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INSIDE
THE FALL 2015 ISSUE
Recruiting... does it even matter? Dropping the participation trophies? Cortland turns 100. The Bahamas situation. We need our public lands. And much more. October 2015 AnglingTrade.com
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the buzz on the flyfishing biz
CONTENTS
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Features
Departments
20 C O RT L A N D T U R N S 1 0 0
6 E D I TO R ’ S C O L U M N No More Participation Awards. We’re no longer going to write up products, just because they showed up in the marketplace. Look for some tougher, straighter-shot product reviews at anglingtrade.com. By Kirk Deeter
An icon in the fly-fishing market hits the century mark. But can a new management team put the company back on track for another hundred years? By Jay Cassell
8 CURRENTS The latest news from the fly-fishing industry.
Editor Kirk Deeter kirk@anglingtrade.com
Managing Editor Tim Romano tim@anglingtrade.com
Art Director Tara Brouwer tara@shovelcreative.com shovelcreative.com
Editor-at-Large Geoff Mueller
Copy Editors Mabon Childs, Sarah Deeter
24 M O R E O N T H E BAHAMAS GUIDING MESS Our own Geoff Mueller takes a deeper look at the Bahamas brouhaha, which pits some local guides against foreign lodge owners, and could substantially limit a do-it-yourself angler’s opportunities to wade the flats without shelling out.
28 C O N S E RVAT I O N ( F R E S H WAT E R ) One of the most important “access” battles we face is the effort by some lawmakers to sell off America’s public lands. It’s a stupid idea, as recreation businesses (like ours) depend on those places.
29 C O N S E RVAT I O N ( S A LT WAT E R )
Okay... so you’ve figured out how to cash in on stocked triploid fish that help customers pretend to be good anglers. Now understand why the wild fish are really the key to this industry’s future. By Tom Reed
34 R E C R U I T I N G … W H O R E A L LY C A R E S ?
Photos unless noted by Tim Romano Angling Trade is published four times a year by Angling Trade, LLC. Author and photographic submissions should be sent electronically to editor@anglingtrade.com. Angling Trade is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and/ or photo submissions. We ask that contributors send formal queries in advance of submissions. For editorial guidelines and calendar, please contact the editor via E-mail. Printed in the U.S.A.
Because Fish Have to Eat by Charles Witek All the big fish we like to chase depend on the little fish they eat. You can’t have one without the other. Time for smart management of baitfish in American waters.
Advertising Contact: Tim Romano Telephone: 303-495-3967 Fax: 303-495-2454 tim@anglingtrade.com
By Charles Witek
Mail Address: PO Box 17487 Boulder, CO 80308
38 B AC K C A S T
Street Address: 3055 24th Street Boulder, CO 80304
Let His People Go Tenkara-ing. By Geoff Mueller
AnglingTrade.com
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Are we wasting too much time and energy chasing newbies for fly fishing? Or could we just do it better? By Marshall Bissett
Tom Bie Ben Romans Steven B. Schweitzer Greg Vincent
By Aaron Kindle
By Geoff Mueller
30 D O W I L D F I S H PAY ?
Contributing Editors
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E D I TO R ’ S C O L U M N
No More “Participation” Trophies
ticipation award” product reviews. Everywhere I write. Starting right here in Angling Trade.
When James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers mailed back his kids’ “participation trophies,” some thought that was harsh. Kids should be encouraged, after all, and merely showing up for games and practices is worthy of awards, right?
Well, you know what? The advertisers don’t support the magazines and websites enough to justify that attitude anymore. And if they think they get more mileage out of greasing someone with a free widget so they’ll say something nice about it on a blog (or put it in their film!)… that’s fine, you ultimately get what you pay for.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Maybe not. After all, as I remember my swimming days when I was a kid, the trophies used to go to the winners. If you wanted a trophy, you had to work hard, and beat the competition. If you didn’t, but you still worked hard and improved yourself, that was consolation prize enough. We called it pride. And it didn’t take mommy insisting that their kid got a fake trophy to instill that.
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In fact, not only do the participation trophies make for soft competitors, most people are able to call out the difference between honoring someone or something for merely participating, and honoring someone or something for being truly exceptional. I think we need to do more of the latter, and less of the former, when it comes to fly fishing. I, for one, must do a better job of calling it like I see it, minus the side agendas and the politics. Which is why I’m swearing off “par-
It used to be that the unwritten rule was to treat products from fly manufacturers with kid gloves. (After all, they spent all that money and effort making a nice product that might grow the market!) If you didn’t like it, you followed the same rule “Thumper” implied in Bambi: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” And heaven forbid you said anything that was off line with what one of your advertisers had to say in their press releases!
But if you’re a media professional (and I don’t use that term loosely), you’re starting to realize that there’s actually more money in honesty than there is in kissing manufacturers’ asses these days. The worm has turned. Maybe that puts the squeeze on the print mag, but then again, maybe it opens an opportunity. It’s certainly good for consumers (and probably retailers) who will increasingly depend on savvy information, and less on scripted sales pitches, to influence decisions. So that’s what you’re going to see in Angling Trade going forward—especially online—some serious, honest, consumer-facing product reviews… for anglers, by anglers who have the most credibility and miles on the flats and rivers that we can put together. We’re not out to get anyone, and we have no axe to grind.
But when the sleeve starts to fall off the rain jacket because the stitching is literally shredded by the wind in Tierra del Fuego (it really happened) I’m going to write about it. When the fancy laces the angler from Austria is tightening explode on the Dean River on the first morning of a life trip (also happened), I think that’s fair information that people should probably know about. If your boots are so poorly designed that they leave welts on my ankles after walking around in the Alaskan Bush for a week, shouldn’t you be saying sorry to me, rather than me feeling sorry if I were to say what I really feel? When the 12-weight, $850 rod explodes on the first tarpon hooked (saw that too), why would a writer feel compelled to keep that under wraps? Is that really serving the interests of the consumer? And, yeah, by the way, I think it’s also fair to test the warranty on that 12-weight, since the consumer bought that, whether they really wanted to or not. How long does it take to get fixed? What does it really cost? What’s the rod like when you get it back? I understand that there are bad experiences… there are lemons in every production run… outlier occurrences that happen here and there, and you can’t judge a company by a few things that might happen here and there… Hogwash. Tell that to the auto industry. We’re going to get rid of the participation awards. Because if you want to know what will really help this industry grow and get stronger, for both retailers and manufacturers, it’s being less soft, and working harder to achieve nothing short of total excellence and supreme VALUE.
Kirk Deeter
FINATIC
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Š Belizefly
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PEOPLE NEWS Schweitzer to Head Sales at Steiner
revolutionary patterns to Montana Fly Company. Galloup flies will be marketed and available to consumers in fly shops starting mid-spring, 2016. Galloup has the corner on streamer fly names, if not designs in total, having conceived the “Sex Dungeon,” “Zoo Cougar” and “Boogie Man,” among other patterns.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Angling Trade’s own contributing editor, Steve Schweitzer, has accepted a position with Steiner Optics as the vice president of sales, marketing, and business development, USA. Those of you who have been following his detailed columns in this magazine about understanding customers (as all of you should have) already know why Steiner hired him. Don’t worry, we’re gonna keep him in the family, at least as consultant-writer, and confidant. I already carry Steiners in my car for when I want to sit on the bank and figure out what’s hatching, without standing in the water and spooking the fish. I suggest all of you set up an account soon. At least wish Steve the best of luck.
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“I’m not even close to being done developing streamers that haven’t been seen in the industry yet,” says Galloup. “I think MFC customers will be excited to get their hands on what we’ve got in the hopper.” Sinjin Makes “The Wonder List”
of the Rocky Mountains (Tabernash, Colorado), travels along the Colorado River all the way to Moab, Utah, then turns south and features locations at Lake Powell, the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon, a short (3-day) trip in the Grand Canyon into Lake Mead, culminating with interviews featuring two major water policy experts on the crown of Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. Sinjin will be the “guide” for the show, from the headwaters to Vegas, and will be accompanying the film crew on the entire journey over 15 days. The show is currently set to air in late January or early February of 2016. You can follow along on mobile by navigating to the following address: americanrivers.org/blog/cnns-wonder-list.
Our good friend, Sinjin Eberle of American Rivers, has made what’s arguably the best PR score on behalf of fly fishing (well... really a river, with serious fly-fishing ramifications) when he put the Colorado River on CNN’s “The Wonder List.”
Galloup Partners with Montana Fly Company (Say’s There’s More in the Tank)
Each episode focuses on people, places, cultures, or creatures facing some sort of existential crossroads. Hosted by veteran journalist Bill Weir, the show was one of the most popular shows on CNN in 2015, garnering between 500,000 and 800,000 viewers per episode.
Fly designer Kelly Galloup has inked a deal to bring his brand, talents and
Only one show per season is located in the US. This year, thanks to American Rivers’ listing of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon as the #1 Most Endangered River, AR was approached by CNN to feature the greater Colorado River Basin as their domestic location. Working closely with the production team, Sinjin developed a full travel plan that embarks from the headwaters area
You da man, Sinjin. Thanks, and safe travels. AFFTA Board Elections
The American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) membership recently elected the following board members: Steve Bendzak (Simms Fishing Products), Brandon Shuler (Ocean Conservancy), Tom Sadler (Outdoor Writers Association of America), Tucker Ladd (Trout’s Flyfishing), Mark Harbaugh (Patagonia) and Rob Parkins (JD Highcountry Outfitters). Sadler, Shuler, Bendzak, Ladd and Harbaugh have all previously sat on the board; Parkins is new to the AFFTA board. AFFTA President Ben Bulis remarked, “We are pleased to have another retailer join the board. Rob Parkins’ dedication and experience in the fly fishing industry will without a doubt make the board stronger.”
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CURRENTS
Hatch Outdoors Has New Midwest Reps
Tony and Kim Ferrie of Dry Fly Sales.
Hatch recently announced the appointment of Dry Fly Sales as its sales representatives in the Midwestern region. Tony and Kim Ferrie are key influencers and well-respected individuals in the fly-fishing industry.
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President/CEO Appointed to Federal Sportsmen’s Advisory Committee Backcountry Hunters & Anglers president and CEO Land Tawnery has been appointed to the Wildlife Hunting and Heritage Conservation Council, a committee charged with advising the federal government and administration on issues relating to wildlife and habitat conservation and hunting. Appointments to the 18-member council, whose members represent leading national sportsmen’s and conservation groups, were announced
by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Fly Fishing Loses Two Icons: Remembering Susie Fitzgerald... On Thursday, August 20th following complications during heart surgery, the fly-fishing community lost a one of its most influential women, Susie Fitzgerald, co-founder of Frontiers International Travel. For the past 50 years, Susie had been instrumental in pioneering legendary fly fishing destinations like Christmas Island, Patagonia, Iceland, and the Ponoi River in Russia. Over the past half century, Susie cast and shot all over the world, and built Frontiers into a 60+ employee, $40 million+ in sales adventure travel behemoth. Her children Mike and Mollie now run the operation. And We Miss Bruce Olson...
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
On Tuesday, August 25th Bruce Olson passed away yesterday in his home in Superior Colorado at the age of 67.
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Olson joined Umpqua Feather Merchants in 1989 as the Inside Sales Rep, and over the next two plus decades held several positions at Umpqua including Customer Services Manager, Sales Manager and New Fly Manager. He played a key role in the development and evolution of Umpqua’s Royalty Signature Fly Designer Program, inevitably
influencing innovative fly introductions into the mainstream of fly-fishing. In working with hundreds of fly designers, and reviewing thousands of potential fly patterns, Olson applied his knowledge of fishing and fly design to shape trends, drive innovation, and inspire fly tyers to push the envelope in their craft.
and design qualities needed to handle monster flies, the wind, sinking and oversized head lines and of course, big, big, fish. Boron III Plus rods are lightweight, smooth casting and feature new shooting guides, green reel seats and Winston quality and craftsmanship.
we’ve seen them, and the reports we get from field testers who have worn this boot are positive enough for us to make the leap of faith here (even having said what we just said in the editor’s column). You’ll want to check these out to form your own opinion. korkers.com
Nice job Rodrigo! Good for you Winston.
PRODUCT NEWS
Korkers GreenBack Boot Will Sell
Gogal Publishing Company releases its first two editions of Stream Map USA for iPhone and iPad.
Hail to Winston... They Get the “Jungle” Potential Several years ago now, in this magazine, we ran a piece on the potential of “jungle fishing” re: gear manufacturing. The jungles of South America are as close to most American anglers as a flight to Alaska is. And the myriad species there offer a truer tackle test than you’ll find anywhere. Build something that works there, and it automatically transposes to most any fishing situation you might find in North America. So we listened to the crickets chirp for a few years. Now Winston has the brains and moxie to do something in that regard, so they earn our high praise.
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PEAK AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
The rod is called THE BORON III PLUS. It’s a POWERFUL, EXTRA FAST, HIGH LINE SPEED Boron III model available in line weights 5-12. But most importantly, included in the Plus series are three extra powerful, reinforced Jungle rods designed specifically for Peacock bass and Dorado. The Plus series also includes high-performance freshwater 5wt. and 6wt. rod models. The “Plus” stands for incredible line speed, extra power
We want to tune you into a good product that didn’t walk away with any trophies at IFTD, but will likely ring it up at the cash registers (the Korker’s GreenBack boot). In fact, the company believes it could sell as many as 10,000 pairs in the coming years. The reason? First, it’s a $99 boot. Second, it has an Eva molded midsole footbed, so it’s comfortable. It’s also durable... possibly a unique blend of performance and price. Time will tell, and we haven’t had the chance to wear these in the river yet, but
Stream Map USA features a searchable river, lake and stream map displayed over GPSenabled roadmaps, satellite images, and topographic maps. The “Northeast Edition” covers all of New England, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, while the “West Coast Edition” maps California, Oregon, and Washington.
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Traditional maps have always treated rivers and streams as simple blue lines. This has made it difficult to quickly identify streams and almost impossible to follow a stream’s flow without careful study of the map labels. Stream Map USA takes a novel approach. Each river, lake and stream is mapped as a unique color. This allows users to quickly differentiate any water from its tributaries and follow any river or stream’s course from headwaters to mouth. When wading, hiking, or paddling, this color treatment easily identifies the direction one needs to travel to remain on the desired stream. Stream Maps USA features a builtin search function, allowing users to easily find even the most obscure stream by simply entering its name. Color coded result pins then drop on the map, identifying any water that matches their search. The search page allows users to specify any combination of rivers, lakes and streams, and can be set to search the entire region or narrow a search to a specific state or even a specific county.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
When planning to travel on the water, knowing current water conditions is a key safety feature, so Stream Map USA includes map markers that identify the location of active stream gauges and gives users instant access to current water conditions directly from the US Geologic Survey.
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In the field, cellular service is always a concern, so many features in Stream Map USA are designed to operate without cellular service. The map features a unique “Browse and Store” technology that allows users to store maps locally as they are browsed. These maps can then be automatically recalled, making them available for offline use. A simple “Clear Map Cache” button easily removes stored maps, eliminating any data storage concerns.
RIO Products Offers Powerflex Plus Powerflex Plus Leaders and Tippet use VHT Nylon Technology with a new technical modification of the nylon copolymer formulation. This new material results in a 20 percent increase in tensile strength over regular leaders without sacrificing flexibility, diameter, or knot strength. For example, 5x (0.006in/0.152mm) Powerflex Plus has a tensile strength of six pounds, which is more than 20 percent stronger than the usual 4.5 to 5 pound strength of most other 5x materials. Leaders using this material are built with a high-performance taper and come in a UV and water resistant package with two leaders to a pack. They range from 7.5 feet, 9 feet to 12 feet in length and from 0x (18lb) to 7x (2.75lb).The Powerflex Plus Tippet comes in 50 yard spools and range in size from 0x to 7x. Both the Leaders and the Tippet will retail for $9.95 and can be found at RIO dealers in October.
“This is a great partnership for us,” said Zac Kauffman, sales manager for Sawyer. “It allows us to interact with the vibrant Trout Unlimited community and provide members a 20-percent discount on TU-branded products, and it helps us give back to the resources we all cherish—America’s rivers and streams.” Sawyer was founded by legendary canoe racer Ralph Sawyer in 1967 in Rogue River, Ore., where the company immediately began producing whitewater rafting oars. Ever since, the company has been at the forefront of the oar and paddle industry. Today, Sawyer is owned by Pete Newport, a long-time competitive white-water kayaker with a passion for boating and for putting the best oars into the hands of dedicated river runners. Simms Expands Bozeman HQ
Company News Sawyer Paddles and Oars joins TU as Corporate Sponsor Trout Unlimited and Sawyer Oars and Paddles announced a partnership that will benefit TU members across the country by providing quality boating products at a discount, and by donating 15 percent of the company’s sales of TUbranded paddles and oars to TU’s conservation work all across America.
Simms Fishing Products has started an expansion of its headquarters that will include a state-of-the-art product design and development studio and provide additional production capacity to manufacture more products in the USA. The company’s official groundbreaking ceremony took place on Friday, August 28. Governor Steve Bullock
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The expanded facility will provide critical new space for additional production/warehouse capacity in addition to the company’s product design and development offices. The company is building an additional 15,000 square feet onto its 65,000 square foot facility, which will include a third floor.
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Fishpond recently earned certification as a B Corporation. This designation is a voluntary effort requiring businesses meet high standards for social and environmental transparency, accountability and performance. “Since Fishpond’s inception, we have strived to be leaders in sustainable practices and creating a workplace in which our employees can thrive,” says fishpond founder and lead designer John Le Coq. “Becoming a certified B Corp tells our industry and our consumers that they are aiding a company that deeply cares about the environment and social responsibility on a large scale.” All international certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impacts of their decisions on employees, suppliers, communities, consumers and the environment. To
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Issues AFFTA Releases Policy Statement on Climate Change:
“As a trade association representing an industry dependent of clean water, clean air and access to healthy natural venues, we are alarmed by the lack of
action taken to address this clear and pressing danger to the future of our businesses and our world. “AFFTA agrees with NASA, NOAA, the National Academy of Sciences and many other major scientific organizations around the world that human activity is warming the planet with CO2 emissions and putting our future at risk. “Climate change is no longer a potential threat; It demands our attention now. We applaud our members who have taken pro-active steps to address this challenge in their businesses and encourage others to look for opportunities to do likewise. “We call on our elected officials to put partisan politics aside and work quickly to enact federal policy to address the threats presented by global climate change.”
Go to AFFTA’s Dealer Summit
AFFTA’s 2nd Annual Dealer Summit is right around the corner. This event is designed specifically for handson educational seminars, relevant roundtable discussions that affect specialty retail and networking opportunities for our member retailers and Summit sponsors. Registration is only $150.00 which includes access to all the seminars, cocktail receptions, lunches and dinners. To view the entire seminar schedule and sponsors, please see www.affta.com.
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Outdoor Retailer Announces the Show Will Stay in Salt Lake City Through 2018
Churning Away: New Southwick Study Reveals Surprisingly High Angler Turnover Rate
Show organizers for Outdoor Retailer, the largest summer and winter outdoor gear, apparel, accessories and technology tradeshow, announced that they will be extending their contracts with Salt Lake through Summer 2018. Both Winter and Summer Market shows have been in Salt Lake City since 1996.
While the total number of anglers who enjoy fishing remains fairly consistent year-in and year-out, the number of anglers who actually bought a license in ten consecutive years remains amazingly small--four percent of the approximate 33 million anglers in the United States to be exact. This was the startling discovery revealed by a recent study conducted for the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) by Southwick Associates.
Fly Shop Brazil Montana Trout Stalkers Platte River Fly Shop Stillwater Anglers Angler’s Covey Denver Fly Shop Hunter Banks TCO Fly Shop Little Fork Outfitters Henry’s Fork Anglers Headhunters Western Rivers Flyfisher Silver Creek Outfitters The River’s Edge Fins & Feathers Gallatin River Guides The Tackle Shop Mossy Creek TroutHunter JD High Country Outfitters Front Range Anglers St. Peter’s Fly Shop Trout’s Fly Fishing
To ensure all options and concerns were considered regarding a potential move, Outdoor Retailer surveyed more than 6,000 specialty retailer attendees and exhibitors. Over two-thirds, an overwhelming majority, indicated their preference for keeping the show in Salt Lake City. The highest majority of the responses came from specialty retailers, which show organizers considered to be the most critical indicator. When posing the question to Outdoor Retailer exhibiting brands regarding the future location, the Salt Palace Convention Center and Salt Lake, continue to be the favored location. The cost of doing business in Salt Lake for exhibiting brands is favorable in comparison to other considered locations and was one of the key reasons exhibitors, too, favored Salt Lake as the preferred location.
Key findings of the report, titled “U.S. Angler Population, Who Comes and Who Goes,” included: • The largest portion of anglers, 49 percent, purchased a license only one out of 10 years. • Only four percent bought a license in each of the ten years. • In any given year, close to half of anglers do not renew their fishing licenses. • The “typical” angler buys a fishing license just 2.9 out of every 10 years. • When looking at 5-year periods, that number drops to most anglers buying a license just every 2.1 years out of 5. • Those groups of anglers most likely to lapse each year include female anglers, urban residents and those people between the ages of 18 and 24. Forty-four to 48 percent of anglers each year represent a group that had not bought a fishing license the previous year. Please see the detailed feature on “recruitment” that follows in this issue of Angling Trade for more context and commentary on this issue…
KUDOS! Angling Trade’s “Secret Shopper” Likes Hatch Outdoors Service C
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An angler (our friend Harold) acquires a high-end Hatch reel. Angler goofs, and bends the frame. Angler sheepishly writes Hatch to find the fix. And this is the exact correspondence that follows: Harold, Thank you for your email and question. Sorry to hear about your reel. We can fix it up for you easily. Please send to my attention at the address below. We can probably use your old drag and would charge you $50 for a new frame. Please include your contact info and we’ll give you a call once we receive it. Thank you and have a great day!
Andrew, You are clearly setting a new standard with the high quality of your reels, and this level of customer service. It’s
Hey Kirk,
Thank you very much for this prompt reply and reasonable estimate for the repair.
to keep fishing, I made a “field repair!”
Best regards,
are a class act. Thanks again for the
Harold Harold, Thank you for your kind words and support for Hatch! We really appreciate your support and are glad to welcome you to the family! I’ll keep an eye out for your reel to arrive and we’ll contact you for payment info once we receive it. Please include a note of explanation and your contact info for our reference. Andrew
My right hand just accidentally let go of my rod and reel a couple weeks ago at the Drift. At first, I thought the grinding was sand, but then noticed that it actually bent the frame. In order
Thought you would enjoy the correspondence with Hatch. They wonderful recommendation. It will soon be restored to its original beauty... Cheers, Harold
We’re watching more of these things at the moment than you all probably
realize. Congratulations, Andrew and Hatch, for doing it right.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Andrew Dickinson General Manager Hatch Outdoors Inc.
impressive to receive a response to a request for help within one business day from the General Manager, no less. I will send the reel in along with my contact information. The drag and spool are in great shape, so your proposed approach to repair makes sense.
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FEATURE
A CENTENNIAL FOR CORTLAND The past few years have been a struggle, but America’s oldest fly line company just hit the 100-year mark. A new management team plans to keep the company moving forward.
Written by Jay Cassell move that would eventually change fly fishing forever. Now, 100 years later, in 2015, the Cortland Line Company is still in business making quality fly lines and other fishing products in upstate New York, albeit in a larger and more modern factory. It is the oldest fishing line company in the United States. To mark the company’s centennial, Cortland announced that it was partnering with some of America’s most respected conservation and education organizations to help ensure that good fishing remains a part of our nation’s heritage for another century and beyond.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Leon Chandler and Eddie Wood pose for the camera. Photo Courtesy Kim Chandler.
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One hundred years ago, the world was spiraling its way into World War I. Under the leadership of President Woodrow Wilson, the United States remained neutral, but Germany was already at war with France and England. On May 7, a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania. Russia was mobilizing its armies.
Phillies in the World Series. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Orson Welles, Les Paul, Arthur Miller, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Muddy Waters were all born. Gas prices soared to 25 cents per gallon. Alexander Graham Bell in New York called Thomas Watson in San Francisco on some newfangled device called a telephone.
At home, the U.S. population topped 100 million for the first time. The one millionth Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line at the River Rouge Plant in Detroit. Ty Cobb led major league baseball with a .369 average, while the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia
Meanwhile, as world news dominated the newspaper headlines, a clothing merchant named Ray Smith seized on a new market and began braiding silk fishing lines in a humble storefront in Cortland, New York, a small city in the Finger Lakes region. It was a
“The future of fishing depends on concerted efforts to improve fisheries, recruit new anglers, and create products that help anglers feel the pull of this great sport,” said Randy Brown, president and CEO of Cortland from 2012 until January of 2015. “With this initiative we are dedicating ourselves to another 100 years of conservation, education, and innovation.” Brown also told me that while Cortland is looking to the future, the company has had its share of trouble in the past 15 to 20 years. Cortland hadn’t been updating its manufacturing technology, nor had it been exploring advanced shipping and product-tracking procedures. Industry and mass media relations were largely ignored. Resting on
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NAUTILUS PRO SHOP DATA SHEET
Gorge Fly Shop | www.gorgeflyshop.com Hood River, Oregon LOCATION: YEARS IN BUSINESS: This is our 24th year serving the fly fishing needs of anglers worldwide. WHERE TO FISH NEARBY: Home Rivers are the world famous Deschu tes River ( trout & steelhead ), The J ohn Day River (smallmouth bass ), The Klicki ta t River (trout, steelhead & salmon), the Hood River (steelhead), and much more. BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT: We fish year round for steelhead. Peak Winter Steelhead: J anuary – April, Summer Steelhead: August – November. Within a two hour drive we can pursue steelhead and salmon year round and in a sixty mile radius we have countless lake fishing opportunities for trout. OUR SHOP EMPLOYEES: We’ve put together a team of experienced worldwide anglers /employees who are passionate about the sport and the gear they use and sell. See photo. SMALLEST TROUT EVER CAUGHT BY A CLIENT: OUT OF SEASON: We’re never out of season, we live in a unique area of the world. If you get bored living in the Columbia River Gorge, something’s definitely wrong. FAVORITE NAUTILUS REEL: NV G-9 /10 the ultima te Permit reel, the NV Spey 450 -750 for steelhead Spey fishing and the F WX 5/6 for trout. WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT NAUTILUS REELS?: They’re lightweight, bulletproof, with silky smooth sealed drags and are perfect for traveling the world to any fishing destination. SHOP NAME:
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FEATURE past laurels, treading water, Cortland fell from number one in the fly line business in 1996, to number three, behind Rio and Scientific Anglers.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
The problems can be traced back to the mid-1990s, when Leon Chandler, who joined Cortland in 1940 and led it for almost five decades, decided to step down. Cortland soon became an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). When management had decisions of either reinvesting in equipment, technology, or making upgrades, or to offer a dividend to the employee owners, more often than not a dividend was issued in lieu of reinvestment into the company.
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The company was going into bankruptcy when Brown and a group of investors bought it in 2012 and tried to clean up the balance sheets, streamline the operations, and upgrade aging equipment. The task proved overwhelming, and the company fell into another holding pattern. In time a few of the original investors joined together and bought out the other owners on January 1 of this year. John Wilson, with 25 years of management experience in the construction industry, plus a deepseated love of fly fishing, was brought in as a consultant. Eventually he was asked to lead the company. Wilson, who coached the US Youth fly-fishing team for roughly 10 years, guided on the White River for 20 years, held an FFF Master casting instructor certification and was the all-time leading scorer in ESPN’s great outdoor games, brings a ton of enthusiasm and angling experience to a company that could use it. He recently gave me a quick recap of what happened
at Cortland, and then filled me in on what’s going on now. “When Randy Brown was here, he was fighting day to day to just pay the bills and keep things operating,” Wilson told me. “But it was tough. With no single entity having a controlling interest in the company, Cortland was more or less managed by committee.” In a nutshell, it was difficult to make decisions quickly or implement new strategies.
something that will integrate with shipping, purchasing, manufacturing, and ultimately with our customers. A company needs to be able to track its costs accurately, and the existing software here could do none of that. In fact many of our manufacturing systems were being operated on DOS systems that dated to the 1980s!” “But listen, there are a lot of people who want to see Cortland succeed,” Wilson said. “Cortland literally invented many of the products that are now in daily use by anglers. Cortland has to get back on that horse and become the innovation leader again. I can’t say where we will be in 10 years but it sure won’t be the same place we were yesterday. Our focus is to be a truly innovative company again. In the interim it would be nice to be able to take a day off and go fishing, but that probably isn’t going to happen for a while,” Wilson said with a chuckle. New Products Lead the Way
“But now, with consolidated ownership, Cortland has focus and direction,” Wilson said. “Our directive is to be innovative and profitable. Beyond that, we need to bring new and creative products into the marketplace, something that had not been going on at Cortland for 20 years. We are adding advisory staff almost on a weekly basis now. Every day there are more and more people who want to be part of what is happening here.” Wilson continued. “We had to take drastic action in our product offerings, quality control, and operations. It was pretty much surgery with a chainsaw for a few months. We are just now spending a couple of hundred thousand dollars in rebuilding our accounting software system into
On the new product end of things, Wilson told me that there are some exciting things in the works. To find out more, I contacted Brook Robinson, Public Relations and Social Media Manager. “We have recently released two brand new saltwater fly lines and three new freshwater lines,” Robinson told me. “At the 2015 IFTD show in Orlando, Florida, we released our new Liquid Crystal - Guide taper and our Tropic - All Purpose lines for saltwater. In addition, we came out with the new Finesse Trout II, Big Shot, and Modern Trout lines for freshwater. These new products cover a variety of water types, fish species, tapers, and price points. “We’ve relied heavily on our product advisors and pro team for feedback.
“We are all excited about the future of fly line development, as the company is concentrating on improving manufacturing technologies,” Robinson continued. “We’ve increased our focus on quality and innovation and, with that, we will be able to provide consumers with products that exceed expectations. Over the next few years we plan to release a handful of fly-fishing products, including new backing, leaders, tippets and, of course, fly lines.” A Look Into the Crystal Ball What does the future hold for a 100-yearold company that hit some hard times and is now fighting its way back? “Our intent is to focus on products that are in our core business,” Wilson said, noting that they have eliminated a host of superfluous and non-profitable items. “The plan is to expand from here. Cortland was like a tree that had not been pruned in 30 years. We have pruned back our product offerings to give us room to grow back healthily into our core business.”
1964 – The 444 series is launched. It
1915 – Clothing merchant Ray Smith
has an industry-first, glass-like finish,
starts it all when he begins braiding silk fishing lines. 1932 – Ray Smith patents the first
fly line jackets, allowing it to remain supple in cold conditions.
weight-forward fly lines and brands
1965 – Jack Murray from the Schick
them as “Bug Tapers.” They are
Safety Razor Company becomes
among the first line advances focused
the president of Cortland. Cortland
on improved casting.
launches the first Pro Shop program
1935 – The years of the Great Depression are boom years for Cortland and fishing. Many people have time to fish, which helps feed their families. Cortland grows. 1940 – Leon Chandler joins Cortland
in the fishing industry, allowing only Cortland partners to sell premium products. 1970 – Cortland introduces “Complete Balanced Fly Rod Outfits.” These are the first fishing kits, and
and inspires the company’s commitment
begin to attract more novice anglers
to innovation, conservation, and
to the sport.
education, for nearly five decades.
1979 – With input from baseball (and
1942 – Cortland joins the Allied
fishing) great Ted Williams, Cortland
Forces – using its braiding expertise
engineers and markets the 444 SL
to manufacture the parachute cord
series, which utilizes a harder, more
that dropped troops and supplies into
durable finish, and puts long-distance
Europe and the Pacific during WWII. 1953 – Cortland introduces the 333. With a bonded synthetic surface coating and marketed as unsinkable, the 333 all but ended drying and
targets with reach of average casters. 1993 – Cortland pioneers microscopic textured surfaces to increase flotation and reduce friction.
dressing silk lines.
1998 – Cortland tests hollow-lumen
1959 – Ray Smith retires, selling the
core technology and clear fly lines to
company to Aero Flow Dynamics. 1960 – Leon Chandler leads a group of manufacturers from AFTMA to create
create super hydrophobic, stealthy lines. 2009 – Cortland introduces the PE+ Crystal fly line – the first generation
the first standards for fly lines. They
of the current Liquid Crystal lines.
land on a grain-weight measurement
These lines have a jacket made form
of the first 30 feet of the line, spawning
polyethylene and other co-polymers,
our modern system of matching rod to
and are substantially clearer and
line weight.
higher floating.
1962 – Cortland adopts a new method
2013 – Cortland Line brand relaunches
of tapering fly lines by applying different thicknesses of coating over a straight, braided core. Prior to this, the core itself had been tapered in the braiding process. The new methods
Jay Cassell
and uses the latest technology in
with a new logo, new packaging, and a refocused emphasis on quality fly and sport fishing lines, all directed by a new management team.
allows for a wider variety of tapers and
2015 – John Wilson takes over as CEO
specialty lines.
of Cortland. Happy Birthday!
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
As a lifetime New Yorker, this writer can say that this is music to my ears. It’s good to see an old friend trying to make a comeback.
Cortland Timeline
FEATURE
Guys such as Frank Catino, Paul Dixon, and Bob Jacklin, along with a mix of younger pro team members such as Honson Lau, Willy Le, and Devin Olsen, have all contributed. The effort from our team, with countless hours of field testing, has helped us develop products that enable our fly-fishing teams to set world records and win gold medals in international competitions.
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FEATURE
The Black Box Effect From Bimini to Great Inagua, flats fishing in the Bahamas gets redefined
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Written by Geoff Mueller
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This past June, at the Department of Marine Resources office in Nassau, Oliver White, Prescott Smith, and the Hon. Alfred Gray sat and discussed the media firestorm ignited by proposed regulations for governing the flats flyfishing industry in the Bahamas.
After the consultation, Smith, president of the Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association (BFFIA), and Gray, Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government, suggested that White could reach out to the international press. The North
Carolina-based co-owner of lodges in South Andros and Abaco, said relations could be mended, and that, “The international fly-fishing community—our clients that keep all of us going—are concerned more about the language [of draft regulations] than the intent.”
FEATURE Having been in contact with second homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, magazines, and blogs, White went on to list banning DIY, the subjective nature of a potentially hard-to-get fishing permit, and anti-foreign sentiment toward lodge owners, second home owners, and visiting anglers as pivotal concerns. He suggested sending a press release from the Minster’s office speaking to each point. Three months later, no one’s heard a word from Minister Gray. And the future of the Bahamas flats fisheries, worth more than $140 million in annual revenue according to “The Economic Impact of Flats Fishing in The Bahamas,” a 2010 report prepared by Tony Fedler, Ph.D., remains in limbo. --As an industry and as individual anglers who love and frequent the Bahamas, we scratched our collective heads—then we subsequently lost our minds—when the puzzling draft regulations went public on June 17, 2015. Letters were sent, many bitched via blogs and social media, others blasted BFFIA president Prescott Smith, and we all let it be known that if the draft became law, economic repercussions would be inevitable. Currently, comment periods are closed. The draft is locked up in the bureaucratic process. And the waiting period only ends if and when the Bahamian cabinet sends the bill to parliament for a vote. This fall, perhaps.
And, “Could you imagine a Bahamian visiting the USA decides to hunt and kill the Bald-Headed Eagle [sic]. Imagine a Sovereign country where the national fish is not protected for catch and release.” Although Gray remains silent, the BFFIA that crafted the language did deliver a canned response to Angling Trade. When asked for clarification about DIY and other matters, board member Ge-
“Could you imagine a Bahamian visiting the USA decides to hunt and kill the Bald-Headed Eagle [sic]. Imagine a Sovereign country where the national fish is not protected for catch and release.” neva Wilson wrote that the proposed regs are about “…the best interest of the Bahamian People and generations unborn. This is about protecting and conserving the industry through the empowerment of the locals by its sustainable use so that it is around for a very, very long time for ALL to enjoy! Without laws, we will have chaos!” Moreover the board has chosen, Ms. Wilson added, to limit its responses to facts: “The Bahamas has the largest bonefish flats in the world, the third largest healthy reef system in the world and the largest concentration of mangroves in this side of the world, and it is our intentions to keep it that way. FACT.”
Fair enough. These facts—large and willing bonefish cruising prolific, healthy flats—are relevant and no one, on either side of the spectrum, has argued against conservation. Likewise, Aaron Adams of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) has been vocal on the subjects of conservation and preservation since long before the draft legislation went public. He said the top threats to Bahamas flats fisheries include habitat loss from existing and proposed developments and the illegal harvest/netting of bonefish. BTT has worked across the Bahamas, collaborating with various Bahamian entities such as The Bahamas National Trust and The College of the Bahamas, for years. The goal of BTT’s research has been to produce information about bonefish and their habitats necessary for formulating “effective, comprehensive conservation strategy that focuses on habitat conservation, education, and appropriate regulation.” Despite those efforts, BTT was not consulted during the formation of draft regulations. “The frustrating part,” Adams said, “is that all the work that’s been shared wasn’t taken into consideration for the initial round of proposed regs.” BTT was able to weigh in after the fact, like other stakeholders in the eleventh hour, but Adams said that whether or not they’ve been heard is unclear. In addition to conservation implications, Adams noted that anyone following the saga should pay close attention to the draft’s DIY verbiage. BTT was a partner in putting together the 2010 economic report. And, “It’s interesting, if you look at the study, of the $141 million annual impact flats fishing has, a large portion of that was attributed to DIY anglers,” Adams
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AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
“The problem right now is that everything is in this black box,” White said. “All we know publically was that the draft was so bad and now they’re expecting us to trust they’re going to do the right thing—which is really hard to do.”
Statements from that now infamous piece of electronic scribble include lines such as, “Currently foreigners are only marrying locals to have access to our Natural Resources while they continue to hold on [to] their primary residence in their country with no allegiance to the Bahamas.”
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FEATURE is the top concern for proprietors like Knowles and White. “I’ve had people cancel bookings. I’ve had people say they won’t visit the Bahamas until there’s some resolution there,” White said. “Ultimately, it hits Americans the wrong way to say you can’t do those things. We don’t want to go somewhere we’re unwelcomed, and I’m definitely feeling that sentiment and I’m having those conversations and email interactions daily.”
Could scenes like this be a thing of the past in the Bahamas?
said. In fact, most of that sum was attributed to intrepid DIYers.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
The report stated: “About one-fifth of this impact results from guided flats fishing and the remainder from nonguided anglers. These angling visitors spent nearly $70 million directly in island economies and supported the equivalent of 2,500 full-time jobs from those direct expenditures. Additional jobs can be attributed to the $126 million in value-added impacts associated with direct angler expenditures. Further, flats anglers spend more money per visitor night and total visit than non-anglers. This makes anglers very desirable visitors.”
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For those who own businesses in the Bahamas, fly anglers are indeed desired. Nevin Knowles operates Long Island Bonefishing Lodge on its namesake island. He’s also made his quid in the flats-fishing industry by building a successful operation around
a DIY core. At his lodge, guides transport anglers to productive flats, but they don’t hover over shoulders and call shots. Anglers spot fish, assess the situation, and make the delivery on their own terms—a true hunting experience, Knowles says. Because he and his staff decide where the fishing takes place, however, it’s an “assisted” effort. And thus DIY limitations written into the draft regs would not affect him. Maybe. Regardless, Knowles is a proponent of “unassisted” DIY on Long Island and says he disagrees with the regs as written. “[BFFIA’s] opinion on DIY is all wrong. DIY is someone who goes online, researches flats, and finds them by car or on foot. It’s not someone who uses a guide and steals GPS coordinates. We call that person a ‘poacher.’” At this point, poached business by the BFFIA—more than an influx of flats raiders paddling cloud-camo kayaks—
If lost revenue is the worst case, there is a best case, too. When regulations become law, the Bahamas could trump competing countries like the U.S., Cuba, Mexico, and Belize by becoming the first nation to make bonefish, tarpon, permit, and snook catch and release. It could welcome and reward businesses—both foreignand Bahamian-owned—that create jobs and pump good money into local economies. And it could implement an effectual fishing license system that earmarks appreciated dollars for conservation imperatives. Black boxes, when opened to the light, can offer telling results. Until draft regulations either live as law or die in the process, the fate of the Bahamas flats-fishing industry is one that’s as ambiguous as the current verbiage created to define it. BFFIA: Exclusive Association The Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association (BFFIA) was established as a nonprofit organization in 2012. Comprised of more than 200 guides, lodges, and fishing-related businesses, its stated mission is “to serve as the representative voice of the industry, and provide support services in fulfillment of the social, economic and environmental aspirations of its members.” After the Department of Marine
Resources released controversial draft regulations on June 17, 2015, BFFIA held leadership elections eight days later. On June 25, Prescott Smith, son of legendary guide Charlie Smith, was re-elected as association president. Prescott has since been criticized for orchestrating and advocating draconian legislation that, opponents claim, would negatively target visiting, non-Bahamian anglers and foreign business owners operating in the Bahamas. As the government lobbying voice for the nation’s flats fly-fishing industry, the BFFIA currently stands on one side of a gaping chasm of discontent. Looking across, from the other side, are the active industry participants who received BFFIA demotions, denying them their voting rights, back in June—on the day of Smith’s re-election. Excluded parties include: Bair’s Lodge on South Andros, H20 Bonefishing on Grand Bahama, Swain’s Cay Lodge on Andros, The Delphi Lodge on Abaco, Black Fly Lodge on Abaco, and Cindy Pinder of the Abaco Fly Fishing Guides’ Association. DISTRIBUTION OF FISHING LICENSES: BFFIA recommends that the fishing license fee should be distributed as follows: •
40% Government
•
40% Conservation fund
•
15% Bahamas Development Bank in a special fund to help Bahamians presently in and those interested in getting into the fly-fishing business. Presently a minimum of 70 percent of Bahamians are not able to make their bank payments.
•
5% BFFIA
C O N S E R V AT I O N ( F R E S H W AT E R )
Why Public Lands Transfer is a Terrible Idea lies a terrible reality for the average Joe and outdoor businesses who rely on public lands. Once states have control of these lands, many problematic scenarios could begin to unfold.
Why The Plan to Sell America’s Public Lands is a Slimy, Stupid Threat to The Fishing Industry and Your Business in Particular During the slow grind of last winter, a storm brewed for anglers and angling-reliant businesses. It wasn’t a snowstorm but an ideological push to alter American public lands in numerous, profound ways.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Deep in the halls of legislatures across the West, a considerable handful of state representatives and senators were dreaming up ways to undo a bedrock truth of the American West - that we will always have public lands and waters to fish, hunt and otherwise recreate within – by pushing legislation across nine states that would transfer ownership of public lands to individual states, and eventually open the door to sell off and exploitation.
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These efforts are part of a new so-called “Sage Brush Rebellion,” pushed by those who wish to relieve themselves of regulations that hinder desires to exploit public lands for profit, all at the expense of the average American outdoorsmen. Transfers may seem innocuous on the surface but their underbelly be-
Where will the money come from to manage these hundreds of millions of acres? What about paying for fighting fires? How will states maintain campgrounds, roads and trailheads? What happens when massive development projects are proposed? Do the states have the personnel to handle the huge job of managing these lands? These questions have an inevitable answer. Cash-strapped states would eventually sell some of these newly acquired lands to generate revenue, thus permanently removing public fishing access. The lands they did keep would be subject to fasttracked, royalty-gaining extraction in order to keep up with the accumulating pile of bills for things like firefighting, road maintenance and law enforcement. This could mean degraded water quality, increased erosion and the bevy of problems that accompany hurried development. Currently, most states prioritize revenue generation on state lands, require much less environmental review and accept little or no public input for extractive projects, all while severely limiting public access. Add these details to the bleak scenario the transfer would create for small town economies, guides, shop owners, and anyone else who directly or indirectly rely on public
BY AARON KINDLE
lands to attract their customers, and the situation looks downright dire. All these abhorrent facts mix up into a nasty cocktail none of us wants to drink. Loss of access, loss of business, loss of opportunities, loss of traditions, loss of a fundamental part of being American. It’s a terrible scenario but fortunately it can still be prevented. Angling businesses wield a huge ax. They make incredible economic contributions, they know the lands and waters, and decision makers listen to them. They can cut this transfer movement off at the knees. But they need to get organized, they need to tell their stories and collectively convey the importance of public lands to their livelihoods. Not only will it feel good to protect our angling way of life but it’s also bad business not to do so. Good luck selling gear year after year if the number of places to fish are drastically reduced, guides quit guiding and mom and pop shops who cater to anglers close their doors. So…this is a call to you as an angling business owner. Get together with your fellow industry friends and get on the bus. Write letters, call meetings and raise hell. The transfer movement is the worst idea regarding public lands we may have ever seen and death knell for outdoor businesses. Your business and our greatest American traditions are riding on our success at killing this zebra mussel of an idea. Aaron Kindle is Western Sportsmen’s Campaign Manager for the National Wildlife Federation
C O N S E R V AT I O N ( S A L T W AT E R )
Because Fish Have to Eat
BY CHARLES WITEK
ment of new, or expansion of existing, directed fisheries on unmanaged forage species until adequate scientific information is available to promote ecosystem sustainability.” If such a plan is put in place, it will protect the sand eels, bay anchovies and other small fish that pull up those acres of bass. A few years ago, Peter Kaminsky wrote a book called The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass. It celebrated autumn in Montauk, New York, and the spectacular fly fishing that anglers enjoy when hordes of striped bass and vast shoals of baitfish come together off eastern Long Island. Yet the book’s title is somewhat misleading, for it isn’t the moon, but the baitfish, that pull up the bass. Without those baitfish, the stripers would be eating porgies and blackfish sixty feet down, where even the fastest-sinking fly lines can’t reach them. Kaminsky wrote about Montauk, but everywhere on the coast, baitfish—menhaden and herring, ballyhoo and Spanish sardines—are the key to quality fishing. They not only provide food for the gamefish, but also draw those gamefish up to the surface and into the shallows, where they become readily available to anglers. For many years, the health of baitfish stocks was largely ignored; fisheries managers were far more concerned with species that directly supported lucrative commercial and recreational fisheries. However, such forage fish are finally getting some attention.
A similar plan is being drafted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. It would “prohibit the develop-
Unfortunately, federal managers have no authority in state waters. There, management is wholly dependent upon the states and on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which usually act much less decisively. ASMFC has long tried to manage menhaden. Author Bruce Franklin called menhaden “the most important fish in the sea” because it serves as forage for a host of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. However, menhaden also support an industrial fishery that converts its oily flesh into everything from chicken feed to lubricants. Omega Protein, the last remaining menhaden processor on the East Coast, is fighting every effort to implement management measures that give deference to the species’ ecological role. The law firm of Kelley Drye & Warren LLC, which represents Omega in regulatory matters, has tried hard to roil the waters, publicly stating that “Environmentalists are using forage fish issues both as a wedge to divide fishermen and a club to force managers to reduce fishing,” and arguing that “Placing undue emphasis on forage species actually represents the antithesis of the true ecosystem approach [to fisheries management].” The firm has even sug-
Such suggestion clearly ignores the fact that predators were doing just fine for untold millennia before Kelley Drye’s clients showed up to protect them from their food… A recent paper entitled “The paradox of the pelagics: why bluefin tuna can go hungry in a sea of plenty” appeared in the Inter-Research Marine Ecology Project Series in May 2015. It illustrated another facet of the forage fish issue. The paper explained that bluefin tuna prefer to feed on Atlantic herring. Not all herring will do; bluefin must feed on big herring in order to build up the fat reserves needed to sustain them on their long migration to southern spawning grounds. In recent decades, possibly due to fishing, herring have been abundant but small. As a result, bluefin can’t put on needed fat, and reach their spawning grounds in poor physical condition. The stressed tuna produce fewer eggs and fewer offspring than do betterfed fish. Thus, the shortage of suitable forage may help to explain why, despite decades of effort, managers have been unable to restore bluefin abundance to its 1979 level. Congress is now considering reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which governs all fishing in federal waters. Members of the fly-fishing industry should be doing their best to have the law amended to assure the health of forage fish stocks. For saltwater fly fishing isn’t very much fun without abundant, accessible gamefish. And we won’t have abundant, accessible gamefish unless they have enough to eat.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s “Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Amendment 1” will protect unfished and unmanaged forage species. It should help to ensure plenty of food for steelhead and salmon during their years out at sea.
The Mid-Atlantic and New England fishery management councils are also taking steps to reduce the incidental catch of forage fish. To that end, the Mid-Atlantic council has already adopted regulations that would shut down the mackerel fishery at any time that too many river herring die in its nets.
gested that an abundance of forage fish can harm predator populations, as the purported prey devours such predators’ eggs and young.
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FEATURE
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Do Native Trout Pay? 30
Native trout. Think of them as living gems. Rare. Beautiful. Found only in remote corners of the globe. Coveted? Perhaps. Written by Tom Reed
FEATURE Many native trout have either been completely wiped out of their home range or are hanging on in tiny disconnected headwaters streams where once they teemed. Gone are the bull trout of California’s Sierra Nevada and the Yellowfin cutthroat that swam streams in the Colorado Rockies, for example. According to a recently released report from Trout Unlimited called “State of the Trout,” pure native trout subspecies are clinging to thin threads of water and their very existence is in question in many places around the country. The threats are many, from genetic adulteration, to predation, to pollution, to drought, to the drying up of streams for the many needs of mankind. Native trout have been hit hard. Nationwide, most native trout occupy less than half of their historic range. The picture is much grimmer for others.
Greenback cutthroat on Colorado’s Front Range are found in hatcheries and may inhabit less than one percent of their former range. Gila trout in New Mexico occupy less than five percent of their range and wildfire in the Gila Mountains near Silver City in recent years almost rubbed them out entirely. Drought threatens their return. Yet there are bright stories. Many states have robust native trout reintroduction programs and passionate TU members and others to volunteer. Montana has put Westslope cutthroat back across its home range in the headwaters of the Madison, the Big Hole and the Beaverhead, among others. Wyoming has re-established Colorado River cutthroat in streams where they haven’t swam in decades. Things are slowly turning around for some natives and holding steady for others.
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But do anglers really care? And, for an outfitter or guide, do native trout fisheries help pay the rent? In Wyoming, people care. Fishermen come to the state every year to attempt to catch what the Wyoming Game and Fish Department calls the Cutt-Slam. Envisioned in the mid-1990s by fisheries biologist, the late Ron Remmick, the Cutt-Slam is a way to educate and excite anglers about the state’s cutthroat natives. It was invented by appealing to the “collector” in human nature, be it baseball cards or the four species of wild North American sheep. Four subspecies of native cutthroat trout swim in the Cowboy State and the idea was to put anglers into their home waters in pursuit, and raise the profile among the fishing public about the outstanding
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FEATURE adventure that is native trout fishing. Catch one of each of the four—Yellowstone, Snake River fine-spotted, Bonneville and Colorado River—and the angler would get his or her name in the books and a nice certificate signed by the chief of fisheries for the state. “There have been people who have told me they wouldn’t have even come to Wyoming if it weren’t for the CuttSlam,” said Al Langston, a department spokesman who has tallied nearly 1,500 anglers who have achieved the distinction. The requirement of the program is a picture of the angler with the fish, in the native range. One of the keys, said Langston was the latter requirement. “We can’t qualify people who catch Yellowstone cutthroat where they weren’t native, like some of the high lakes in the Wind River Range,” said Langston. For many years, Yellowstone cutthroat were the “native” trout that were stocked in lakes from New Mexico to Montana and everywhere else.
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
So popular is Wyoming’s program that several outfitters have jumped out with their own opportunities for anglers. At the Two Rivers Emporium in Pinedale, Wyoming, it’s a way for Mike Kaul to diversify his business. “Every summer we have some people come out and try to catch the Cutt-Slam,” said Kaul. “We probably do six or more trips every year.”
32
Three of the subspecies swim in the Wyoming Range west of Pinedale, but the fourth, the Yellowstone, is farther to the north near Cody. “So I trade trips up there with Tim Wade (North Fork Anglers) and he sends me people to catch Bonnevilles or Colorado River cutthroats down here. It’s not a huge part of our business, but it does help and it also helps call attention to the plight of the cutthroat. They’ve survived for thousands of years and it’s pretty unique to catch them.”
But native trout aren’t just a western thing. In Maine, Shannon Leroy’s Appalachian Mountain Club Wilderness Lodge caters specifically to fishermen who want to catch native brook trout in waters nearby. “We provide access for people to remote ponds. They can go on their own, but we do guided trips as well. People want to catch wild native brook trout and there’s very few places they can do that. It is a significant part of our business.” In Alaska, Nanci Morris Lyon, of Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge, stated the importance of native salmonids even more strongly. “Without our native fish, it wouldn’t even pay to operate,” said Lyon. The lodge runs clients on native rainbow trout, char, Chinook, sockeye, grayling and Dolly Varden. “Big, native fish are absolutely the reason people come here.” Go south several thousand miles to New Mexico and Noah Parker at Land of Enchantment Guides dedicates a bit of his business to anglers who might want to set the hook on a Rio Grande cutthroat in its home water. “Most people just want to fish, but every now and then we’ll get someone who wants to catch a Rio Grande cutt. We make sure they know what they’re getting into.” Parker said that most of the Rio Grande streams are remote, very physically demanding, and tough to fish—which probably explains why the subspecies has survived, although TU estimates it only occupies about ten percent of its historic habitat. “They aren’t very big, maybe only twelve to fourteen inches, but what I find with clients is that they really enjoy the scenery, getting into these beautiful places, and when they catch one, they have something really special. I’d like to see more Rio Grande cutthroat in more streams. I’m really worried about our native fish.”
Outfitter Tim Linehan operates out of one of the remotest corners on earth in the Yaak Valley of Montana. From there, he takes clients out to fish for native rainbow trout and Westslope cutthroat. “Our native fish are important,” said Linehan. “They are a big part of our business and people really enjoy coming to this beautiful country and catching them.” For outfitters and fishing businesses around the country, the fisherman targeting native species in their home range is a good fisherman. Langston remembered one man from Czechoslovakia who was in Jackson, Wyoming, competing in a fly fishing championship who took time to catch the Cutt-Slam because he’d heard about the cutthroat trout in the state. As with any guide, taking a person outdoors who is competent to begin with can be a joy and less about teaching and more about just enjoying the experience and the activity. “We just find a lot of people who have maybe done a float trip with us and are good fishermen and then they want to go up into the Wyoming Range and fish for a cutthroat,” said Kaul. “And it works the other way too, they’ll come for the cutthroat and then maybe come back and fish for big browns with us on the New Fork or the Green.” Anglers targeting native trout also tend to have a strong conservation ethic and are interested in the fish and its continued health, said Linehan. “It’s really rewarding to guide that kind of person.” Tom Reed’s most recent book is Blue Lines, A Fishing Life, from Riverbend Publishing. He lives outside Pony, Montana.
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FEATURE
RECRUITING NEW ANGLERS...
WHO CARES? Written by Marshall Bissett
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
Introducing new people to the sport of fly fishing prompts the question – who cares enough to do it? With water levels and trout populations shrinking faster than a cheap T-shirt, what angler really wants to share his home water? A glance at the launch ramp on the Green River in high season could make you wish that your fellow man had chosen golf or tennis. The motto might as well be ‘one is company and more is a crowd.’ Well, that kind of selfish anti-social thinking is just plain bad for business and fly fishing has evolved, however reluctantly, into a business with survival issues.
34
FEATURE Just when you thought our biggest problem was leaking waders, it turns out the fishing industry has a case of leaking bucket. The graphic analysts’ term compares the industry’s attrition and attraction ratio to a bucket where you add water at about the same rate it leaks from the bottom. In a sport where the median age is 50+, the leaking part can be explained by loss of physical ability, inclination or, in extremis, death. The real worry is the lack of fresh water being poured in. The fishing business may be living proof of the business school adage, “If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking.” A 2014 survey of the sport of angling estimated that 15.8% of the US population or 46 million Americans fish. This number includes 8.7 million new or returning anglers but also reports 9.2 million leaving the sport. The leaky bucket at work – 1.2 million fishermen made their final cast, the first time since 2010 that the sport has lost participants. Fly fishing represents only 5.9 million (depending on whom you ask) of the total angling population – a number that has remained consistent since 2009. In 1989, two million California residents held fishing licenses – by 2012 that number had declined to 900,000.
THE VIEW FROM UPSTREAM It’s easy to see why many manufacturers have all but given up on recruiting. You can pitch the sport to newcomers but you can’t buy brand loyalty. The new consumer can roam the big box stores, EBAY or
So let’s look at who is waiting for the next movie and who is reaching out to the millions of consumers. You may find the answers surprising. the discount sites. There he will find gear at a reasonable price that will probably catch fish. Many manufacturers offer entry-level pricing, others cater to the converted hoping for repeat business. Some are guilty of ‘creeping featurism’ so cherished by the auto and electronics industries, where each new model boasts only a tiny improvement on its ‘outdated’ predecessor. If the goal is brand loyalty, the advantage would seem to favor companies who can offer everything from waders to tippet. Marc Bale, international marketing director for Far West (Sage Redington and RIO) remembers a time when his company was more actively involved in recruiting. “We had
Randy Swisher on staff and ran forty or fifty schools across the country in partnership with fly shops,” recalls Bale, “we had a syllabus, a certification program and we reached 15002000 new people a year.” About ten years ago the company stopped this program, largely on the grounds of expense, to pursue another tactic which Bale calls ‘second-tier promoting.’ “We provide equipment for fly shop open days, clubs and to a growing cadre of individual instructors – the best we can do is be ready when new people wander into our sport – everything else, including consumer trade shows, is too expensive,” adds Bale. He also laments some lost opportunity and the failure of fly fishing to take advantage of the groundswell of interest from A River Runs Through It. “Let’s guess that a million people saw the movie and bought gear – most of them are no longer in the pool of buyers,” says Bale. “I look at my own nineteenyear-old daughter and her friends– it would take a lot of money to get them into our sport,” laughs Bale. Tim Rajeff (Airflo lines and Echo rods), despite his youthful demeanor, has been around long enough to have seen every marketing cast and false cast to the equipment buying public. “It’s a mentoring sport – you get into it through your parents or your friends – that’s where the new blood is.” says Rajeff. Not a big advocate of industry trade shows, he prefers to get his rods in the hands of guides across the country and let them spread the word. He projects an energetic youth driven “bro” profile on his website and in social media – being a casting hero doesn’t hurt.
continued on next page...
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
So surely recruitment is the number one priority at the top of the food chain – the manufacturers and their main customers, the fly shops. They must be locked in step moving forward with a plan to reach the millions of new customers out there. That grand plan, if everyone could agree on one, could be a costly energy-draining experiment without a happy ending. Competition in the leisure market is fearsome - it’s a war zone out there in consumer world, not helped by rising travel costs and static family incomes. Worse still, with the exception of the
Bass Pro Circuit, we are an industry not noted for its outreach skills. A few companies have MBA’s in their corner offices but at heart it’s the very definition of mom and pop – smaller fly shops with revenues south of a million dollars. So let’s look at who is waiting for the next movie and who is reaching out to the millions of consumers. You may find the answers surprising.
35
FEATURE In the alpha dog pound it’s hard to ignore ORVIS, their fly-fishing 101 program and their irrepressible spokesperson “Hutch” Hutchinson. Because of the success of 101 (a program that teaches fly fishing in partnership with your local fly shop or ORVIS outlet) he is a vocal critic of those who do not jump on board. “It is amazing to me that more fly shops do not get behind ORVIS 101 – I have to twist arms to get shops interested – it’s really the only game in town for attracting and training new anglers.” While it’s hard to get metrics on 101 graduates, their ongoing buying patterns or loyalty to ORVIS, the program has its staunch supporters. THE CELEBRITY FACTOR “Who’ll be my role-model now that my role-model is gone?” sang Paul Simon. He could be commenting on the lack of star power on the casting platforms at trade shows. Once we hung on every word from Lefty, Joan, Mel and Chico, binge-watching their grainy VHS tapes, analyzing the power snap and the speed up and stop till our families started to worry. Hero-worship and sports are joined at the hip. If you don’t believe that take a look at golf or tennis. Will the new casting heroes please step out from YouTube and get back on the pond to wow a new generation? Will the manufacturers please keep supporting heroes?
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
THE FLY SHOPS – ON THE FRONT LINES
36
David Leinweber, owner of Anglers Covey in Colorado Springs, is a keen observer of business trends and a very funny guy. He quips, “Fly shops are not very mature – a lot of times they are owned by guides who married well.” Calling it “the best and only game in town,” he credits ORVIS 101 with
a huge jump in his business. “I got tired of waiting for AFFTA to come up with a recruiting plan and started to ask questions on the street in my community. Almost everyone says (of fly fishing) – ‘I would really like to try that’ – from there you have to identify and break down the barriers that get in the way.” The barriers are no surprise to anyone; fly fishing is difficult and complicated, fly fishing is expensive. Enter ORVIS 101. “We run the program from April thru September and get up to 400 new anglers into the store. We promote the heck out of it on social media and the benefits far outweigh the costs. These are new guys (and increasingly females) mostly in the 18-30 age range, not the usual Club people who are always looking for a deal.” He believes that the job of recruiting, in the absence of help from national organizations and manufacturers, rests squarely on the shoulders of fly shops. Ah, the fly shops. It’s hardly news that many of them are struggling to keep the doors open. On any given day,
“Who’ll be my rolemodel now that my role-model is gone?” their enemy is EBAY, the economy, the drought, themselves – choose your poison. My local shop is not taking it on the chin. They have in-house casting and tying classes and a huge well run Expo the rival of any large local consumer show. Like other fly shops they believe that education by a slow immersion into the ‘total experience’ works better than a straight sell on hardware. The rod that passes the vigorous shake test in the store often winds up in the closet.
THE USUAL SUSPECTS – WOMEN, YOUTH AND MINORITIES We would all like a dollar for every earnest statement about attracting these groups to our sport. It would be easy to demonize the millennials as hoodie-wearing, electronics-obsessed indoor dwellers if it were not that other sports have done a much better job of tweaking their interest and getting their business. In the past fourteen years (long before Hunger Games) archery has enrolled 11 million kids in its schools programs. Skateboarding, snowboarding and mountain biking are all on the rise while fishing languishes at the bottom of the class next to chess and stamp collecting. Hutch Hutchinson, Western regional sales manager of ORVIS thinks we should adopt the C word – C for competition. “Imagine if you could get a whole generation of kids into fly-casting competitions, like they have for archery - that would make a difference.” He may be right – his Velcro-based fly-casting target is a huge hit at every show. As British angler Charles Jardine sees it, “Competitive Angling…like it or loathe it- most fall into the latter category, has been the tinder to the embers of fly fishing in the UK.” Another theory holds that today’s youth are simply not ‘joiners’ - they don’t join Clubs or organizations where shades of grey refers to hair color. THE NON-PROFITS - SIZE MATTERS The 5.9 million fly fishermen in North America are well represented by nonprofits; underfunded and understaffed, they often carry a two-weight when they need a twelve-weight. Much of their energy goes to increasing the size of their membership and their lobbying clout. As recruiters they have mixed results.
Dana Cole and his daughter Katie
and clubs) to really make that hap-
had the novel idea of bringing fly fish-
pen,” said Michael Schweit, president
ing into high schools. NFSP (National
of the International Federation of Fly
Fishing in Schools) works with local
Fishers Southwest Council.
education boards offering a fly-fishing program that is part of the high school syllabus. For a fee, they will set up a three-year accredited school program, including the training of teachers and provision of materials. “With our last survey, 2015, we
AFFTA’s mission is to promote ‘the sustained growth of the fly-fishing industry’ and it does this through the revenue stream of the IFTD trade show. “Last year through TU National we funded the Five Rivers program to get college students into fly fish-
estimate 65,000 students have gone
ing,” reports Chairman Ben Bulis,
through the program and 75 more
“this is the new era of consumer.” In
schools have applied and are await-
general Bulis is buoyant about the
ing funding,” says Cole. The manu-
future. “Retail orders are up and the
facturers and chapters of TU have all
manufacturers are pretty pleased,” he
pitched in but these extra-curricular
added.
elective programs run on hard cash. “What we really need is one or more
IT’S ALL UPSIDE DOWN
nationwide companies or groups to
It’s an irony that groups with the least
become long-term partners, with the
to gain from attracting new anglers to
ability to provide financial support
the sport are often its most active re-
for a given number of schools each
cruiters. Those with no financial stake
year,” says Cole.
have become the new evangelists.
Jessica Strickland is the dynamic California coordinator for Trout Unlimited. Working with local guides, TU runs three day kids’ summer trout camps. “Apart from the kids’ camps we tend to supplement other programs like Wounded Warriors or Casting for Recovery.” The IFFF is another supporting player, ready to jump in and help the new angler after he has pulled on
Multiple Models/Mats
AWARD WINNING INNOVATION:
The drive to grow the numbers in our sport has shifted from the manufacturers at the top to the clubs and individuals at the bottom of the food chain. It’s a worry that most clubs are not ready for the new responsibility. As the president of a fly-fishing club, I live with leaky bucket syndrome and I know others who face extinction – out of ideas and youthful energy, they have what Jim Harrison calls ‘a dwin-
his first pair of waders.
dling portfolio of enthusiasm.’ Their
“Bringing new people into the sport
reward may be in heaven where the
is expensive and time-consuming
Makers of the fly box everyone is talking about: featuring The Original Slit-Silicone Insert
hatch is on and the drought is over.
and, since we don’t sell equipment,
In the tiny fly-fishing community ‘why
we can only recover these costs
can’t we all get along’ is the theme
through membership dues and fun-
song. One insider summed it up, “Peo-
draising activities There needs to be
ple in our industry need to set their
program coordination between indus-
egos aside and start working together
try and the non-profits (IFFF, Councils
to reach a common goal.”
Find out what everyone’s talking about Call to learn more. Discover what is coming next and be sure to stock up for the holidays.
Telephone : 801-803-2667 sales@tackyflyfishing.com
B AC K C A S T
To devotees of regular old fly fish-
Chouinard, as he’s done through
ing, tenkara can seem like a step
much of his career, has chosen to
backward. It comes equipped with
swim against the mainstream with
stories of pitching rods into rivers
tenkara. But he still fishes for British
after hooking large Atlantic salmon.
Columbia steelhead with a two-
It mocks matching the hatch with
hander and has caught fish with a
generic softhackles designed to
standard double-haul across the
“tease” a response rather than tempt
globe. But in potato country, on the
a rumbling trout stomach. And the
brink of fall, the 70-something-year-
only way to do it right is to mas-
old is most content standing in the
ter the “twitch”—an ever so slight bouncing of the rod tip that activates
AnglingTrade.com | October 2015
LET HIS PEOPLE GO TENKARA-ING
38
your flies and drives fish nuts. But what’s even more nuts is that it all works.
river, smiling like a little boy, and twitching a tenkara rod for wild trout. He doesn’t seem bored. In addition to fish, tenkara is catching a niche group of fishers. So far
Written by Geoff Mueller
Tenkara, even in the hands of begin-
Patagonia has moved about 10,000
ners and kids, is a legitimate fish-
of its Temple Fork Outfitters-made
Those who slumber in the nether regions of their hatchbacks and emerge early to fish through their golden years are entitled to opinions. And if their name is Yvon Chouinard, they tend to have a few of them. The green business proponent and Patagonia clothing brand founder has outspoken views on everything from cooking practices to consumer habits to fly-fishing processes. His feeling on the latter is that tenkara is the answer—and that we all ought to try it.
catching tool. Moreover, when kids
units. Expanding beyond direct
catch fish, they tend to fall in love
sales, last season the rods became
with fishing. New fishing recruits
available to all Patagonia fishing ac-
could become fly-shop customers.
counts. And as of this past summer’s
And, having been lured in by ten-
Outdoor Retailer show, Patagonia
kara, buying a 9-foot 5-weight and a
global sales manager Mark Har-
pair of waders for future endeavors is
baugh says tenkara outfits are now
not out of the question.
offered to all Patagonia’s outdoor
During a recent trip to eastern Idaho, Chouinard crawled out of his sleeping bag, walked into a room of groggy journalists, and spelled it out: “Limiting your ingredients,” he said, as if reciting ancient proverbs, “forces one to be creative.” And with a collapsible rod and a softhacklefilled fly box by his side, he went on to explain the virtues of simple fly fishing—which is also, no coincidence, the title of his latest book coauthored by Craig Mathews and Mauro Mazzo.
Tools, however, are also utilitarian by nature. Before tenkara reached the U.S. it was used as a means to put protein on plates. It wasn’t necessarily a pastime. So when you
dealers. Portions of rod sales have gone to the Madison River Foundation—earmarked for the O’Dell Creek restoration—and The Yellowstone Park Foundation—earmarked
catch 30 fish on your first tenkara
for fisheries research.
outing, you wonder if it has legs
As someone who likes to cast farther
in the hands of the everyday challenge-loving outdoorsperson: The same girl who became enamored with skiing after years of progressing from the snowplow to pointing them parallel off a cornice. Or the same guy who built strength and learned climbing essentials in a gym before even thinking about tackling El Capitan. Does an activity that
than need be and who collects fishing gear like a deranged hoarder, I’m an admitted skeptic. But it’s hard to argue tenkara’s potential to open up accessibility. For a sport limited by what can be seen as rigid entry requirements, tenkara strips it down and makes catching fish—still with a fly—stupidly simple.
takes a day or two to master—like
Bottom line, fish how you want and
tenkara—become boring?
do it often.
ICAST/IFTD 2016 is coming. Don’t wait until it’s too late. (Book your booth space now.)
TM
Moving fish forward. Orlando, Florida • July 12-15, 2016 • www.affta.org For exhibit space information please contact: Ben Bulis • 406-522-1556 • ben@affta.org
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