Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show this week

[Darian]

Went down to the show on Friday. Cloudy, windy and c-c-cold outside until we arrived at the show. Then just c-c-cold and windy. Still, a beautiful day. The first thing that happened on entering the main hall was running in to Leo Gutierrez. He was leaving the casting pond and handed me a Hardy, 9', 8 weight rod with a new Hardy reel to test cast. I've never cast at a show before but was amazed at how light the reel was and how well the rod performed. I was able to cast the length of the pond with little effort (minimal # false casts) and without using a double haul. The rod felt smooth during the cast and I felt like I could cast it all day without a lot fatigue. I didn't get to test the drag on the reel but adjustment seemed easily accomplished. Even tho I'm not much of a Hardy user, I'd recommend anyone try them.

Saw a bunch of old friends. The Kiene crowd and, of course, Jay and Ken. Jay's Baja presentation is always fun/informative. Lots of great fly tyers and of course, Norm Norlander demo'ing his Nor-Vise. I'm so impressed with the man and his products. I suppose I'll have to break down and buy one, eventually. I already use his bobbins. John Ryzanich demo'd one of his airhead flies for us. That guy is really a talented tyer. Said hello to Steve Potter. I'm always fascinated by the things Mr. Potter can create with deer hair....

Not too many fly shops form the east coast there (where you could buy some exotic materials), unless I missed them somehow. The Fisherman's Spot (Van Nuys) was there. Bought a great T-shirt from them. Picked up some Permit flies from Sea Level Fly Fishing.

All in all, a great day. Traffic was light going and coming back. Sure was happy about that. I'll be back next year.

[Scott V]

It was sad to see how hard the economy had hit the show. I did not think it would make so they could only fill one building and I was bummed that the kayak people did not show. I was hoping to pick up a new kayak. Oh well I hope things are better next year. At least I got to see old friends and meet new friends.

[Jay Murakoshi]

My thoughts on the show..... From my side of the table, I thought the attendance was about the same as last year maybe a few more new faces in the crowd. The weather on Sat.morning was the ***** but I remember last year on Sat, it poured. It looked like a few of the exhibitors were selling products, a lot of rods being tested and a lot of tire kicking. I'm sure it's hard for the Alaska lodges to selling those high end trips as well as the tropical trips. I myself had a good weekend, sold a number of DVD's, I actually ran out on Sat. afternoon and took orders and gave the show price of $20.00 for the two tying DVD's. This morning, I'm sitting here burning videos ready for mail out. Sold a lot of flies and took some orders that were staggering.
Friday, I had the opening show at 11:00 am and a little incident happened. For those of you who attended, you know what I'm talking about. But hey Carl, if you read this site, I hope your feeling well.
My fly tying class wasn't full but it gave those time to figure out the techinque for stacking and tying deer hair flies. Hope you watch the video. Steve, yours is in the mail.
Sat in on a presentation by Loren Elliott. A good informative presentation and I'm sure there will be more in the future.
In my spare time, I will be working on a short video that I took with my GoPro. I walked around the show capturing people and exhibitors. I also let it run for a half hour on my ty ing table. As soon as it's completed, I'll post it on Vimeo.com

Hope to see you next year and may the gods bless a sunny warm day - forget the cold weather.

Jay

[Loren E]

Thanks Jay, coming from one of the guys who paved the way in the surf game your words of encouragement are really appreciated!
The show was a lot of fun and I enjoyed meeting many new faces.

tight lines -Loren