Once again, the Appomattox River Company kayak fishing booth, at the Richmond Fishing Expo, was a crowd-pleaser. The Expo takes place at the Meadow Event park in Doswell every January. This year the event ran from the 16th to the 18th. Prior to the event, Show Manager Les Gray had asked if we'd like to represent the expo on CBS 6, Virginia This Morning. We were psyched!

I drove down early Friday for the live broadcast. It was a pretty cool experience. Big thanks to Nan Choi, from CBS 6, for making me comfortable and getting us all set up. Click the link below the photo to watch the segment I did on kayak fishing and the fishing expo.

For the full video segment click here.

The show kicked off on Friday around 10am. I came in, did a quick interview with K95 Country, and then started helping the guys get ready. We had a great team of kayak anglers and staff in our booth and Aaron Dryden, Wilderness Systems Pro, wasted no time getting people psyched about the Wildy Ride 115x Max Angler.

Our spot was looking pretty good. We can really fill some space.

Later in the day, Chuck Wrenn, Hobie Fishing Pro, stepped up and conducted a Kayak Rigging Seminar. Thanks Chuck!

We had a good crowd on Friday, but Saturday is the busiest every year. This Saturday was no different.

Big thanks to Herschel Finch, Jackson Kayak Pro, for driving down to spend the weekend in our booth. We definitely appreciated having him.

Saturday also brings out all of our community pro staff guys, and big wigs in the scene. ;) It's cool to hang in the booth and get to visit with everyone. Like these ruffians.

Thom Mattauch (R) is the tournament director for the RVA Shad Shootout which will benefit Heroes On The Water. Tom Vanderheiden (L) is the Chapter Coordinator for out Tidewater Chapter. I'll be posting a tournament schedule blog up soon to highlight all the great events coming up this year.

The Hobie Pro Angler 17T Tandem definitely was drawing a crowd.

And the Orion Coolers were a hot ticket as well.

Kayak Kevin, Ocean Kayak Pro, was hanging in the booth on Saturday, and he always draws a crowd. I have hung with some kayak angler pros who did not impress me with the ego they brought to events. Kevin has absolutely none of that. He's a great ambassador to the sport and truly humbled by those who seek him out. We all have a lot of respect for the man.

I scooted over and watched local Farmville legend, John Crews of Missile Baits, give his seminar on bass fishing. I was glad I got a chance to catch up with John and talk to him about getting him in a kayak this year. We'll see if we can make that happen.

I also had a great time meeting Andy Andrews, Heritage Chevrolet Fishing Team and Angling Virginia TV. Andy revealed that he'd recently gotten into kayak fishing and that it had changed his life. We all know that story! So happy to have met Andy and I'm looking forward to working with him in the future.

The Richmond Fishing Expo is always a good time. We love being in the back next to the glitter rockets. Kayaks look pretty economically priced in comparison. ;)

It is always a blast seeing everyone from the community come out. The booth turns into a cool little party with folks stopping by to chat. I love how supportive our Virginia kayak fishing community is during these events.

William Ragulsky, Hurricane Kayak Pro, and Jay Brooks, Wilderness Systems Pro, both stopped by. Rob Choi, Ocean Kayak Pro, and Drew Camp, Jackson Kayak Pro, also showed up. Jeff Lockhart, Seth Goodrich, Kam Goodrich, Alex Britland and a host of other great anglers from our community popped into the booth. On Sunday Mark and Kris Lozier, Native WaterCraft Pro, both hung out and talked kayak fishing all day. It really is a fun time seeing everyone come out.

Photos courtesy of Tom V. and Andrea N.

But ultimately the greatest part of the Richmond Fishing Expo is the chance to interact with the larger angling community. I personally enjoyed so many great conversations with folks who were curious about kayak fishing or specific kayaks, etc. It is an awesome experience. I know all of us that worked the booth feel the same way. Spreading the love of kayak fishing is what we do and I hope all of you felt the kinship and camaraderie that springs from that passion. Thank you for coming to see us.

Thank you to all the Pro Staff mentioned above for coming and working the booth with us! Thank you to all the ARC team, Vic, Andrea, Kayak Kevin, Brian Vande Sande who stayed in the booth and hustled. Big Props to all the guys and gals at ARC; Tom, our GM, Big Al, Colton, Chris, Sterling, Brian Graham, Mary, Sara M, Sara D, etc who hustle all week to make it happen. It's a big team effort.

Per a text I received from Nan Choi, Senior Acct. Executive - CBS 6 - " My guys came by (the expo) and said you guys were slammed! My friend, Scott, talked to you for 20 mins. and was thrilled! Jeff said you had the BEST booth at the expo. Not blowing smoke. He said it was awesome!"

So once again, it has been confirmed. We had the best booth at the expo. ;)

PS.

** I'll be posting all the photos I took from the event on our Facebook page tomorrow.

************* Did we mention this guy? Brian Vande Sande spends more time on the show floor than probably anybody else and is intricate to the set up and breakdown process. How many of you have bought a boat from this face?