The Fly Fishing Show

Thanks Everyone!

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, Fly Tying, The Fly Fishing Show, Uncategorized, Winter November 20, 2016Big Gunpowder Falls, DC Fishing, Flies for big gunpowder Falls, flyfishing, Gunpowder Falls fishing report, Gunpowder Falls Fly Fishing Guide, Knee Deep Fly Fishing, LEfty's Tie Fest, Maryland Fishing Guide, Maryland Fly Fishing, Maryland Fly Fishing Guide, Maryland trout fishing, The Fly Fishing Show

No, I didn’t update my website before I left DC and headed to NJ for the International Fly Tying Symposium. YES, I caught a lot of grief for not doing so.

After a crazy summer where I managed to guide and be home enough that my children recognized me I didn’t update kneedeepff.com much. My log-ins were so infrequent that I had to reset my password. I promise to try to update more often so you have something to do this winter.

So, was the symposium good? No. It was GREAT! Seeing everyone after so long is like going back to camp for us adults; though I never went to camp. “The Tying Show” is a unique opportunity to share some time watching the originators of the patterns you fish with actually tie them in front of you. If you came to my table, maybe you even got to tie one yourself. That was a riot and I appreciate everyone who took me up on the offer. Thanks to Peak for getting me a second vise on the shortest notice ever! I also couldn’t have done it without the help of Dr Slick who keeps my supply of sharp scissors going strong.

After such a great weekend tying with my heroes (do you guys feel old yet?) the high comes to quite a crash after I get into the truck and hit the road for a few hours by myself. Suddenly, I find myself alone and listening to Christmas music, somewhere on the Turnpike. After 4 hours I’m home unpacking and taking out the trash wile tripping over toys again. It only makes me appreciate the crowd that came out and the family that travels with the winter show circuit even more.

Thank you to everyone who came out, everyone that set it up and tore it down, and the family of tiers and exhibitors that makes the shows such a great time. The entire community (new friends included) makes up a great family that I look forward to catching up with every season.

I’ll see you all in February back in Somerset!

Micah

PS:

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What a Long Strange Trip!

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, fishing, Fly Tying, Shows/Expos, The Fly Fishing Show January 31, 2015Big Gunpowder Falls, Eastern Trophy Tailwaters, fly fishing big gunpowder falls, fly fishing gunpowder falls, Fly Fishing Show, Gunpowder Falls fishing report, Gunpowder Falls Fly Fishing Guide, LEfty's Tie Fest, Maryland Fly Fishing, Maryland Fly Fishing Guide, Maryland trout fishing, The Fly Fishing Show, tie-fest, Tom Gilmore

It’s been busy over at Knee Deep Headquarters for the past few months. We’ve added a second intern here at the “office” and the buildup kept us pretty busy for a while. Now that there are two interns here, we’re having a ball cleaning up spills and changing diapers.

It was great to see everyone at the NJ Fly Fishing Show. Thanks to everyone who asked to see baby pictures and brought me coffee! I was lucky enough to sit with my old pal Matt Grobert. We rarely get to see each other outside of show season but it’s like it was last week every time we catch up. He’s been a good role model of mine since I was a kid (he’s not that old) and nobody enjoys sharing the art of fly tying and fishing more than Matt. I can’t wait to see everyone again at Lancaster!

Hey, you East coasters, there’s a new book out by Tom Gilmore just for us and I’m IN IT! I can’t believe it either. Tom must not have been thinking straight when he asked for some input on The Big Gunpowder; I’m grateful for his lapse in judgment. Call your local shop and ask them to get you a copy…then plan a road trip to some new water. It’s got all the info you need on the how and where andsome great extras like real maps! (imagine a guide book with usable maps!)

We’ll see you at Tie fest and Lancaster soon!

-Micah and the expanding crew

New Gear

Micahdammeyer The Fly Fishing Show, Uncategorized May 9, 2012May 6, 2012fly fishing big gunpowder falls, Gear for Big Gunpowder Falls, Mystic Flyrods, Mystic Flyrods M-series

Mystic on the full moon — New M-Series 4wt

While I’ve put a few of Mystic Fly Rods’ M-Series rods in the hands of clients, I’ve yet to have time to fish myself and give them a full once-over. I can say that I have a new favorite rod. The 9’3” 4wt is perfect for fishing dries (even long dropper rigs) on the Gunpowder. I had a blast dishing out sulfur emergers on Friday night. I’m looking forward to using this one a lot during this season!

March Comes In Like A Stonefly

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, fishing, Fly Tying, Spring, The Fly Fishing Show, Trout March 12, 2012Big Gunpowder Falls, Fishing, fly fishing big gunpowder falls, fly fishing gunpowder falls, Gunpowder Falls Fishing Guide, Gunpowder Falls fishing report, Maryland, Maryland DNR, Maryland Fly Fishing, Maryland trout fishing, Spring fishing Big Gunpowder Falls, Streamer Fishing

Wrapping up the weekend here at Knee Deep Headquarters, I’m reflecting on a busy few weeks. The Fly Fishing Show in Lancaster, PA was a great time and a god chance to catch up with old friends and make a lot of new ones. Putting faces with lots of names and shaking hands with folks you’ve only traded emails with makes the world a little smaller. As a newbie on the show circuit I was impressed with my fellow fly tiers who really made me feel welcome and supported. I couldn’t have done the show without my go-to instructor, and brother, Mark. One of these days he’ll give up on the 9 to 5 life and fish full time, I know it.

After that, I had a few days to recover and unpack, then I tagged along with my wife to London. While she was working hard, I made sure to eat everything in sight and stop in a lot of pubs along the way while touring the city. I didn’t get out of the city to explore fishing options but I sure feel like I can check off the major sights. I kept the staff of the hotel laughing as I asked for directions every morning. While I can appreciate a nice hotel, the concierge “dudes” were joking with me that I was like Crocodile Dundee. Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Prime Meridian…I saw it all. It was more tiring than a day on the water.

IMG_0496e — Sometimes Micah gets to fish!

Speaking of the water, I was out on Friday and things are warming up. The air temps are starting to turn around and the water temps can’t be far behind. The wind was cranking and, at a few points, casting had to be paused while the gusts made their way down the river. I was lucky enough to have a friend along who actually snapped a rare picture of me with a fish. I love showing people around my local haunts and Friday was full of good joking around and relaxing. We had a few minutes when the sun burned through the clouds and the wind paused long enough for the stoneflies to take off from the grass and make a large cloud over the river before being blow away again. If you’re headed out in the next week pack heavy streamers and stick them close to the banks. 4x fluorocarbon and a loop knot will get you deep and help you pull the fish out of the undercut banks that the winter’s high flows have carved out.

The April schedule is filling up fast. If you’ve been putting off booking an outing for spring,don’t wait. Time is flying by. If this week’s weather forecast is true we should see Spring really showing it’s colors around the Gunpowder. Give us a call or e-mail and we’ll help you use up those fresh 2012 sick days!

Getting Knee Deep At The Fly Fishing Show!

Micahdammeyer Fly Tying, The Fly Fishing Show, Uncategorized January 2, 2012Flie for The Big Gunpowder Falls, Flies for big gunpowder Falls, flies for gunpowder falls, fly fishing big gunpowder falls, Fly Fishing Show, Fly Fishing show Lancaster, Fly Fishing The Big Gunpowder Falls, Fly Tying, Gunpowder Falls, Maryland Fly Fishing, Maryland trout fishing, Stoneflies, Streamers, Sulphurs, The Big Gunpowder Falls, The Fly Fishing Show, The Fly Fishing Show Lancaster PA, tying flies for The big Gunpowder Falls, winter

With winter about to clench its fist down on this warm fall season it’s time to start planning ahead for that cabin fever. The best remedy I can think of is a trip to one of the upcoming consumer expos put on by the folks at The Fly Fishing Show. The Knee Deep gang is ready and I’ll be tying at the Lancaster, PA show February 18^th & 19^th not to mention stocking up in person while there’s a huge selection of fur and feathers to choose from.

If you’ve never been to The Fly Fishing show you’ve been missing out! You won’t find a bigger gathering of pros demonstrating their skills and offering up free seminars and lectures. On top of all that, there are isles of tackle companies showing of their latest and greatest gadgets and rods…all out for you to pick up and check out.

Spending my teenage years in New Jersey I was lucky enough to attend the Somerset show every year. I used to spend the whole day getting to know the tiers and asking every question I could. I loved it. Some years I’d go for all 3 days of the show just to get my fill of the seminars and classes. As the years went on, I looked forward to the show more as a way to connect with old fishing friends and to stock up on rare or hard to find tying materials. This year will be no exception as there’s nothing like picking your tying materials first hand and catching up with lots of old friends.

Check out The Fly Fishing Show site, find a show near you if you can’t make it to Lancaster, and get your fly fishing fix for the winter. Plan to spend the whole day, or more, to take advantage of it all.