Angling Trade Magazine June 2009

JUNE2009AnglingTrade.com

INsIdE ThE Fly shop IssUE Shops Rule Consumer Opinions/ Hot Retailers in a Cold Market/ Beyond Fly Shop 101/ Mentors Matter/ Hardy Aims High/ Good Books

TRADE

the buzz on the flyfishing biz

AnglingTrade.com / June 20093

Departments6 Editors ColumnDancing with them That Brung You. Are we in this together? Or is it every company for itself? One thing is certain youll never have better customers and business partners than the ones working with you now. By Kirk Deeter

8 CurrentsAFFTA lures dealers to FFR... A second coming of the movie... A new travel network opportunity A dealer protection program, and more news from the North American flyfishing industry.

26 Recommended ReadingCharlie Cravens Basic Fly Tying Tying can buoy sales this book is a concise primer from one of the best innovators around. And Miles Noltes Alaska Chronicles is an insiders account of working rivers north.

28 Reflections on a MentorGary LaFontaines willingness to mentor this young writer (among many) is still paying dividends, long after his passing. Who will you take under your wing? By Greg Thomas

36 BackcastReach out and touch your customers. Contact is key and you must take the initiative. Three shop owners explain why. By Charlie Meyers

CoNTENTs

Editor

Kirk [email protected]

Managing Editor

Tim [email protected]

Editor-at-large

Charlie [email protected]

Art director

Tara [email protected]

Copy Editors

Mabon Childs, Sarah Warner

Contributing Editors

Tom BieBen RomansAndrew SteketeeGreg Thomas

Contributors

Joe Cermele, Tom Keer, Brian McClintock, Ben Romans, Steve Schweitzer, Greg Thomas

Photos unless noted by Tim Romano

Angling Trade is published four times a year by Angling Trade, LLC. Author and photographic submissions should be sent electronically to [email protected]. Angling Trade is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photo submissions. We ask that contributors send formal queries in advance of submissions. For editorial guidelines and calendar, please contact the editor via E-mail.

Printed in the U.S.A.

Advertising Contact: Tim RomanoTelephone: 303-495-3967 Fax: 303-495-2454 [email protected]

Mail Address:PO Box 17487Boulder, CO 80308

Street Address:3055 24th StreetBoulder, CO 80304

AnglingTrade.com

Features18 Competing in a Slow Economy Over 1,300 flyfishing consumers indicate their preferences for finding information and buying product, and believe it or not, the fly shop is still the key heres the data and what it can mean to you. By Steve Schweitzer

22 Hot Dealers in a Cold Market Find the fly shops that are weathering tough economic times, and youll learn that they all share these 10 business habits in common. By Tom Keer

30 Advanced Shop ClassLast issue was the Teaching issue now its time to start thinking beyond 101 level courses to strengthen the profit connection with customers. By Joe Cermele

34 Hardy Jumps the Pond Britains most iconic brand is making waves again in the United States, this time fueled in large part by its Greys product line. By Kirk Deeter

TRADE

the buzz on the flyfishing biz

T C X S E R I E S

s a g e f l y f i s h . c o m

2009 All rights reserved.

And in this cornerthe all-new, long-distance, rocket-launching,

wind-cheating, y-by-wire, laser-guided Champion of the World.

Hail Mary to the no-way bait ball beyond the break? Hitch up

your pants, rear back andBOOM! Big brown with a PhD in

Nice Try sipping midges on the far bank across two seams and

an eddy line? BAM! Longshot permit way out past the edge of

reason? POW! How you like me now? Fear no wind. Fire when

guides say wait. Tighten your loops, all hands on deck, look

alive. The water is widego long or go home. Casting magic

from the guru of graphite. Built by Sage. Feel the love.


CoNTRIBUToRs

Greg Thomas Greg Thomas is the managing editor for Fly Rod & Reel, and a contributing editor for Angling Trade. His work in flyfishing has been prolificfrom books, to magazine, newspaper, and online articles. We found his eloquent essay on mentor Gary LaFontaine to be especially thought-provoking.

Steve Schweitzer Steve Schweitzer is the former vice president of sales and marketing for Whiting Farms, and has been in the flyfishing business in some role or another for the past 15 years. His writing work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Trout, Fly Fisherman, and over a dozen books on fly fishing and tying.

Tom Keer Tom Keer is the guy we turn to when we need a frank story on a hot issue candor is not an issue for Tom. He has worked in several sections of the flyfishing industry for nearly 20 years. Hes now a full-time freelance writer who digs clams and picks oysters when hes not writing, fishing, or hunting.

BECAUSE YOU NEVERKNOW WHICHACCESSORIES YOU MAY NEED...Anglers Accessories proves again and again that high quality fly fishing accessories dont have to be expensive to be great! Call, fax or email for our full-color 2009 catalog.

15353 E. Hinsdale Circle, Unit F,Centennial, CO 80112ph 303-690-0477 fax [email protected] An

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Joe Cermele Joe Cermele is the associate online editor for Field & Stream. Though desk-bound in NYC during the week, his mind lives on beaches and rivers throughout the Northeast. On the upside, he gets to indulge in the finest liverwurst and onion sandwiches in NYC, and you can find him at noon most days at the Times Square Deli (Madison and 33rd).

Brian McClintock Brian McClintock is communiations manager for the Thodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Angling Trades Beltway insider. He brings us a report on AFFTAs Congressional Casting Call, held last April on the Potomac.

Ben Romans Ben Romans is another Angling Trade contributing editor. Weve received more positive feedback on Bens smackdown article on public access vs. mutant pigs in private water (Dec. 2008 Access Issue), than anything else weve run to date.

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EdIToRs ColUMN

The one thing you have to remember is that the customers you have now are the best ones youll ever have, he said.

How true.

Id expand that reasoning to include the business part-ners who are working with you now are the best youll ever have. The banker who approves a loan now the manufacturers who deliver on their promises now the retailer whos moving your products now the company that backs a warranty now the employee who is putting in the extra effort now the accounts receivable person who cuts you some slack now the person who pays his or her bills on time now

Those are the people who matter most. If and when the market worm turns, their efforts and loyalty should be rewarded. I, for one, am keeping tabs.

One of my favorite singer-songwriters, Stacey Earle, re-corded a song some years ago titled Dancin With Them That Brung Me. Her point is, she believes as a country girl matter of principle, in dancin with the fella that brought her to the ball.

I think that now especially, everyone in this flyfishing industry needs to reach out and keep dancin with them that brung em.

Im talking, foremost, about the specialty retailer. The manufacturers that rode through the boom in the 90s need to remember that those who brung em the profit opportunities were the fly shop people. Many of them do.

Likewise, I think the shop owners should embrace the brands that helped build their businesses, and also realize them that brung you the money you made in better times, in many cases, were reps and guides.

Consumer flyfishing media has done a lot to bring new anglers to the dance and keep them there. Now, the knee-jerk reaction for many companies is to cut costs by cutting ads. No ads, no pages in magazines. No web-sites either, other than amateur ones. No pro media, no pro information. No pro information, no anglers. Its a lose-lose cycle.

There will be more attrition. Ive heard manufactur-ers say things like there are too many magazines now, and the world would be simpler and better without some. Ive also heard some sayand I think in some cases their actions speak louder than wordsthat there are too many retailers, and a culling of the herd is in order.

Thats fine. It may be true. I think, however, the same herd-culling logic applies to some manufacturers.

There are hundreds of product manufacturers in the flyfishing world. Many making good stuff. Many with great ideas. Some of them care about the viability of the specialty retailer. From others, I see a lot of smoke and very little fire. When the chips are down (as they are now), some manufacturers are going to leave retail-ers holding the bag. Its that old 80-20 rule, where 80 percent of the heavy lifting gets done by 20 percent of the companies.

You know who brung you to the dance. Its pretty easy to see whos in it for the long haul with the specialty retailers and who isnt.

For the record, Angling Trade is.

Weve hitched our wagon to the notion that this market will live, thrive and/or die by the fate of the specialty retailer. Thats what were all about.

Thats also why this is The Fly Shop Issue. Not a lot of promo-speak in here. Instead we loaded it with hard data and case histories on what successful shops are doing to survive. Because thats what you wanted.

I hope you find this issue helpful, and I look forward to your comments.

- Kirk Deeter, Editor [email protected]

at

I had dinner with my guide friend Tad howard not long ago, and the conversation centered on the tough economy, and the challenges of making a living in flyfishing these days.

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fortune to extend your business travel by two days. Think of it, fishing in Colorado during the prime time of the year on pristine waters on the cheap. You get here, and the mayflies, and the trout, will be waiting.

What will AFFTA do by way of fishing, food, and lodging on September 8th? Get yourself to Elevenmile Canyon. Elevenmile is one of the hottest places to fish on the South Platte River and September is possibly one of the best months to be there, this is where the blue-winged olives come to play. Or bring a few hoppers too.

If you want to kick it up a notch, youre welome to fish private water on the North Fork at seriously reduced access rates.

We have set up a super-budget lodging option at Camp Alexander Boy Scout Ranch. Or you can take advantage of other reduced rates to stay at a local B&B right on the river. Fish till you cant cast anymore, and then you can chill out with kindred spirits, or head off to Woodland Park, where the Crystola Bar and Grill will be anxiously await-ing your arrival. There will be a band to serenade you while you buy cheap beer and burgers. Depending on how much you drink and eat, youll shell out about $20 bucks. (Hopefully you wont drink too much, as you still have a bit of a drive after leaving the bar.) Then, back to the Camp Alexander Boy Scout Ranch for lodging. Your fishing, and lodging on the 8th and 3 squares on Wednesday the 9th could cost you less than $40 total.

Where else are you going to get a fishing trip in Colorado for less than a couple hundred bucks? Also, consider this: Thursday, September 10th is the free Industry Breakfast at FFR. On Thursday the 10th, AFFTA has a pro-fessional development speaker talking about Keeping your Business Healthy in this Turbulent Economy. Lunch is included at these educational seminars.

AFFTA has gone above and beyond to incent you to visit . The fishing will be great.

Why you Need to Come to FFR This year Especially

How about a world-class western fishing trip on the cheap?

Sure, there are always business reasons to attend the trade show. If ever there were a year to tune into the trends and the scuttlebutt to voice your concerns and opinions in person to affect some positive change on your business and to put inside information to your advan-tage well, this is it.

But theres another reason. Its why were all involved in this craziness in the first place. Its all about the fishing.

If you want to get after some prime time fishing in the Rockies, and at the same time share the experience and some in-sights with other dealers from around the country, heres your chance. And if cost is a concern, youre out of excuses.

On Wednesday, September 9th (the day before the FlyFishing Retailer), AFFTA and Angling Trade will be coor-dinating an incredible fishing opportu-nity, just for retailers.

AFFTA is offering an opportunity to fish miles of prime public and private water. Theyre recruiting local ambassadors to point you in the right direction. And AFFTA is subsidizing the whole effort to keep things affordable. From lodging to river access to entertainment its all part of the deal.

If you follow AFFTAs simple travel guide, you wont need to spend a small

Take advantage of this. If not yourself, someone who represents you should be in Denver for FFR (and the fishing).

We need to be talking to each other. (If youre not sure why, go back and read my column again.)

Most importantly, we should be fish-ing together.

This is the chance. Take advantage of it.

-KD

Bob White to Exhibit in DenverOrvis Cherry Creek

(Colorado) will sponsor an exhibi-tion of sporting art by Bob White, a nationally known sporting artist (and AT contributor), who was recently inducted into the Fresh Water Fish-ing Hall of Fame for his work. The event will be held on July 3rd, 4th, and 5th from 10AM to 6PM at the Orvis Cherry Creek Store. Origi-nal oil paintings, watercolors and pencil renderings, as well as limited edition prints, and stationery will be on display and available for pur-chase. A free pencil remarque and shipping is included with the pur-chase of any limited edition print. Call 303-355-4554 for information.

The Second Coming? Sony is releas-ing A River Runs Through It on Blu-ray this summer. The company has produced all new

features on the disc including new interviews with Robert Redford and even some special Fly Fishing 101 pieces. The package will include a 32-page collectible book and will hit stores on July 28.

continued on next page...

Loomis Ends Custom Blank ProductionG.Loomis has decided to exit custom rod blanks production by the end of 2009, according to company executive director Bruce Holt.

This is a very difficult decision for all of us here at G.Loomis, especially since making custome rod blands for steelhead anglers was how we got our start as a fishing tackle company back in the 80s, Holt said. While we realize theres an avid following among custom rod makers for our blanks, the growth weve experienced on a worldwide basis for our finished rodsand especially our fly rods with both fly tackle dealers in the U.S. and abroadmakes this the right decision and direction for our busi-ness success in the future.

AFFTA Hosts a Somber Casting Call

The National Casting Call has become an establishment in Washington, D.C. A day where the fly fishing industry, conservation organizations, and politi-cians gather to celebrate the good work that anglers do to preserve our nations fisheries. Hosted by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association on April 27, the Casting Call took on a memorial tone this year, as it was renamed in honor of Jim Range. Range, AFFTAs legisla-tive representative and co-founder of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Part-nership, was instrumental in starting the first Casting Call 10 years ago to show D.C. politicos the role that anglers play not only in the conservation of our natu-ral resources, but also to the economy.

The weather at this years casting call was vastly improved from the previous years, which led to more boats on the water and more shad caught. While the newly

renamed Jim Range National Casting Call is the venue where the National Fish Habitat Action Plan announces its 10 Waters to Watch and there are awards to honor conservation work within the fly fishing community, the American and hickory shad runs are the main event. The return of these fish runs, which went from huge numbers in the 1800s of fish to a non-existent population in 1970s to a resurgence in the Potomac River today, is one of the nations great conservation success stories. Many fish were caught on the Monday event, but also at the days precursor, the Family and Youth Cast-ing Call, which saw record numbers of attendance this year, with crowds topping 800 to learn how to flyfish, tie flies, and experience the outdoors.

-Brian McClintock

Reminder: Take the Clean An-gling Pledge You can do so by logging on to www.cleanangling.org, and make an effort this season to inform fishing com-panions of the importance of being

vigilant. The Clean Angling Pledge and links for more information about aquatic nuisance species can be found on simms-fishing.com under the Resources tab.

Great Bay Chimes in with Dealer Protection ProgramIn response to a note from Bill Leuchten of Front Range Anglers in Boulder, Colorado, regarding manufacturers selling direct via websites, Angling Trade received a number of energized responses. Perhaps most interesting was a note from David Gibson of New Hampshire-based Great Bay Rod Co., who enlightened us on his companys Dealer Protection Program.

Heres the deal in a nutshell. If a dealer carries Great Bay rods (which are all U.S. made, and retail at $330 on average), and a consumer within a 60-mile radius of that shop purchases a Great Bay rod online, the dealer is still given full shop margin on that sale. Its that simple. To learn more about the product and the program, see greatbayrods.com.

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cally ready to fish from the word go. For more information visit Clacka.com or call (800) 394-1345.

Ben Romans

Various Products from Dry Fly Distilling

Whiskey, vodka, and gin, distilled in Spokane, Washing-ton, Not a gim-mick. Tastes good. Try it yourself. Enough said. Dryflydistilling.com.

DriGrip Fishermans Formula Sunscreen

This is a fragrance-free 30SPF sunscreen that can be safely applied before and during fishing with no effect on flies or a fly line. This hypo-al-lergenic powder-dry SPF 30 sunscreen provides the necessary protection

from extreme sun exposure without the greasy residue of typical sunscreen products. Its unique powder base dries quickly so it will not transfer any greasy residue to hands and skin. Since it goes on dry, youll find eye irritation is virtually eliminated We tested it on the flats and at altitude; it works. See drigrip.com.

Gerbers New Fishing ToolGerber recently introduced the The FliK fishing tool, a multi-tool designed specifically with anglers in mind. The FliK includes long needle-nose pliers for quick and easy removal of hooks.

Anglers can also sharpen their hooks with the included file, and cut hooks with the pinch cutters. It also includes scissors, bottle opener, knife blade,

The product BuzzClackacraft Fly Pod

Its not often that someone hands you a piece of gear and asks what would you do different? But thats exactly what Clacka-craft did when

they asked author, outfitter, and Slide Inn lodge owner Kelly Galloup for his input. The result: the Fly Pod.

Weve been friends with Kelly for a long time, and he has the 16-foot hull, but he always had some thoughts on the storage issuethat there wasnt enough storage for guides, Clackacraft Presi-dent Bruce Belles says. He mentioned that when he guided in Michigan he had an aluminum boat custom built with his ideas in mind and he loved it. So I asked him to take one of our model boats that we use for promotions and design the boat he had in mind. With the model boat, some pieces of balsa wood, some popsicle sticks, and some glue he went to workand a month later the boat showed up in our office. I looked at it and said this looks good! And so far, the response has been overwhelming. Mike Lawsons got one on order. So does Jack Dennis. They all see the advantages of this new model.

In a nutshell, the Fly Pod takes the already innovative design of a 16-foot Clackacraft LP and reorganizes it to maximize the use of space, storage, and functionality.

Some of the new highlights include a redesigned anchor foot-release, a stern storage shelf, and ventilated storage lids on all three seats that allow wet gear to breathe.

We moved the front and back seats a little closer to the bow and stern, Galloup says. It helps spread the weight of the boat out a little more and puts more distance between two casters so there are fewer mid-air tangles. We also changed the standing braces so they reach a little higher on the leg rather than just at the knees so anglers can feel more stable.

Gone is the rowers bench locker. Instead, there are two parallel storage lockers with enough room for PFDs, boxes, or even two-piece rod tubes. Clackacraft even offers options like rod racks and under-the-seat coolers to capitalize on space.

What makes the side lockers even more unique is they are strong enough, and low enough, to support the weight of a full-grown man. In the past, gear, coolers, and other boat elements made it tough to move around, but now its simple and safe. They make it easier to get in and out of the boat, or swap seats when two anglers have a mid-river Chinese fire drill. And they frees up space so whoever is at the oars has more room to lean over and net fish or complete any other on-the-fly tasks (no pun intended).

One of his basic complaints we heard was clients showing up over-packed with rod tubes and gear, and all the extra stuff ended up laying in the bottom of the boat and in the way. Then when you add roll-up tables and packable chairs, and there just really wasnt adequate storage, Belles says. To me, the rod lockers, the long storage, have the most appeal. Before these came along, there was no good place to store long, two-piece rod tubes. Now you can keep everything tucked away and safe.

Like other Clackacraft boats, the Fly Pod includes a 100-year guarantee against punctures or leaks, the oars, seats, anchor, and trailer and is basi-


BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA WWW.REDINGTON.COM

The Rise SeriesWe admit it. You might fall for its looks first, but youll

come to love it for its toughness. We started with our bomb-proof CD series and made it even lighter and smoother. Fully machined from 6061 T6 aluminum, this reel is just as durable as it is pretty.

ROD CANDY

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saw, and flat and Phillips head driv-ers. We recently used it on a bass trip as well as on the flats, and thought it performed exceptionally well. See gerber.com for information.

Circle Hooks for Trout?Bluewater an-glers have real-ized the ben-efits of circle hooks by way of reduced fish mortality for years now.

The new Moffitt Angling System is an exciting flyfishing innovation devel-oped specifically to also reduce trout (and other species) mortality when

catch-and-release fishing. Unlike traditional flies tied on J-style hooks, Moffitt flies are hookless and sus-

pended on the leader above a uniquely designed and rigged circle hook.

Virtually all fish caught with the Moffitt System are hooked in the jaw -- and acciden-tal deep hooking, gill hooking and foul hooking are all but eliminated. Be-cause the circle hook is barbless, most fish can be released without removing them from the water. See moffittan-gling.com for details.

Boss Tins Make-a-Weight is Putty PerfectIf you havent seen the writing on the wall about further restrictions on lead use in fishing tackle (e.g. Na-tional Park restrictions on lead), you

need to wake up and smell the coffee. Lead is dead, or it very well could be very soon.

For a tungsten putty that is easy to use and environmentally friendly, check out BossTins Make-a-Weight. Extensive field tests impressed us. Its malleable, but holds form. It leaves no sticky residue on hands, clothing or gear. And it sinks. Simply pinch off the appropriate amount and roll it onto your leader. Before casting put your line with the putty into the water to set it (the cold temp locks it in place). Adjust-ments are quick and easy. Portions can be removed and reused, as cur-rents and river depths dictate. Its exceptionally versatile, effective, and eco-friendly. See bosstin.com for more information.

Every fly fisherman knows that a slicker line means longer casts, more control, longer casts, less wear and tear from abrasion, longer casts and more durability. Oh, and longer casts.

So, in their relentless pursuit of perfection (and that few extra feet), RIOs Labcoats began reformulating conventional chemical compounds and material combinations, right down to the polymeric mix level.

The results are found in RIOs new XS Technology a pairing of two entirely new chemical compositions, creating a glass-smooth surface and a super slick coating that repels the accumulation of dirt and grime. XS Technology now produces a line that is so slick it actually tops out our ultra-sensitive friction-coefficient-measuring instrument. Nothing, not ours or any other lines weve tested, have even come close.

So, how slick is it? Think loafers on a spring creek boulder... and a line that stays slicker cast after cast after longer cast.

www.rioproducts.com RPI, Inc. All rights reserved

RIOSREVOLUTIONARY NEW

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Travel

Fact One: Travel is an avenue that can gener-ate revenue for specialty fly retailers. Not only does travel offer direct referral/commission opportunities, it also offers reciprocal sales op-portunities by way of gear and accessories. Add to that the opportunity to expand your visibility and enhance consumer loyalty, and its easy to see how travel can be a key element in the busi-ness strategy of any savvy specialty fly shop.

Fact Two: The market for fly travel, like other aspects of the flyfishing industry, can be tricky, especially now. Customer recruitment is an expensive proposition. Customer retention de-pends on ensuring a quality experience. In other words, there is little margin for error when you send customers packing to exotic destinations.

Fact Three: In an era when the selling specialty products through specialty shops ideal is pressured on a variety of frontsperhaps most notably the Internet and big box storesspecialty retailers are looking for partners that pay more than lip service to their interests. Interestingly, in the context of travel, a new program designed to help fly shops expand their travel footprint comes from another fly shop actually, The Fly Shop in Redding, California.

In my personal experience, when Mike Michalak, owner of The Fly Shop, offers up an idea, its usually worth paying attention. His track record speaks for itself. The Fly Shop is now one of the largest specialty retail operations in the world, with a healthy business model balanced on, among other things, localized shop and guide operations in the northern California region, travel, catalog mail-ings that reach over 300,000 con-sumers at a clip, website-based sales, schools and instructional programs, and specialty-branded products.

A few years ago, Fly Fishing Trade (the predecessor of this magazine, of which I was also editor) ran a piece on Michalak and his business practices. In the piece, Michalak offered to mail copies of The Fly Shops policy and procedures guide to interested fly shops around the country. Hundreds of retailers took Mike up on his offer, and he mailed the information at his expense.

Written by Kirk DeeterOf course, if you asked the aver-age consumer angler in Colorado or Michigan, for example, what they know about The Fly Shop, the cata-log comes to mind, as does the roster of exotic destinations and travel services The Fly Shop represents. Michalaks company has been en-gaged in discovering, and represent-ing, a variety of high-end flyfishing destinations and lodgesmany on an exclusive basisfor over 30 years.

Now, Michalak and The Fly Shop are launching a new program, in which The Fly Shop will make available its Signature Destinationsplaces like Dave Egdorf s Rustic Trout Camps in Alaska, and Estancia Maria Behety on the fabled Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego in Argentinaavailable as travel destination offerings for an expanded roster of geographically-spread retailers throughout America.

Basically, The Fly Sop is opening up its travel jewel box, making available to a new network of specialty fly retailer partners the opportunity to not only send clients to exclusive The Fly Shop operations from Kamchatka to Chilean Patagonia, but also get a piece of the action in doing so.

I asked Michalak, point blank, if his motivation is to buoy sales in a tough travel market, or if he had broader motives.

He replied that the Signature Destina-tions he represents are operating near capacity now. Soft economy or not, the best fishing in the world is still the best fishing in the world, and many of the people who go to these places are repeat customers.

From what I heard, Michalak seems focused on the notion of buoying

Michalak and The Fly shop launch Travel Network to Include specialty shops Nationwide


Until recently, these Signature Destinations have been representedexclusively by The Fly Shop and our very small network of anglingtravel agencies and a few fine fly shops worldwide. Its an approach wevefound successful, but one that were about to change.

We here at The Fly Shop feel theres been a lot of fly industry lipservice about specialty products for specialty shops and a definite anddisconcerting shift in the distribution of fly fishing rods, reels, lines andthe rest of what has made independent fly shops successful. Add to thatthe on-line discounting trend, manufacturer direct purchasing, a world-wide web free for all for fly fishing goods, travel, and service.Then couple all that with the current economic crisis and its obvious

we have to change our tactics if fly shops want to do more than survive.

Were not looking for representation of our Signature Destinationsin every shop in America and we dont want to further homogenize the look of anindustry whose stores are already becoming much too similar.Our goal is to find an even greater collective strength by working together with aselect number of geographically distinct shops interested in promoting what wevealready proven is an honor roll of great international fishing spots.

Our Signature Destinations from Dave Egdorf s rustic troutcamp in Alaska to the luxurious lodges of Estancia Maria Behety in Tierra del Fuegoare time-tested locations that have earned the stamp of approval from thousandsof anglers and have met the highest performance standards in the fly fishingindustry. They didnt get blind endorsements from us purchased with a checkbook.From our remote Kamchatka bush camps to our luxuriousTierra del Fuego sea troutlodges these are among the most famous fly fishing experiences on the planet.

Well work with you to customize an approach for your shop to effectivelyand profitably promote these top-of-the-line destinations that your customers havebeen reading about in magazine articles and our catalogs for decades.

Well tailor a commission and referral structure for your shop thatwill reward you for your performance while guaranteeing that the relationship withthe clients you send to our Signature Destinations will be respected and honoredindefinitely. We wont poach your travellers, and if were needed to help answertheir tackle questions, theyll be referred back to you for the sale.

If your interested, give our travel department a call or e-mail us andwell respond promptly with a full explanation of our Signature Fly Shop concept.

are a cross section of the worlds finest fly fishing lodges, camps andoutfitters. They represent more than 30 years of field exploration,experience and hands-on involvement by our travel team.

Let us help put that experience to work in your fly shop!

D e s t i n a t i o n sSignature

Our

Tierra del FuegoOur Signature Lodges are

acknowledged as the finest

and most popular in the

Land of the Giants!

Chilean PatagoniaLodges are popping up every-

where in Chile, yet our

four Signature Lodges are

renowned as the standard of

comparison in Patagonia.

AlaskaKamchatkaBelizeNew ZealandMexican Yucatan

(800) 669-3474 [email protected] Redding California

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the relevance of specialty retailers in dictating the terms of future market evolution, not only in terms of travel, but also beyond.

The days of a fly shop in one part of the country perceiving the fly shop on the other side of the country as just another competitor are gone, or at least they should be, Michalak explained. All retailers need to find ways of work-ing together. Every man for himself isnt going to work 10 years down the road. Working with the right people on the best products, and in this case, travel opportunities, will.

The Fly Shop Signature Destinations Agency (which will involve other shops) moves us into a new realm as an angling travel agent. And its only the first step in what I hope will be the addition of a Signature Fly Shop product network.

Another point-blank question: Does this open the Pandoras Box of intro-ducing a faithful customer to another retailer, in effect creating chinks in a retailers own sales armor? The shop in Michigan, for example, introduces a faithful customer to the program,

and sends that customer off to El Sal-tamontes in Chile. Great, the Michi-gan shop earns a commission, and the customer fishes a fantastic lodge but what happens two years down the road, when that customer contacts The Fly Shop about a return trip, or even a gear question?

Were not going to poach custom-ers, Michalak said, flatly. Were going to credit the source shop with a commission on repeat business, and when we get the gear question, were

referring that person to the original shop for the sale. We are going to honor our partners and our referrals indefinitely. We have the database management system in place to facili-tate that right now.

Yes, Im going to make my share of the money on booking the travel, but one thing Ive learned is that I make my money when people go back to a destination they like.

As such, Michalak warns that hes not looking to collaborate with shops that simply want to line up the short-term, one-shot, party-of-eight junket to Alaska.

If youre looking for the quick dol-lar, by booking a group to Alaska, and thinking only short-term, I have been doing this for 30 years, and I can tell you that does not work, Michalak said.

Indeed having a track record that ex-tends back 30 years is probably more valuable to potential members of a Signature Destinations network than what Michalak calls the Readers Digest accelerated learning course in how to do travel successfully.

When you think about everything from finding the best guides and lodges, to dealing with political hiccups, flu outbreaks and such this 30 years of past experience is a platform retailers can leverage for their own future benefit. The of a retailer, for a retailer aspect of the plan is sure to garner attention as well.

To get more details on how this program could be customized to include you and your shop, E-mail [email protected]; or phone 800-669-3474.

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I was given the classic assignment of developing a business plan as a final MBA project. I turned to a local company, Elkhorn Fly Rods, and asked owner Brian Chavet if he was interested. After a few minutes of agreeable head-nodding, we sketched out his businesss pain points.

The first thing we realized is that Elkhorn really didnt know its customers like it should. Brian had some gut hunches but couldnt cleanly answer the acid-test question of who buys from you and why? That point of realization drove the need to conduct primary research before developing a bunch of half-hatched tactics.

The survey results confirmed some gut hunches but more importantly shed light on who is and isnt buying from Elkhorn and why. The analysis yielded some very unexpected and sur-prising results. Without this deep knowledge of the customer, Elkhorns sales-boosting tactics would have been built in the dark, yielding potentially misleading strategies.

This article is the first part of two articles which will help you rethink your business and how to grow sales in a slumping economy. This article will give you some insight into five key things Elkhorn learned about competing in a weak economy. The second article will explore tactics you can quickly imple-ment to invigorate sales in your own business.

BACKGROUND

To provide context, Elkhorn received over 1,300 survey responses world-wide from current product owners and non-owners alike. The survey covered basic demographics, experience level, product ownership and product perception. Besides reaping some valuable information about Elkhorns marketplace and competitors, some interesting and surprising facts came from the survey. Below are five key learnings that are applicable to your current business as well.

FACT #1: Half of flyfishing purchases are conducted via the Internet.

IMPACT TO YOUR BUSINESS: If you arent tapping into the Internet as a sales channel you are leaving money on the table.

WHAT THE DATA DOESNT SHOW: Popular belief is that older fly fishers purchase less on the Internet than younger fly fishers. To the contrary, the data did

not show any correla-tion of age to Internet purchasing habits. In fact, the data shows an equal dis-tribution of

Internet purchases despite age. This is good news, as there is a strong correlation of older fly fishers having more disposable income.

FACT #2: Quality products at reasonable prices trump a wide product selection.

IMPACT TO YOUR BUSINESS: There is no need to spread your inventory investment too thin by carrying a wide SKU range. Dont try to be all things to all people unless you can afford to carry that in-ventory load. Focus on your core competency. If you are known to be the best fly tying shop around, ensure you carry the best selection of quality materials. If you are a destination shop, ensure you carry a wide selection of expendables and have the best guide staff around. Whatever you do carry, make sure you have enough of it and make sure it is quality stuff.

WHAT THE DATA DOESNT SHOW: 61% of all respon-dents ranked having Quality Products as their overall number one ranking.

FACT #3: If you want to sell big ticket items, make them available on a try-before- buy basis.

IMPACT TO YOUR BUSINESS: Value is defined as: the price is right if

Written by Steve Schweitzer

Five facts you need to know right now


Competing In A Slow Economy

Competing In A Slow Economy

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the perceived value is greater than the actual price. How do you increase the value in the customers mind? Easy: let them try products before they buy them. If a customer is balking at paying $1,000 for a quality fly rod and reel combo, insist they try it for a day on a guided trip or a local stream or pond, maybe even renting a demo outfit for a modest price. Consumers are savvier now than they were just five years ago. They expect more value for every dollar spent. Value can be as simple as extending trust, e.g., Hey, I trust you with this rodgive it a spin, bring it back and let me know what you think. Share the risk with them and youll convert more lookers into buyers.

WHAT THE DATA DOESNT SHOW: The survey told us the older one gets, the less apt they are to trying out gear.

FACT #4: Fly shops and word of mouth are the most popular methods consum-ers hear of new products

How Do Consumers Hear About Fly Fishing Products?

1. Fly Shops

2. Word of mouth

3. Magazines (reviews, article mentions)

4. Catalogs

5. (tie) Fly/Outdoor Shows, magazine ads

6. Internet chat rooms

7. Company websites

8. Press releases

IMPACT TO YOUR BUSINESS: Treat your walk-ins like gold; they will spread the word on how they

were treated and what their experi-ence was like in your shop. Ensure your shop is well-maintained and merchandised. Greet your customers one-on-one and make them feel like no one else is more important. Even though they may not buy something the first time, their in-store experience will dictate if they come back and buy at a future date; and more impor-tantly, if they become evangelists for your shop.

WHAT THE CHART DOESNT SHOW: Age influenced responses. The younger crowds prefer chat rooms & fly shops. Middle-aged and pre-retirement crowds use all chan-nels equally. Retirement-aged folks preferred word of mouth, fly shops and catalogs over chat rooms and company websites. Consider building different marketing strategies to reach different age classes. Communicate with them via the channel they pay attention to the most. Example: Cre-ate some buzz on Internet chat sites and your own website for the younger crowd. Dont expect to reach the older crowd in the same manner. In all cases, word of mouth is king; treat everyone like gold.

FACT #5: Consumers still spend on flyfishing purchases during slumping economies

IMPACT TO YOUR BUSINESS: Even during tough economic times, consumers still want to buy hobby stuff.

Help your customers buy, dont make your flyshop the Department of Business Prevention. An example: Empty shelves dont send a signal to your shoppers. Dont allow necessary items to run out.

Relatively inexpensive items like tip-pet, fly line, split-shot and flies should always be in stock. Those are instant gratification purchases that keep cus-tomers coming back for more.

WHAT THE CHART DOESNT SHOW: While income level had little bearing on the responses, age did. The most cautious age group was 41-50-year-olds. The least cautious group was 31-40-year-olds and those 65 or over. This stands to reason as the closer one is to retirement (41-50) the more he may be worried about savings during a slumping economy.

PUTTiNG iT ALL TOGETHER

The flyfishing consumer told us the individual fly shops value proposition is still ringing loud and clear and is more valuable than ever. The consumer wants a quality product selection, not quantities of average stuff. The con-sumer wants to try products out before a purchase, something a big box usually doesnt offer. Consumers still go to the local fly shop for the skinny on the latest gear, not to the local big box. The fly shop is the information gate-keeper; the old adage of information is power is certainly applicable. We also learned consumers arent afraid of spending in a shop or on the net; you have to be where they want to buy. While there will always be a certain percentage of the crowd that shops only on price (lured by average quality stuff at big box volume-moving prices), a vast majority dont shop only on price.

Look at hard times, a recession or a depression (whatever you want to call it) as an opportunity to win the loyalty of more consumers. During down economic times, consumers tend to look around more. It is now that you have an opportunity to convert those lookers into customers. Those conversions are all incremental sales you didnt have during good economic times. (And just think what kind of

sales those converters are worth during good economic times?!)

TAKE THiS SiMPLE TEST:

1. Can I - A) clearly characterize the types of customers who buy from me or B) do I rely on business just happening?

2. Do I - A) clearly know why cus-tomers buy from me or B) do I think I know?

3. Am I - A) maximizing the potential of online sales to supplement in-store traffic or B) waiting to see if the Inter-net will be the next big thing?

4. For large purchases, am I - A) willing to share try-before-you-buy risk with the customer or B) do I use traditional show-n-tell methods of salesmanship to convince the buyer to spend big chunks of money?

5. Am I - A) known as a trustworthy purveyor of product & fishing in-formation or B) seen as a shop that only gives out information if there is potential money involved? (eg - Ill tell you the latest fishing hot spots if you buy fliesor, if you look like a serious buyer, Ill take the time to walk through the pros and cons of the reels I have for sale.)

If you answered B to any one of the questions, you probably arent opti-mized to win over new consumers. The questions above characterize five must-have competencies to be com-petitive in a sour economy:

1. Know your customer

2. Know their needs and why they buy from you

3. Be a seller where they want to buy

4. Be a partner in the buying decision process, not a barrier

5. Be the source of information they can trust

The next issue will feature simple tactics you can quickly implement to develop your core competencies and approach new sales opportunities from the inside-out. at

w w w . a n g l e r s b o o k s u p p l y . c o mw w w . a n g l e r s b o o k s u p p l y . c o m

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Written by Tom Keer

Now, the flyfishing industry has a decision to make, and if you want something sugar coated, go buy a doughnut. What is on the table is a simple decision: Do I want to succeed or is it best to close my doors? While the light at the end of the tunnel is temporarily disconnected, there is still hope.

There are enough success stories within the four walls of our own industry. I believe that there are many talented dealers, lodges, and guides. Ive selected four dealers from four differ-ent regions who are representative of deciding to succeed in spite of a declining market. Each one has weathered a vari-ety of storms, from competition, natural disaster, rising un-employment rates, higher costs, and the like. Still, they post annual top-line sales increases as well as net profit increases.

Before we review them individually, what are their character-istics as a group?

1. They take planned and calculated risks.

2. They consistently work hard.

3. They work smart.

4. They are creative and innovative.

5. They are savvy.

6. Mediocrity is not in their vocabulary.

7. They are results oriented.

8. All are focused on solutions.

9. They have a vision and plan accordingly to bring it to fruition.

10. They ask for help when they need it.

Who would advise a business owner in an industry with a decade-long decline to expand? No one, but the following four did anyway:

South Central: A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action-Elvis Presley

The Great Smoky Mountains have long been a strong destination for flyfishing. Some folks like Jim Babb, editor of Grays Sporting Journal and Barclay Creek Press Jim Anker hail from this region of Tennessee, and the Tellico Nymph was developed here as well. Byron and Paula Begley launched

Hot Dealers

in a Cold

Market

No one involved in the 1990s flyfishing boom predict-ed the current state of plummeting sales. A consistent-ly shrinking customer base. Terrorism. War. Rising energy costs. Inflation. Unemployment. Recession. Just over a decade ago, flyfishing manufacturers were really developing gear. Over 1200 fly shops were busy selling that gear, and thousands of guides were busy taking customers on trips with their newly purchased gear. Heady times for sure.

Little River Outfitters in Townsend, Tennessee in 1994. The original store was 400 square feet.

After our initial launch, we found our sales were tracking far ahead of projec-tions, Begley said. Our programs were well received and we were grow-ing. We noticed the first signs of decline right when we needed to expand. We had spent three years planning our expansion, and while it did not make sense in the big picture, we moved forward anyway.

In order to realize their dream, the Begleys took significant risks. They purchased a commercial lot, and built a 7,000-square-foot building with retail and back-storage space, classrooms, and offices. They tripled their outreach pro-grams to include more schools, quar-terly special events, and free seasonal seminars on weekends. Vendors were added, and product lines were expand-ed. The Begleys are conservationists, and they selected both national and regional groups alike to work with.

In addition to fishing and hunting like Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, and CCA, we also focus on general interest groups like the Little River Watershed, Friends of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Girl Scouts, Be-gley said. We are big supporters of the Little River Chapter of TU as well.

As the use of technology increased, the Begleys studied, learned, and ap-plied. Their first step was creating an information-based website. A few years later, they had another tough decision to make: the repositioning of a decade-old catalogue into a state-of-the-art website.

In 1996, paper and mailing costs were significantly less expensive than an e-commerce site, said Begley. In the 90s it made sense for us to shoot, lay-out, print and mail a catalogue. Now it does not. So we folded our general con-sumer model into an e-commerce site. We now reach more than 100 times more customers than our catalogue ever did, and we realize a significant cost savings to LRO.


We did not anticipate the increase in box-store competition within a 40-mile radius of our store, said Begley. Bass Pro Shops, Gander Mountain and Orvis each added company-owned stores. So, we redefined our business objectives. As box stores are able to inventory millions of SKUs, we couldnt. We conceded to them on the clothing categories, and repositioned LRO to focus on tackle. Weve always been committed to person-alized service, but we always find ways to exceed our customers expectations. Proper forecasting is critical for our two sales channels, and we are constantly evaluating and anticipating trends. Our goal is to maintain proper year-round inventory levels, and the combination of historical sales data combined with fore-casting keeps us in an in-stock position. We realize most every sale.

For the first time in Fishing Tackle Retailers history, Little River Outfitters received a 100% Perfect Score in March 2009. That new award sits next to their 2004 Orvis Dealer of the Year plaque.

Mid-Atlantic: Proper Preparation Pre-vents Piss-Poor Performance

Ever think of owning five flyfishing retail stores? Tony Gehman of TCO Fishing worked for 11 years to achieve his goal.

Gehman opened his first store in Read-ing, Pennsylvania, in 1989. After half a

dozen years, he had a taste for the busi-ness and made a decision to thoroughly service the eastern Pennsylvania flyfish-ing market. Gehman studied dozens of markets, analyzed trends, created a business plan, and established a finan-cial plan. After the six Ps were done came the rollout. Bryn Mawr, Pennsyl-vania, in 2005. Lake Placid, New York, in 2006. State College, Pennsylvania, in 2007. Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 2008. To most consumers and shop owners, it seemed like Gehman had struck the lot-tery and expanded, but thats not true.

I had an idea, but it was big enough to sink me, Gehman said. The decade that I spent studying retail, real estate, and financial trends flew by. I focused on how to make my plan work. My sales reps provided pockets of regional as well as national sales trends for review, and were very helpful. Ulti-mately I knew that Id need to make a significant financial commitment on real estate, build outs, marketing, inventory, a POS system, among other fixed and variable expenses. It seems like the ex-pansion happened overnight; sometimes it feels that way, even to me.

Gehmans multiple brick-and-mortar lo-cations resulted in a seldom out-of-stock scenario. By managing his inventory he achieves higher-than-industry standard inventory turns.

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Northeast: Go Hard or Go Home

Manhattan, NYC, Americas most cosmopolitan city, comes with one catch: its expensive. The new Aber-crombie and Fitch (720 Fifth Avenue) was the most successful retail store in 2008 NYC. While their gross sales/square foot ranged between $8000-$10,000, $800/square foot is the average. With rents ranging from $450-$1380/square foot, every re-tailer has to hustle. And sandwiched in between the national retailers is Jon Fisher and his Urban Angler.

Founded in 1988, The Urban Angler had been around long enough to have picked all the low-hanging sales fruit. As New Yorks premier flyfishing venue, its two channels of distribution business (brick and mortar and mail order), foreign business, a guide net-

Lake Placid did not fit my model, and was an interesting growth op-portunity. Many of our customers had been traveling to the Lake Placid region, and it fit our model. With our local guide network and our fly-fishing schools, the result was an in-house destination location. Remote management can be difficult, but in this instance a partnership with Jerry Botcher at the Hungry Trout was critical. With his lodging and restau-rant in close proximity to the fishery it was perfect.

The bottom line in this business is people, Gehman said. I hired the best I employees I could find and then trained them consistently. Our customers have responded, and our business continues to grow. The more you study, the more things fall into place.

work, destination travel, fly schools, clinics and outreach programs grew throughout the 1990s. Fisher was in a comfortable place until a quadruple rent increase threatened. In a bold move, Fisher decided to expand.

Margins in flyfishing arent as high as in other industries, so when we out-grew our old location I needed to be very careful that our expansion didnt come at an expense to our profit margin, Fisher said. If I focus only on top-line sales growth Ill go out of business. Instead, I study GMROI carefully, and place preseason and fill-in orders so as to ensure profitability.

As a cost savings to The Urban Angler, Fisher relocated his store to a 3,300-square-foot space in the Flatiron District on Fifth Avenue. The location is in perfect proximity to his target customer base and foot traffic, so one problem was solved. Still, the exorbitant rent did not allow for a mail order fulfillment area for his overhauled Internet business. The solution? A second retail location in a less expensive area.

While it sounds like the tail wag-ging the dog, Fisher made a strategic move in opening up Urban Angler, Arlington in Virginia. He bought an existing flyfishing business that stayed true to it core tackle-model. The 3,500 square feet of retail space ac-commodates walk-in customer traffic, and an additional 3,500 square feet handles back storage space for order fulfillment. We were able to address two issues, those being to expand our brand presence and increase our sales. Annual gross sales continue to climb as they have since our expansion.

Conservation has been a big part of the shops business model for two decades. There is a big green move-ment, and at one point or another weve been heavily involved with most conservation groups. The list is long;


but suffice it to say, our recent addition is Blue Ocean, chosen because of our significant involvement in the saltwater fisheries.

Rocky Mountains: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, and Survive

In 1996, Colorado Springs Dave Leinweber approached Anglers Covey ownership with the idea of opening a satellite location. The business was founded in 1981, was growing, and a second location made sense. The second location did not happen, and as fate would have it, by 1999 Leinweber owned the retail business, the property and the loans in their entirety.

Shortly after I owned Anglers Covey we had the total Haymen wildfire that devastated Cheesman Canyon and affected Deckers. We feel those effects today. I just had to roll up my sleeves and work more creatively.

Several years ago, Leinweber outgrew his space. It needed more space. To arrive at a design I decon-structed the sport of flyfishing into sections. At the core is the cast, which therefore means that to success-fully sell rods you need a place to cast. For most of the year, casting rods outside is a treat, but our winters are tough. My solution? I decided that wed need an indoor and an outdoor casting area. Next, flyfishing is an individual sport. As a retailer, I wanted full assort-ments of all vendors products. But they had to be inventoried properly with a focus on visual merchandis-ing techniques and contribute to the bottom line. I ap-proached each of my vendors with a proposal to work together, and we did. I wish I could just carry best sellers, but the reality is Ill miss sales if I do. There is a balance that I study every day.

As a result, Anglers Covey has an excellent representation of products from many manufacturers, and decisions are based on GMROI.

Leinweber is education-oriented, and devotes a tremen-dous amount of his time to bringing new participants into the sport.

We offer classes followed up by local guiding and then a loyalty program, all designed to keep fishermen fishing. Were customer service focused, and have found numer-ous ways to differentiate ourselves.

The result? Anglers Covey is now in a new location, housed in an 8,755-square-foot building, with 2,000 square feet rented to tenants, 5,000 square feet of sell-ing space, two outdoor casting ponds, one indoor casting

pond, all in an area with increased traffic flows. A creative mezzanine design makes for additional retail space while allowing for indoor casting.

Savvy dealers look not just towards gross sales, but net profit. Making prudent business decisions regarding margin funded expansion plans. Industry standards are a given 50%, but many manufactures offer in season or promotional discounts of up to 65%. By realizing an extra $50.00 per rod sale extended across 50 rods, the $2500 ad-ditional net profit funds advertising or outreach efforts and the positive trend continues.

I only need to look at my own bank account to know that were in difficult times. But these four dealers have shown that growth is possible. And to a degree, Death of a Salesmans Willie Loman was right when he said the world is your oyster.but you cant crack it open lying on a mattress.

Contact information:

Byron and Paula BegleyDaniel DrakeLittle River Outfitters106 Town Square DriveTownsend, TN 37882865-448-9459www.littleriveroutfitters.com

Tony GehmanTCO Fly Shop2229 Penn AvenueReading, PA 19609610-678-1899www.tcoflyfishing.com

Jon FisherThe Urban Angler-New York206 Fifth Avenue, 3rd FlootNew York, NY 10010212-689-6400www.urbanangler.com

Dave LeinweberAnglers Covey295 S 21st StreetColorado Springs, CO 80904719-471-2984www.anglerscovey.com

Tips of the Trade:

-Study your Market.

-Plan, Plan, Plan.

-Solicit advice from manu-facturers and sales reps and cross-reference with your own research and experience.

-Plan for funding.

-Play to your strengths.

-Service the heck out of your customers.

-Staff training and Product Knowledge-rep clinic-ing are key.

-Gross sales are important, GMROI is critical.

-Community Involvement and outreach programs regardless of age.

-Destination trips.

-Youre already a fisher-man.become a retailer.

-Obstacles to success are constant. Rent increases, retail competition, fires, drought, and deluge are a given. Focus on what you need to do to grow.

-Creative, out-of-the-box, solutions-oriented thinking wins the game.

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RECoMMENdEd REAdING

Weve talked a lot in recent issues of Angling Trade about how fly tying can buoy shop sales in a tough economy. Here is the catalyst for

getting people to tie flies with effect, writ-ten in plain language by one of the best fly innovators in America, Charlie Craven.

To be perfectly blunt, this is the best fly tying book Ive seen in years, period, because it goes well beyond the how

Its also worth noting that Stack-pole did a nice job on the produc-tion end with high quality images and design. This book is an arti-fact. It had to be. Anyone who wants to know how to tie a Prince nymph can get the recipe over the Internet. But here, the reader has a complete resource, with straight-shot advice and instruction that would complement any tying bench or bookshelf.

Get a copy and leave it by the ac-tive tying vise in your shop. Then get a bunch more to sell to your customers. Every tier you cre-ate will pay dividends. This is an ideal primer.

at

and dives right into the why. Sure you get the step-by-step instructions to tie some of the most basic and effective patterns around, from Woolly Buggers to Stimulators, to Copper Johns, but the reader also learns why they should select certain ma-terials for certain flies, and why they should attach and why they should proportion elements of flies the way Charlie does. Ive always thought fly tying is as much about rationale as it is routine, and the rationale had al-ways been sorely underserved in most books Ive read. This book fills that need to a T.

Reviewed by Kirk Deeter

Reviewed by Kirk Deeter

You should check out (then sell) Miles Noltes compelling, honest, and gritty work in The Alaska Chronicles. The work is a collection of semi-

daily reports from a season of guiding in Alaska. That, in and of itself, is ample fodder for some good storytelling, and Nolte doesnt hold back. His writing ap-peals to me by virtue of its honesty and

story, rather a being here, doing this thread that connected over 3,000 online message board readers from Singapore to Germany.

It will be interesting to see how this website-to-book phenomenon works. My guess is that it is one of the few (if any) flyfishing books thats been released with its own audience already in tow, which cannot be a bad thing. Where there is substance there is value, and where there is value, books will sell. I have long believed that the real substance in the fly fishing world inevitably lives amongst the guides. There is plenty of all that in The Alaska Chronicles. Youll enjoy it, and so will your customers.

simplicity. Sure, you get the fish stories, but you also get the client meltdowns, the cold hamburgers, bloodied bodies, fatigue, bears... es-sentially the guide world all-access pass, and that ultimately makes the real Alaska experience come alive. The book is more than worth reading for its candor alone, and the visual images that the reader derives from all of that.

Its also an interesting project in that the content essentially backed its way into hardcover, having initially been posted on the message board of The Drake magazine website. As such it wasnt a been there done that

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To read more raves about the Helios, visit www.orvis.com/heliosraves

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I retreated to the crawl space, which harbored a dirt floor and a $50 per month price tag. It was where I belonged given my belligerent and embarrassing rant to LaFontaine. Earlier that day it seemed appropriate to tell a stranger how it was; at the time I thought being a fly fisherman had as much to do with demonstrating expertiseon and off the streamas anything else. Reclining in a tent, staring up at exposed beams and a labyrinth of fresh spider webs, I determined my attitude had a lot to do with how I and fellow newcomers were treated when entering various fly shops, as if wed tracked mud across the floor by asking the difference between a larvae and pupae; a sink-tip versus a shooting head; a brook trout versus a bull trout; the stronger of the two3X or 6 X; and various other basics anglers need to know as they enter the sport. Some-times, I recalled, we didnt even ask questions because we didnt want to endure the wrath. When we visited fly shops we looked through the fly bins and examined the gear and kept our ears open to other conversations, trying to pick up the information we needed without getting lambasted. Sitting in the dungeon that day, I vowed to lose the prove-Im-a-master fly fisherman above all else attitude that Id picked up. I vowed to be more like LaFontaine.

It wasnt long after that first meeting with LaFontaine that I required his advice. Over the years I called him on many fronts, often to discuss publishing contracts and the merits of particular business deals. Sometimes I called to say noth-ing more than hello and to talk about dogs, which we shared equal passion for. Occasionally wed meet for lunch or dinner and drinks, sometimes in Missoula, other times in Deer Lodge or Helena. Always, LaFontaine offered the most concise and open instruction I could find and he was never competitive, even when I penned a book, Fly Fishers Guide to Montana, that ran in direct competition with his publishing houses title called Montana Fly Fishing Guide East and West.

One time I asked why competing with my book didnt bother him and he said, Greg, theyre not the same books and differ-ent authors have different takes on various fisheries and that only helps the common angler. Overall, having those books out there brings more people into fly fishing and it makes the experience better for them. Thats good for all of us.

A few weeks ago, while hanging out at my parents house in Seattle, Washington, my father and I saw one of my friends bylines in a magazine. Id introduced this guy to writing by

He was strolling into Hell-gate Canyon along a trail adjacent to the University of Montana campus. I was stomping out of Hellgate, half-frozen and frustrated, having just been handed my ass by the trout.

I got one, I lied when La-Fontaine asked. Noting his fly rod and an opportunity for one-upmanship I said, Youll be lucky to catch a fish today, adding, the midges arent really coming off and the rising fish are in the middle of the river. I wouldnt even bother if I were you.

LaFontaine let a knowing smile creep across his face and said, I used to catch some fish here, so Ill at least give it a try. Then, he added, What are you studying?

Journalism, I beamed. Im the outdoors writer for the uni-versity newspaper. Im going to be a free-lance writer as soon as I graduate this spring.

Well, thats ironic, he said. I was the outdoors writer for the university newspaper about 20 years ago. Now I make my living writing about flyfishing.

Then, as he dug in a pocket for his business card, and despite that juvenile superiority tone in my voice, he made an offer: I liked going to school here and its a great program. The professors teach you how to write, but Ive always been disap-pointed that they dont teach students how to make a living. Give me a call if you have any questions about the business and lets fish some time.

He wandered into the canyon with a confident and eager gait.

That night I produced the business card for a fly-junkie room-mate and he crowed, You met Mr. Caddis! That guy knows more about Rocky Mountain trout than anyone.

Reflections on a Mentor Written by Greg Thomas

I met Gary LaFontaine while negotiating the banks of the Clark Fork River on a cold winter day in Missoula.

EssAy

Photo Courtesy thebookmailer.com

signing him to a book deal with a pub-lisher I used to work for. My dad said, Greg, youve been able to help a few of your friends and several strangers to become pretty successful writers. You must feel good about that, right?

I answered, Yes, I do and the only reason Im generous in that regard is be-cause of Gary LaFontaine. LaFontaine was different; he never felt threatened and only tried to help and that example made me a better person. Now my ef-forts bring more people into the business of writing and into fly fishing and make their experiences worthwhile. Thats very rewarding to me. It all started with LaFontaine. I owe him a lot.

The last time I saw LaFontaine he was restricted to a bed at a care center near the mouth of the Rattlesnake Wilder-ness outside Missoula. I helped feed him and gave him water when he requested it. Shortly after, he died from Lou Gehrigs disease, prematurely at 56, on January 4, 2002.

During that last conversation, in typical fashion, LaFontaine told me he didnt feel cheated; hed dined with royalty, fished with ambassadors and legends, and led a life beyond his humble expectations. To this day his landmark book, Caddisflies, is considered the state-ment on the subject and his life work enhances the daily pursuit of fly fishers worldwide. Before I left his side for the last time he said, Greg, writing is a burden, but its important, and you do it well. Keep writing. Keep fishing. Enjoy your opportunity to share the experi-ence with others.

Perhaps that was a statement for all of us to hear, especially poignant right now; during this time of economic downturn our strength is in numbers and attitude. Dont just bring a new one into the sport, also let them pros-per and breedone at a time, with respect, we persevere.

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Saying that a large part of fly shop survival comes from the return client is no shocker. But to keep the loyal-ists walking through the door, shop owners must be top-notch teachers as well as great salesmen. Being able to convey the fundamentals of the sport goes beyond info found in books like Fly Fishing For Dummies. From bustling Anchorage to small-town Coburn, Pennsylvania, the shores of Tampa Bay to the mountains of Montana, we grilled four shop owners in very different demographic areas to find out how they increase sales and keep up their rep by teaching what we consider the four elements of flyfish-ing, and doing so by thinking outside the box.

Fly Selection: Jonas Price gets a laugh every time a customers says, The Adams are really hatching good

today. I just answer, yeah, Adams are working pretty well, Price says. I wont correct them and make them look stupid, but I wont disagree ei-ther. Price has owned The Feathered Hook in the tiny town of Coburn for 11 years. His shop sits in the middle of Pennsylvanias Limestone country, with Penns Creek just down the street.

Where choosing flies is concerned, Price feels that being able to teach clients how to identify flies, not just what they represent, plays a huge part in building confidence.

People come in all the time with a box of flies and ask me what they are, Price explained. If you can dump them on the counter and name them all, youve just taught that client what to ask for in the future. Handing someone flies and saying use these doesnt tell them the advantage of a parachute or beadhead.

Price is also a big believer in not pretending you know everything. Though he can walk clients through proper patterns for the local streams, many regular clients travel throughout Pennsylvania to fish.

If someone asks about a stream 50 miles away, I can probably give them the flies they need, but being wrong is bad for business, he says. Ill often recommend a good fly shop in that area.

Price notes that there is a habit of feuding between fly shops he cant understand. By sending customers to other shops, they will learn more about fly selection, and both shops come out looking good. The next time that guy is on Penns Creek, hell be in to buy flies, Price says. And if Im lucky hell have just ripped his waders.

The Cast: Every season, thousands of anglers flock to Anchorage, Alaska. Luckily for Keith Graham, many of

them end up in his shop, World Wide Angler Outfitters. With such diverse water types and species in the state, Graham learned something very early on: the casting skills shops need to have covered revolve around species, season, and location as much as they do angler skill level.

If you come here looking for silver salmon, the elements of that casting style are miles apart from what the guy looking for small-stream dry fly action with grayling needs to know, says Graham. If someone needs to cast a heavy dumb-bell streamer, a few split-shot, plus a sinking head all in one stroke, naturally you have to be able to explain the fundamentals of that cast. But you also cant forget to tell him to duck.

Graham is a firm believer that having the knowledge to thoroughly educate clients on the differences in rod speeds and materials will help them better understand casting basics. In turn, customers are more likely to step up to a high-end rod once they understand how design and material translates to better distance and accuracy.

But if there is one element of casting Graham pegs as the most important

Written by Joe Cermele

Teach more than fly-fishing 101 to boost sales and build better client relations

Advanced Shop Class:

for beginners, its distance. Though distance is crucial on Alaskas big rivers, the fact is unseasoned flycast-ers want to cast long. Over time, they learn that fishing close often pays big, but no matter how much you stress that early on, theyll shoot for that farthest riser. Teach them to throw long properly and let them figure out on their own that they wont need to nine times out of ten. Youve taught the client want they wanted to learn, and theyll be back when they need to know how to fish a tight pocket at rod length.

The Presentation: Theres one thing I can tell you for sure about the Big Hole, says Frank Stanchfield. The water level changes weekly. So the fish are always in a new place. Twenty-six years as a guide and owner of Big Hole Troutfitters near Wise

River, Montana, have made Stanch-field a veritable fly godfather of the Big Hole Valley. And his experience has taught him that the first key to teaching fly presentation has nothing to do with patterns, lines, or rods.

Look at a river like the Missouri. Its a tailwater, so the levels and the hold-ing locations are predictable, Stanch-field says. Figure out where the fish hold and you can pretty much present flies the same every time. But on the Big Hole, presentation varies month to month, week to week, day to day.

As an example, Stanchfield cites the early-spring method of tightlining,

where the angler casts straight across to the bank with a wet fly, using no strike indicator and without mending the line.

You have to present so your line is tight and you can see the end of the fly line twitch at the strike. he ex-plained. Tie on an indicator and the fly drags. But if you look at basic wet fly presentation, the books tell you to cast slightly upstream and use an indi-cator. That doesnt usually work here in April. A few weeks later, tightlining is over. The fish are off the banks. Point being, if you dont know exactly how your fish station themselves, how you put the fly in front of them doesnt make much difference.

While presentation angles change quickly, Stanchfield does believe that all rivers have outfits perfectly suited to their challenges.

Though it can take time to teach the behavior of area trout, I can tell a client a nine-foot, five-weight rod

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is going to be the best choice for achieving almost every presentation you need to make in the Big Hole, he says. It helps a lot when the angler starts out knowing he has the right tool for any situation.

The Fight: If theres a man who knows a thing or two about the end game with big fish on the fly, its Dave

Chouinard. He opened The Fly Hatch in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1993, where customers looking to battle striped bass, false albacore, and tuna accounted for a lot of busi-ness. Chouinard recently moved out of the Northeast and took his opera-tion with him to Tampa Bay, Florida. Tarpon, bull redfish, and bruiser snook are his new area of expertise.

Most importantly, what people need to learn early on about the fight is that a fly rod is not a spin-ning rod, Chouinard says. Reeling with the tip vertical over your head is really only useful for picking up slack line in a hurry. Where a spin-ning rod is the glue between your line and a drag, a fly rod is more a tool for controlling the angle of the thick fly line.

According to Chouinard, the fight is about understanding the resistance of that line and using the rod to best manage that resistance. But thats not to say rod speed and strength dont play a vital role.

The goal is to maintain steady pres-sure throughout the fight, he says. Rods are getting faster and faster, and understanding how pressure applies to your rod is as critical as knowing when to palm a reel. But unless clients want to get very deep into how different rod materials per-form, I prefer to keep it simple. I will be the first to tell them, though, that many of these fine-casting rods are not the best for fighting. Theres too little fiberglass scrim in the rod. They cast like lethal weapons, but under heavy-handed duress, they explode.

From a selling perspective, the fight boils down to deciphering when a customer wants to look good tarpon fishing and when one wants to catch tarpon. The theory applies to almost every species.

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Written by Kirk Deeter

The company hired Jim Murphy, a seasoned fly industry insider (Murphy founded both Redington Tackle Co. and Albright Tackle Co.) to take the reins as president of Hardy North America. The company broke off a seven-year-old dis-tribution agreement with Cortland, and spent more than $1,000,000 to create a state-of-the-art 14,000-plus-square-foot headquarters and distribution facil-ity (which carries over 1,000 different products in the Hardy and Greys lines) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It amped up marketing efforts, as well as new product development.

And then, like every other company in the flyfishing market, it came face to face with the realities of a severe global recession.

A worst case scenario?

Well, not good news, to be sure. Like many other industry manufacturers, Hardy & Greys is feeling the pinch and has had to adjust.

But Hardys seen worse and persevered in the past. Founded in 1872, Hardy has been through the likes of the Great

Alnwick, England-based fishing tackle icon Hardy & Greys has been positioning to make a big splash on this side of the pond for many months now.

net worth in the past few years is keep-ing his money on the sidelines. The bling is gone.

While this portends bleak near-term sales for many retailers, Murphy thinks the trend more accurately reflects an adjustment that will track the market back to more traditionalperhaps more sustainablesales and growth trajecto-ries for the long term.

I think the flyfishing industry is return-ing to its historical base, and its historical growth rate from before the movie (A River Runs Through It, 1992), which is between three and seven percent an-nually, Murphy said. Were going to find that the core market is still going to be the person who makes the leisure commitment, who has the time, money, inclination and skill to be flyfishing.

Certainly, Hardy is familiar with that history.

Interestingly, however, the products pro-duced by Greys (acquired by Hardy in 1999, Greys manufacturers in Asia, and markets products at lower pricepoint), now allow the company to span the consumer price range gamut far more effectively than ever before. Call it the yin and yang of the new fly market paradigmhigh end product that un-derscores what Murphy called Hardys comfort brand positioning on the one end, and Asian manufactured gear (which Murphy certainly helped pioneer into the U.S. fly market filling another niche entirely.

To wit: Hardy reels still carry the day in many regards, and among many U.S. retailers carrying Hardy. Look for a new St. George reel (initially introduced in the 1920s, the St. George reflects the tradi-tion of the Bougle, and the Perfect). On the Greys side, models like the Stream-flex ($230 with warranty) are designed by Howard Crosston (who won the casting competition at the 2008 FFR show).

On both ends, Hardy North America is working to expand its retailer foot-print; Murphy noted that the company has long been, and will continue to be, committed to a specialty shops sell-ing specialty products. To learn more about the company, visit fly.hardyfishing.com/en-us.

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Depression and other economic crises. It even had its shop bombed in World War II. Through it all the art and cul-ture of angling has a way of transcend-ing even the most trying circumstances, and Hardy has played a prominent role in making that happen.

Thats not to say the company is counting on tradition, however to guide its future. If anything, says Murphy, the margin for error for anyone looking to weather the current marketmanufacturer or retaileris now infinitesimally small.

Murphy explains that the current market is shaped by three critical trends: On the low end, guys are buying inexpensive gear, and thats whats ringing the cash registers more than anything now. There used to be an aspirational market in the middle range, where (consumers) would over-reach somewhat on product purchases, and that is 100 percent gone now. And on the high end, the consumer who would purchase expensive tackle is now extremely careful and skeptical. The guy who has lost 30-60 percent of his

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The days of sitting back minding the status quo are over with, declared Bob Marriott, who has tended the store that bears his name in Fullerton, Calif., for more than 30 years.

Bob Marriotts Flyfishing Store is among three shops chosen for this review, each for a different and difficult reason.

--From his Los Angeles Basin launch pad, Marriott is surrounded by people, but not many fishat least not the type that titillate anglers who gravitate to conven-tional fly tackle pursuits. His best trout streams, in the Sierras near Bishop, are five hours away.

--Two thousand miles east at The Fish Hawk shop in north Atlanta, Gary Merriman for the past five years has been fighting a crippling drought, now a recession. The drought finally broke, replaced by a flood. The recession never went anywhere.

--In Rockford,

Angling Trade Magazine June 2009

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Transcript of Angling Trade Magazine June 2009