Tag Archives: trade shows

Trade Shows

Sparse Grey Matter – Fly Tying Fest

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The winter of warm, sunny Sundays continued into the last weekend of February. The fly shops are a buzz with discussion of active Trout, taking into account the time of the year. I suspect, Trout fishing will start on a strong note this year.

Taking advantage of the weather, Moose Knuckle Fishing headed down to Califon and met our fishing pal George Wasaleski for the second annual Sparse Grey Matter – Fly Tying Fest sponsored by www.ShannonsFlyTackle.com, www.DetteFlies.com and www.sparsegreymatter.com.

The Califon, NJ Fire Hall was ablaze with fly tying, fishing and all things Trout! The sponsors who cobbled this event together did an impressive job attracting several commercial tying operations, authors, product representatives and fishing enthusiasts from across the region.

George and I stopped first at Anthony Giaquinto’s B&R Custom Flies, conveniently seated next to Lenny Ruggio; our other friend from Sundays at Shannon’s Fly and Tackle. Anthony demonstrated his Rainbow Scud, a fly that I find particularly colorful and lifelike. Lenny was kind enough to instruct Moose Knuckle Fishing on the Mohair Leech pattern. Later on in the week we will do a Favorite Patterns featuring this superb opening day fly.

Next stop was another recurring instructor at Shannon’s Fly Tying Sundays, Matt Grobert author of, “Fly Fishing New Jersey Trout Streams.” He was tying a miniscule brown and yellow Caddis Pupae, which I was informed, is a hot fly this time of year. Further note, the second edition of Matt’s book will be on book shelves soon, I will be sure to pick that up.

St. Croix Rods was on premise demonstrating their new Kelly Galloup series High Stick Drifter rods. The representative did not have to sell me on this product, I am already a satisfied owner of the 7wt Bank Robber; we landed a fish on this rod during the Maine trip last fall. I recommend that any angler into modern nymphing techniques should consider purchasing one of these fine American made rods. Also present was G. Loomis rods; unfortunately I was unable to slip in and have a discussion with the representative.

Galvan Fly Reels, a family owned company that manufactures in northern California had a representative present. In an upcoming trip, Moose Knuckle Fishing is headed down to Sanibel Island, Florida and I had important questions regarding Salt Water Fly Reels. The Torque Tournament series, held in one of my photos, is exactly what is required for Fly Fishing for Ocean species.

To wrap up George and I stopped in Shannon’s and purchased the material required to tie Lenny’s Mohair Leech. Then I walked to Califon’s picturesque Island Park for a few casts and to enjoy the weather. Without my waders, it was impossible to make a quality presentation to the Trout. I abandoned my efforts and went for a hike along the river instead.

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International Motorcycle Show

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Winter is the season of the trade show; considering the ice in New Jersey is much too thin for walking. Last week, Moose Knuckle Fishing went to the Pennsylvania Farm show; we reported back to you on the engaging displays of livestock and ancient artifacts. This past Friday, the Moose Knuckle team piled in the Suburban with SJS racing and drove into New York to see the International Motorcycle Show.

Moose Knuckle is predominantly a fishing and outdoor related blog; we believe that motorcycles, especially dual sport bikes are integral to accessing the back country. One such motorcycle is the 2012 Husqvarna TE 449; this bike appears nimble enough to navigate tight trails while fast enough to haul down fire roads.

Now if you have a little piece of recreational property out in the woods and require a nimble yet powerful four wheel drive ATV; Yamaha had on display the 2012 Grizzly. We are happy to report this vehicle is assembled with pride right here in the USA. Judging from the sorry state of the US economy, not enough of that happens anymore.  Yamaha utility quads are the most reliable out there, this beast is loaded with horsepower to tow your deer corn or gear out to your favorite spot.

Getting back to brass tax, on Saturday we were fortunate enough to receive roughly six inches of snow combined with frigid weather. If conditions hold we will be featuring the first ice fishing blog this coming weekend.

More Pictures Here

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Pennsylvania Farm Show

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While we wait for the waters to freeze up in our area, my wife, Brother in law (fellow contributor to Moose Knuckle), and myself, decided to attend the Harrisburg Farm Expo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My wife and I have been wanting to attend this expo for quite some time now, and it was well worth the visit. We arrived early Friday and the place was packed already!

The first stop at the farm show was the food court. The foods being offered were from locally grown producers and other food entities. In addition, the vendors were offering food such as roast beef, pizza, grilled cheese, French fries, blooming onions, fried mozzarella cubes, fried mushrooms, chicken, fish, cotton candy, ice cream cones, delicious milkshakes, and apple cider were provided by local farm organizations. The prices were extremely reasonable, not like at a sporting event or even other county fairs I have attended in the past.

We checked out the farm equipment next, which I was a little disappointed in. I had hoped to see various hay equipment and large farm tractors to examine. However, there were only a couple of tractors on display. Most of the equipment was for home use. There were signs on the tractors asking people not to climb aboard. I suppose some parents as well as their children are unable to read, as one child was inside the cab of one tractor jamming the gear shifter so hard, I thought it would break off! I hope the individual who purchases that piece of equipment doesn’t go out one morning to plow his field and have his transmission fail on him. Thanks kid!

My wife, Lisa, had a great time taking pictures of all the animals, especially the cows, goats, and chickens. Unfortunately, all the pigs had gone to market prior to our arrival. The beef cows were missing as well.  We were able to view the cows being milked, goats being judged, and little baby ducks sliding down a sliding board into a pool of water. You name it, there were rabbits, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, all shapes, colors, and sizes.

There were many interesting displays including ancient artifacts, women weaving, giant pumpkins, hay, Christmas trees on display, and many other farm products to be viewed and tasted! Other vendors were selling products including bee’s wax, honey, various hot sauces, and even wine tasting. If you are on a low budget, you could sample many of the products on display at the expo and go home full.  Hard boiled eggs pickled in hot wing sauce, venison jerky, apple butter, apples, cider, Turkey Hill ice cream, chocolate, pretzels; people were anxious for you to sample in hopes of a sale.

As the day was getting late, it was time for us to leave. A shuttle bus took us almost to the spot where we parked our vehicle. We spent almost an entire day viewing all the farm products, animal judging contests, and tasting fresh food all for the price of ten dollars per carload. You really can’t beat that, especially, in these tough economic times. Next year, if you want to get out of the house, let your children understand that food isn’t produced at the food store, then check out the Harrisburg Farm Expo.

More Pictures Here