Swap and Shop?

_WW_

_WW_

The Elitist Geriatric Skagit Swinger
Forum Supporter
I know not everyone is like me but I'm thinking there are probably plenty of folks who are at least like me to some extent.

I have too much fishing gear. There. It's out in the open. I said it.

I'm sure I could start selling it off piece by piece in the various forums but I think I'd rather load up the truck and haul it off somewhere where it could be display. handled, ogled, admired, and bartered for. I'd also like to see what everyone else has that they don't want anymore so I could possibly haul a truckload of new stuff home! I am what I am.

I remember going to huge swap and shops in Denver that were held at drive in theater locations. I know we wouldn't be on that grand of a scale but something along those lines at a smaller venue like Howard Miller Steelhead Park or something similar. Right now it's just a germ of an idea and I have no actual plan for it but I think with some input from people we could pull it off - perhaps annually.

Requirements? Thinking out loud here...
Cheap or free.
Not in the mud.
Room to do some test casting perhaps.
Not during a hot fishing season like the Skagit C&R.
Decent weather.
Bathrooms.
 
Howard Miller is way far for most members here I think. To maximize attendance, it'd probably need to be king county or a bit south even. Or at my house because that sounds easiest 😂 . I'll even make pizza.

I'm open to the idea of a PNWFF gathering for such a purpose. I know I have plenty I could bring. We'd just need to dial in an ideal venue.
 
Evan B said:
Howard Miller is way far for most members here I think. To maximize attendance, it'd probably need to be king county or a bit south even. Or at my house because that sounds easiest 😂 . I'll even make pizza.

I'm open to the idea of a PNWFF gathering for such a purpose. I know I have plenty I could bring. We'd just need to dial in an ideal venue.
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I think a place like Howard Miller. I agree it should be more centrally located, but I am unfamiliar with King county and environs south of there. Somebody will know a place.

I'd like to cast a wider net than PNWFF and make it not just fly fishing specific. However, if there was a table of PNWFF swag I'd surely pay it a visit.
 
Old406Kid said:
At 75, I'm in the same situation with far more than fishing gear as is my wife with her various things.
I keep telling her we need a theft to get rid of some stuff. :ROFLMAO:
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Oh, to be 75 again and not have all the crap I have collected in the past 12 years! Worse yet, I have lived here for 25 years now and never met another fly fisherman locally so there is no market for my excess, not even someone to give to. Most of the folks I fish with are all retired closet millionaires to begin with and have much better stuff than I use so they have no need for my budget crap. I'm just stuck with it at this point.
 
Old406Kid said:
At 75, I'm in the same situation with far more than fishing gear as is my wife with her various things.
I keep telling her we need a theft to get rid of some stuff. :ROFLMAO:
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I'm not gonna go there...
 
The first step is to admit you have too much gear.. mmmm, I guess I really do.. no I know so..

I'm down for a swap.. Lake Tye in Monroe would be good. Water to cast on, bathrooms and lots of space! Closer to the Seattle area so many can attend and a good amount of parking.

They stock the lake or you can kick around in a tube or boat if you want too. I want to see some of the prams some of you have..

Howard Miller is fine for me, but will be busy through April 15th I assume.

Merrymore Park in Redmond would work too.. nothing to fish though.. I have a buddy who works for the county and in the park and could reserve some space for us.. parking is $1! There's Mac & Jacks and Post Doc nearby.. I like this one or Lake Tye..

I might know a guy who will have some whiskey.. he's kind of an asshole though.. tries to get everybody to drink.. such a tool!

Throw out other ideas.. I've got too much stuff.. at least 6 awesome rod tubes.. Now when is the next meeting of the FFA... Fly Fishing Anonymous meeting.. Let's me stop at a shop, grab that new 4wt before I go too.. Dooh!
 
Redmond or Lake Tye both seem like good options if we can arrange something.
 
I really like this idea!
 
iveofione said:
Oh, to be 75 again and not have all the crap I have collected in the past 12 years! Worse yet, I have lived here for 25 years now and never met another fly fisherman locally so there is no market for my excess, not even someone to give to. Most of the folks I fish with are all retired closet millionaires to begin with and have much better stuff than I use so they have no need for my budget crap. I'm just stuck with it at this point.
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You might consider donating some gear to Project Healing Waters for military vets.
 
We can do it at my place in Tacoma. It’s an easy five minutes off the highway. Just need to get the kegerator refilled. And y’all can just leave anything you don’t want to haul back home.
 
Ernie said:
You might consider donating some gear to Project Healing Waters for military vets.
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I like @_WW_ 's idea for a swap meet and given enough time to set the date aside, I'd be willing to cross the pass and meet up. It would be fun to meet members and renew acquaintenances with forum members I've met but don't see anymore or often enough.

I also like your idea of donating gear to PHW and have done so in the past. I used to be a dubbing hoarder, I mean who needs 100+ sleeves of dubbing with nine sleeves of exactly the same brand/color? (Answer: not me). PHW got a shoe box full of dubbing; I got a nice thank you card.

I want to eat some of @Evan B's pizza. @mcswny's too.
 
Buzzy said:
I like @_WW_ 's idea for a swap meet and given enough time to set the date aside, I'd be willing to cross the pass and meet up. It would be fun to meet members and renew acquaintenances with forum members I've met but don't see anymore or often enough.

I also like your idea of donating gear to PHW and have done so in the past. I used to be a dubbing hoarder, I mean who needs 100+ sleeves of dubbing with nine sleeves of exactly the same brand/color? (Answer: not me). PHW got a shoe box full of dubbing; I got a nice thank you card.

I want to eat some of @Evan B's pizza. @mcswny's too.
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HA! ONLY ONE shoebox of dubbing?
 
I've been to 2 fishing swap and shops. One was non profit based and other was a group of Steelheaders selling gear.

I will say you will want somewhere a bit more centrally located. Depending on how much area you want to cover. Howard Miller will draw a few from up north, maybe even BC, but not sure how many you'll get from Oregon and eastern WA.

I think what would be best, if this pushes forward, is to poll who all is interested and what their locations are. Then try and centralize location from there. Chehalis, Centralia may be a bit more in the middle. But if enough people from Oregon are in them maybe Portland/Vancouver may be better.

I too have a ton of stuff I'm looking to sell. A mixture of fishing and outdoor stuff.
 
Although the “my house” part of my previous post was facetious, I do think (selfishly) that Tacoma is a great central location for the WA crowd. I wonder if this is the kind of thing that has to be split into a north event and a south event.
 
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