Big Night in a Small Town- Fly Fishing Film Tour Stuart, FL

Thanks to Sam Root for the photos, I was too busy to even think about taking pictures so you saved me Bro.

What started out as small talk of a private showing for friends turned into the biggest tour stop in Florida. About two months ago I was talking on the phone with my friend Mike Holliday and the conversation came up about the film tour that The Drake bought from AEG. At the time the talk was cheap and I hung up the phone and headed to the shower after a long day on the water. As I stood scrubbing that days stink from my body the thought of bringing the tour to Stuart filled my thoughts and the second I got out of the shower I called Mike back and said let's do it! At the time we really did not know what we were getting ourselves into, we thought "Dude, we buy the rights to have an independent showing, rent the Lyric, and show it to friends." You can already tell at this point I had no experience with putting an event together. Friends, sure we have friends but enough to fill the Lyric? This is when the work started, first getting accepted by the tour as an independent stop, nailing down details with the Lyric, finding local sponsors and last but not least spreading the word. As all of you know I worked hard at spreading the word! It all went off without a hick up and the first day tickets went on sale we sold 100 seats and by show time we had over 300. 

I may be a bit bias but I thought the show went perfectly, the biggest complaint I heard was that the theatre was a bit hot and I think I was the one doing most of the bitchin'. I told everyone there was going to be loads of giveaways and for those of you that were there, I guess I can say, "I told you so!" 

I am going to use this as another opportunity to thank everyone that gave us stuff to give away. I apologize if I forget someone. Starting with our local sponsors, Crowder Rods (an 8wt.), Maverick Boats (hats), Bug Slinger Fly Gear (shirts, hats) Southern Angler (gift certificates, shirts, decals, fly box) Oakley (polarized shades), and Master Repair, a huge THANK YOU. 

Other contributors were, Shadow Graphics (shirts and an incredible original tarpon painting) Salt Life (hats, and shirts) Buff Headwear (what else Buffs) G Loomis (tackle bags, hats, shirts, decals) Scientific Angler (fly lines, fly boxes) Salty Shores (shirts, hats) Pat Ford (signed book) Whites Tackle ( fly box, hat, shirt) Ole Florida Fly Shop (fly box full of killer flies) Patterson's Saltwater Flies (flies) Stuart Flyfishing, (that's me if you haven't figured it out yet, micro fibre shirts, decals) and finally Hatch Fly Reels (a 7 plus fly reel!!) I am sure I forgot someone and I really apologize if I did but there were so many giveaways that I lost track. 

I would also like to thank Pat Ford for his slide show and also spending 2 days on the water with me. Be on the look out for my up coming post. I would like to thank Rick Murphy for taking the time to come to the show, we all know Rick is one of the biggest names in the industry and rightfully so. A huge thank you needs to go to Dave Teper from World Angling not only for showing up to the event but for sharing an exclusive look at his permit film. I had the pleasure of taking Dave fishing today and I can truly say his is a great angler and a better guy, thanks Bro! Not to mention, their film "DRUM" was a crowd favorite. Thanks to the guys at The Drake magazine and all the film makers. 

I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people that took their time to come to our event. We had groups from Atlanta, Ocala, Orlando, Fort Myers, Miami, Vero, Melbourne, Palm Beach, Boca, Fort Lauderdale, Naples. Hell, Rob and his wife Lisa drove in from Illinois so Bug Slinger could be represented! So thank you to all of you that made the trip. I would like to say thank you to all my friends, and clients. Like there is a difference? Right about now is when the music starts to play and everyone starts thinking okay dude, get off the stage! 

I want to close by saying, "See ya next year!" 

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing