EXPO 24

Flathead Valley’s annual Sportsman’s Expo is an opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts of every shape, size, and persuasion to come together for a weekend and talk all things outdoors with sporting representatives from all over. From fly shops to hunting guides; conservation groups to chiropractors(?), the Expo is a fun place to wander around and dream of summer outdoor activities still a few months away.

For years FVTU had a booth at the Expo to engage with the public and help get our message out to a wider audience. Like many things, COVID disrupted that as well. But, now we’re we’re back, and many FVTU volunteers staffed our booth all weekend to answer questions, tie flies, and spread the word about our precious native trout.

Strategically placed near the entrance, virtually everyone who attended came past our booth. A beautiful 14 foot NRS raft acted as a divider between us and our good friends at Glacier Outdoor Center/Glacier Anglers. By the way, that’s the same raft we’re raffling off at our 2024 annual banquet, May 18th, at Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish. The lucky winner gets the complete outfit, raft, frame, seats, and oars. This year tickets are $10 each or three for $20. Tickets are available at every regular meeting, from most board members, and elsewhere in the valley. Got yours yet?

Throughout the weekend we talked trout, tied flies, answered questions, made friends, and spread the message “Bull Trout Belong in Montana“. You’re familiar with our new bull trout initiative from a previous blog post, but this was our first chance to bring that message to a much wider audience.

In addition to handing out Bull Trout Belong in Montana bumper stickers and a variety of flies tied on the spot, the kids visiting the booth got free crayons and pictures of trout to color. The lollipops in the above photo were free game for everyone (including a board member or two).

Overall it was a fun and successful weekend for FVTU. Hundreds of people passed by and many stopped in to read our message or speak with our volunteers. We collected $1,670 in raft raffle ticket sales and tied an untold number of flies. We had fun, hope you did too and that you stopped in and said “Hi“.

See you at the next meeting! Did I mention the raft raffle………..?