If you want to stay up to date on the show, “like” the IFTD Facebook page and follow IFTD on Twitter.

I will also try and log in a few posts from the show as well.

Stay tuned!

As a board member this is a really exciting time. After some of the kicking around that AFFTA has gotten, deserved or not, the fact that so many people wanted to be part of the solution is wonderful. With so many folks stepping up to not just be a member but be a part of the leadership of AFFTA shows that folks care about having a strong trade association.

If you are not a member of AFFTA you can’t vote so now might be a good time to join. AFFTA is changing and you should be a part of it.

You can find Membership benefits info here.

Join today!

The candidates are listed below with links to the information they sent in to AFFTA.

Eric Anderson, Owner - Bighorn River Fly Fisher

Larry Barrett, Director Operations and Technology - Farbank

Crispin Battles, Editor/Art Director - Fly Fish America

Andrew Bennett, President - Deneki Outdoors

John Bleh, Owner - Strategic Outdoor Marketing

Dustin Carlson, Owner - Fishwest

Bruce Chard, Owner & CEO - Captain Bruce Chard Fishing Charters

Riley Cotter, International Sales Manager - Umpqua Feather Merchants

Jerry Darkes, Owner – Angling Consulting Services, Inc

Charles Dohs, President & Co-Founder - Fishhound.com

Jon Fisher, Managing Member - Urban Angler

Katheryn Fox, National Program Director - Casting for Recovery

Mike Gawtry, Product Line Manager Fishing/Hunting - LL Bean

Ali Gentry, Owner & CEO - El Pescador Lodge

Scott Harkins, Owner - San Miguel Mnt. & River Products

Chris Hart, Owner – Sundown River Products, Inc.

David S. Heller, President & Co-Owner - Ross Reels USA/Ross Worldwide Outdoors

Jim Murphy, President - Hardy North America

Al Noraker, Designer, Senior Merchandise Manager - Wright McGill

David Olson, Managing Partner - The Fly Shop of Miami

Clint Packo, Owner - Freestone Aquatics

Pat Pendergast, Director of International Travel - The Fly Shop Inc.

John Pinto, Owner - B&C  Manufacturing & Import

Curt Schlesinger, President - Trout & Grouse

Kevin Sousa, CEO - March Brown Limited

Guy Tillotson, Owner – Grand Slam Group

Jeff Wieringa, Business Development Manager - Scientific Anglers

Dusty Wissmath, Director - Dusty Wissmath’s Fly Fish School/Guide Service

“Since Randi came on board January 1, we’ve been very impressed with his work habits, ethics and communication ability.  We are confident that Randi will meet the new responsibilities which accompany the President’s position with the same level of enthusiasm and professionalism that he has exhibited since coming to work for AFFTA,” said Alan Gnann, AFFTA’s Chairman

“For the past two months, I received on-the-job training from AFFTA Office Manager Mischa Jones and former President, and now part-time Business Manager Gary Berlin,” said Swisher.  “Although I still have a lot to learn, I feel comfortable in my new role and I look forward to serving as the President of AFFTA for many years to come.”

Randi Swisher can be contacted at his home office at 303 690-6504 or by e-mail at randi@affta.com.

The AFFTA board and staff had a lot of careful and thoughtful deliberations as we considered a new show among our options.  We looked at every option – including partnering with ASA, OR, Chuck, and other show producers that approached us in the past two weeks. The process took time, but it was worth it to be sure we had solid information for a final decision.

In the end the board firmly believes that an independent show is in the best interests of the fly-fishing industry. That decision is validated by the overwhelmingly positive response so far.

The hiring of an industry veteran like Randi Swisher makes the success we expect achievable. The proceeds from the International Fly Tackle Dealer show will be put to work for the industry. Retailers will now be directly involved in our decision making process on show decisions like dates, format, features and other elements.

Those of us with a passion for fly-fishing deserve our own show and our own association. Now is the time for folks to get involved and help make this show a success and AFFTA stronger.

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association President Gary Berlin’s op/ed says it well…

Many of us will be afield this fall spending time in our favorite hunting and fishing spots. We will be enjoying the tradition of these field sports so important to our lives. But as you head out to the fields, rivers and streams we want to take a moment of your time to let you know about an important tool for conservation of those areas we find near and dear to our hearts.

The United States Congress has a very full plate this fall. Important topics will be debated and may become law. Some of these policy debates present a unique opportunity to secure full and dedicated funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the principal source of federal dollars for protecting land in America’s national parks, forests, and other public landscapes and ensuring recreational opportunities for Americans in every state in the nation.

Since 1977, this fund has been authorized at $900 million per year. Most of the funds come from off-shore oil and gas leases, and are to be used for the purchase, from willing sellers, of land with outstanding natural, recreation, scenic, and other attributes, and for the development of outdoor recreation lands and facilities at the state and local level.

The fund has been chronically underfunded, leaving a huge land protection and outdoor recreation backlog. Without timely and adequate funding, important opportunities to invest in the outdoors could be lost forever.

The beauty of the fund is its unassailable logic –when the federal government gets funds from the sale of resources we all own, it should reinvest some portion of the proceeds from that sale into the dwindling irreplaceable open spaces and recreational opportunities we all need.

The outdoor recreation business is important to local communities surrounding national parks and other public lands.  Local economies are made more vibrant and resilient by the natural and cultural amenities and the abundant recreational opportunities provided by parks and public lands.  These amenities greatly enhance the quality of life in our communities, help large and small localities attract new residents and businesses and generate tourism-related jobs and revenues.

Hunters and anglers know how important land conservation is to outdoor recreation.  Hunting and fishing has become an economic building block in our national economy generating more than 1.6 million jobs and more than $2 billion annually in salaries, wages, and business earnings.   In 2006, more than $70 billion was generated in sportsmen-related retail sales.  With the “ripple effect”, this translates to more than $190 billion in total economic activity.

People need to know how much we care about this fund and the special places that it protects such as parks, refuges, trails, cultural and historic places, public lands, and other recreation areas in our community.

Gary Berlin
President, American Fly Fishing Trade Association
901 Front Street, Suite B-125
Louisville, CO  80027

303-604-6132
303-604-6162 (fax)
www.affta.com

I spent three weeks up there, but all’s well that ends well and mom is recovering nicely at my sister’s home in New Hampshire.

My next stop was Denver, Colo. Last month I was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association. My first board meeting was during the Fly Fishing Retailer show last week.

AFFTA’s mission is to “promote the sustained growth of the fly fishing industry.” To do that, the association focuses on attracting more people to fly-fishing, promoting business excellence and educating elected officials and government agencies on important policy topics such as the economic importance of conserving fly-fishing habitat or thorny tax and trade issues.

The Fly Fishing Retailer is the industry’s trade show. At this show, manufacturers show and promote their new products to dealers like shops, guides and outfitters and also members of the outdoor press. Only members of the fly-fishing industry can attend, it is not open to the public like a consumer show is.

AFFTA Board members, like me, get a guest pass to the show and I spent two days wandering around the floor, looking at new products and visiting with many of my friends in the business.

Over the next few weeks I will share some thoughts and observations about some of the more interesting things I saw at the show, like the latest in the rubber versus felt for the bottom of wading boots, flies without hooks and the latest in bobber technology. No kidding, bobber technology.

Of course I got a chance to try new fly rods from the likes of Sage, Scott, Loomis, St. Croix, Temple Fork Outfitters and Winston. Casting a variety of rods is one of the best parts of going to the show. It is also a great chance to give friends a hard time about casting techniques, which greatly adds to the entertainment value of the show.

There is a pretty robust party circuit each night after the show closes. The most entertaining one is the Annual Drake Flyfishing Video Awards. This was the fourth year for this event showing of ten five-minute film clips about fly-fishing. A panel reviews all clips and the top ones win prizes for being the best in their category. There are awards for best humor, best story, best fishing, and best overall.

You can see clips from the last three years at the Drake Web site. Check out “Running Down the Man” from the 2006 films, it is one of my favorites.

I have now returned to the Valley and am looking forward to some fall fishing and the hunting season. Hopefully you have already had a chance to get out enjoy some time afield.

If you want to have some fun, get some wing shooting practice and support a good cause, come out to Flying Rabbit Sporting Clays on Sept. 27 for their first Hunters for the Hungry benefit shoot. The donation is $50 for this 100-target event. Lunch, soda and water are included, you just need to bring shells and eye and ear protection and of course your shotgun. You can get more information by calling 540-574-2529 or go to their Web site.

Finally, it is not too soon to be marking your calendars for next year’s Virginia Fly Fishing Festival on the banks of the South River. The festival is scheduled for April 17 and 18. This is the ten-year anniversary of the event so it should be a good one.

You can read more of my columns at News Virginian.com.

After a brief ceremony the Mending was launched and proceeded out to the Potomac and a successful morning of shad fishing

This was the ninth year that the American Fly Fishing Trade Association had gathered on the banks of the Potomac river to celebrate fly-fishing and an aquatic habitat success story, the return of prolific runs of American and Hickory shad to the Potomac river.

This was a special year for those of us who, under Range’s leadership, started the Casting Call. AFFTA’s board of directors, after conferring with the Range family and his friends, decided to rename the event in Range’s honor.

Jim Range was a widely recognized conservation visionary who represented AFFTA in Washington. He was a hero to many in the hunting, fishing and conservation community.

I wrote in this column at the time of his death that he was like a brother to me. The best man in my wedding, a hunting and fishing partner of many years, and the voice on the other end of the phone keeping me strong when trouble came. I still feel that way today and know many more who do as well.

Range saw the Casting Call and its venue, Fletcher’s boathouse on the Potomac, as the perfect opportunity for the fly-fishing industry to educate members of congress and administration officials on the important nexus between conservation and economic activity.

He knew as well that the partnership efforts that had gone into restoring shad to the Potomac were a model that could be replicated across the nation.

“The Jim Range National Casting Call gives us a chance to get government decision-makers on the Potomac to see and experience the aquatic resource we all cherish,” said Alan Gnann, Chairman of the Board of AFFTA. “It was our friend Jim who showed us that this was the best way to communicate the importance of aquatic habitat and fisheries and we will continue this tradition in his name and his honor.”

Around the time of the first casting call, the federally chartered Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, of which Range was a member, recommended that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service develop a partnership effort similar to the successful North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

This effort, endorsed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and supported by numerous conservation organization and federal agencies became the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

The Action Plan is a science-based voluntary effort to address the challenges facing aquatic habitat and our nation’s fisheries. There are six regional partnerships, including the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture that works here in the Valley.

Range saw the newly created National Fish Habitat Action Plan as an exceptional example of how partnerships like the one that had helped the shad could be replicated across the country. He saw the National Casting Call as a great opportunity to showcase success.

“The National Fish Habitat Action Plan’s approach – teaming federal, state and local partners – is helping to bring fishable waters back to life in a faster more strategic way. We can see real progress in treating the causes of fish habitat decline, not just the symptoms,” said Kelly Hepler, Chairman, National Fish Habitat Action Plan. “The Jim Range National Casting Call gives NFHAP the opportunity to spotlight 10 specific projects that display on the ground work that can be held high as a vision of what quality habitat should be.”

The Action Plan’s 10 “Waters to Watch” was started in 2007. It highlights examples of aquatic habitat conservation efforts of the National Fish Habitat Partnerships. In addition the NFHAP board presents two group awards and two individual awards including newly renamed Jim Range Conservation Vision Award, given this year to world- renowned conservationist Yvon Chouinard, the founder of outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia Inc.

Jim Range was deeply missed at this year’s Casting Call, but his name and legacy live on in tribute to his memory.

You can read more of my columns at News Virginian.com