Long story short...the Fly Fishing Show was an awesome time! Evan and I arrived at a semi-local Spring Creek to get our trout fix early Friday. Temps were low but the sun peeked out and brought some fish to the surface. We had some fun with midges and baetis patterns, snapped a few pics, then were on our way to the Convention Center to set up our table. I'm sure it wasn't tough to tell we were Fly Fishing Show virgins, as we walked past the half set-up booths in awe.
Saturday was absolutely packed with people and everyone was buzzing! The atmosphere at this place was every fish bum’s dream. We sat at our table spinning up bugs, sipping Apple Pie Moonshine (thanks Boot) and soaking it all in while we watched Lefty Kreh and George Daniel give casting demos. Meanwhile, we swapped stories and fish pics with countless walker-byers and put Instagram names to faces. To all the readers from Instagram, it was nice to meet you!
After Saturday came to a close, we were spent. After 8 hours of tying and nothing but $3 tube steaks in our system, it was WELL past beer-thirty. Clark, Evan and I stopped by The Red Rose for drinks and grub with Andy Link, of The Black Gnats. Chris Pongrac, Owner of Out of the Riffle Woodworks, and his wife also met up with us. Thankfully they did because I’m not sure we would have sung Bohemian Rhapsody a cappello had they not! Good times, guys. After dinner we left to meet up with some fellow fly fishermen at Tellus 360, which was an awesome time as usual. The wild turkey had us gobbling and there were plenty of shenanigans better left unsaid.
Sunday was a bit slower because of the weather, but still a great time nonetheless. Due to the lack of people, we had some time to browse the show ourselves and meet up with some of the other vendors. We talked with Ryan from Risen Fly for a long time about their company and the new things they have coming. We don’t want to spoil anything, but keep an eye on these guys…they've got some really cool stuff in the works. We also picked up some of their new briefcase boxes which are PERFECT for huge musky meat. At $30, this is the best, most affordable box I’ve ever owned.
We also stopped at the Vedavoo booth. Our buddy Joel is the Vedavoo photographer and was holding down the booth strong with Torchbearer Zach Pittman. If you haven't heard of Vedavoo, not only do you live under a rock, but you're missing out on some high quality US Made Fly Fishing Gear! Nothing we love more here at Keystone Fly Fishing than some US made product. If you're looking for a pack, fly tying gear, or anything of the sort, check them out. You will not be dissapointed.
Last and certainly not least was the Out of the Riffle Woodworks booth! We have been following Chris' work on Instagram for some time now, but seeing his stuff in person was a whole new level! He makes pretty much anything you can think of out of wood. Here's the catch...chris doesnt make the ordinary Mahogany net. He uses all different exotic woods, the best rubber nets, and even accents it with ground turquoise resin. How does he do it? I have no idea...but I know I can't wait to get my mitts on one of these things.
