IFTD Demo Day 2017

Evenin' Folks,

  I thought I'd start off the series of AFFTA IFTD 2017 posts with a recap of Demo Day.  IFTD Demo Day is an event where members of the media are invited to the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando before the opening of the IFTD Show and given the opportunity to talk with some manufacturers and use their new products on the water, under real conditions with a rep's (or in some cases, the designer's(!!!)) coaching and input.  It really is an incredible opportunity that I very much enjoy.  

  The setup was a little different this year in that all of the participating manufacturers were lined up along one long pond, which really made it easier to get to all the booths and make sure there was time to try all the new toys.  And, I don't want you to think that this was like casting into a 2-inch deep pool like the indoor casting ponds at various fly fishing events.  No, the water hazards of the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes golf course are trophy managed bass ponds.  Certainly not easy ponds to fish, but if you are lucky enough to hook up it's with a largemouth bass worthy of the latest and greatest products being tested.

  Unfortunately, I was skunked.  But, I was skunked using some of the most advanced fly fishing products to date.  And I had a hell of a time doing it and can't wait until Demo Day 2018!  Follow along with the photos below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of them.  And be on the lookout for the next article in the IFTD 2017 series very soon.

  I hope you're all doing well,

     -Nick

IFTD 2017 Demo Day 7am at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida

The J.W. Marriott Hotel at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Golf Course, Orlando, Florida

Hardy Fly Fishing let me cast one of their new Zephrus Ultralight Series rods in 9' 5-weight with one of their classic Bougle reels.  This setup was designed for delicate presentations and was a pleasure to cast!

The new Salt HD from Sage Fly Fishing has a very soft, smooth cast and the KonneticHD technology helps put the power on for the quick casts that sight fishing saltwater fish requires.

I had the opportunity to cast the new Waterworks-Lamson Center Axis rod and reel side-by-side with an identically outfitted conventional fly rod and reel and the difference was quite astounding! 

At the Scientific Anglers station I got to cast their new Bonefish line on an Orvis Helios 3 rod.  This combination made for near effortless casting of this 8 weight!  I'd really like to spend some more time fishing with this setup!

G. Loomis introduced their new IMX-PRO series of rods this year.  These rods take advantage of the IMX-PRO Matrix graphite that they've been using on their tournament bass rods.  This strong, lightweight rod was a pleasure to cast and with a price tag around $500 it's a high quality rod that's not totally out of reach.

We weren't the only ones fishing at the Ritz-Carlton!

I spent some time talking with Nick (good name!) from Simms Fishing in front of the Simms Bus.  As a Large Outdoorsman myself, I was very happy to hear the Simms has starting increasing the sizes available on some of their more popular lines. 

The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes is a beautiful venue for the AFFTA IFTD Demo Day.  They hotel even provided drift boats and guides to help put attendees on fish!

IFTD Demo Day 2016

Afternoon Folks!
  The day before the opening of the IFTD/ICAST Show in Orlando, the folks from the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (who put on the IFTD Show) hosted a day on the water for show attendees to get products in hand under actual fishing conditions.  Although temperatures were pushing 100 degrees by lunchtime, we couldn't have asked for a prettier day to be fly fishing on a golf course!  It was so much fun, and such a great way to experience new fly fishing products, we can't wait to do it again next year!  Here's some photos from the day.  Enjoy!

Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida

The coffee and pastry gathering before the shotgun start.

An incredibly beautiful course, we felt very fortunate to be able to fish such a gorgeous setting.  We were even issued a golf cart to cruise around the course between vendor tents.

 Flymen Fishing Co.

Surface Seducer Double Barrel Poppers

The first stop of the day was with the Flymen Fishing Co. and a chance to fish for trophy bass with their new Surface Seducer Double Barrel Poppers.  I'm a huge fan of fishing for bluegill and bass with poppers and these new ones did not disappoint.  The double barrel shape and deep concavity made these poppers "pop" better than any I've used before!

The water hazards at the Ritz Carlton Orlando Grade Lakes are actually trophy managed bass ponds.  And, since they were in the middle of the roughs and greens of a golf course, there was almost always plenty of back casting room.

Douglas Outdoors

Sky Series Rods

Our next stop was the Douglas Outdoors station where they were demoing their new Sky series of fly rods.  The 2 weight had a great feel to it and cast very smoothly.  Unfortunately I hung my fly on the weeds you can see in the background and snapped it off before I could really get some good fishing in!  I enjoyed using the Douglas Sky and hope to get a chance to try it again!

G. Loomis

 

My apologies to my readers (and the folks at G. Loomis) for the terrible picture quality! It was such a bright sunny day that my cell phone camera was struggling and I couldn't see the screen to QC the pictures as I took them.  I don't like to use stock photos, though, so we're stuck with these! 

 G. Loomis had the new Asquith rods at their station.  Designed by casting champion Steve Rajeff, the Asquith rods are touted as the fly rod of the future.  Featuring titanium guides, Shimano's Spiral X blank, light weight and a fast action, these new rods are all about high line speeds.

They also let me cast a PRO 4x Shortstix rod.  These short, but quick loading rods are designed to put a big, bulky fly exactly where you want it, FAST!!!  You might see one added to my new saltwater arsenal before too long!

Scientific Anglers

The Scientific Anglers booth had a full complement of lines, leaders and tippets to try on the pond.  I tested one of the new textured shooting lines and was definitely impressed by the smoothness.  The sound from the line running through the guides, though, made me think the line needed cleaning!!

Hardy Fly Fishing

Sirrus Glass Rod

I really enjoyed fishing this little 6' 2 weight Hardy Sirrus Sintrix Glass rod.  I don't have a whole lot of experience with the new fiberglass rods that have emerged, but I think Hardy did something right with this one.  It's has such a smooth, relaxed cast and excellent accuracy and presentation. This was also the only station of the day where I got a bite!  I wish I could've hooked him, so I could fight a fish with this great little rod.  This would be a fantastic choice for the little North Georgia native brook trout!!!

Rio Products & Sage Fly Fish

Summer Redfish Fly Line & The X Rod

Rio and Sage partnered together on a station to demonstrate the new Sage X rods with Rio's Summer Redfish line.  With temps pushing 100 degrees, fishing conditions were right in the Redfish line's wheelhouse!  The flyline is weighted and tapered to facilitate accuracy on short casts while maintaining a delicate presentation for spooky fish.  The stiff core and Tropical line coating ensure that the line won't wilt under hot sunny conditions.  The Sage X rods new fast-actions taper keeps loops tight and recovery times quick to get that next cast in the water fast.

Just me.  Doing what I love and feeling very fortunate for the opportunities and places I get to cast a line.

The Fly Fishing Show Atlanta 2017

Evenin' Folks!  New for 2017, the folks at The Fly Fishing Shows made a venue change.  This year, for the first time, they moved the show from it's Winston-Salem, North Carolina location to Atlanta, Georgia.  More specifically, the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, which is located about 10 minutes from the former The Suburban Angler world headquarters in Suwanee.  I say former because, as you know if you follow our social media pages, The Suburban Angler moved to Florida last fall!!!  Right before they announced that The Fly Fishing Show would be held in our backyard!!  I really hated to miss the show, I attended the last three years at the Winston-Salem venue, but we just weren't able to make the trip back up to Atlanta.  Luckily, a fly fishing buddy of mine very graciously offered to take a few photos of the show and even do a couple of live videos on Instagram from the show floor.  The videos, unfortunately, are gone forever, as is the nature of Instagram's live video feature, but here are a few of the photos he took for me.  Enjoy them, and hopefully I'll make it to Atlanta for the show in 2018!!

David Testerman from River Through Atlanta demonstrating some fly tying.

The venerable Lefty Kreh doing what he does at home on the casting pond.

Rob "The Mustache" Smith working The Fish Hawk (Atlanta, GA) booth.

The guys from Unicoi Outfitters (Helen, GA) are always glad to advise!

Cohutta Fishing Co. (Cartersville, GA) was well represented at this year's show.

One of my favorite bluegill paintings!

The art of Dave Whitlock is just incredible!

My buddy David (that provided the photos) was nice enough to get Dave to inscribe and sign the card for me!

Here's David, after a busy weekend taking photos for The Suburban Angler at his first The Fly Fishing Show!  Thanks again buddy!!