What makes a "good" fly shop?

S

Spyder20oz

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Nov 9, 2006
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I lurk alot here and I am really starting to notice that eveyone complains much more than they post postive things about our awesome sport.

So... why don't we post about what we like about fly shops.....
 
It's a fly fishing store. What could be better?

Aside from the porn, beer, candy shop/poker room/roller coaster park that I've always been envisioning, of course.

Aside from that, a good fly shop needs to treat me like a regular, even if I'm not. That's what I like.
 
A good fly shop should:

a) be open when I stop by;
b) have every product I want at the least cost I can find anywhere;
c) post the location and size and species of every hatch within 20 miles of the shop;
d) greet me with a smile, some chit-chat, a cup of coffee, some donuts, etc.; and
e) act like I just bought a Mercedes when I check out with a spool of 5X tippet and a pack of split-shots.

:cool:
 
I think that if you did an analysis of the "negative" posts on the board that you would find that a small percentage of the posters actually posting "negative" comments. However negative posts often generate much more reply. In fact you complaining about the complaining could be considered negative. .......................... :-D

Anyway:

I hate fly shops in general. That would be because I hate shopping and spending money. Opening my wallet for anything other than beer is a painful process. I do however appreciate good customer service. If a store clerk/ owner goes out of their way to help me, I like it very much. Any type of retail establishment that plans to remain open has to cater to their customers needs. Here are mine. I want to be in an out quickly. I want the shop to be organized in a way that makes sense. I want the products clearly displayed. If I ask I question I want it answered. If they do not know the answer I want them to tell me. I want a reasonable price. Throw me a freebie once in awhile. That is it.

That being said, my two favorites are:

International Angler in Aspinwall

Oil Creek Outfitters
 
JackM wrote:
A good fly shop should:

a) be open when I stop by;
b) have every product I want at the least cost I can find anywhere;
c) post the location and size and species of every hatch within 20 miles of the shop;
d) greet me with a smile, some chit-chat, a cup of coffee, some donuts, etc.; and
e) act like I just bought a Mercedes when I check out with a spool of 5X tippet and a pack of split-shots.

:cool:
Click to expand...

That's a good list. I would add:

f) The location of every native brook trout stream within a 100 mile radius that the fly shop guy has learned about over 35 years of exploration. BEFORE I buy (maybe) that 5x tippet spool.
 
I agree with others that a good fly shop has good customer service. There are a couple of fly shops around here that helped me out tremendously when I was first starting out. I'd go in there and sometimes bounce ideas off of them and they'd always treat me like just another fly fisherman despite being maybe 17 or 18 at the time.

The two shops that really stood out to me were:

Cold Spring Anglers (soon to be TCO :-( )
Yellow Breeches Outfitters
 
Customer service by far is the most important, but a close second is having anything and everything you may want or need. Nothing worse than being out of town on a fishing trip, locating a "fly shop" only to find they have a shoe box of flies and some bobbers.

This goes along with customer service, but not being rushed out the door. I like to hang, within reason, and actually shoot the breeze. Some of the best experiences that fly fishing has brought me are all the wonderful experiences of meeting all kinds, in all places. (including this board)

D
 
I second "good customer service".

When I was in college and first got hooked by fly fishing, I went fishing looking pretty rough, sweat pants, sweatshirt etc. About as far from Orvis catalog as you can get. Most of us can remember those days. Most fly shop workers ignored me or made sure to stay out of site. They had no idea if I had money or not. Basically they supported my opinion that fly fishermen were Elitists. Ironic I wanted to still be one with that opinion isn't it. That's a story for another day.

What I am trying to say is that at one time I was forced to fish on the cheap. Now that I don't have that problem, I make sure to remember the ignorant/rude (i.e. http://www.fishingcreekangler.com) shops and go out of my way to frequent the friendly and helpful shops(http://www.slaterun.com or http://www.tcoflyfishing.com/). I have spent A LOT of money fishing since my college days and the shops without attitude have benefited from it.
 
In the spirit of fairness, when I was a freshman in college, I went to fishing creek angler. They were more than good to me.

This was about four years ago, for what it's worth. Perhaps things have changed.
 
If they have changed they have changed for the better. My experiences were in the early 90's. Also, its not out of the question that the individual(s) who worked the most hours at that time are now gone. But it is difficult to drop first impressions.
 
well just check us out...we have.porn, beer, candy shop/poker room/roller coaster park , and fly stuff... :-D
 
Dear spyder,

When they act like they are happy to see me even when I know they ain't!

Seriously, I really only deal with 3 fly shops and I have been dealing with all of them for decades. If they don't have what I am looking for they have been more than willing to get it for me and I can't and won't ask for more than that.

I like dealing with friends and I'll recommend the people I deal with to anyone who asks. I've posted their names in the past and I really don't want to post their names again but I can tell you that one shop is in State College, one shop is in Middletown, and the other shop is in Blakeslee but used to be in White Haven.

I've been in a lot of other fly shops in a lot of places and when push comes to shove I always go back to those guys. I dealt with the shop in State College when I was at PSU a long time ago. The owner sold me a fly tying tool kit and some materials and hand drew flytying instructions for 4 flies on index cards for me. I was just some snot-nosed college student but he went out of his way for me. That meant a lot.

The one in Middletown is owned by one of the nicest people you could ever meet no matter when, where, or why you met them. The fact that he is an accomplished warm-water and salt-water fly fisherman and tyer is all the more reason to visit. He always has time for me and frankly I ain't nothing special, that just makes him all the more special to me.

The shop in Blakeslee has moved and changed hands from when it was in White Haven. The old owner and his late wife treated myself and my brother's and all of our friends like we were family, and I mean like family. Through them I meet some of my closest and dearest friends, the kind of people I would have never met by chance. The owner sold out after his wife passed to a guy that was already a good friend that I met courtesy of the original owner so the circle continues.

I don't buy as much as I did 10 or 15 years ago but that never seems to matter to these folks and that is why they will always have my allegiance.

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
I like spending time in the fly shop shooting the breeze with who ever walks in the door (who I probably know through the shop anyway).
I like the personal service that you don't get from a lot of other stores, especially outside of fly shops.
I like walking into a place that has real fishing and tying products, not just general stuff.
I like the smell of dried chicken and rabbit skins, it lets me know I'm in a fly shop (well, I could do without the smell, or it could smell like a chocolate factory).
 
Dear MKern,

Do you remember the "PA Outdoor Warehouse" that used to be on the West End of Williamsport? I think you might be too young to remember because it's been gone for at least 10 or 12 years but I figured I'd ask?

I loved that place. I don't hunt and I never bought a whole lot of fly stuff there but I always walked out of the place with something like thermal underwear or boots or a hooded sweatshirt back before "hoodies" became cool. :-D

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
Tim,
I have never been there; your probably right about me being too young.
However there is a place downtown call Equinox, and they sell outdoor clothing. Matter of fact, they make all the pouches and backpacks for the down's box.
 
I shop in The Feathered Hook in Coburn, Yellow Breeches in Boiling Springs and Bob Clouser's in Middletown. Those three places all have a few things in common. They are friendly when I walk in. They will spend some time answering questions. They don't hard sell. And they make stopping by something to look forward to.
 
Dear MKern,

I want to say it was called "Blair's PA Outdoor Warehouse" but that won't help you much if you were only like 6 or 7 when it went away.

Do you remember Tag's Bar and Grille? I'm not suggesting you drank there, but Tag's was a great Italian restaurant and I figure maybe you had a meal there once? They were pretty close by each other as I recall, like I said it's been any easy 10 or more years for me too. I remember going to the Outdoor Warehouse with my brother Terry long before it closed and he moved to Colorado over 10 years ago.

Damn I'm old!

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
Tag's closed about a year and a half ago, but I think someone might have bought it and reopened it, not sure though.
I have eaten there. My mom use to bowl in a league at ABC lanes across the street from Tag's and they would go there every week.
Because yoyu sait it was close to Tag's it may now be equinox. That shop is in a cluster of businesses called Raytowne. It's marked by a 50 foot smoke stack.
Sound familiar?
 
Dear MKern,

I don't know about the bowling alley but we are definitely in the same church if not in the same pew.

Tag's was on Memorial Avenue which is nothing more than 4th Street where it turns up towards Newberry. The Outdoor Warehouse was somewhere in that neighborhood. I'm sure I could drive you to it but I'll be damned if I can tell you where it was?

Makes no matter to me, I always enjoy talking to people from Williamsport. Most of my Lycoming County buddy's are East Lycoming hillbillies or even worse, people who live up 220 near the Sullivan County line! :-D

Nice talking with you dude!

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
Having whatI want when I want it. Letting me try out rods. Treating me as though I were a long lost friend even though I'm not, not being treated with distain like you get at some shops. When I go to a shop I go to buy, to get information and to report what I caught. I think that is a fair exchange.
 
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