2011 Show Season is Officially Underway!

Well the 2011 show season is officially underway, well for me at least.  This past weekend found me at the Marlborough Fly Fishing Show.  I was there manning The New Fly Fisher booth in support of the Newfoundland & Labrador Outfitters Association (NLOA) as part of the episodes we filmed there in the summer of 2010.

The Marlborough Booth Just Prior to Show Opening

Our adventure began on Wednesday January 12 as James Sidney, one of our cameramen, and I travelled from Ottawa to Marlborough.  The weather was less than friendly and we were driving straight into the Boston area for what would appear to be just in time for a major snow storm.  We didn’t have to travel far to find snow as it began in earnest just down highway 416 from Ottawa.  By the time we crossed the border and travelled down the secondary highways along the west slope of the Adirondacks winter was in full force!  James and I began to wonder if we might have to pull over and spend the night to ride out the storm.  Looking back the snow coming down on the rural farms was beautiful and scenic, almost postcard like.  I should have taken some pictures but we didn’t want to stop and both hands were on the wheel to allow for any ‘drive by’ images.

As we passed through Utica, New York the clouds lifted and things looked brighter.  The roads were clear and we began to make up lost time.  We ran into a few other snow squalls that made for an interesting drive.  Snowflakes’ coming at you in full force at night reminds me of the jump to hyper-space in Star Wars! 
Snow ploughs were out in full force and by the time we arrived in Marlborough at around 8pm Streets were clear and with the exception of the snow banks along the road you would never had known there had been a major snow fall.  Luck was on our side as we were travelling just behind the leading edge of the front.  The Boston area received over 20 inches of snow and we were fortunate to miss it.  The rest of the weekend featured beautiful blue banner skies and crisp temperatures.

During the show I presented a couple of destination seminars on the Atlantic salmon opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador along with a presentation on the trophy brook trout Labrador is famous for.  Saturday’s programs were particularly well attended.  Feedback from show attendees was unbelievably positive.  It seems The New Fly Fisher is well known through our WFN and NESN broadcasts.  
I managed to catch up with a few friends at the show such as Jeff Currier and make a few new ones in the process.

James is a great caster and our location adjacent to the casting pond was perfect for him.  During his breaks he managed to get up there on one occasion showing everyone his soon to be famous Sidney Shoot!

James Demonstrates His Soon To Be Famous 'Sidney Shoot'!

This weekend coming up finds me at the Somerset show, the world’s largest fly fishing show.  It is a show I have always wanted to visit.  We will be there once again in support of NLOA and the shows we filmed.  If you are in the neighbourhood please drop by.