The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

You're lucky you didn't come to San Mateo this year.

On the row you used to have your booth, the first 60 feet were removed for the "flytying Theater",( which used to be squeezed in were ever they could find room) then poor ol' Denny Rickards was over there all by himself next to some "carny" joker I wouldn't trust a quarter with selling a piece of plastic for your cell phone for $12, then an empty booth space, then 30 feet of a boat giveaway sponsored by a radio station, manned by an Aryan Brotherhood/convict looking guy with a shaved head except for the mohawk ponytail at his tatooed neck, then some jokers selling shoe insoles, then some other jokers selling glasses cleaner, and then FINALLY another fishing lodge booth on the center aisle end.

Our side of the aisle was 2 vacant booths, then 40 feet of a wooden picture frame/candle holder retailer, then 20 more vacant feet that ISE let the picture guy store his boxes in, then the WU booth, the cafe entrance, then the row of featured tyers.

If ISE would have eliminated all the CARNIVAL/ FLEA MARKET FREAKS, they could have fit all the fishing/hunting/boating vendors into the main hall. To think back less than 10 years when Ed Rice ran the show and if you wanted to see everything you HAD to go on a weekday because the crowds were so HUGE on the weekend, or go for 2 DAYS.

To top it all off, ISE was violating child labor laws with some 10 year old kid stopping every single person that went down the aisle on SAturday Morning asking them where they saw the advertising for the show. Of course he didn't care if you were talking to that person or not. I think Denny was going to skin him alive if he chased off one more person. The way the ISE had people going thru the show, our aisle was the last one they saw, and most looked down it from the end and kept on going. They had been harassed by the flea market re-fi your mortage/buy a silly worm/ cotton sheet/saleman freaks so much, they just wanted OUT.

I look forward to seeing you at Pleasanton. My dogs miss you too! Woof!

Fred,
There's always McNear's...I'm working on a dispersed workforce concept that may have me working in Petaluma at least once a week (if not more)...and that will provide additional time to catch up.

Paul

Easy to walk around...short lines outside for Polish dogs and Sierra Nevada brews... Hey, gotta hit the head? No wait, baby!

Other than jawing with friends and seeing a few interesting presentations, the above aren't enough to justify a return visit, and this from someone within a 10 minute drive to the Expo center.

Wild Bill

The joker selling a screw top you pop onto your can of Budweiser to make it into a bottle of Budweiser!

Reading all these posts, it sounds as if ISE might have saturated it's market over the years, or maybe it's the funky economy (people cutting back on spending). The outfitters in particular, need to book trips or it isn't worth it to exhibit at these kinds of shows. A really good, really well known Alaska hunting outfitter, that I've hunted with, came down one year to exhibit. A few of us loaned him trophies from our hunts with him, to exhibit, making for an impressive booth, and I don't think he booked one person. So he never signed up again, as it's far more economical for him to use Atcheson's or maybe Cabela's as agents. So, maybe if enough outfitters have had the same experience, ISE is about to go the way of the dinosaur. I hope not...

If anything, the slower the economy, the better those shows do because the public want to comparison shop before spending their hard earned dollars.

Sacramento ISE show is busting at the seams, and keeps growing year after year.

But I can easily put my finger on the problem in the Bay Area.

There used to be a Sports and Boat Show at the Cow Palace that ran for 10 days in January, usually about the 10th thru the 20th or there abouts. Sacto ISE ran for 5 days from Wed to Sun,around Jan 20th. Duck season used to end on that weekend or the week before. SAn Mateo show First week of Feb, back in the 80's and early 90's , I remember San Mateo in March???

About 2000 or 2001, ISE decided San Mateo was too big, not tapping into the Contra Costa/ San Joaquin market enough, and they pooped out the PLEASANTON ISE SHOW which ran on Valentine's Day weekend (TOTALLY STUPID MARKETING MOVE), moved San Mateo earlier to compete with Cow Palace Show and try to squeeze them out of business. Pleasanton was a disaster. Vendors didn't want to pay full price for a carnival sized show, so they didn't come. Show goers who had previously gone to San Mateo and been overwelmed by the size of show and the excitement, were un-impressed with Pleasanton, and didn't return the 2cd year. More and more vendors dropped out. At the same time, the Fly Fishing Show started in San Rafael, with FREE PARKING and friendly show staff, both toward vendors and customers. Lots of seminars, on topics people wanted to watch, and BIG NAME speakers. Many Flyfishing vendors saw the light, and decided to only spend their limited show budget at the Fly Fishing Show. ISE then dropped the Pleasanton show, the Fresno show, and changed venues in So Cal.
Then the FFS moved to Pleasanton, and I think that was the final kiss of death

I thought perhaps the expanded Fred Hall fisahing show in the Bay Area took away crowds and vendors from the ISE. However, Fred Hall has apparently canceled its 2008 Bay Area show due to lack of sufficient interest. So perhaps the same factors are also affecting the ISE.

Fred Hall's Long Beach and Del Mar appear to be bucking the trend for "sportsman's shows" and continue to do very well. That Long Beach Fred Hall show in early March is incredible.

When is the Sac ISE show?

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Fred Hall pulled out because they would have to have the show open January 2 to not compete for vendors. That's too close to Christmas to have customers and vendors come to your show. ISE screwed them!

Both Fred Hall show in LA (San Diego and Long Beach) are in March and kick butt! A Fred Hall Show here in late Feb or early March would destroy ISE.

There is a NEW hunting ONLY show in Newport Beach this April put on by West Coast Hunters, I hope they come to the Bay area. The organizer told me there will be NO flea market junk, and fishing vendors will only be allowed if they have hunting too. He has been doing it on a smaller scale for a couple of years as a free show for customers, the venue holder wanted too much money so now they decided to go big time and really expand their show since ISE abandoned Pomona also. It should be interesting.