Saltwater Edge Fly Tying Fair -- great show

[David Churbuck]

A word of thanks to Peter Jenkins for hosting the 5th annual Saltwater Edge Fly Fair in Newport on Saturday.

For anyone who hasn't attended this event, mark your calendars and make a resolution to go next year. The quality of the presentations and the opportunity to sit down and talk directly to some of the best tiers in the Northeast make this free-admission event a true bright spot in the waning days of winter.

The event raised over $2500 for Stripers Forever, the Coastal Conservation Association and Rhode Island fisheries through the sale of raffle tickets.

The tiers were amazing -- both in terms of their unique styles -- but also their patience in explaining their work and techniques.

A great time!a

[SamRiley]

This was my first time at the show and I was very impressed. It was a rather informal atmosphere, with a master at each table and several chairs so that you could pull up a seat and learn hands on. I was especially interested in Masahito Sato's Foam Head flies. Not only were they very realistic but he had this great template of all of his foam heads on one sheet. In an incredible act of generosity, Mr. Sato let me trace his template so that I could make my own.

Another interesting item was a standing Sand Eel tied by Dave Skok. It had three mono legs and a weight at the head which made it stand up. Even if you tipped it over, a light pull on the line would bring it right back up again.

There were also a couple of SOT kayaks there, all tricked out for fishing. Fishfinder, rod holders, GPS, etc. Pretty standard suff but what caught my eye was this fly holder contraption made out of a piece of PVC with part of a pool noodle threaded on it. Smple but very effective.

[rockfisherman]

Sam,

I was likewise VERY impressed with Mr. Sato's flies. I can't believe I have never heard of him before this.

Thank you Peter, and especially for including Mr. Sato at a tying table.

R'Man

[Sentience]

I had never heard of him before either, but I saw one of his flies in the "best flies of the year" section in one of those ff-ing magazines. It was really amazing. I really want to see him tie in person. I couldn't go last weekend unfortunately. Is there any place on the web that has pictures of his flies? The template idea is great. It clearly takes a lot of time and experimenting to get it right.