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Back from the Seattle Spey Clave and Fly Fishing Show. Lots to report, but I’ll have to do it in a few pieces as my cold/flu (or whatever it is!) has come back and I’m not exactly firing on all cylinders right now!
The short report is that everything was more than we ever could have expected. The Spey Clave went off without a hitch and at one point we did a head count at 86 people, with more arriving, so we estimate that over the course of the day over 100 people attended the event (and I thought we’d be doing pretty good if we saw 40 people, especially on a Friday afternoon!). Rods, reels and lines were of course a big focus of the event, but the best part was the fellowship and camaraderie evident among the participants. Spey Claves are great opportunities for Spey casters and steelheaders to get together and be what we are—metalhead junkies and long rod enthusiasts with a deep respect for wild rivers and wild fish. Beneath all the talk of rod actions, line tapers, presentation strategies and home waters, what binds us together is the fact that moving waters are part of our life-blood and speak to our souls. Our hearts leap when we feel the take and surge of a wild steelhead or salmon, and when we release one there is a deep satisfaction and abiding calm.
The show booth had us going non-stop. Saturday was extremely busy but thanks to the great support and help of people like sinktip, flytyer, Leland, Deerhawk, Ed, Dave, Mike, kush, Sandi, Nobuo, JJ and the dedicated people at the Wild Steelhead Coalition (and yes, I know in my foggy brain that I have missed some names and for that I sincerely apologize—it will be corrected!), Juro, Sean and I were able to run around and take care of a zillion behind-the-scenes details and still have time to meet our members. The shadow boxes were a great draw and the look on the winners’ faces (pictures when Juro returns next week!) made it all worthwhile.
More details and pics to come!
The short report is that everything was more than we ever could have expected. The Spey Clave went off without a hitch and at one point we did a head count at 86 people, with more arriving, so we estimate that over the course of the day over 100 people attended the event (and I thought we’d be doing pretty good if we saw 40 people, especially on a Friday afternoon!). Rods, reels and lines were of course a big focus of the event, but the best part was the fellowship and camaraderie evident among the participants. Spey Claves are great opportunities for Spey casters and steelheaders to get together and be what we are—metalhead junkies and long rod enthusiasts with a deep respect for wild rivers and wild fish. Beneath all the talk of rod actions, line tapers, presentation strategies and home waters, what binds us together is the fact that moving waters are part of our life-blood and speak to our souls. Our hearts leap when we feel the take and surge of a wild steelhead or salmon, and when we release one there is a deep satisfaction and abiding calm.
The show booth had us going non-stop. Saturday was extremely busy but thanks to the great support and help of people like sinktip, flytyer, Leland, Deerhawk, Ed, Dave, Mike, kush, Sandi, Nobuo, JJ and the dedicated people at the Wild Steelhead Coalition (and yes, I know in my foggy brain that I have missed some names and for that I sincerely apologize—it will be corrected!), Juro, Sean and I were able to run around and take care of a zillion behind-the-scenes details and still have time to meet our members. The shadow boxes were a great draw and the look on the winners’ faces (pictures when Juro returns next week!) made it all worthwhile.
More details and pics to come!
