Well known angling guide and casting instructor Dan O’Neill recently attended Italy’s biggest angling expo in Rimini. Check out his report below…
It’s always nice to travel to different rivers and areas to see a different perspective on angling and how people approach certain angling situations. When I was invited to attend the Pescare show in Rimini, Italy, by the editor of H2O magazine, Giorgio Cavatorti, I jumped at the chance. Things would be a little different this time for me at the show, as I would be attending to tie river nymph patterns that I had mostly thought up myself, although I’m sure they exist elsewhere. I have always been a person who agrees and accepts first, and then figures out afterwards how I will manage it. For me, it’s the only way to progress, as you now have a deadline to be ready and make sure you’re presentable. Throughout Italy, the Pescare show is known as being a premier fishing fair. All types of angling are covered, and the latest in boating and angling technology is available to see and even try out. Stands with various meats and cheeses lined the back wall, and four outdoor casting ponds always had someone trying out rods, teaching adults or kids, or just people like me who went out to have a cast and ended up giving some tuition. As an instructor, I always find it beneficial to try to teach someone who doesn’t speak any English, as you rely on a different set of skills to be able to get your point across. It’s quite useful and has helped me many times during demos and tuition classes here in Ireland; it makes things very clear and simplifies your explanations.
So now to speak a little about my fly-tying experience. I sat behind a table covered in a red Fulling Mill cloth and just looked around me, taking it all in. What a privilege to be at such a fair. To my left I had Hans Van Klinken and Barry Ord Clarke; to my right I had tyers from Italy, America, and many other countries who were at the top of their game. Something I noticed was how humble these people were. It made others feel at ease and not afraid to approach them. It’s a skill in itself, and one that certainly has been highly tuned by them. I found myself beckoning over kids and parents to tie a fly with me. It was very simple, but watching the kids walk away smiling, putting the fly safely in a bag or in Mum or Dad’s wallet or purse, made me smile. Most of the kids, when they were finished tying with me, I would take to Hans Van Klinken or Barry Ord Clarke to check out the fly they had just tied and then tie something with them. I started out my weekend with 175 hooks and came home with three.
Back home in my community, I am that crazy guy who waves a fly rod around on the green in all sorts of weather or stands in the local duck pond while Spey casting with a double-handed rod. At the fair, I was just another enthusiast surrounded by many, many more enthusiasts. It was eye-opening and shows that it goes beyond passion — it’s discipline. Discipline is what separates most. The days were from 9:30 to 18:30 each day, and when you looked at the exhibitors and demonstrators, they had the same level of enthusiasm for the first person at 9:30 as for the last person at 18:30. That, to me, is the difference. If you’re feeling tired, it doesn’t matter; you’re disciplined and find it within yourself to give everyone you come into contact with the same experience.
So to all the people I came into contact with at the fair, it was for sure a pleasure, and I hope to see you all again at the 2027 Pescare show. I was delighted to have received an invite back to the show, and I accepted without hesitation.
Dan O’Neill
Trout Fishing Ireland
