Written By: Robert Spaight
On Date: 1/10/2005
The BRITISH FLY FAIR is back for its THIRD year at the Trentham Gardens Exhibition Centre near Stoke-on-trent Staffordshire Opening Times :- Saturday & Sunday 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Admission is £7-50 (one day) or £12 (Two days) Discounts for pre-Show Booking (Ticket Sales at
www.virtual-nymph.com or Telephone 44 (0) 1782 388382)
Juniors under 16 accompanied by an adult are admitted FREE
Travel directions and accomodation suggestions can be found on the Fair website
www.thebritishflyfair.comDo please avail yourself of the Fair’s informative WEBSITE for constant news updates.
Quality is again the organisers’ keynote,and this year not only does this apply to the flytyers and retailers but to the Venue as well. Great developments are in hand at Trentham Gardens,as evidenced by the “most ambitious planting scheme in Britain” with 70,000 perennials,designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and featured in the Gardening Section of the Daily Telegraph on 3rd September 2005,and which came into its full glorious bloom this year.
The Fly Fair benefits from the new building programme at Trentham. This year a newly built hall will contain the retail booths and the flytyers will be in an adjoining marquee linked by two covered walkways. The new site affords ample adjacent car parking – a great boon if the November weather proves inclement. The tyers will be arranged in a new profile. In previous years the tyers were situated around the edge of the old hall,enclosing the ‘retail’ village in the middle,but this year literally they will be centre-stage in the middle of the marquee (on tying tables raised up to a good height for the public to get the best view),which will also house the Featured Flytyer Theatre (with the giant Plasma Screen) and the Destination Theatre.
A truly “international” show from its inception,the British Fly Fair now spearheads the start of the worldwide International Fly Tying Show Season.
At the heart of the Show are 51 DemonstrationFly tyers from 15 Countries :- America,Australia,Denmark,England,Finland,Germany,Iceland,Ireland,Holland,Norway,Scotland,
Sweden,Scotland,South Africa,and Wales. ... apart from many other top tyers operating on retail booths.
A number of the tyers are book authors and magazine writers.
Flies for trout,salmon,grayling,pike,barbel,sal****er species – in fact flies for just about anything you want to fish a fly for are featured … as well as Realistic Flies,Art Flies and Collectibles which will never enter the water.
A full list of the tyers appears on the Website (many with biographical information),but among the first-time overseas tyers at the event are -
The first Southern Hemisphere Tyers to appear :- Mick Hall (Australia) and Keith Wallington (South Africa).
Keith will be introducing us to the Yellowfishes of Southern Africa, a group of game fish that can be as selective as wild brown trout and as ferocious as a peacock bass. Keith is a pioneer of flyfishing for these fish with imitative fly patterns.
Jukka Tapio from Finland.
Stack Scoville,a Nashville Tenessee medical practicioner and salmon fly tyer.
Jeff Pierce,from the USA is a Gulf of Mexico sal****er fishing expert.
Marvin Nolte,the creator of the 350 classic salmon fly Grainger Collection,who has demonstrated regularly in UK,Ireland,Norway,Denmark,and Holland. From Casper,Wyoming he is now the News Anchor on the local Television News.
Ralphie Graves from New York State,a Catskill fly expert,whose 50 years of tying has included tying commercially for the legendary Walt Dette,and alongside many of the all-time greats such as Poul Jorgensen,Charlie Defeo,and Herb Howard.
Enrico Puglisi from New York on his first-ever visit to UK. A Master Chef as well as a tyer,and owner of EPFlies whose flytying materials sell worldwide.
Overseas Returnees from the first show include Ted Patlen fro New Jersey,Bostonians Mike Martinek Jr. (New England Streamer Fly and Baitfish patterns) and Charlie Chute (a traditional salmon fly artist from the Irish tying heritage),and Iceland’s Skuli Kristinsson.
The Contintental Europe Contingent includes Hans Weilenmann,Jens Pilgaard,and Sacha Puetz, and from Britain older hands such as Charles Jardine,Philip White and Gordon Mackenzie are returning,as is Realistics maestro Paul Whillock (yes – his creations really are tied. Ask him about his forthcoming book “Flies as Art” that explains how he does it).
Lady tyers are represented by Pennsylvania’s Kim Boal,England’s Emma Coxon,and Norway’s Marit Kronen.
... and the list goes on as shown on the WEBSITE.
In the new Hall, the expanded retail booth area features :
... top name attendees from the fly tackle industry
... specialist tying and material suppliers
… angling holiday opportunities far away (e.g Alaska,British Columbia,New Zealand) and closer to home.
… books and antique tackle
... cane rod makers
... American Genetic Hackles,with Bill Keough from the United States flying across “the pond” with his necks and saddles.
All Trade Exhibitors are listed on the Website,together with a floorplan of the Hall.
The Website over the coming weeks will display the full finalised daily programmes in the :-
The Featured Flytyer Theatre – watch the experts close up and on the PLASMA SCREEN
and
The Destination Theatre – learn from talks by the experts on subjects such as rod-making,sal****er fishing overseas,and flyfishing Derbyshire’s limestone streams.
Outdoor activities include Casting Demonstrations by :-
Hywel Morgan – World Champion Caster
Paul Procter and Howard Croston (River Techniques)
Ian Gordon (Speycasting)
... and FREE casting tuition for beginners and juniors by nationally qualified APGAI instructors.
As facilitator for the media at the event I will be pleased to help you in any way I can,e.g. -
Pre-Show :- providing any supplementary information you may require
At the Show, I will be based at The British Fly Fair Administration Stand,which this year will be situated in the Tying Marquee,where I can provide:-
- help with queries
- introductions to tyers or other participants for personal interviews,in connection with any follow-up personal ‘portraits’ or articles.
- light refreshment
- a copy of the Fly Fair Programme
