped into it's four walls. Several vehicles and small water crafts add to the landscape of "stuff" you can see, but in the end how much of any given show is relatable and satiates the needs of the attendee. 

     Without numbers and ratios I can't report of exactly how much of any shareholder was represented at the show. But in my opinion this show was destination and guide and charter heavy. It's a good marketing opportunity for them. It gives the operation and the potential client a chance to meet and greet and ask questions and maybe even plop down a deposit. 

     Each year I pass the Angling Ireland booth but this year I stopped and asked questions as Theresa and I are taking the girls over in August. I might see if a half-day of fishing may be in my cards. I did snoop around at some of the trips offered and price tags of $5 -10,000 seemed to be an average cost. That's bucket list dollars for me, and I am sure for a lot of the people picking through bins looking for cheap materials or discounted clothing. 

     As usual there were plenty of seminars and demonstrations that came included with the admission fee. Weather it was a casting demonstration by Orvis' Peter Kutzer or Andy Mill,

or a talk or a fly tying demo in one of the rooms, it takes some research and planning to make sure you don't miss out on what is relevant to you and what you came for. 

     The vendors that I talked two after the first two days did well, some very well. There was a big early push on Friday afternoon that fizzled out by around 230, and then a strong crowd for Saturday. I didn't see a lot of big ticket items being carted out, but everyone seemed to have a

bag or two under their arms. I am sure in some of those bags were vices, reels, lines, and some of the pricier saddles, capes, and jungle cock that touching-before-you-buy is a reason why some attend the show. 

     Brad at BUZFLY always brings the goods and with each pass past his booth the bins of bucktails got fewer and fewer. I don't know how his one man show keeps the fly tying world in

bucktails, but he does. Squimpish Flies had a strong showing extending their offerings from materials to now cannabis with the launch of their Fish Whistle Trading Post collaboration with Ben and Cindy Rinker coming soon to East Front Street in Hancock, New York. 

     I was invited to sit and tie at their booth on Saturday morning. It was nice to share the space with other team Squimpish members. I know there are tyers who are all in with bucktail but the synthetics today, like Squimpish, offer a great alternative, or can used to supplement natural materials. I chose to stick tying with David Nelsons 'Big-Fly Brushes', which to me, 

allows tiers looking to create bigger and longer flies with minimal time and effort. And why they work for me is because I go through a lot of flies each year, either beat up, lost in the trees or in the underwater mine fields, or to fish too big to land. 

     Seeing Rich Murphy back after a year off made me happy. The guy is a genius and you know how I feel about him and his book, Fly Fishing For Striped Bass. If you have that I would also recommend John's Field's 2024 book, Fly Fishing For Trophy Striped Bass. 

     These books aren't just how and where books, these guys are, very respectfully, nutty professors in their own right, and take the reader between the basics through very advanced science about everything to know about that species and how and where to find them. 

     As usual the tyers lined the perimeter of the show floor up against the windows that separated the 25 degree outside temperature with the more comfortable environment on the inside. Best of (New to the) Show for me this year would go out to Brendan Gomez of 'Rhody On the Fly'. He just does a nice, and consistent, job of tying up larger flies which has become the staple for many tiers out there. The boundaries of fly pricing these days is not what we used to see back in the day. Would you ever dream that a fly could cost, 50, 75, or $100 a piece? Well these creations take time, have a steady overhead in hook, materials, and dressing (like jungle cock), in addition to demand and collectability. 

     There are a lot of solid tiers out there and each year the ebb and flow of talent is seen on social media and at the shows. But there are always the consistent top-tier players in the tying game. For me it's Jonny King, Jason Taylor, and David Nelson, who are a must stop and watch.  

     Tiers come and go but they are the true ambassadors who keep the sport moving mostly by teaching and sharing what they know which were the foundations in the sport established by the legends like Kreh, Clouser, and Popovics. 

     AHREX continues to be a powerhouse in the hook game of fly tying and fishing. Their recent purchase of Pro Sportfisher will bring new tools to the hands of creators and tyers across the globe. Couple them with Regal Engineering and Keogh and it's no wonder why that section of the show floor is always very popular to learners and buyers alike. 

     And then there's the coolest and newest thing this year. I was walking by Ken Ekelund who yelled out to me, "Colin have you seen this yet?". That brought me over to listen in to yet another crazy scientist and their creation. 

     So here we go. The guy develops AI software that, in conjunction with that smaller orange ball you see above hanging from the trout, measures your fishes length, girth, and weight. All you have to do is hold, or lay down your fish, with the orange ball next to it or in your hand, take a picture, and let the AI do the work. 

     It is that simple, and there's more technology coming out soon. I stood there with Jersey Boy Bob Bott as we watched a video that put the whole thing together for us. Imagine catching a large 20 inch brown trout, or a 40 pound striped bass, and getting an accurate length, girth, and weight with just holding it up or placing it down for 3 seconds.  Bob and I were so impressed we 

both reached into our pockets and dropped the $35 for the two orange balls to get us rolling. Why two? Maybe if you lose one? He got his from TCO while I chose to support my local Jersey fly shop in Tightlines, who had a really big and busy showing this year. If you want to check it out you can do that at Fishtechy, HERE. 

     So just to touch on a few things. I always poked fun at the non-fly fishing vendors, including the pickle people. Well they crushed it this weekend. I was so impressed by their steady crowds

that I purchased a trio of "Shooters", or peppers stuffed with prosciutto and provolone. I had to get the most Italian guy there, Joe Calcevechia, to give them a try and he approved. 

     We stayed at the Sheraton, which, while convenient, just wasn't and never will be the same. Yes, there's a bar with decent food and drink but the hangs get scattered after the show closes for the day. People going close, or far, or here, and not here. On Friday night I warned Theresa it could be a late night as we headed down to the lobby for a bite and beer. That lasted about an hour and soon

we were under the covers watching Netflix and 'This Is Us' with both of us asleep by 830. Yeah, so much for that hang that I looked forward to. A funny thing is, when you're new, or you're young, you want to be in on that hang at any cost, even positioning yourself for an invite. But as you get old, and the hang becomes work, you just don't care and getting sleep is just as memorable as a bad hang over. 

     After waking up from a much needed and sound sleep, we, as many of the people who took advantage at the shows discounted rooms, looked to cash in those Breakfast Vouchers we received the night before as we checked in. Pretty simple, Free breakfast. But no. Upon waiting to get seated we were told the vouchers, if you had one, just let you get that $22.51 breakfast for only $20. Wait. What? Yes, the savings was $2.51, plus tax per person. Let's just say there's almost a mutiny in the lobby. So Theresa and I headed to the Skylark Diner on Route 1 for a "real" breakfast that was cheaper than the powered eggs and soggy bacon in the hotel's restaurant. 

     And if there is one big thing missing at this show is somewhere to sit. If people sit, they stay longer, and inevitably spend more money. Near the cafeteria and beer truck there were seats but they were usually filled and not very inviting. In the past the hotel lobby had comfortable chairs, and the bar, where you could take a break, hold court, and spend some alone time with new or old buds. 

     The food, well, not all that bad. We had the $13 meatball parm sandwich on Friday and backed it up on Saturday. The credit-only beer wagon annoyed some people who wanted to pay cash and the $9 Yuengling's were two dollars over what they should have been. 

     At this venue people walk and walk and walk until they can't no more and then they leave. They should create a lounge, or a room, or put comfortable chairs throughout the venue. Or at least spring for those green rugs that once lined the aisles and created a warm, and safe, kidding, space inside of the booths. This  feels like a show that is held in someones garage and I swear that 1/4 of fabric helps the feet and knees tolerate the pain of walking on a hard surface for hours on end. 

     And the final point I'd like to make. Kudos to those fly tying and fishing clubs located on the perimeter and on the inside of the show's floor. From the Atlantic, Coastal, Bayshore, Hudson, and Main Line clubs it's good to see dedicated people coming together to keep this sport moving forward. Add to that Project Healing Waters and Casting for Recovery and the opportunity for those people who could benefit from all the good this sport does must keep the smiles on the faces of the men and women who did the heavy lifting in getting this sport up and going. As Bob Popovics said in November 2023, "Keep the doors open". If the  clubs and the shows do stay open then the sport will surely continue to bring us together to enjoy each other, the spectacular places we fish, and to cherish those beautiful fish we do catch, and hopefully release for another day, for another angler to enjoy.