I have recently moved back to College Station and it seems that while I was away, every store in town has stopped carrying fly fishing gear. I can't find rods, reels, flies, etc. I just can't believe there are not enough of us in the Brazos Valley to keep supplies on the shelves. Who do you have to contact to change this? The Academy in my home town has a full section for fly fishing. I'm not asking for a exclusive fly shop here just a place to grab a few things I might need. Very Disappointed!

Gander Mountain has some fly stuff still...

Dave

One of the ladies I work with, works part time at Academy. I have asked her about this issue and she said that the store manager was going to try and get some fly fishing items restocked. It was ironic that Academy pulled their limited supply of fly products the same time Gander Mountain pulled theirs. Maybe we need to "let our voices be heard".

Good news, I'm not sure when you last visited gander mountain, or even if thats what you're referring to, where the fly fishing material has been beyond dismal and about a week ago when I went there there was a display case for flies, and a couple of ratty looking flies hardly held together and a real meager attempt to look like something had once been there plagued their idea of what people were looking for in fly fishing. (Small run on sentence and rant) - BUT there is good news, those few things that you might need to grab, such simple things as maybe tippet and leader are now at Gander Mountain. Just went there yesterday, biggest backflip I've done for something that should've always been there. There is a whole minature isle devoted to this, hopefully you aren't looking for specifics but it'll get you out there.

One thing y'all have to keep in mind is how few of us there are, demographically speaking, compared to the conventional gear folks. With our current negative perception of the state of the economy (whether it's correct or not), retailers have an even more difficult job to do in terms of inventory management and shelf space. If you're the manager of one of these stores, I'm certain that you're getting hammered to be as efficient as possible and focus on the items that "turn" and appeal to the masses. In all honesty, fly fishing gear doesn't fit into that category in Texas.

Think of it this way: are there enough dedicated fly anglers in the Bryan/College Station area to support an independent fly shop? I don't think there are.

The ugly truth is that we have to accept what the store is able or willing to carry and rely on the online realm or trips to the "big city" to obtain the rest.

Dusty makes a good point about your locale.

Here in the DFW Metroplex there are four fly shops: Backwoods, Tailwaters, Bass pro, and Cabelas. The latter two chains have multiple locations, but their main focus is conventional fishing gear and hunting. It is really about the dollars availble to these retailers, and we constiute a small segment in fishing.

This also speaks to the need to support local fly shops. Buy some flies or your gear there; if not they'll go away, and we all lose a valuable resourse. I have a friend who works at one of these dedicated fly shops, and recently he related a story of how he showed a customer a nice high end rod and allowed them to fully test it. Imagine how he felt upon learning that this consumer had bought the same outfit for less money on-line. Is it really worth it to save and send your dollars out of state? Or would you rather have a thriving business supporting you and your sport?


If you're in Bryan/College Station, the closest shops are probably in Houston.

Les

Les makes excellent points about my excellent points.

An independent fly shop has got to be incredibly challenging to run in Texas, for exactly the reason that Les talked about. Online sales are making local retail really difficult, even in those areas where specialization isn't so prevalent like it is in fly gear.

It can be difficult for those of us who don't live in one of the areas served by a local shop to support them, but you can still stop in on the way through and spend a few bucks.

Here's the idea of the week: You guys in B/CS all meet up and make a road trip to Houston to iFly The Angler's Edge. You get your fix, save on gas money, and stop somewhere for some good eats. In fact, you might want to eat first so that you don't go home hungry from spending all your money on fly flingin' supplies.

Wow I appreciate everyone's input on this topic. It was more of a public rant. First off I fully understand the business side of being able or not being able to stock product that is not selling. I am also not asking Stephen from Backwoods to relocate (though I would not be opposed). After going into Gander a few days ago, I felt as if they were mocking us with the less than poor attempt to stock fly gear. Keep in mind I don't expect either Gander or Academy to put up a nice TFO display just for the 20 or so fly fishers in the area. But the 1/16 of an isle that was once there for the simple things was not killing any store profit or adding some outrageous overhead. Hell I would be willing to bet the standard allotment for loss or stolen property doubled the amount of inventory prices from the "fly section".

There are 3 stores here locally that could easily support us with a small fly section. They might even be shocked to know some of us do other things than fish and that well kept fly display could lead me to purchase a new bow or gun. What a great sales lead, $2.00 Fat Albert Hopper turns in to a couple hundred dollars worth of other equipment from their store.

It's pretty funny though, I've been to gander getting odds and ends because I can't stop "outdoorsing" (verb for participating in outdoor adventures), and everytime I leave I spend about five minutes b*tchin to who is at the checkout desk telling them to bring us fly fishing stuff. They went from nothing to something, so I guess it worked, this has been a personal goal over the past 3 weeks, even though it probably wasn't my complaining that got some stuff in there I like to think it was.

Additionally I feel the whole advantage to having a large store is to have the cababilities to stock items that aren't hot sellers, but occasionally people pick up.

KB you forgot Barlows in dfw area. As a local and thriving online retailer they need TFF support. For Texans by Texans.

Let me chime in on this..

Academy in College Station has never had much but they had enough for me and my limited budget as most of what I have equipment-wise came from them but I'm a cheap old fart that doesn't buy high-end anything.

Along comes Gander Mountain and at first they had a ton of good quality fly fishing and tying gear priced accordingly to the market at the time. For me personally it was too little too late and I wasn't in the market for anything new or better then what I already had too much of anyway.

Eddie Sullivan's Outfitters and Burdett & Sons both carried Fly gear but like Gander and Academy neither could justify stocking items that take so long to move and can be found cheaper online.

So the problem is two fold, competition from online and cheap old farts like me who have too much fly stuff already that complain loudly when the one unique "must have" item is no longer available for that "need it now" or impulse buy.

Fishing is fun like freaky sex, but being a fly fisherman is like getting pregnant from that freaky encounter and having to live with the little monster forever and ever. Don't feed the beast!

It has to do with sales. That and contract diputes with SuperFly Co. out of Canada which is the first Academy exclusive fly product. SuperFly products are basically the cheapest fly products ever and we're contracted by academy solely to bring awareness to fly fishing, as 5 years ago the industry was booming. The hope was to expand the base fly fishing product inventory, but it crumbled as the economy hit the can. Now SupeFly is trying to void the contract, and blablabla lawsuit probably eminant. Gotta love a litigous society.

It wouldnt surprise me if most stores did away with flyfishing completely, except maybe the stores in Victoria, Waco, and somewhere else I can't remember, those we're the most profitable stores. Waco Academy was suprisingly #1 in the chain just months after opening, which is why it got flooded with fly fishing inventory about 2 years after opening. Same with the store in Victoria. But as Academy slowly looses its main contract fly fishing distributor and people continue to penny pinch, the lack of fly fishing products in all but a few stores will likely continue to grow.

My credentials: previous full time employee at Academy h/f dpt.

Mea culpa - should have mentioned Barlows as well as others.

Les

Only if you want to deal with the meanest curmudgeon, who guards his stock more securely than the gold at Fort Knox, on the face of the planet. To be totally berated for walking in the door wanting fly fishing materials, because Barlow's views helping a customer as the biggest inconvenience ever, is totally ludicrous and the poorest of business plans. Barlow's does not even deserve a nod or a mention. Just ask me about what happened two days after Norm Goheen died.

You just ignore Woodie and help yourself @ Barlows. You also forgot Orvis.