Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
I'm with bobinmich - the best "little" fly shop is Rusty Gates' shop at the Gates AuSable Lodge near Grayling Michigan. Fantastically beautiful location on the Holy Waters of the AuSable river.
The other greatest shop is Craig Matthews' Blue Ribbon Fly Shop, in West Yellowstone Montana, wherever that is.
You'll prob'ly have to check that one out with the late Milford Stanley Poltroon. If you send him a snail mail expect an answer, if any, in a bag-velope.
'Member that?
Bill
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Since the passing of our own Fly Chucker shop, I'll have to agree that Rusty's has a cool factor that needs to be experienced. As is typical of such things, the more time that one spends in that shop, the more one finds to like about it. If he had a wood stove and some comfortable chairs... well, he's probably wise to avoid going that far. He wouldn't be able to run the trout bums out when it was time to go home. If he put rocking chairs in front of his shop, I expect that he would come in some winter mornings to find blobs of snow quietly rocking away where they had been since closing time the night before. :)
Ed
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Bow River Troutfitters is mostly High end, But if you ask, they do have more affordable stuff in the back.
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
If I won the lottery, I would work very hard to reproduce one of the great old New York fly shops, places like William Mills & Son, Jim Deren's The Angler's Roost, and the old Abercrombie & Fitch. FIve or six talented fly tiers on staff, making everything from size 22 dry flies to the big Atlantic Salmon flies; several of the most talented fly rod makers (both bamboo and graphite) on retainer to make a house brand and selections from the rest of the high-end makers; a repair shop in back; a deep selection of fly reels; and outside a big golden fish hanging below the sign like the old Abbey & Imbrie shop. To staff it, only knowledgable men and women with 20+ years on the stream and an abiding love of fly fishing.
No tournaments. No sponsorship. No logo clothing or hats. Only high quality material sold by high quality people.
Such places mostly live in our dreams nowadays. God I feel old.
Tight lines,
Deke
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Quote:
Originally Posted by dekezucker
If I won the lottery, I would work very hard to reproduce one of the great old New York fly shops, places like William Mills & Son, Jim Deren's The Angler's Roost, and the old Abercrombie & Fitch. FIve or six talented fly tiers on staff, making everything from size 22 dry flies to the big Atlantic Salmon flies; several of the most talented fly rod makers (both bamboo and graphite) on retainer to make a house brand and selections from the rest of the high-end makers; a repair shop in back; a deep selection of fly reels; and outside a big golden fish hanging below the sign like the old Abbey & Imbrie shop. To staff it, only knowledgable men and women with 20+ years on the stream and an abiding love of fly fishing.
No tournaments. No sponsorship. No logo clothing or hats. Only high quality material sold by high quality people.
Such places mostly live in our dreams nowadays. God I feel old.
Tight lines,
Deke
Like I said in my response:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bamboozle
They are all closed and out of business; the good ones that is.
Deren was a hoot!
When you open your shop; I'll be the first in line!
;)
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Which BPS are ya' talking about... Springfield, MO or one of the other A, B, or C sized locations across the country? The fly shop in each BPS location varieries... some good, some not so good.
We just had a new Cabela's open in south Louisiana. It was a very Big Deal...lots of hype... but with a lousey fly shop... very poor selection of materials...almost no salt water materials... They didn't even have stainless hooks - in south Louisian, no stainless hooks! :shock:
However, they've asked the local FFF club to "suggest items" for them to stock, but they want us to go to their catalogue and write down items AND the Cabela's Catalogue numbers for the items that we'd like for them to carry! You'd think that Cabela's would have at least one tyer who had some idea on warm and salt water tying... or at least an experienced marketing guy! Apparently not... :?
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
I think "Doaks" Fly shop in Doak town New Brunswick, Canada, is right up there for the well off folks who win lotteries, if you show up there better bring a brinks truck, and look rich, they have had some of the richest folk in the shop, and I caught a clerking looking at my wife out of the corner of his eye, and because she had our three boys with her, he ignored her, FOR A LITTLE BIT, she got his attention by threatening to let the boys loose on the store if he did not help her find some flies or something, this was about 10 -12 years ago, it is great shop with everything you could want, and more, they have a web site, to check out there e-catalog http://www.wwdoak.com/
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Wow!!
Just reading all these posts, on a lot of shops I've visited over the years has been like a stroll down memory lane!
Although, I agree with the posts that listed "The Fly Shop" as "a really good fly shop", it's only one of two, that I frequent quite often.
I think, when our friend, here and his bride win that lottery... he should think of buying out these two, following shops and give us ALL a nice, benefits filled, high wages, lots of time off to fish, jobs at them both!
The Fly Shop; because of all the reasons every one's already listed.
Secondly, is my own "home shop": "River City Fly Shop" in Tigard, Oregon. Don Nelson, the owner, runs not only the most COMPLETE inventory of fly tying materials of any shop I've ever walked into, he also runs the most HONEST and perhaps, the best priced, fly shop as well.
Just, going into River City is an experience all by itself! Because Don isn't a "sponsor fly shop". He's one of the few independent fly shops around, still, who "carries and sells, what his customers want and ask for" and isn't bridled by what the big boys tell him he'll sell. (or, like Kaufmann's also, in Tigard, WON'T sell!).
You may pick up an Orvis rod in the same rack- next to a T & T, with a couple of TFOs on either side. I've lost count, of the fly reel brands he carries! Even though Don does guided trips, has rod building, fly tying, and, casting schools, his shop's main backbone is fly tying materials. His ceilings are 14 foot and the material packages start at the very last set of peg hooks, at the ceiling and go all the way down, to where the last row of materials in dragging the carpet. He has 3 of his shops 4 walls, set up this way with materials.
But, even with all of that, River City's real attraction to me anyway is trying to ask for something, that Don DOESN'T have! I tried this, ONCE, when first meeting Don and his crew. I went into his shop and asked for a package of "Picary hair". Don, thought a moment, apologized for not having it, "right there", then said to me, grabbing his keys.............. "But, come on, I know where there IS SOME!".
Off, we went, to one of Don's 3, off premises, storage units that are crammed to the rafters with even MORE fly tying and fly fishing, gear, materials and equipment! Yes, he as the Picary hair I was after.
Don purchases fly shops that "go under". Because of this, it makes shopping at River City a real adventure at times, because of what you may find. And, when I mentioned "Don's honesty" a while ago, I was referring to the fact, that because he buys belly up shops around Oregon and Washington as "so much on the dollar", he prices all of his goods accordingly.
I apologize I've made this post way, way, too long but it's hard, today, in this world of "big box stores" and "co-op buying power", to find many one man ownership fly shops that carry the inventory Don carries, let alone, operate with the integrity Don operates under.
I was in, River City, for like my 3rd, ever, visit several years ago and was drooling over a new Winston rod. Don walked up to me, asked me; "If I liked the rod" and when I told him, "oh, YEAHHHH!" he asked me, "If I was going fishing, in the next few days?" When I told him, that I was, he in turn said to me........... "Well, take this rod, with you and fish it and bring it back and tell me what you think!"
Only my THIRD time, in the man's shop. He didn't even know MY NAME at that point in time, but through casual conversation on a previous visit of mine, Don knew I lived and fished, over a 100 miles away from his shop! His shop is just outside, Portland and I live, down on the Oregon Coast. When I at least offered to leave him a deposit on that Winston, he tod me, "Nawwww, if my wife finds out, I have any extra cash, she'll make me buy HER something! Just, take it, and let me know the next time you're p here, what you think!"
Yes, that'd be a shop worth buying and owning, because his obvious customer base is overwhelming!
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Well, I'll be heading to Tigard...can't believe I never heard of the place...Thanks....now I wish I needed something....
Re: Be All End All Fly Shop?
Yes, River City and Don Nelson are great. He has the largest volume of tying materials I remember seeing in a shop. You may not find a full selection of Whiting capes but you will find just about any dubbing, hair or feather you could imagine. And Don is great to deal with.