DENTRY: Other side to brouhaha

By Ed Dentry, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

And now, the rest of the story.

No matter how cruel cabin fever gets, few fly anglers are expected to chew their waders in mad hope of hearing more gossip about the fishing shows that will duel for their affection in a couple weeks.

Most of us would rather just know that a choice awaits us Jan. 4-6. Some will pledge allegiance to The Fly Fishing Show, which has held court at the Denver Merchandise Mart since 2001.

Some will forge downtown to the Colorado Convention Center, where the American Fly Fishing Trade Association will stage its inaugural Fly Fishing Expo - on precisely the same days.

People will make decisions based on weather, curiosity or a desire to visit the giant blue bear that peeks perpetually into the Convention Center.

Others might be lured by free parking at the Merchandise Mart. A few fly fishers will attend both shows.

And some would rather go fishing in a blizzard and walk on ice balls than wade into this bloody fray.

To review the lie of things, as detailed in this column Dec. 7: The trade association, AFFTA, has challenged The Fly Fishing Show to a showdown.

Chuck Furimsky, the established show's owner, says AFFTA's intrusion amounts to industry back stabbing.

AFFTA president Robert Ramsay wasn't available for comment then. But in a telephone interview Tuesday, he explained the trade association's position.

"For us, it's about setting a much larger table for the sport of fly fishing," Ramsay said.

He said AFFTA plans to cater more to fly fishers of all experience levels and will emphasize getting started and fly fishing for species beyond trout.

"I think when people look at the layout, the exhibits and the talent, they're going to say, 'We'd like to try this new show because it's being presented by the fly-fishing industry's trade association, and their job is to grow the sport.' "

So the big-name group went for the big digs. To say AFFTA covets Denver as fly-fishing central would be an understatement.

"When we look at fly fishing on a broad, national scale, the star falls squarely in the state of Colorado," Ramsay said.

The organization already runs successful shows for fly-fishing trade companies in Denver each September. So when its board of directors decided to set up AFFTA's first consumer show, Denver was the obvious choice.

Even if it meant body-slamming Colorado's first and only major fly-fishing event.

"Attacking someone else was never a motivation," Ramsay insists.

He said AFFTA chose to clash dates with TFFS because fly-fishing exhibitors already were burdened with winter show commitments around the country.

"So rather than present all these companies with an additional show on their schedule, we decided just to ask folks to make a decision."

Ramsay says AFFTA has heard from some critics who believe a nonprofit trade association should not be going head to head with a private enterprise.

"I'd have to agree had we launched nine or 15 shows," he said. "But this is one show in one location that AFFTA has a long history of working in.

"We are working hard to present a show that is more well received by a larger audience, and we'll let nature take its course."

Nobody said nature's ways were supposed to be warm and fuzzy.

dentrye@RockyMountainNews.com

• December 19, 2007

  8:30 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  TCWriter writes:

  Anytime a trade organization targets one of its own members, the bar should be set pretty high. So I've gotta ask: was competition truly the only choice available to AFFTA?

  How about working out a program with the shows instead of in competition against them?

  I know Furimsky isn't universally loved, but what I've heard in my discussion with Mr. Ramsay and what I've seen printed doesn't really rise to the level of needing to obliterate an existing trade show.

  And while Mr. Ramsay insists it's not personal, I think if I belonged to a freelance writer's guild and they started targeting my clients, I'd make it personal in a hurry.