A long time ago as a non-fly fishing young man, I walked into Eyler?s Sport Shop in Ardmore, PA store looking for 10? plastic worms that I was convinced were what I needed to land the ?hogs? the pros all seemed to be catching. The clerk in the store proudly pulled out a box full of the requisite sized worms and I had my first experience with a tackle shop having EXACTLY what I was looking for. The worms never did produce for me but the array of fly tackle in the store garnered my interest. What I didn?t realize was that I would keep walking back into that store for more than 30 years and experience many more firsts in my fly fishing life:

My first fly rod; a custom built 5 foot graphite, (remember those short rods)?

My first fly reel; a Hardy built CFO II

My first bamboo rod

My first ?fancy? fly rod; an Orvis Limestone Special which I still have.

My first fly tying vise

The list goes on and on but the end result has been a 30+ year love affair with a fly shop where one of the primary features of the store were chairs to sit on and engage in conversation about fishing, and a coffee pot too; imagine that! It was a place where you never felt like you were overstaying your welcome; and where you always felt welcome. But more importantly Tom & Alice Forwood the proprietors were always willing to order out of stock and special items, without making me feel like I was asking them to pull out their own teeth. Throw in an occasional discount or two and you have the best of all worlds in a fly shop.

These days in my experience this type of service is slowly becoming a thing of the past. I constantly have to shop around because some shops can?t be bothered ordering a small cost item even when they don?t have a minimum to fill. Surly clerks and disinterested associates make ?other? shops a place I avoid except when I have no choice. And chairs, the only place I see them is BEHIND the counter for them, not us.

So in a minute I?m heading down to Bryn Mawr, PA to say goodbye to my friends and favorite fly shop because Eyler?s Sport Shop is closing today after 50 years on the Main Line of PA. Tom & Alice are retiring to Montana or Wyoming or someplace with great fishing and family. The store will close and new owners will take over the space in the building, but not in my heart and memories.

So if you are lucky enough to have a great fly shop that you frequent; enjoy it while you can, while it?s great; because great service, conversation, and company can be a hard thing to find.