Hey Everyone,

Yes, I did make it home alive from the show. Sorry for not posting earlier, but this is the first chance I have had to get to the keyboard.

I really like that show. My highlights, in order:
1) Meeting the FAOL gang. Everyone is great to talk with. As if I wasn't geared up already for the fish-in! It is gonna be a blast!
2) Listening to Lefty Kreh and Joe Humphreys talk. Good grief! Those guys are amazing! I gotta get my hands on some of Humphreys nymphing stuff. Anyone have any recommendations? Will need to do some net surfing.
3) Casting Mike McFarland's line of rods. Leo just built a rod with one of his fiberglass blanks and they are just as beautiful as the pictures he posted. Nice to cast also. But I was ABSOLUTELY FLOORED by his graphite Vintage series line! UNBELIEVEABLE!!! From the very first cast I was just amazed. Slow, smooth as silk, delicate. I couldn't put the thing down! And you could not find a nicer guy. I know what is on my wish list. One of his 8'9" 3wts!
4) Meeting some of the great FAOL sponsors. Kudos to Stone River as the others have said. As nice a group of people as you will ever meet.
5) A friend of mine that I go to church with shared a booth with Ron Barch and Alder Creek Publishing. His name is Mike Miling and he is a part-time artist who does some incredible paintings. When I stopped in at the end of Saturday, he was really happy. Sold one painting to another vendor before the show even started (beautiful one of a litte brookie) and got commissioned to do another painting for another fella! I was real happy for him. If anyone is interested in some gorgeous fishing and wildlife prints, be sure to let me know, and I will get you his contact info.

My only knock on this years show is that every other year I have attended there is usually someone who comes and just steals the show, someone who is just given some whale of a good specials on stuff. So good you have to push your way through the crowds to get a piece of the action. Last year it was our friends at Elkhorn who were all but giving away travel rod combos. Their booth was a beehive! The weird thing was they were not back this year. Not sure why, they must have made a profit with all the action they were getting. The year before that a group of guys were selling tubs of discounted/discontinued equipment. One bucket would empty and they would haul out another. It was great. Had to beat people out of your way with a club to get at the deals. But this year, their really wasn't anyone like that.

That is about it for this years show. Thanks again to everyone who got together for lunch. It was great to put faces with names.

Jim