Sorry folks, but I will not be attending. I have talked to Grubb & the weather did me in. I have a 6 1/2 hour one way drive (over $200.00 fuel expense) , driving alone, motel, meals, license, & the strong possibility of little or no fishing & I just can’t risk it as my total expense would be in the area of $500.00. If I lived a couple hours away, where I could make a day trip, I would chance it. This decision was tough & slow in being made, but is the right one for me.
I will be sending PMs to all of you responding in this thread that you’re going as I WILL be making fudge this weekend & will mail it to each of you.
Once again, I am sorry,
Mike
Hi Mike;
I can’t blame you, stay home and stay dry. I’m going rain or shine, figure I can wear my waders and rain coat and stay dry no matter what.
Hopefully the water doesn’t get too high to wade, I got a bad case of fishingitus and a new bamboo rod that needs a fish on it!
Anyone have any suggestions for fishing in rainy conditions?
Wayneb
Hi Grubb;
Sorry you won’t be attending either, was looking foward to seeing you Mike and George again. Grubb, perhaps we can get together and go fishing some time this summer??
George, looks like it’s me and you from the photo 2yrs ago.
Wayne
Sorry to hear you wont be making it Mike. But at the same time I can see why you would make that decision. Grubb, if I don’t see you Sat, maybe then on Sunday? Otherwise, I am still planning on going. Will stand under the bridge if it rains too hard. LOL
George
Sorry to hear you won’t make it but, under the circumstances, I don’t blame you. George. I assume we are still on. Will have to find my rain gear I guess.
Wayne, I will be looking for you. Will have to check the picture to refresh my memory as to what you look like. We will find each other eventually.
George
My son will have the umbrella and I’ll be under the Tilly hat…I’m excited…
Bernie
Ohiotuber we understand why your not coming, we will miss you Mike. You always add a great deal of friendship… Perhaps later in the year we can plan a get together with more promising weather. Dont worry about the fudge… Your friendship and love far out weigh the fudge… Now don’t be posting about how your out catching record size blue gills while we are down here standing in the rain…lol 
Hey if you guys want some extra company say for a weekend in July just let me know. Perhaps we can set something up. I can’t make this one and I really feel bad for you foks that can’t make it either.
Well George and I headed to the Fly Festival. Rain was pouring down and we had no problem finding a parking spot. We preceeded through the gate and stopped under the shelter for a smoke before heading into the exibiters tent where we eventually met Wayne. Once inside I was suprised at how empty it seemed. There was around 1" or more water on the ground and lots of mud. Looking out of the tent and into the field, the lecture tents were sitting in around 6" of water and the rain was coming down harder with no end in sight. By the time we left, they were giving out free tickets to tomorrows events, trying to salvage what is sure to be a wash out event this year. As I write this, it is still raining hard and thundering. They are calling for clearing tomorrow so if you did not make it today, try to get there tomorrow and help out the event. Here are the few pictures I took. My camera is not waterproof sp, I did not pull it out in the rain.
Thanks for putting the pictures up Scott. They really don’t show the conditions as they were. Like Scott said, water, water everywhere.
Got home a few minutes ago and headed straight for the shower. Dry clothes, clean shoes and socks feel great. I still hadn’t dried out completely after the hour trip home.
Wife said there was very little rain at home. What a difference 60 miles makes.
George
Hi George & Scott;
Great seeing you guys, the show really was bad, no power, flooding, no seminars, and no celbrity appearances. I think the only ones happy were the three in my last photo, definetly a day for ducks and not people!
I think the organizers did a poor job preparing for the weather, would have been better to cancel it!
Wayneb
Sorry I missed you guys, but I hope you put tickets in the bucket raffles. The odds HAVE to be pretty good!
BTW, PM me those addresses as I hope to make & mail your fudge Monday.
Now go dry out!!!
Mike
ps: Judging from the pics, am I correct in assuming you did NOT fish? :roll::twisted:
Hi Mike;
No fishing, I got there early (8am) hoping to get in some fishing before the show but, the water was already high and chocolate colored.
I was so frustrated with the show that I didn’t even consider putting tickets in the raffle. I just want a refund, other than seeing George again and meeting Scott, the show was nearly a complete waste of time.
Wayneb
I have a feeling the attendance tomorrow will make up what was lost today. Gonna be crowded tomorrow. Probably wont be any fishing though. Heard on the weather report tonight that Wintergreen got 7 inches of rain and that is on top of the mountain just west ot the festival. And I have heard that water rums downhill.
But on a good note Wayne/Mike, one of the vendors said they did catch a fish–in the creek that was running through the vendor’s tent. Said he caught it on a “muddler”.
Good to see you again Wayne. Will see you tomorrow. Scott says he won’t be able to get back tomorrow. Mike, will be thinking about you tomorrow.
George
Hi George;
Sorry but I can’t make it tomorrow, not sure I’d want to come back for the show, got a bad taste today. I would like to come back some time later this year and fish the South though, perhaps us local FAOLers could set up a combined trip??.
Did you check out the new fly shop in town? I spent a good amount of time there, they are trying to offer more reasonably priced gear than you’d typically see in some of the shops that carry a certain “brand” of equipment, they have reasonble priced waders and rain gear. Definetly worth checking them out.
Wayne
Sorry for the wash out guys , I saw the rain and din’t think of driving down. I did miss seeing you guys. The other side of the coin. Our water table is now up and that is good for the rivers all the way around. Healthy waters means healthy fish…
Tim,
There’s ALWAYS a “silver lining” to every dark cloud. Thanks for finding it.
Mike
Looks like the roof repair saved me from driving the 550 miles and the expense of the trip. I am sorry that this storm ruined what should have been a great time for everyone. All the reports dont have anyone getting hurt, that’s the good news. Wayneb it is good to find some humor in a bad situation with the 3 ducks.
Donat
It is unfortunate that mother nature blew in some terrible storms and runied the day for ya’ll and the show itself. I hope Sunday does bring a good crowd because it is not the show organizer’s fault it poured and blew hard. Just remember that past shows have had good weather, good crowds and good fun.
Dot