Outdoor Show worthless for fly fisherman

[SteveG]

Pcray, I agree. I think any guide service's marketing/advertising budget would be better spent on a website and search engine optimization. Working the show circuit seems antiquated to me.

 

[steveo27]

I havent been to an "outdoor" show in years, glad to see Im not missing much. The only thing I can really even remember about the shows was the free sleeves of Skoal. LOL.

An outdoors show geared to hiking and camping would be neat to see I think

 

[CaptainHook]

Chaz wrote:
The Show is now run by the NRA, I need not say more.

Please, Chaz, do say more. I don't understand what point you are trying to make about "the show is now run by the NRA."

 

[Biggie]

The last time I was at the Hbg. show, there was a guide from Pulaski, NY. He had two fresh chromers on ice and saying "caught yesterday" on the Salmon River...........I have to admit, seeing those steelies got me wound up to run up there to fish. This was at least 15 yrs. ago.

 

[wgmiller]

Chaz wrote:
The Show is now run by the NRA, I need not say more.

Precisely.

 

[Dave_W]

Biggie wrote:
The last time I was at the Hbg. show, there was a guide from Pulaski, NY. He had two fresh chromers on ice and saying "caught yesterday" on the Salmon River...........I have to admit, seeing those steelies got me wound up to run up there to fish. This was at least 15 yrs. ago.

I remember those guys - usually had a big cooler packed with huge trout (although I remember the fish as brown trout, much like the one in your avatar) and there was always a crowd gawking at those fish, including me.
It didn't lead me up to the Salmon River, but I always looked forward to walking by this particular booth and looking in that cooler. There was another outfitter, I think from Erie, that did the same trick with a cooler full of enormous walleyes on ice. Funny how these "fresh" fish on ice seemed to garner so much more attention than all the mounts.

 

[lestrout]

Outfitters that make a physical presence with booths and personnel at the shows do plant the seed in my mind. In some cases, it was news to me that the particular destination even existed. The times there was an Irish Chamber of Commerce booth, and this last time when some folks (maybe multiple booths) from Iceland certainly planted their virtues in my mind.

The people I know who have shopped and booked at these show booths tend to be less inclined to conduct the due diligence and research that many of our posters here do. Come to think of it, they tend to be well off financially, with many claims on their time. Mostly older too.

Whether the upcoming younger demographic will find appeal with the destination booths is going to be interesting to watch. But I can see the benefits for many in physically meeting the folks running the service when weeks of time and thousands of dollars are involved.

 

[pcray1231]

I'm generally aware of the FF destinations just from hanging around FF circles. Having a booth at a FF show would likely not sway me towards going to a particular spot, or if I had already decided to go there, to using a particular lodge.

That said, if my mind was already made up on where to go, yes, I would stop by a booth pushing a similar or nearby location. And if I had already chosen a lodge, and they happened to be present, yes, I would stop and physically meet the people running it.

At this stage in my life, though, a FF based destination trip is not in the cards. What can be, and has at times, been arranged is if I am travelling somewhere anyway for other purposes, to be able to maybe take a day for myself. That's how I got to fish Switzerland, for instance. I was there for business. I stole 1 extra day.

As an example. This summer we'll be going to the Outer Banks. Family trip. Nearly every day I'll probably do a little surf fishing, and may get to wade around the sound once or twice while I'm there. But I might get 1 day to do a more serious fishing trip. I did notice that FlyGal and FlatOut fishing charters was present at the Somerset show. I was already aware of them from searching OBX fly fishing charters, but if they show up at Lancaster I will likely have a talk with them. It is unlikely, however, that I'd actually book with them because they are based out of Oregon Inlet marina and that'll be well over an hour from where we're staying. I would use either one of the marinas in Hatteras Village or else Ocracoke. Still, they may have some useful advice, for either booking a charter or maybe just for my non-guided surf and sound fishing exploits.

 

[PocketWater]

About the only event I attend is the Trout Unlimited Cabin Fever event up in Cranberry. Not a huge event but there is some cool stuff there. Bought a cape directly from a guy that raises the birds and had a couple of the live birds there in cages for pretty cheap.

They have a few demonstrations and seminar type things going on.

http://pwwtu.org/cabinfever.html

 

[JeffK]

I will add a comment about the Somerset Show and TU. Our chapter was unable to get a booth there this year and we checked into it more than 6 months in advance (we were at the Fly Tying Show). More money is pushing more smaller paying customers out to the outer fringes like the hallways and the ballroom lobby, which in turn puts pressure on the non-profits. We usually made a fair amount of money at the show.

 

[TimRobinsin]

I have to laugh about TU's alleged "outreach." Who is TU reaching out to at a fly fishing show?

The Eastern Outdoors Show is the kind of show I would want to be at precisely because the FFer is something different there. You have a real opportunity to introduce new people to the sport. I remember watching Dusty Wissmuth cast there over ten years ago. He had more people surrounding that pond than Lefty does at somerset. And why?

Because most people don't go to the FF shows to see something they have seen a bunch of times before. They want to see new products and learn new techniques. The FF shows are geared more towards the people who are already in the sport. The Eastern Show is where you could really reach out and grow the sport.

Honestly thats where TU ought to be. TU does a lot of FF related stuff and I am afraid they may be forgetting that they are supposed to be a coldwater conservation group that does not discriminate based on angling style. TU exists to promote trout habitat and fishing. The Eastern Show is the kind of place where you want to show off the relationship TU has working with gov agencies and businesses to restore and maintain and improve our coldwater resources.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

I knew better then to go thought everyone knew that would be the case

 

[Dave_W]

TimRobinsin wrote:
I have to laugh about TU's alleged "outreach." Who is TU reaching out to at a fly fishing show?

Fair enough. . .Perhaps TU is preaching to the choir.

However, I'd point out that CVTU had manned a booth at the Sports Show since 1980 as well as running a popular fly tying competition and fly sales gig during the show. TU volunteers put great effort into these and they were successful for many years. Nevertheless, the nature of participation in outdoor sports is simply changing and becoming more specialized and the days when FFers were highly likely to also be bass anglers or hunters. . .has simply declined.

Volunteer efforts and time have limited scope and tough decisions have to be made about where to focus limited volunteer efforts (not to mention tight budgets). FF shows are simply more likely than general outdoor shows that emphasize guns and hunting. . . to match TU goals with an audience that is more likely to support such goals and priorities.

I can speak from my own experience manning booths at the Sports Show (and similar general outdoor shows) that the number of people you meet and talk to who are serious trout anglers is very small. Among that group, the number who might consider supporting or joining TU, is a very small subset of an already small population. Perhaps the FF shows are a better use of limited time and resources.

 

[Hunttroutbum]

We are a different breed. Take pride in that fact. We like to do things differently from the norm. Some of us tie our own flies. And we refuse help. We find our streams on our own. It is an art. A personal art if you do fly fishing the right way. Why would you want to change or commercialize that?

 

[troutbert]

Dave_W wrote:

TimRobinsin wrote:
I have to laugh about TU's alleged "outreach." Who is TU reaching out to at a fly fishing show?

Fair enough. . .Perhaps TU is preaching to the choir.

However, I'd point out that CVTU had manned a booth at the Sports Show since 1980 as well as running a popular fly tying competition and fly sales gig during the show. TU volunteers put great effort into these and they were successful for many years. Nevertheless, the nature of participation in outdoor sports is simply changing and becoming more specialized and the days when FFers were highly likely to also be bass anglers or hunters. . .has simply declined.

Volunteer efforts and time have limited scope and tough decisions have to be made about where to focus limited volunteer efforts (not to mention tight budgets). FF shows are simply more likely than general outdoor shows that emphasize guns and hunting. . . to match TU goals with an audience that is more likely to support such goals and priorities.

I can speak from my own experience manning booths at the Sports Show (and similar general outdoor shows) that the number of people you meet and talk to who are serious trout anglers is very small. Among that group, the number who might consider supporting or joining TU, is a very small subset of an already small population. Perhaps the FF shows are a better use of limited time and resources.

Agreed.

To recruit TU members, a flyfishing show is a much better bet than a general outdoor show.

 

[RLeep2]

I'm shocked to learn that this is an "either or" situation...

That is to say: If TU has an outreach effort at a "general outdoor" show, are they then prohibited from doing the same at a "fly fishing" show? Or vice versa if that is the case?

 

[RLeep2]

Please excuse the snarky tone of the post above... I've had a stone in my shoe all day about unrelated matters.

Merry Christmas, etc...

 

[tomitrout]

You've got a point though, and when you're looking at the financial outlay to even get in the door and set up a booth at these events, not many chapters are that flush that they can hit all the different shows in a year, so in some ways it is an either/or choice. And then you can add it into the bigger context of budgeting for other outreach efforts along with the cost of dipping into your available volunteer hours, which aren't unlimited. Most folks only have x number of free wknds because of how life is and folks also wanna maybe go fishin' themselves, do chores, other hobbies, etc and so if you start asking them to run a couple booths also, you could be dipping into your gillie pool or rock rollin' crew later in the year...it's a fine balance.

 

[afishinado]

Agreed with all above.

As for an TU's choice as to which show(s) to attend to get more bites, I would say it comes down to fish where the cold water fish are.

There are a lot more people at a fly-fishing show interested in cold water streams than would be at a general outdoor show when you subtract out those there for their interest in guns, hunting, boats, warm water fishing, camping gear, RV's......

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Maybe TU could try giving out a patriotic pocketknife (made in China) like the NRA does when you sign up?

The outdoor show in hbg has turned into more of a gun show and ATV (you know those things that tear up the woods and stream beds) show. Oh yeah and LOTS of black, ugly, military type weapons and gear....(For all the sportsmen). The quirky, interesting vendors aren't there anymore. Last time I went the only thing worth seeing was the taxidermy exhibit.

The smaller firehall type shows are sometimes interesting. The Lehigh Valley show is more interesting...fly tying and fishing related vendors Also more local outdoors related stuff. I bought a real nice handmade turkey call from a nice guy from Juniata County.