The official start to the winter flyfishing consumer show circuit began in Denver over the weekend, as two competing consumer shows—The Fly Fishing Expo and The Fly Fishing Show —both drew anxious anglers to the Denver Convention Center and The Denver Merchandise Mart, respectively.

Despite some grumblings among attendees and exhibitors regarding the shows being on the same day in the same city, both shows were relatively well-attended, especially considering that it was the first warm day in weeks, when many of the attendees could have chosen to go fishing instead. “It figures that we get our first great day of the year to go fishing, and we have to come here to talk about it instead,” said flyfishing author and icon John Gierach. Even on Friday, during a middle-of-the-day seminar, Gary Borger had standing-room-only for his nymphing presentation at The FlyFishing Show. “I don’t think we’re seeing any noticeable drop in attendance from last year,” said show long-time show owner Chuck Furimsky. “In fact the destination exhibitor numbers are up.” Meanwhile, in downtown Denver, representatives from AFFTA’S The Flyfishing Expo, said they were pleased with the turnout at their first-year event. “I’ve been very pleased with the turnout, especially with the beginner’s casting area,” said AFFTA president Robert Ramsey. “And we’ve seen a lot of businesspeople coming in from the downtown area.” While this was the only consumer show being put on by AFFTA, The Flyfishing Show has six more stops for consumers to go cast the latest rods, check out exciting destination lodges from Alaska to the tropics, and learn from many of the industry’s dozens of experts sharing tips and techniques. Here is The Flyfishing Show schedule for the rest of the winter: Marlborough, MA, Jan 18,19,20; ; Somerset, NJ, Jan 25, 26, 27; Bellevue, WA, Feb 1,2,3; Charlotte, NC, Feb 8, 9, 10; Pleasanton, CA, Feb 22, 23, 24; Pasadena, CA, March 1,2.