MARLBOROUGH – All the rods, reels, accessories, clothing and gadgets that make fly-fishing the sport it is will be on display for the first time in 2020 at the annual Marlborough Fly Fishing Show, Jan. 17-19 in the Royal Plaza Trade Center.
The exhibition facility, 181 Boston Post Road West, will play host to the annual three-day weekend bouillabaisse of all-things-fly-fishing – for beginner to seasoned veteran – with seminars, casting demonstrations, fly-tying, destination films, Fly Fishing Film Festival and the newest tackle and clothing in a sold-out exhibition hall. There are about a dozen film, video and live presentations per hour.
Fly Fishing Show® hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $15 for one day, $25 for two days and $35 for three days. Children under age 5 are free as are Boy and Girl Scouts under age 16 in uniform. Children 6-12 are $5. Active military with an ID are $10. Parking at the Royal Plaza Trade Center is free.
Some $50,000 in Fly Fishing Show door prizes are up for grabs highlighted by an $11,000 value trip to an outer atoll in the Seychelles; an $11,000 trip for two to El Faro Lodge in Cuba; an $8,600 week for two at Blue Horizon Lodge in Belize for bonefish, permit and tarpon; a $6,160 vacation for two at Pesca Maya in Mexico’s Yucatan, a $5,300 Atlantic salmon trip to the Restigouche River Lodge, Canada; a $5,050 trip for two to the Belize River Lodge, Belize; a $4,400 Brazilian Amazon adventure at Vilanova Lodge, and a $3,500 trip to Colombia’s jungle with Ecuador Fly Fishing Tours for peacock bass and payara.
There will be 20 classes with experts. Class registration is $85 except for an 8-hour advanced casting class with Borger and Mac Brown on Jan. 16. Tuition for the Thurs. class is $625.
Regular classes include those by George Daniel, Sheila Hassan, Jason Randall, Alan Caolo, Joe Cordiero and Gary Borger with subjects ranging from Casts that Catch, Nymph Fishing, Rigging and Leaders for Saltwater Fly Fishing, The Perfect Cast, Beginning Casting, and Practical Nymphing.
The northeast premiere of the 2020 International Fly Fishing Film Festival is scheduled for Jan. 17 at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.
Among the Film Festival presentations are:
• “Particles and Droplets,” by Gilbert Rowley, a look at the world from a different perspective with fly fishing the catalyst.
• “Aurora Fontinalis,” by Intents Media. An adventurous trip after giant brook trout in the far north.
• “qaluk, by Hooké.” A far northern fly-fishing adventure to Nunavik in search of Arctic Char.
• “The Mend,” by Broc Isabelle. A father-son relationship complicated by career and responsibilities all set to a fly-fishing background.
• “Nine Foot Rod,” by Dana Lattery. Four fly-fishing guides embark on a trip to Oman in search of giant trevally and Indo-Pacific Permit.
Other films include “AK 30,” seeking a 30-inch trout in Alaska’s Naknek River; “The Bull Run,” looking for a bull trout north of the 49th parallel in the Rockies; and “Poetry in Motion,” the story of Maxine McCormack’s journey to become world fly-fishing champion.
Total film screening time is just under two hours.
In addition to the films, there will be fly fishing product give-aways and other promotions at the event.
Fly casting demonstrations are scheduled by Borger, Brown, Hassan, Caolo, Bob Clouser and Jeff Currier among others. Featured fly tiers include Borger, Caolo, Cordiero, Clouser, Ed Engle, and Tim Flagler.
Fly Fishers International (FFI) will host a free learning center with casting, fly-tying, knot tying, rigging and choosing a fly.
Among the approximately 75 Adventure and Destination Theater presentations are programs on Labrador’s Monster Brookies, Taimen in Mongolia, Fly Fishing in Iceland, the Kanektok River in Alaska, Fly Fishing Western Maine, Florida Keys Spring Tarpon Fishing, Fly Fishing the Upper Connecticut River, and Alaska’s Bristol Bay.
There are nine hour-long seminars each day with topics including Where Trout Are, Streamer Tactics 2.0, Understanding Trout, The Best Tidal Rivers in the Northeast, Fishing the Film, Clouser’s Top Tips to Catch More Fish, Fly Fishing for Trout in New England Streams, and An Introduction to Trout Spey. Seminar directors include Randall, Daniel, Boyd, Borger, Currier, Clouser, and Engle among others.
The Author’s Booth offers the opportunity to have books inscribed and “talk fly-fishing” with award-winning, best-selling writers.
For class availability and registration or a complete list of door prizes, Destination Theater, Adventure Theater, seminars, fly tiers, and casting demonstrations, visit flyfishingshow.com/marlborough-ma/ or phone (814) 443-3638.