INTO YOUR VISION CONE

A couple interesting events on the horizon, near and far:

Thursday, the 23rd, a reading hosted by poet Larry Gavin and featuring Bob White, internationally known fly fishing guide and artist, and Scott King, poet and founder of Dragonfly Press. 7 - 9 p.m. at our Vermilion Sporting Arts Gallery, 3440 Belt Line Blvd. ste 206, St. Louis Park, Minn.

May 7, Opening night of a Vermilion exhibit featuring angler-photographer Joe Michl. 7 - 9 p.m.

See you there.

A SPRING DAY AND OTHER THINGS

I did go fishing, as I promised in my last entry — two days later on the Rush River in west central Wisconsin, a common enough destination for those of us living in the Twin Cities. (See photo of my fishing partner of that day, Don Wisner.) The river was low, spooky low and the sunlight felt tentative, not quite springlike. At home later that night, I came across this passage in Roderick Haig-Brown's "Fisherman's Spring":

"I have not seen everything that is to be seen, or felt everything that is to be felt, far from it. But I know that worthwhile things will happen to me in the course of every day's fishing and that when they do happen I shall know enough to understand them and draw the utmost pleasure from them."

Worthwhile things, indeed. Spring. Friendship. The sounds of water moving.

The many writers who have chronicled our sport through the years give both texture and continuity to our sport's history. Their observations should keep us humble, aware that the gift that is fly fishing has been spread out over generations, and is not ours alone, on any given day.
If you're interested, we caught our fish, small brown trout and brookies, on dry flies. There were a few Blue-Wings and midge around, and a sliver of a late-afternoon moon floated above the limestone bluffs.

Good Times, Good Expos ... Back to Work

Curtains down on both the Chicago and Minneapolis 09 Great Waters Expos. What's left is to thanks the many friends — new and old — who made our shows better. If you attended either show, thanks. We appreciated your support. If you were one of the many volunteers, more thanks.

Impressive:

The John Breslin-led FFF team of fly casting instructors taught 231 free casting lessons at the Chicago show, and a whopping 375 free casting lessons at the Minneapolis shows. Think of that, more than 600 newscomers to the sport!

Approx. 75 women attended our fly fishing workshops for women in both cities. Cathy Sero taught the workshop in Chicago; the Fly Fishing Women of Minnesota organized the Minneapolis effort.

The St. Paul (Minn.) Fly Tiers Club supervised the Fly Tying Theaters at both shows and did a great job of integrating tiers and video interludes.

Thanks, then, to the aforementioned fly tiers, fly casters, and to those who spoke up to protect our fly fishing waters.

At their best, the Great Waters Expos capture the great heart of the Midwest angling community, and it's a privilege to be part of the occasion.

I'm going fishing tomorrow, and on the way I'll be thinking about being a more consistent contributor to this blog. I just never could get started last fall and winter. I'm rejuvenated.

Write, if you have a mind to.

Tom Helgeson

We're already up and running

World angler, acclaimed photographer and fly casting instructor Brian O'Keefe has accepted our invitation to be one of the headliners of the 2009 Great Waters Fly Fishing Expos in Chicago and Minneapolis.

We're extremely pleased that our dates worked for Brian, who represents the energy and excitement of contemporary fly fishing. A world traveler, photographer and writer, Brian's presentations are unrivaled.

Come back and visit this blog when you can. I'll be writing more as the year unfolds with stories true and true-enough about my own fishing adventures and I asked a few good friends to add their thoughts about our expos and our sport.

We'll also be publishing our expo newsletter regularly. You can sign up at our show website www.greatwatersflyfishingexpo.com.