I had planned on working on the last dozen flies for my monster deer hair bug order. That turned out to be a poor choice. For one thing, it is very rare that I take home any fly I tie at the shows. I figure if a person is interested enough to stand and watch me tie a fly for 60 minutes plus, they should walk away with the fly for their reference or use. For another, folks were more interested in learning how I put stripes versus dots and other tricks and tips I could share. My goal is to teach, so I taught. I ended up meeting a lot of fantastic people.
I would like to share two stories regarding my experience at the show.
1) A gentleman was watching me tie. I asked if he fished for bass or worked with deer hair. His answer was he did not care for fishing or tying flies. I had to ask what he was doing at the show. His response was the best I had ever heard at a show. He said he was here because his loves the sport and wanted to attend the show. I told him he was a great parent and thanked him for taking the time to attend. What a great guy!!!
2) I had the pleasure of working with a few teenage boys interested in working with deer hair. One appeared to ask more questions than the others. It was obvious to me that he wanted to learn how to tie flies using deer hair. When I was just about completed with the bug, he turned to leave. I asked him if was going to leave without his bug. The look of surprise on his face was worth the lack of sleep the night before and the three hour drive to the show. I made sure he grabbed my card and asked him to send me an e-mail. I hope he does. I want to send him supplies so he can get started on his own deer hair adventures.
The young man in the Cabelas shirt got the popper I spoke of earlier. The father I mentioned was the gentleman all the way over to my right.
I am certainly blessed to have had a chance to tie at the Lynnwood show. I hope to do it again next year.
Regards
Shawn
