Fly Fishing Equipment Rental?

[SlingerFlyRods]

Good morning,

Just had a crazy dream overnight and wondering if I could make some light hearted attempt to give it a whirl.

First off, forgive me if you feel I should know this answer already but do fly shops rent out equipment for day trips? Say, someone from out of state comes in and doesn't have the means to bring their stuff and wants to rent from an outfit or fly shop kinda gig..

Only reason I ask is that I was considering putting some rod/reel/line combos together at my cost with the fly shops name/contact info on them (obviously after discussing with the owners) and letting them rent out to fish guys and gals during the year.

Can we politely discuss the pros and cons of doing this on this page? I know some of you on here own fly shops, and some spend their paychecks at them so the majority of you would have first hand knowledge.. I guess what im asking you, is this even an avenue worth pursuing? Or do fly shops generally have rods and reels from manufacturers that they loan during the day?

Truth be told, I'm proud of the rods I make, not looking to make a living off them, but if I can help people out and get them started in the game i'll continue doing so, as the majority of my blanks are made overseas (no hiding it), the cost is low and their are backed by a lifetime warranty. So im not worried about them breaking them and being out a ton of money on my end. but that's another topic for another day.

Let me know your thoughts, I really do appreciate all the criticism and positive posts from you all, even though sometimes I feel like taking my ball and going home

Chris

 

[phiendWMD]

TCO rents gear.

I think it would be a great way to get your rods into peoples hands. If you can find some shops that are willing to buy a few to begin with which seems like the hard part.

Guides might be another group to look into. From what I've seen most offer gear if you either don't have your own or want to bring it for whatever reason.

Pros are exposure. The only con I can really see is being told "No we're not interested a lot of times".

 

[Fishidiot]

Not a gear guy here so my thoughts on this aren't strongly grounded. With that said, I think it's a good idea and I believe some shops do this.

The main downside, I think, would be a concern on the part of shop owners that renting fly rods (or waders etc) would involve a lot of damage and repair costs. Furthermore, I think some shops might fear that renting gear would undermine sales to anglers looking to get that second or third fly rod for less common trips. If you read our forums here, this is a common situation: an experienced trout guy is looking to buy a bigger rod to try out a form of FFing that he would only do once or maybe three times a year; river SMBs, Jersey shore, FL Keys, or steelhead. These anglers might be inclined to rent a rod rather than purchase that 8WT(?).

On the pro side, there's no substitute for actually fishing with a rod - casting on the fly shop lawn only goes so far. Furthermore, when folks actually try new types of fishing - like carp, or saltwater, or mountain brookie streams - they find that it appeals to them and they are more likely to do more of it...and buy that second fly rod. I think certain special use rods, like switch rods or very short, multi piece pack rods, would be popular rentals that could lead to more sales. Nevertheless, general sticks like 8' 5WTs that were rentable would be a good way to get newbies into the sport.

I'd be interested in the opinions of some of our folks who have more experience with the gear and business side of the sport.

 

[SlingerFlyRods]

This is great info so far.

As far as the shops or guides buying them first, that's not a deal breaker for me.. I build it, they take it, try to make money off it, if not send it back to me no big deal.

And Fishidiot I think you are on to something when saying this might take money away from someone coming in to buy one off the shelf undermining sales.. never considered that..

 

[afishinado]

Hey Chris,

A lot of fly shops, especially the destination shops, offer rentals on equipment such as fly rods. Generally, they rent rods that they sell, in hopes of the customer trying it out, liking the rod and purchasing it. The shops get deals from their vendors for rental rods.

 

[krayfish2]

Chris,

Companies offer guides rods at discounted prices and they usually purchase a few as loaner or back up rods for their clients. Like others have said, get someone fishing with it and you'd increase the chance of moving some product. Like Tom mentioned, destination locations offer rentals (Lehigh and Delaware in our neck of the woods). Most Montana shops also offer loaner / rental gear.

Get your product in the hands of some guides with a blog. Let them put it through the ringer and write a review. Show up at a one of the forum events and let some guys fish the equipment / review / critique it. You might get glowing feedback or suggestions that help you improve the gear.

 

[PennKev]

I think another point of resistance you will run into is that shops may not want to rent out your gear if they are not carrying it for sale. Say, if they are a Sage dealer, they would want to rent out Sage gear in hopes of later selling a Sage product. You will still need to convince them to carry your gear instead of brand X, whether it is for sale or rent. If you can afford it, perhaps build some demo rods and get them in the hands of shops and guides at no cost and or obligation to them.

Kev

 

[SlingerFlyRods]

Sounds like great advice all around. I am able to build demo rods. I ended up purchasing a very large order of blanks and materials on my dime for someone who was planning on selling them on a larger scale and they backed out on me after the order came in. so I have around 20 blanks unsold that I'm considering using for this very reason. I'm slowly dissolving that issue but lesson learned..

I guess im not looking to compete with big box brands (because frankly I cant) but I can offer customization which I feel goes a longer way..

I don't know, like I said. Crazy dream, making an action plan.. weather I try it out or not is to be determined.. Just considering all options..

Chris

 

[Millsertime]

Slinger... ever try selling your excess blanks?

 

[poopdeck]

I have never rented a rod and i dont know anybody who ever rented a rod and ive never been asked where a rod could be rented. I'm sure that occasionally somebody will rent a rod but I do not see any kind of profit for the trouble.

I also do not see an increase in sales from rentals. Maybe a better option is to donate the rods to a TU raffle and maybe you could gain word of mouth sales if the lucky winner really likes the rod.

I would probably just sell the blanks and get some of my money back.

 

[SlingerFlyRods]

Thanks for the encouraging advice. I think I'll just hang on to them and build for friends and family or whomever wants one from time to time.

Merely a hobby for me that all started when my wife wanted to start fishing with me. I though "no way in heck am I paying top dollar for a rod to have you say you don't like it"

Bought a rod building kit and the rest is history lol

And for the record she hasn't fished since

 

[sandfly]

I had a guy and wife up from down south and he broke his rod tip, asked if would rent him one. I did 20.00 for 2 hours on a older rod (cheap). it never came back never again.

 

[geebee]

i used to know the guy behind Bloke fly rods in England. The way he got known was to give people discounts in return for reviews on his website.

he also spent a lot of time at local fly tying and fishing events, fundraisers etc and he donated quite a few to the Wild Trout Trust, ASA and other worth fishing causes.

unlike other rod makers he didn't try to get them into the hands of guides and fly shops or 'pro's", he got them into the hands of ordinary anglers and let the quality of the rods do the talking.

he's now probably in the top 8 in the UK now (some 10 years later...) with a full range of rods.

he sells mostly direct from his website - which keeps his costs down and his profits up, a successful model thesedays when you look at American Giant sweatshirts etc which means he's not competing in a store with the big budgets of Sage, Loomis, Orvis etc.

best of luck with it, if you love doing it, do it - but i wouldn't rent em ;-)