WRITING ON THE FLY
George Liset
On the fourth Saturday of April, it was opening day in New Hampshire for trout ponds. Opening day in some places is like a national holiday. Everything stops except for fishing.
First day of fishing brings back some great memories to an older generation. My wife, a native Vermonter, has fond memories of digging worms with her dad and fishing the small brook in their back field.
This generation is more excited for opening day when the new video game comes out.
Fly fishing shows are, in themselves, like an opening day. The shows are the opening day for new equipment like fly fishing rods and reels, fly tying supplies, and making plans for future fly fishing trips. It is usually a time to get a good deal on all of the above. So with money to burn I headed down to the New England Fly Fishing Show with my friend Coach Jim Boulanger.
The New England Fly Fishing Show is usually held in January which is a slow time for fly fishing and all those who are in the fly fishing industry. January is a great time to present new products and to make reservations for a future fly fishing trip since there are some deals to be had. With Covid still active, the show was moved to April. The show is a great time to check out new products, pick up some fly tying materials, purchase some new flies, see some great fly tying demonstrations and see old friends.
The show didn’t disappoint, although the turnout was lower and there were a few less vendors. I drove down with my friend coach Jim Boulanger. Coach Jim and I are hoping to get on the water a lot more now that we both are retired. We both wanted to catch up with New Hampshire guide and noted fly tier, Scotty Biron. We all worked together many years ago at UNH in the Athletic Department. Scotty was doing a fly tying demonstration on tying streamers. Scotty does beautiful work and helps out a lot with New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Coach Jim and I made plans to fish with Scotty this spring. Scotty has the inside scoop on some great places to fish and what to use to catch them. The way to become a better fly fisher is to fish with someone that is more knowledgeable than you are, so any chance to fish with someone of Scotty’s caliber you do it.
As I was walking around, I had a chance to meet Jeff Davis of Maine Fly Company out of Falmouth, Maine. Prior to the show I had seen an article about Maine Fly Company. I had planned a visit this spring, but I was glad to meet Jeff, the founder and craftsman for the rods. Maine Fly Co. specializes in small batch rods.
What I noticed about the rods were the craftsmanship and the feel. I have a number of expensive fly rods, and the Maine Fly Co. rods are as nice as any I have. The rods were beautiful and a bargain. I have some nice fly rods, as I said to Coach Jim on the way to the show, I didn’t need another fly rod. I lied. I’m not an impulse buyer, but I could have left with two new rods. So Coach and I planned a trip to Yarmouth to pick up our new rods.
Fly fishing shows are a great way to entertain yourself until fly fishing season totally opens. Tying flies, re-rigging your gear and planning for future trips will keep you busy until the season officially opens. Until then I’ll organize my gear and figure out where I am going to put my new fly rods.
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.