T.F.M. at the Fly Fishing Show

Yesterday I took the day off work and zipped up to Charlotte for the Fly Fishing Show. I had a great time shaking hands with Fishy Kid and T.F.M. sponsors, dropping off cards to others, and meeting a few members from the the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum and the T.F.M. facebook page throughout the day.


I wanted to bring back to the T.F.M. readership a few highlights and photographs of products that really impressed me from several of the fly gear companies that participated in the show.

HARDY GREYS
Let's start where I spent the most time yesterday...at the Hardy Greys booth.

Yes, Hardy Greys is sponsoring the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest this year, so I don't want this to come across as lip service but honestly there was no other company that "brought it" like they did to the show. They had a clean booth area with the back wall lined with fly rods each of their series and a glass case filled with the entire line of Hardy and Greys fly reels in all sizes. There were some accessories and clothing but the bulk of their product was like it should be with fly rods and fly reels.

Ben Austin, a.k.a. Mr. Blanco Honky, and John Shaner were manning the booth and great to speak with. I certainly got the feeling that Hardy Greys is making a push to be a significant player of the North America market in both freshwater and saltwater fly fishing market from here on out.


The Perfect and St. George reels are stunning no doubt and I put a couple of them on the long range wish list.

I want...I mean NEED one of these Bougle MKVI for the Hardy Test fiberglass four weight I've got on demo.

I tried to walk away from the Hardy Greys booth with the $8,000 titanium Zane Ti reel stowed in my bag but Ben Austin and John Shaner were ready to put the tackle on me if I would have walked out of their booth. HA...

I took a few minutes to cast a couple of the Classic Lightweight series fly rods which are a mix of fiberglass and graphite and a joy to cast...even indoors. The four weight had a great feel to it and the five weight felt like it could cast streamers and big terrestrials with ease.

I've had an increased interest in the Hardy Greys line over the past year but after seeing everything in person, casting a few rods, and putting a lot of the reels in my hand, I am more than impressed. I may be on the way to a new addiction.

GOERTZEN ADVENTURE EQUIPEMENT
Not five minutes after arriving at the show I met Jon Goertzen of Goertzen Adventure Equipment. Jon is from Missoula, Montana and when not working for the Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop makes hand made leather and canvas pieces of gear for several outdoor pursuits.

Jon had a full display of his leather lanyards and fly fishing bags and I'll admit that I was completely blown away by the looks, function, and quality of his work.

The Fly Fishing Lanyards run $49 and the term "lanyard" might be a little misleading since they are actually a lanyard, large fly patch, tippet holder, and hemostat holder all in one. This essentially could take the place of your vest in many instances.

The Fly Fishing Bags run $350 including the fly boxes in the front pockets and while this system might not be in everyone's budget there is an appeal to these being a one of a kind type product with the differences in leathers used on each bag.

NO-FLOAT STIX
A company I did not expect to see at the show but had a wonderful time talking to was Tom and Joyce Toomey from the wading staff company No-Float Stix.

No-Float Stix's come in five sizes and can be special ordered in camo or fish prints to further personalize your wading staff to your liking.

Tom sent me a No-Float Stix a couple of months ago and I am really impressed with the product so far. A lot of work and testing has gone into the development of this product and it is clearly evident once you get this wading staff in the river.

THE CLASSIC FLY FISHERMAN
I spent some time at The Classic Fly Fisherman booth and spoke to Bob Selb at length about vintage gear, fiberglass fly rods, and fly reels. He had a few things that caught my eye.


This reel display was worth a dozen of my paychecks no doubt.

On display was a series of fiberglass fly rods built on vintage Conolon blanks by the rod maker Walt Carpenter. I am a complete push over for brown woven glass and these were finished out beautifully.

There are five rod models in this series in line weights four, five, and six and they are priced at $850 each.

SCOTT FLY RODS
I stopped in to speak with James Buice of Scott Fly Rods and asked about rumors about what might be coming in the future in the Fibertouch series. All I got as a response was a big knowing smile and the comment that something very special indeed was in the works. It seems like secrecy and hints are all I'm getting out of Scott Fly Rods right now. Darn.

FLYMEN FISHING COMPANY
Out of all the fly tiers that I saw yesterday Martin Bawden of Flymen Fishing Company stood out for the products that he is producing with this growing company. He had an array of tungsten and brass beadheads in various colors and sizes that were very impressive. I picked up a few packs in both brass and tungsten and look forward to tying with them soon.

Keep an eye on the Flymen Fishing Company website in the next month or so since he is going to begin offering a very cool fly tying product that he had at the show but didn't want photographed and shown off to the masses yet. All I can say is that I'm going to need them in various sizes and colors to use on patterns to fill up my striper streamer box with.

Z REELS
Many of you know that I am a vintage reel hound but recently I've been looking at a few of the "new school" reels for a couple of my custom fiberglass rod builds. I was particularly intrigued with the reels at the K&T Equip LLC booth which are made in Germany by Z Reels. K&T Equip LLC is a Greer, South Carolina based company and the only distributor in the United States for these fly reels.

These reels had a wonderful feel and sound to them and the Natural series has a leather pad to use as the drag to slow down a running fish. These reels are priced at special introductory prices from $340 to $430.

The Revolution is the second reel offered by Z Reels and features a disc brake and spools that pop off the center hub with ease. The Revolution is priced at the introductory prices of $380 to $470.

One of the Natural reels taken apart which almost leaves you wondering how these work?

Z Reels can be ordered in nine different colors and the reels are offered in four sizes in line weights four through eight.

Z Reels can be ordered with a distinctive leather case or an extra spool.

I am particularly intrigued with the Natural series and may have to add one of those to the collection soon.


Well...that is about it for the cream of the show in my eyes. I had a great time and glad I took the day to go.

I'd be interested to hear what impressed you at the Fly Fishing Show as well so please comment on this blog post with your thoughts and opinions.

If you have any questions about the products discussed above please feel free to drop me an email at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org.