L
LouM
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- Sep 21, 2006
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Little Lehigh Fly shop closing,starting 11/28
jdaddy
Active member
Forever and ever? This is a permanent closure?
Jerry, maybe we should swing by tomorrow out of respect.
Jerry, maybe we should swing by tomorrow out of respect.
gfen
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Wow, well..that does suck.
Say what you will about Rod, but he was sort of a fixture, and he gave that section of stream alot of character and a bit of a riverkeeper, as well.
I've had some fights with him, but I'll still miss him... Hope he does well wherever he goes next.
Man, the LV is now down to...what? Bean sells some hardware, but no tying of note.
Say what you will about Rod, but he was sort of a fixture, and he gave that section of stream alot of character and a bit of a riverkeeper, as well.
I've had some fights with him, but I'll still miss him... Hope he does well wherever he goes next.
Man, the LV is now down to...what? Bean sells some hardware, but no tying of note.
Alpabuck
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Shame....LV aint got #OOPS# anymore!
jdaddy
Active member
Alpa, you should look into the lease options of the shop and open it up. Get a good internet business going along with the foot traffic. Could be a win.
Alpabuck
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I dont know man...I'm really not a people person!
trowpa
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- Dec 29, 2008
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- 578
ugh...LV has nothing now... Anyone want to open up a shop in the LV... i'll do your website.... 
TimMurphy
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Dear Board,
I'll commiserate that you've lost a fly shop but in all honesty has the LV ever had a real fly shop? That's not meant as slur against the LL fly shop or it's owner but merely an observation.
I'm not trying to be a wiseguy here, but 20 some years ago the closest thing you had to a fly shop was Nestor's or those other guys a bit south of you. I really liked those guys, their surly attitude sent me to the Poconos and opened up a whole other world.
Maybe the time has passed for a fly shop in the Lehigh Valley? I don't think it's because there are no fly fishermen but the Valley has changed tremendously since I first started visiting the area in the early 1970's.
When I see what exists in places where there used to be cows and such I can only shake my head.
We can't build and pave our way to prosperity, try as we might.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
I'll commiserate that you've lost a fly shop but in all honesty has the LV ever had a real fly shop? That's not meant as slur against the LL fly shop or it's owner but merely an observation.
I'm not trying to be a wiseguy here, but 20 some years ago the closest thing you had to a fly shop was Nestor's or those other guys a bit south of you. I really liked those guys, their surly attitude sent me to the Poconos and opened up a whole other world.
Maybe the time has passed for a fly shop in the Lehigh Valley? I don't think it's because there are no fly fishermen but the Valley has changed tremendously since I first started visiting the area in the early 1970's.
When I see what exists in places where there used to be cows and such I can only shake my head.
We can't build and pave our way to prosperity, try as we might.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
Alpabuck
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One thing is for certain the Pocono's have two top notch shops. As someone that has spent a fair amount of time in a LV store that sold fly fishing stuff I am not sure if a fly shop could turn a profit in the LV even if it was run well. The customer base and the fact that Cabelas and and the Poconos shops are so close really makes things tuff. The fact that the LV doesnt have any true destination rivers/streams and that your in the 3rd largest metro area of the state hurts it as well. Allentown just flat out sucks and isnt a nice place!
I've been critical of Rod in the past and to some extent he deserves it. I've been fishing the LL and visiting his shop for about 8 years now and the older get the better he has treated me, but for the first 6 year I always felt as if he wanted me to give him my money and get out without saying a word. I guess you could say I am a slow learner.(Gfen/Jdaddy insert joke here )Some of his troubles in my eyes were his own fault for treating some people so poorly. I've seen an overall decline in the amount of fish in the HS and in the amount of people that fish it. Those two things could very well go hand in hand to some extent, but I think at least a few people were also turned off by the man in the spring house. I know of a rather large group of older gentleman that cant even hear his name with out completely losing there minds.
It is sad to see him go though as he has been a fixture in LV fly fishing for as long as I've been flinging bugs. I feel the HS will continue to get worse now that he is gone and thats a real shame!
I've been critical of Rod in the past and to some extent he deserves it. I've been fishing the LL and visiting his shop for about 8 years now and the older get the better he has treated me, but for the first 6 year I always felt as if he wanted me to give him my money and get out without saying a word. I guess you could say I am a slow learner.(Gfen/Jdaddy insert joke here )Some of his troubles in my eyes were his own fault for treating some people so poorly. I've seen an overall decline in the amount of fish in the HS and in the amount of people that fish it. Those two things could very well go hand in hand to some extent, but I think at least a few people were also turned off by the man in the spring house. I know of a rather large group of older gentleman that cant even hear his name with out completely losing there minds.
It is sad to see him go though as he has been a fixture in LV fly fishing for as long as I've been flinging bugs. I feel the HS will continue to get worse now that he is gone and thats a real shame!
tomgamber
Well-known member
http://www.asportinglifestyle.com/
Is that place gone as well? Never been there...just remember seeing links on here in the past.
Is that place gone as well? Never been there...just remember seeing links on here in the past.
Alpabuck
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Not really a fly shop Tom....not really gone but not really there either.
tomgamber
Well-known member
ah, I see...I take its one of those trendy outdoorsy clothing stores for people with large SUVs that never get the tires dirty that also happens to sell some fly gear then?
Alpabuck
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For the sake of the interweb yes you pretty much hit the nail on the head!
Alpabuck
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Folks that have been in the store are now laughing hysterically because with out ever being there you discribed the manager to a T well done sir!
jdaddy
Active member
I think you've hit the nail on the head and of course you are very close to this scene/market.
Tom, you have nailed that shop! The only asset they had there was a young little punk, but alas even he has left. That shop is basically a high end outdoor clothing shop with about 15% of the floor space occupied by Orvis rods, tying material, etc. They did have a few high end Able reels. Based on reports the "shop" is varying degrees of failing/closing.
TimMurphy
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Dear Alphabuck,
I don't want to open a new can of worms here but the Little Lehigh has been going downhill as a river for decades.
Bottom line is that the area is simply too built up and too poorly planned for anything otherwise to happen. I'm not trying to be dismal, but I lament the changes that have taken place for changes sake.
I think in rather idealistic terms but I like to attempt to draw parallels between the Lehigh Valley and State College. Chalk it up to waiting 100 years to develop, but State College has done a much better job in focusing the building and all it entails into a region where it does the least damage.
That ain't the case in the Lehigh Valley. They will build anything anywhere as long as they think they will make money at it. For the most part they can, for the area attracts people that are fleeing the high costs of homes and land in the NJ/NY metro area.
But still, I see they approved a development by Jaindl in Lower Macungie that would have been a quarry otherwise. Once the houses and stores and shops have been built a quarry will look pretty damn good in retrospect.
As I sit in my house with a Harrisburg mailing address that sits on the edge of 11,000 acres of State Gamelands the cynical reader might think I am just talking to hear myself think, but I'm not.
We have to stop developing every square inch of land that is available, especially when all that development comes with costs and liablilties that never get considered until it is too late.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
SORRY FOR DERAILING THE THREAD!
I don't want to open a new can of worms here but the Little Lehigh has been going downhill as a river for decades.
Bottom line is that the area is simply too built up and too poorly planned for anything otherwise to happen. I'm not trying to be dismal, but I lament the changes that have taken place for changes sake.
I think in rather idealistic terms but I like to attempt to draw parallels between the Lehigh Valley and State College. Chalk it up to waiting 100 years to develop, but State College has done a much better job in focusing the building and all it entails into a region where it does the least damage.
That ain't the case in the Lehigh Valley. They will build anything anywhere as long as they think they will make money at it. For the most part they can, for the area attracts people that are fleeing the high costs of homes and land in the NJ/NY metro area.
But still, I see they approved a development by Jaindl in Lower Macungie that would have been a quarry otherwise. Once the houses and stores and shops have been built a quarry will look pretty damn good in retrospect.
As I sit in my house with a Harrisburg mailing address that sits on the edge of 11,000 acres of State Gamelands the cynical reader might think I am just talking to hear myself think, but I'm not.
We have to stop developing every square inch of land that is available, especially when all that development comes with costs and liablilties that never get considered until it is too late.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
SORRY FOR DERAILING THE THREAD!
Alpabuck
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Tim,
I think there is alot of truth in what you said. The comparison of the LV and State College are scary but true. I think that I read somewhere that the State College area is the fastest growing in the state. I think some things will surely change for the worse out there but the outdoor traditions in the area will not allow for it to turn quite into the mess that the LV is. But I could see it turning into the Poconos. Which would be a real shame! I have to giggle everytime I hear people for NY and NJ say they come to the Poconos to escape city life. I then think to myself " I leave the Poconos to escape from you" lol.
I think there is alot of truth in what you said. The comparison of the LV and State College are scary but true. I think that I read somewhere that the State College area is the fastest growing in the state. I think some things will surely change for the worse out there but the outdoor traditions in the area will not allow for it to turn quite into the mess that the LV is. But I could see it turning into the Poconos. Which would be a real shame! I have to giggle everytime I hear people for NY and NJ say they come to the Poconos to escape city life. I then think to myself " I leave the Poconos to escape from you" lol.
TimMurphy
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Dear Alphabuck,
I spent a decade or more exploring the Poconos. I liked it when you could get your truck repaired and eat breakfast in the same place. That's all gone.
I don't like it so much now that buses are on the road at 5:00 am on a weekday schlepping people to the Garbage State and points beyond.
I wonder when and where it will all end? Where exactly are we headed and why?
I know that is all a bit too deep for a FF message board yet still I think those thoughts often.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
I spent a decade or more exploring the Poconos. I liked it when you could get your truck repaired and eat breakfast in the same place. That's all gone.
I don't like it so much now that buses are on the road at 5:00 am on a weekday schlepping people to the Garbage State and points beyond.
I wonder when and where it will all end? Where exactly are we headed and why?
I know that is all a bit too deep for a FF message board yet still I think those thoughts often.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
SBecker
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I'll tell you what, I know the perfect location for a fly shop in the valley, that is already a bait shop and is for sale. I would love to take control over it, but I know what it's profits are already without the fly section and I know the hours he has to work to run the place. It's sad to say but with the way of the larger chains, the mom and pops shop will just disappear. God, if I had financial backers I would scoop it up in a second. H-A you know I am right too.
Heritage-Angler
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- Sep 11, 2006
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Times change, sad but true - and not always for the better.
I've heard it said that the best way to make a million dollars running a fly shop is to start out with two million.
I'm surprised Rod survived there this long, and can only hope he's getting out with some semblance of good health. I owe a lot to that man, and wish him all the best. Maybe he can go fishing more now, if he even stays in the area (which I doubt).
Time to stop by the shop and say good bye to an old friend.....
I've heard it said that the best way to make a million dollars running a fly shop is to start out with two million.
I'm surprised Rod survived there this long, and can only hope he's getting out with some semblance of good health. I owe a lot to that man, and wish him all the best. Maybe he can go fishing more now, if he even stays in the area (which I doubt).
Time to stop by the shop and say good bye to an old friend.....
