"The Fly Shop" catalog

[ryguyfi]

I just got mine in the mail yesterday. I don't recall signing up for one, but maybe I did.

Anyway, I'm thoroughly impressed with it. I've never bought anything from them, but it's almost a combo of a magazine and a catalog of ff gear. Some interesting articles in the beginning, and a nice line up of gear including a some of their own rods and reels. I enjoy leafing through the "box stores" fly selection in their catalogs to recreate patterns and this one had many more patterns that peaked my interest than anything I've seen before. Plus a good list of destinations to head to and prices. (1 word... Kamchatka!)


Anyone have any experience with their line up of rods and reels? Looks like a pretty good value.


Ryan

 

[ryguyfi]

http://www.flyshop.com/


For those of you who haven't seen "Eastern Rises" and their adventures in Kamchatka, you need to.


http://www.flyfishingtravel.com/kamchatka/index.html

It has officially made "My list"


(Thanks flipnfly)

 

[shakey]

the destination fishing idea,especially kamchatka,makes me drool.


however,some people don't like the fly shop because of privatized water.

 

[ryguyfi]

Yeah they had a big write up in it on the first couple pages of the catalog. Thought it was interesting at the very least. I need to re read it though as I just skimmed in the first time.

 

[zenherper]

I have their H2O Hat Creek model rod (9' 4 wt.) It looks and feels like a quality rod, but it is very slow action, so I don't fish it much.

I love paging through the catalog. Lot's of "want list" stuff...

 

[RLeeP]

I've done a limited amount of low end business with the Fly Shop over the years, a few spools of tippet and a container of Mucilin here and a couple packages of dubbing and some ostrich sticks there.

I have no experience with their branded rods or reels and don't know anybody who does.

For the obvious size of the operation (big as such places go..), I've found them to be very customer service oriented and eager to please. A couple of years ago, the phone rang here in the middle of January. It was The Fly Shop telling me that some scud dubbing and head cement thinner I had ordered a year before, but which were out of stock at the time, were now available and did I want them to put them on my card and send them out, no charge for shipping? I was pretty impressed and told them to go ahead, even though I'd got the products elsewhere in the interim.

The private waters thing is sort of a put-off and for years, I wouldn't do business with them because of it. I think they evidently have been taking some heat about it because the long, carefully crafted assertion of support for public access in this year's catalog is the first time I recall them going to that much trouble to clearly spell out their position.

But I'll continue to do a limited amount of business with them because they have a very broad selection of stuff and clearly care about all their customers, even the 20 bucks at a pop guys like me.

Anybody who has a block about doing business with them can do what I do. When the annual catalog arrives, I simply take a pair of scissors and remove all the private waters pages and Whaa Laa or Viola or whatever it is the French say, no more conflicts about private waters. The older you get, the better this works, BTW. The creeping amnesia of age makes it even easier to forget they ever pimped for private waters at all.

Private Waters? The Fly Shop? You're kidding me... Who knew?