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Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts

Thursday, February 24, 2011

GFP 2011- Review

Guys, Flies & Pies 2011 was a huge success! We had a great turn out and many new people attended. It's great to have new people join us and to see the event grow in size each year. As you all probably noticed, we were very close to running out of room. I'll be working on finding a new place for next year, so keep that in mind, and let me know if  you have any suggestions.

Scott's nymph with Frogs Fanny


We had some demonstrations this year which seemed to be well enjoyed. This allowed some of the new tiers, and those who never have tied an opportunity to watch a few flies being tied by some great local tiers! Thanks for that help guys!  We had a number of people tie their first flies at the event. A big thanks to Tim for helping Dan and his son tie their first! They seemed to enjoy it and have a great time.


Lucas demonstrating a Chubby Muffin

Chubby Muffin, bottom left


First Fly


It's always great to see how willing everyone is to show off their work and help others out. The word on the street is that our youngest tier had a great time tying with Ray and talked about his time with Ray the whole ride home!
Teaching the kids


Our sponsors (see their links below) helped out big time and we enjoyed a table full of door prizes and great raffle prizes. Some highlights of those items were the JP Ross rod with the pizza painted on the butt cap, and the rods from Midwest Custom Fly Rods and Wild WaterUNI stepped up their support this year and provided some nice samples for the door bags, along with JStockards catalog (don't forget the discount on the back) and Lake Ontario Outdoors sending us the magazines. Rumor is one of our GFP guests will be an author in that magazine in the future. It was great to see the full set up go to Lou who lost all his spinning gear to a car break in a few months ago. Theft sucks, so it's nice to see him now have only FLY gear to get back out on the water with! Mike who won the Jesse James reel (2 new models are up on their website now) spooled it up the next day with line and is eagerly anticipating the day (hopefully soon) when he gets it out on the water! Thanks to all our sponsors, your support is much appreciated!



I hope everyone had a chance to check out the rods on display from JP Ross. He does great work and it's very unique for sure. His rods are the quality you'd hope to have, and well worth passing down for generations. Thanks JP for bringing out your display! If anyone didn't get a fishing Yoda shirt, they are available on  his website.

Custom rods by JP Ross
We had John bring some custom made reels and Lucas Carroll brought some photos, both were a huge hit!



Checking out Lucas' sweet photos (Photo: Lucas Carroll)


Custom made reels. Made with wood, metal, and delrin

We ended up placed 2 orders for pizza, and we did very well putting it all down. At the end of the night, we had about 1/2 a sheet left. Well done guys and girls!

Pies (Photo: Lucas Carroll)
A huge thanks goes out to my wife Crystal and her friend Rachel for working the door and raffle tables. Without their help I could not pull off such a quality event. My wife does more behind the scenes than you see at the event, and that help is greatly appreciated.


Say Cheese
Jesse James Reel Company (Photo: Lucas Carroll)

Full setup winner!

The wind, or someone, moved the sign! It was very windy on Saturday

Keith tied up this beauty
 
Great box of streamers. www.day5flies.com



Thanks again to everyone who came and helped out! See you all next year!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Results From Spey Nation

I've posted about Spey Nation before, and hopefully you've listened. Spey Nation is a big spey rod demo party out in Pineville New York. When it started, I think it was just an excuse to drink beer, eat cheeseburgers, and hit the river with other peoples rods to demo when the summer heat has set in.

Well, it worked....but not just in the feeding the hoards of beggars in waders...but in providing money for fish recovery efforts. 

Check out Bottom Hands recent post to see more about their success!



Keep in mind: Spey Nation is a sponsor of GFP this year, and that event is Saturday June 25th 2011.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

FFAA Fly Tying Symposium

Great news just came in the email! JP from JP Ross Fly Rods writes "We have some new special news for you. After a long debate with the Board of Directors of the FFAA, we all decided that we WILL have the 2011 fly tying symposium."

This is great to hear! Last year I attended the syposium in Utica NY and had a great time! Last year they had booths set up, guest tiers (I hope to be one in 2011), and a setup for kids to learn how to tie. My sons went with my wife and I last year and they had a blast tying flies! I have not heard details on this years event, but if it is planned to be like last year it will be a great time.

Need more to push you towards Utica this March 19th? JP also writes "There is no fee to tie or even attend this year. We have decided to generate all our revenue from Raffles."

Details that I have so far:

Date: March 19th 2011
Time: 9am
Location: The Hotel Utica in Utica NY
Admission: FREE


Here are a few photos I took at the event last year....I'll have to search more for the few photos I have of the main ballroom.
Bob Mead

Casting for Recovery

Kids table

Focused tying

Kids at work

Project Healing Waters Truck


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

monoMASTER

www.monomaster.com 

Ever heard of the monoMASTER? Since the beginning, we've been giving some away at the Guys, Flies & Pies event. Grasshopper Outdoors has designed this great tool to help manage waste mono. You know, the stuff that ends up in your pockets, waders, or tangled around your boots?  Now there's a way to easily pack it out when you leave the stream!

How it works: Simply take the mono you don't care about any more and place it in the slot, then twist the post and it winds up INSIDE the container. Once you are back home, you open the container and run a pair of scissors up the groove and the mono comes off and into your garbage can. Simple as that.


Grasshopper Outdoors offers a few more products too. They have hats, zingers, and furled leaders.



Thanks again to Grasshopper Outdoors for supporting our event!!!  Now, if they'd just make a 3 foot long deskMASTER that will clean off my tying desk!

Check them out at www.monomaster.com

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Spey Nation IV


Spey Nation IV has been announced!

Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 9:00am
Pineville Boat Launch Pineville, NY


Spey Nation is a big party out on the Salmon River where tons of rod vendors show up and let you take the rods down to the water to test them out.  I went to the first one, which was well attended, and had lots of rods. I hope to make it back again this year to see how the event and "the nation" has grown! I can only imagine there is more crap to check out and hopefully more cheeseburgers!  Every year there is free food, donated I believe by The Oak Orchard Fly Shop (you know this has to be a great event when a shop from the other side of NY state shows up to feed everyone!)

From Rochester it's about a 2 hour drive, so get ready to pack the car and spend a day of it!

....who wants to drive?