DENVER FLY FISHING SHOW

DENVER, FEBRUARY 11-13, 2022

by Bennett J. Mintz

The belief that it is darkest in the hours nearest the dawn was never truer than in developing the 2022 Denver Fly Fishing Show.

Originally scheduled for the Denver Mart in early January, show management and staff were gobsmacked to learn the venerable Denver Mart, home of the Fly Fishing Show for 19 years, was facing bankruptcy and closing its doors.

That left the 2022 Fly Fishing Show homeless. This was after the entire 2021 show schedule was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all the uncertainty and mandates it had caused. The closure left hundreds of fly fishing product manufacturers, dealers, fly tiers and other exhibitors out in the cold. It would be a $1 million dollar or greater loss to the Denver area economy. It was catastrophic for nonprofit conservation organizations that are given free exhibit space.

Then came the dawn and a bright new day. Fly Fishing Show President and CEO Ben Furimsky had an idea: why not negotiate with the spanking new Denver Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center? Initially, on top of prohibitive costs, there were logistical problems of conflicting dates, exhibit space, and other issues. Costs were trimmed here and there with a little give and take, and suddenly the 2022 Denver Fly Fishing Show was headed to America’s newest, most convenient, and most beautiful resort and convention center!

The Denver Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center, a Marriott Hotels property, stands at the edge of the Front Range in Aurora and

features more than 500,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, 1,387 guest rooms, mountain views, five restaurants, bars, spa, water park, and fitness center. The massive business and vacation complex is near Denver International Airport, with shuttle services.

When word got out within the fly fishing industry, it was as if the heavens opened. Exhibitors who had not been able to show newly developed products for nearly two years came flocking to the Fly Fishing Show, looking for booth space.

Designers and manufacturers of rods, reel, clothing, wading gear and accessories wanted nothing more than to be first to show off new products in Denver.

Fly fishing destinations and lodges from the Rockies to Argentina, the Yucatan to the South Pacific clamored for booth space.

The lineup of casting instructors, fly tiers, seminar presenters, Destination Theater programs, and classes exceeded expectations. For fly-fishers and those who want to be one, the 2022 Denver Fly Fishing Show became the Event of the Century.

The list of personalities in all aspects of the sport is monumental and includes Fly Fishing World Champion, guide, instructor and product developer at Hardy and Grey’s Fly Fishing, Howard Croston, together for the first time with Gary Borger, Mac Brown, Tim Cammisa, Jeff Currier, Pat Dorsey, Ed Engle, Tim Flagler, Rob Giannino, Landon Mayer, Charlie Craven,

Brian O’Keefe, Jason Randall, Philip Rowley, Bill Edrington and Taylor Edrington.

Landon Mayer

Other presentations or exhibitions are by Simon Gawesworth, Devin Olsen, Steve Schweitzer, Dave Whitlock, Jen Ripple, and Jim and Janine Young.

Classes With the Experts are planned with Borger, Brown, Randall, Dorsey, Engle, Olsen, Mayer, Flagler and others. For class times, fees, prerequisites and registration, phone (814) 443 3638.

About 50 fly tiers will exhibit their skills and craftsmanship including Whitlock, Borger, Craven, Mayer, Flagler, Engle, Dorsey, Cammisa, Rowley and Olsen.

Casting demonstrations with hands-on instruction will be by Brown, O’Keefe, Currier, Borger, Mayer, Whitlock, Gawesworth and Alice Owsley.

Destination Theater presentations include those on Wyoming’s North Platte, various locations and lodges in Alaska, Rocky Mountain National Park, Central Oregon, Montana’s

Kootenai Country, Peacock Bass in Brazil, Belize, the Colorado River, Christmas Island, Colorado’s rivers, and various tailwaters throughout the Western United States.

A massive selection of fly tying, casting and other related books and videos will be for sale.

There will be free non-stop fly fishing how-to seminars by Randall, Edrington, Mayer, Engle, Rowley, Borger, Currier, Brown, Cammisa, Croston, Olsen, Schweitzer, Dorsey and Flagler.

PAT DORSEY

The Learning Center will provide free fly tying, casting, and other skills of the sport continuously throughout the three day show.

Door prizes include trips, tackle, inflatable watercraft, art, and equipment.

“Fly Fishing Show attendees will be granted special reduced room rates,” said Furimsky, encouraging both visitors and exhibitors “to bring families before, during and after the event on a well-deserved midwinter vacation.”

The Denver Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center is located at 6700 No. Gaylord Rockies Blvd., Aurora.

Adult Fly Fishing Show admission is $18 for one day, $28 for two days, and $38 for three days.

Children age 5 and under are free; ages 6-12 are $5. Girl and Boy Scouts under age 16 in uniform are free while members of the military with ID are $10. Hours: Friday, 10-6; Saturday, 9-5:30; Sunday 9-4:30.

For additional information, seminar times, author’s booth, casting demonstration hours or any other question, visit the Denver Fly Fishing Show online at https://flyfishingshow.com/denver-co/ or phone (814) 443 3638.