If you walked into the Benson Center last Saturday, expecting the same old fly-fishing show just like the one last year or the year before, you’d have been surprised. It wasn’t the same—it was bigger and better and there were a lot more people.
According to club president Sandy Halteman of Osceola, the 2024 Fly Fishing Expo put on by the Tri-Lakes Fly Fishers was a big success. “The show is so much bigger than last year,” Halteman said. “There were 25 percent more of everything.” There were more vendors, more fly tyers demonstrating their skills and more people coming in the door. In fact, after the lunch hour, some of the aisles were crowded, and most tyers had two or three people watching them.
“Attendance really increased,” Halteman said. “It is remarkable. And this year, we’ve seen a big jump in people from Clinton attending the show where last year there weren’t as many. And what’s really nice is that the all of the new people we signed up to join the club are under 40.”
The show, the Expo, has been around for 27 years with a two-year break during Covid. Before the show moved to Clinton, it was held in Bolivar. The main purpose of the Expo is to help the club make money to support its two main projects— The Mayfly Project and the fly fishing education classes the club holds at the Good Samaritan Boys Ranch in Bolivar.
The Mayfly Project is a national outreach program that works with foster children. The program’s goal is to introduce the children to fly fishing and their local water ecosystems in order to have fun, build a connection with the outdoors and give them a hobby that can help build confidence.
The Good Samaritan Boys Ranch in Brighton, Mo., with offices in Springfield, is another organization that provides help for at-risk children. The Tri-Lakes Fly Fishers hold bi-weekly classes there that introduces the children to fly fishing, conservation, as well as fishing trips to local ponds.
While the Expo does raise money for the club’s supporting activities, it’s basically a free ride for exhibitors, vendors and attendees. The bulk of the money comes from an auction that offers a wide variety of things, fishing gear obviously, plus trips, and non-fishing items. Many of the auction’s prizes come from local Clinton businesses.
The major expense the club has is renting the hall at the Benson Center. “We’re really lucky to have such good support,” said Halteman. “If it wasn’t for Mike Keith Insurance, Hawthorn Bank and our newest supporter, Cover & Hilton Law Group, we wouldn’t be able to hold the Expo. But that’s the thing; like our supporters, people in Clinton have been really friendly, helpful and supportive.”
That same theme was echoed by several of the exhibitors. Henry Seay, working the Natural State Fly Shop (Cotter, Ark.) booth was very happy with the Expo. “It was very good, incredibly good,” he said in response to a question “There has never been bad show in Clinton, though. The people are great, helpful and friendly. The facilities are excellent as well.” The Natural State Fly Shop booth was tied in to the booth for Cotter’s trout Lodge.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few vendors and exhibitors from out of the area. Arkansas was well represented because of its spectacular trout fishing— a draw for fly fishermen. And there were plenty of exhibitors from Kansas demonstrating their tying skills. While most vendors were from the region, such as Weaver’s Tackle Store from Bennett Springs, not all were. One vendor called New Mexico home.
A quick survey of the tyers who were busy at their vises, showed most were from Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas. But Marc Pinsel calls Hammond, La., home. “I really like this area,” Pinsel says. “I was fishing here the other day and without moving from one spot, I caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass and crappie. That’s not something you can say about a lot of places. Southern Missouri is a great area for fly fishing.”
There were several exhibitors worth noting. The American Museum of Fly Fishing had a display. That organization is located in Manchester, Vt., with a branch in Springfield. And one of the vendors was the Blue Bonefish Lodge from Belize. Both show the growing importance of the TLFF’s Expo. Also, too, Healing Waters was present as was The Mayfly Project.
Next year’s Expo, which will be at the Benson Center, will include a fly fishing education class put on by the Missouri Department of Conservation. “The MDC has been really good at supporting the Expo,” said Halteman, “and we’re looking forward to this new class. Perhaps the education session will include utilizing the lawns outside the center to give fly casting instruction, but that has yet to be decided.
