The Marlborough fly fishing show

Another year, another Marlborough fly fishing show. Attendance was off some this year, both on the exhibitor side and on the attendee side. A cratering economy will do that, I guess. But Jack had one of his best shows ever. Sales were brisk. His booth was busy from the time we opened until the time we closed. And while I didn’t get to see it myself, people who came by the booth afterward said Jack’s talk on striper fishing technique went very well (he was concerned beforehand that chemo-fatigue might affect his performance).

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi, ask questions, reminisce, or just wish him well. I thought I knew most of Jack’s adventures but it was fun to hear a few ones this weekend: a night fishing trip with Terry Boylan to Plum Island that ended with Jack and Terry hiding in the weeds from a boat full of drunks armed with rifles and searchlights who wanted to shoot them after nearly mowing down their inflatable raft; there was also something about a trip on a tramp steamer to South America that nearly ended very badly (got to ask Jack for more details on this one).

As we closed up the booth Saturday evening Jack told me how pleased he was to be able to attend the show after all. The injection of good will he got this weekend is as sustaining for him as anything the doctors do. His support network, he calls you guys. It’s a wonderful thing to see.

Here’s a video Dave Souza shot of Jack showing how to tie a Secret Sand Eel…