{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} TPFR Delivers at the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival

[Daniel Davala]

I would like the entire club to know how well represented you were at the 10th Annual Virginia Fly Fishing Festival this weekend.  I am overwhelmed by the dedication, commitment, and stamina of all of our volunteers over both days of the event.  These individuals gave their time, energy, and resources to make the 350 mile round trip, stay the night (or two) in some interesting places, and showed up EARLY each morning to work all day long to the benefit of others.  John Bilotta, Dalton Terrell, Miles Townes, Tom Urman, Trent Jones, Steve Sparks, Justin Marney, and Melody Davala (and of course Virginia), take a bow.  You exceeded all expectations, and there are so many people who were blessed by your service, perhaps in ways that will last their entire lives.  Dalton and Miles taught so many kids (and adults) to tie flies that after two days the floor of our tent looked like a pink and chartreuse deer fought a losing battle with some kind of nuclear mutant curly tail chicken!  We even managed to sell a few flies.  John Bilotta barely got a break on either day with all of the people he taught to cast, both single and double handed.  Trent Jones, Steve Sparks, and Tom Urman all helped with the Kids Catch and Release Trout Pool, where hundreds of kids caught native Brook Trout, carried them in a bucket down to the river bank, and released them into their new home in the South River.  Incredible!  Justin Marney (gotascii) made the trip down on Sunday and represented us at the tent and on the water for the entire day as well.  And my beloved best friend Melody not only kept our beautiful Virginia happy, but she tirelessly helped out at the tent, ran out for food and refreshments to keep us all from keeling over, took all of these pictures, and of course, supported me in any and everything I had to do at the festival and behind the scenes.  None of this could happen without her!  Everyone above did an outstanding job representing TPFR and the FFF at the tent as well, answering questions and providing their knowledge to a never ending flow of interested people.  Whenever I was on the water teaching or doing a demo, it meant the world to me to KNOW the tent was being taken care of and running smoothly.  When you see any of these members at another show, meeting, or on the water, please let them know how much you appreciate their efforts.
 
I'd like to also thank everyone who contributed financially to make this happen, especially those who gave in spite of being unable to attend.  All of the above is thanks to you as well, and it could not have been done without your sacrifice. 
 
Thank you to Todd Kim for designing our logo, and to Daniel Fannon who not only had our banner made in time for the show, but donated it to us himself.  I can assure you that many late night emails were exchanged to make this happen. 
 
A big thanks goes out to the FFF President/Chairman Phil Greenlee for coming all the way from California and spending both days at our tent representing the Federation of Fly Fishers.  He signed up over 10 people on the spot on Saturday alone, and Sunday was productive as well.  Needless to say, he is incredibly impressed and encouraged by what he saw over the past two days.
 
And a very gracious thank you to the director of the Festival (and TPFR/FFF member) Beau Beasley for setting us up for success.  Beau and I worked together on this vision for over six months, and to see it all come together in the way it did was absolutely incredible.
 
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and THANK YOU again to everyone that worked together to make this happen.  I am not only impressed by how hard everyone worked, but also by how much fun everyone had in the process.  I am truly overwhelmed by all you have done.
 
Dan
 
P.S.  Please enjoy all of the pictures.  I may have to send them in a few waves since there are so many.  Also, if anyone got a good shot of Melody and Virginia, please post it.  Since Melody took all the pictures there aren't any of the two of them. 

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[Daniel Davala]

A few more pictures.  To those who were there, please share your pictures and experiences with the club as well.

[John Bilotta]

Dan,

You really did a great job. It was a ton of fun and I hope we do this again soon.

John

[Ernie]

Good to see young kids getting interested...great job to the crew!

Ernie

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[gotascii]

Dan,

I had a great time on Sunday helping you guys hold down the fort. I
can't wait to come back next year and spend the whole weekend. For
those interested, I put up a handful of pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gotascii/sets/72157623763927461/

Thanks, Dan and the rest of TPFR, for making this happen!

Justin

[GRB]

It's great to read and see the variety of activities the TPFR folks
were coordinating, even if I had to do it vicariously. Having multiple
generations attend and involved makes for a memorable time and molds
the attitudes of those who become dedicated caretakers and active
sponsors of the sport and the environment in the future. Great banner
as well!!!

Gain

On Apr 19, 1:44 am, Daniel Davala <daniel.dav...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Dalton Terrell]

Great post and pictures guys! I took a few pictures, but not nearly as
many as I intended to and I need to figure out how to post them here
(I read Dan's instructions on another thread but I don't get the
individual e-mails, just a daily summary). The best picture (or string
of two) was of a very young boy (4-6 years old) casting Dan's 13' 7wt.
Funny story, but I was working with his dad on roll casting the Skagit
head and stepped downstream to talk to someone else when Dan yelled to
me to turn around and take a picture. I think we developed a new
Skagit "rule": the rod length should not exceed 3x the caster's
height.

Our efforts really made a difference this weekend, raising awareness
for the FFF and our chapter. As Dan said, we got a lot of people
signed up for FFF and we met a lot more people from the DC area that
haven't heard about our chapter yet, feel free to introduce yourselves
here ladies and gentlemen. The tying efforts from Miles and I really
got some young anglers excited about tying their own flies and there
were some happy/angry parents who will soon be buying vises and tails
from those rare Egyptian, neon pink calves. Dan and John really
drummed up a lot of support for the two hand game, with a huge
attendance at their seminars even though Lefty was casting just across
the way at the same time. Everyone at our tent (Steve, Miles, Trent,
Justin, Tom, Phil, Melody, John) really did an excellent job
representing our club speaking with the public about our passion of
fly fishing.

Those of you who couldn't make it really missed out. A big thanks goes
out to everyone in TPFR and at the VA Fly Fishing Festival for making
this happen!

Dalton

[Dan Davala - Founder]

Dalton,

Email the club at:

tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com

Attach your pictures as you would a regular e-mail. I can't wait to
see them!

Dan