F3T

So the F3T ver. 2012 rolled into Missoula last night.  First of all I have to give HUGE props to Western Montana for coming out in FULL force!  Marshall and I along with my father in law strolled over to the Wilma a little before 6 to get a decent spot in line and to our surprise they opened the doors shortly after 6 for us diehards (thanks dudes).  Within moments they were having to turn people away that wanted to purchase tickets at the door, nope ain't gonna work in Missoula folks, you gotta get 'em early cuz we SOLD THE MUTHAF*CKA OUT!!!
Also a big thanks to The Hackle for some great pulled pork sammiches and free beverages, thanks guys, it was tasty!  The pre-festival crowd at the Hackle seemed a little more varied this year, more of the (my guess anyway) non-fishing set.  Don't get me wrong the usual suspects were there too.
This year's lineup is the strongest yet.  Some highlights for me (and in no particular order):

Sipping Dry - what can I say?  A flick about a MT river?  oh yeah and it's about dry fly fishing?

Doc of the Drakes - Clearly a crowd favorite, everyone was pulling for Doc!

Geofish - Every bit the adventure expected and then some!  The Motiv crew didn't disappoint..

The Kodiak Project - High on  my list as both an adventure and species targeted... STEEL!!

Riding High - A sleeper in my book, after the first few scenes it's clearly a must see for the dude!

The Arctic - Another great mix of adventure and fishing told through great film making!

I don't want to go into too much detail because hopefully you get a chance to attend a tour stop.
The swag keeps getting better and better too.  Some lady was VERY stoked to take home a SAGE ONE rod, she was running down the aisle Price is Right style, tightcool!  I just hope she realizes what she got her hands on for the price of admission, damn!  My grandson was styling in the new F3T trucker

Braylon rockin' the new cap and scoping the Stonefly

 Although I ran into a couple of guide friends some familiar faces were absent, notably this fuggin' guy (sorry buddy, at least I linked to your blather blog).  By the way we did miss you guys.
Although the usual guide-jabbing-guide prattle was overheard, it even seemed slightly subdued compared to years past.  To the dude in the beer line (and you know who you are) you should have read my previous post prior to attending, you single-handedly upheld my faith in my "guides like freshman girls at their first day of high school" theory, thaks brah!
This was the first time my daughter in law (and mother and father in law for that matter) attended the F3T.  They were duly impressed.

Marshall is stoked, Braylon havin' some beverage of a different type!

Sooooo if the F3T makes a stop anywhere near your 'burg I HIGHLY recommend it, you won't be disappointed, for that it gets the "Dude Approved" status (disclaimer, this is not an actual review, besides like the F3T wouldn't get Dude Approved?!?   Puh-leez!)

And lastly the dude was able to snap a quick pic on the way out with none other than Jay "Graphite Samurai" Johnson, RIGHTEOUS!!!  Although I didn't get his beardbraids in the picture, he rocks two braids down the front dude-style!  Thanks for the picture Jay, hope to see you on a river somewhere pre-zombie apocalypse!

Fuckin' A

Damn I wanna fish........