The Original Yellow Breeches Fly Shop

I bought my first Sage rod, my first "real" fly rod, from Cold Spring Anglers. It was the first fly shop I dealt with and it's still the benchmark I use to measure shops.
 
Herb and Kathy of Cold Spring Anglers used to host Sulphur Saturdays at their house on the Letort. Good times. Kathy used to make a killer guacamole.
 
I was wondering if any forum member remembers the gentlemen who worked at BSFS in the mid to late 1980's. I moved to PA in September of 1984. The fellow I am referring to was very tall and slim and had a very big Afro. I also remember a fellow named Mark Atland who was the manager for quite a few years.
 
Thanks for this mention of Charlie Stone. I was a bored 12 year old attending a wedding reception at Allenberry in ‘77 and wandered down to the dam to watch the fishermen. A kind gentleman who turned out to be Mr Stone talked to me for what seemed like hours, explained the tackle and showed me the tiny flies (I still remember the Wheatley box stuffed with terrestrials so small I couldn’t imagine how you could make them). When we got back home to Pittsburgh, I bought a crappy little sporting goods fly tying kit and struggled along for a few months until my mother saw an ad for TU Penns Woods fly tying course. That is how I met Tony Marasco (such a force of nature), Chauncey Lively and George Aiken. I don’t think any of that would have happened if Charlie Stone hadn’t taken time out of his fishing to talk to a kid.
 
Joe wrote;

The tall gentleman with the large Afro would more than likely have been Tom Baltz.
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Thank you for the response.
 
I remember Tom(if he's the tall guy referred to above) from my visits to the Yellow Breeches in the mid to late 70's. I was just a young kid(maybe 15-16 years old) and a relatively new fly fisher. I'd get my parents to drive me up there from Northern VA(before I got my license) and the YB Fly shop was the first place We'd stop. He/They were very helpful to a new guy. This thread brings back fond memories...

Hunter
 
A real throw back, small town fly shop was Hen Byers on Baer Avenue in Hanover. I bought a lot of honey bug material from him and he showed me how to tie the bug. The bug (spun deer hair) beetle used to be killer on the YB. If you had those flys you were in business.
 
I don’t let myself go down memory lane. Too sad. Hoping for another shot at the WB when restrictions are lifted.
 
Maybe a little off topic, but I certainly remember Eylers in Bryn Mawr. When my kids were little, I would load them in my car and drive from Voorhees, NJ to Bryn Mawr fight through Philly. All the way on Market Street and Lancaster Ave., right through West Philadelphia. Kids were still in car seats. Purpose of the drive was to buy my fishing license and to give Mom a break on a nice Saturday in January or February.
The store was packed, dusty, stacked with books and a great place to spend an hour or so.

About 18 yeas later my daughter rented an apartment right down the block from there while attending Villanova. Sadly Eylers was gone, replaced by TCO. What trip down memory lane.
 
salmo wrote:
Maybe a little off topic, but I certainly remember Eylers in Bryn Mawr. When my kids were little, I would load them in my car and drive from Voorhees, NJ to Bryn Mawr fight through Philly. All the way on Market Street and Lancaster Ave., right through West Philadelphia. Kids were still in car seats. Purpose of the drive was to buy my fishing license and to give Mom a break on a nice Saturday in January or February.
The store was packed, dusty, stacked with books and a great place to spend an hour or so.

About 18 yeas later my daughter rented an apartment right down the block from there while attending Villanova. Sadly Eylers was gone, replaced by TCO. What trip down memory lane.
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I remember Eylers back when it was on Lancaster Ave. in Ardmore. Mr Eyler ran it back then. I bough my first flies from him. I also bought my first trout fishing book (Squaretail/Kroll) there. The 70's were a fun time!
 
I could write a book about Eyler's, Mr. Eyler & Tom & Alice as 90% of my gear came from them. The first time I walked in was at the Lancaster Avenue location. I was not yet a fly-fisherman and I was looking for 10" plastic worms. Of course Tom said, "We have them."

Later I bought my first fly rod & reel from them, built by Tom on a one piece 6 foot Lamiglass graphite blank.

I still have a boat rod Tom built for me from components he specified that I picked up at Dale Clemens in Allentown and a ton of Winston Rods, Ross & Abel reels and more stuff I bought just before they sold out.

Heck, I even put out a fire in the kids clubhouse behind the store once!

I miss that store and Tom & Alice dearly as they are the only shop I ever dealt with that gave me such incredible service. Fortunately, I took a BUNCH of photos of the Penn Street shop just before they moved and they gave me a few mementos from inside as well.

Does anybody remember their local competition, Cox's in Bryn Mawr?
 
If you have pictures of the Penn Street store, please post them.
 
The plastic worms were probably on that rack as you entered the back door off the parking lot (Eyler's Penn Street).

Tom and Alice moved to Montana, I believe, where one of their sons was a ranger. I met a nephew of their who was a house painter. He was freaked when he saw my (Eyler-bought) waders hanging to dry in the basement.

I had 2 sons fishing with me, so I had to buy everything in triplicate. It was money well spent.
 
mikephl wrote:
The plastic worms were probably on that rack as you entered the back door off the parking lot (Eyler's Penn Street).

Tom and Alice moved to Montana, I believe, where one of their sons was a ranger. I met a nephew of their who was a house painter. He was freaked when he saw my (Eyler-bought) waders hanging to dry in the basement.

I had 2 sons fishing with me, so I had to buy everything in triplicate. It was money well spent.
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The worms were purchased at the Lancaster Avenue store when Alice's dad was still around and were stashed in a plastic box under the counter. Penn Street came many years later.
 
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