Angling Trade Issue #21

®

Inside the

2012 SHOW Issue

Twenty Years After “The Movie”/Selling Flies/ Cabela’s Teaches/Carp Tournaments/The Complete Fly Fishing Writer/Social Media Marketing/IFTD Schedule/Where to Eat in Reno/and More August 2012 AnglingTrade.com

CONTENTS

®

Features

Departments

Editor

32 Like Me, Friend Me,

6 Editor’s Column

Managing Editor

more than social purposes... but you have to know what you’re doing if you want to be more than “friends” with Internet anglers.

All Business. Nostalgia, tradition, and love of fly fishing are not enough to drive a company anymore. But does the new business environment mean every person for himself/herself? By Kirk Deeter

Buy Me How Facebook can be used for

By Geoff Mueller

8 Currents

36 A River Ran Through It

Tara Brouwer tara@shovelcreative.com shovelcreative.com

38 Reno Dining

Contributing Editors

Where to eat if you’re going to IFTD.

Geoff Mueller Copy Editors

Mabon Childs, Sarah Deeter

Tom Bie Ben Romans Steven B. Schweitzer Contributors

Jay Cassell, Sarah Deeter, Lance Gray, Ben Romans, Chris Santella Photos unless noted by Tim Romano

44 The Complete Angling

Writer Do you dream of joining the ranks

Magazines, e-zines, blogs, websites... it’s good to contribute words and photographs, maybe even make a little money in the process. But let’s play by some ground rules. By Ben Romans

Art Director

Editor-at-Large

By Chris Santella

48 Playing By the Rules

Tim Romano tim@anglingtrade.com

The latest people, product and issues news from the North American fly fishing industry, including environment/ conservation issues, and highlights of the upcoming IFTD trade show in Reno.

It’s now been a full 20 years since “the movie” changed fly fishing. We take a look back with industry types to gauge the film’s real downstream impact, and whether there will ever be another phenomenon quite like it.

of fly fishing’s literary elite? It takes more than mastering the roll cast and loving the river. Here is what the greatest writers and editors in the world have to say about the craft. By Jay Cassell

Kirk Deeter kirk@anglingtrade.com

42 Q&A: Cabela’s Fly Fishing University

Our man conducts a one-on-one interview with Jeff Wagner, who helped create a curriculum of fly fishing for the “world’s foremost outfitter.” What’s the plan, and can it help everyone? By Steven B. Schweitzer

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. Advertising Contact: Tim Romano Telephone: 303-495-3967

54 Fly Sales Connecting the bug bin

Fax: 303-495-2454 tim@anglingtrade.com

with the cash bin. By Lance Gray

60 Backcast

By Geoff Mueller

Street Address: 3055 24th Street Boulder, CO 80304 AnglingTrade.com

3

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Fake media dupes manufacturers out of product... but does that underscore a deeper issue? Where’s the credibility?

Mail Address: PO Box 17487 Boulder, CO 80308

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CONTRIBUTORS

Jay Cassell is the editorial director of Skyhorse Publishing, and he brings the sharpest “been there, done that” perspectives on angling writing possible. Jay has had a direct hand in producing many of the most successful fly fishing titles, and he earned a lifetime “Excellence in Craft” award from the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

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Sarah Deeter may not be the editor-in-chief of this magazine, but make no mistake, she is “the boss.” Having been married to AT editor Kirk Deeter for the past 23 years, she has also been a fly angler longer than Kirk has... he took up the sport to earn her family’s favor.

Lance Gray owns Lance Gray & Company, a Willow, California-based guide service. He also conducts schools on everything from bass to steelhead. In this, his third contribution to Angling Trade, he dives into an issue he’s seen from all sides... the science of marketing flies.

Ben Romans is a long-time industry insider having worked as an editor with Fly Fisherman and The Flyfish Journal. His stories appear regularly in Angling Trade, The Drake and elsewhere. He is also the author of Montana’s Best Fly Fishing.

Chris Santella is the author of the acclaimed “Fifty Places” book series on everything from fly fishing to golf. He’s also writing columns on fly fishing for The New York Times. His stories have appeared in pretty much all of the fly fishing magazines, and we’re happy to say that regularly includes Angling Trade.

Steven B. Schweitzer is Angling Trade’s investigative man (and a contributing editor); in this issue he offers a Q&A with Jeff Wagner (another frequent AT contributor) on Cabela’s fly fishing education campaign. Many of you also recognize Steve as the author of A Fly Fishing Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park.

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EDITOR’S COLUMN

Business First

But it all comes down to putting business first. Not nostalgia.

I recently fished on my local river with a shop owner who is up 70 percent this year, across the board. Is that the economy turning? Is it smart practice? Probably both. One thing I know is that it has nothing to do with loving a hobby.

Now, having said that, it’s important to point out that smart business doesn’t mean “every man for himself, and stick it to your loyal partners when you have to.”

I went into Ray Schmidt’s shop the other day in Michigan, and he said that this industry is more fragmented and cutthroat than he’s ever seen it… since 1976.

That’s sad, because smart business also has to involve solid relationships that will be there 10 years from now.

I think it’s fair to assume that most of the people who read this column in Angling Trade magazine are involved with the fly fishing business at least partly because they have an inherent, personal passion for chasing fish with flies and a long rod. I’m certainly guilty as charged. The reason I’m here in the first place is because I love fly fishing.

But as much as I admire the traditions, the culture, and all the intangibles that make fly fishing what it is, I think it’s time that we all face some simple facts.

By way of preface, soon after I wrote a column where I wondered aloud who would step up and dictate the future of this sport, I received a heart-felt, eloquent note that said I should accept the fact that this is a “hobbyist” industry, and leave well enough alone.

That’s hogwash.

This is a business. The sooner we clue into that, the better off we’ll be.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Direct sales by manufacturers? It is what it is. In some cases, it only makes sense. In others, it’s business suicide. Retailers will decide which is which.

Big boxes? They’re here, and they’re growing. Deal with it.

Imports and short margins are judgment calls to be made by individual retailers.

Is AFFTA relevant? Yes it is. This industry needs a flyfocused trade organization (and I’ve been a vocal critic in the past). Without a fly-specific trade group, we’re all flapping in the wind.

6

At present, we’re stuck with tough questions, like, if manufacturers have to sacrifice the “old school” business to make the “new school” shop across the street triple in sales, is that really a bad thing, so long as the product lands in the hands of newbies, and the sport presumably grows as a result?

If a manufacturer sells direct, but in turn, lights up a series of regional retailers through a referral program (minus sales tax and shipping concerns), is that a bad thing?

If an established company shuts down online sales opportunities that help retailers dump old inventory, but opens up another major online outlet in the process, is that a foul?

In the paid media context, should we really care if some basement blogger isn’t getting his pound of flesh when the audience numbers don’t add up? Should we care if another amateur movie maven can’t make that film?

I hope the picture starts clearing up soon.

Show me a writer who happens to fish, not a fisher who wants to write. Show me a retailer who loves fly, and not a fly fisher who wants to play retail. Show me a company that makes things that offer significant value, instead of trying the next marketing trick to sell junk.

And for the record, show me a trade organization that exists to grow the sport, and not a collection of manufacturers that feel obligated to have a trade group. Recent efforts, like the fishing in schools initiative, suggest that the worm is turning. But in a cohesive, collaborative, strategic business context, we all still have a very long way to go. at Kirk Deeter Editor, Angling Trade

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Wednesday – August 15th

Currents We’ll see you in Reno. Here’s the schedule of events for the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, including what should prove to be some very timely, interesting sessions.

Congratulations to AFFTA for a wellplanned slate of events. Angling Trade will report the highlights online and in our E-newsletters from the show.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Retailer Business Seminar with Robbie Brown Thursday – August 16th 8:00 a.m. – Show floor opens for exhibitors and sales reps.

9:00 a.m. – IFTD Show opens.

10:00 a.m. – National Fly Fishing in Schools Program Roundtable (Meeting Room A1) 11:00 a.m. – AFFTA Fly Fishing Industry Survey Data and Results Rob Southwick (AFFTA Event Zone)

August 16-18, Reno, NV

12:00 p.m. – Sales Rep Roundtable (Meeting Room A1) 1:00 p.m. – Pond Hog Hero Fly Casting Competition (Pond 1)

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2012 International Fly Tackle Dealer Show Schedule

2:00 p.m. – 20 Fantastic Sales Ideas and Concepts for Retailers (AFFTA Event Zone) 3:00 p.m. – New Fly Rod Trends for the Future (AFFTA Event Zone) 4:00 p.m. – The Direct Sales Trend and What it Means for the Future (AFFTA Event Zone) 5:00 p.m. – Retailer Roundtable (Meeting Room A1) 6:00 p.m. – IFTD Show closes.

7:30 p.m. – 7th Annual Drake Fly Fishing Video Awards (Grand Ballroom, Atlantis Hotel) Bar opens at 7:30; awards begin at 8:00.

Friday – August 17th 8:00 a.m. – Show floor opens for exhibitors and sales reps only.

9:00 a.m. – IFTD Show opens.

10:00 a.m. – Fly Lines/Spey Lines 101 (AFFTA Event Zone) 10:00 a.m. – River Access Issues/ Updates in the US (Meeting Room A1) 11:00 a.m. – AFFTA’s Relevance Moving Forward (AFFTA Event Zone) 12:00 p.m. – eBay 101 (AFFTA Event Zone) 1:00 p.m. – Iron Fly Tyer (AFFTA Event Zone)

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

2:00 p.m. – Tenkara Fly Fishing: The New Rage in the US (Casting Pond 2) 3:00 p.m. – AFFTA Fly Fishing Survey Data and Results - Rob Southwick (AFFTA Event Zone)

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3:00 p.m. – Why Your Business Could Benefit from a POS System (Meeting Room A1) continued on next page...

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3:00 pm – Tenkara Fly Fishing: The New Rage in the US (Casting Pond 2)

America is recognized globally as the leader in outdoor recreation.

CEOs from leading outdoor recreation companies are calling on policymakers to take action to promote this critical component of For many of us, that doesn’t come as much the American economy. of a surprise. For others, it might come as good news.

“As a horizontal industry in a vertical nation, outdoor recreation is often But here’s the real deal: None of it will overlooked,” said Manzer. “However, matter if we, as an industry squander the opportunity to leverage this for effect, outdoor recreation directly fuels major especially in an election year. We can rest sectors of the American economy assured that oil and gas developers, mine like manufacturing, hospitality and transportation. Just like any other interests, and others will work long and sector of the U.S. economy, outdoor hard to trumpet the economic values of recreation needs support to continue their special interests. to thrive.” For a full copy of the We have the tools to enter the dialogue, report, please visit outdoorindustry. maybe even carry the day on behalf of org/recreationeconomy wild resources, public lands, and other things that support the fly fishing industry. -K. Deeter But we have to do just that—make it St. Croix Imperials Staying an ongoing dialogue, and not merely American background noise.

Bucking the This new study reinforces what the current rod outdoor industry has known for a long manufacturing time — outdoor recreation is a larger trend, and more critical sector of the American St. Croix economy than most people realize, announced that its best-selling line as the outdoor recreation economy is of Imperial fly rods never made responsible for: the planned transition from U.S. to Mexican manufacturing… and they • 6.1 million direct American jobs won’t be doing so any time soon.

• $646 billion in direct consumer spending

4:00 p.m. – IFTD Show closes.

• $39.9 billion in federal tax revenue

Issues

• $39.7 billion in state/local tax revenue

4:00 p.m. – The Role of the Specialty Retailer for the Future (AFFTA Event Zone) 5:00 p.m. – IFTD Show closes.

AFFTA Party at the Pond including Best of Show awards, announcement of 2013 IFTD, and a Pebble Mine presentation.

6:00 p.m. – Patagonia Party on the Truckee River Saturday – August 18th 8:00 a.m. – Show floor opens for exhibitors and sales reps only.

9:00 a.m. – IFTD Show opens.

10:00 a.m. – Marketing and Building your Guide and Outfitting Business (AFFTA Event Zone) 11:00 a.m. – Discounting to Fly Fishing Clubs: Good or Bad for the Industry? (AFFTA Event Zone) 12:00 p.m. – Media/Blogger Roundtable (Meeting Room A1) 1:00 p.m. – Women in Fly Fishing Roundtable (Meeting Room A1) 2:00 p.m. – Wader Technology: What the Future Holds (AFFTA Event Zone)

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

OIA Report Underscores the Real Value of Outdoor Recreation… (But We Need to Leverage That) A report released recently by the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) shows that outdoor recreation is a major economic driver in the United States —and one that has grown throughout the recession. According to The Outdoor 10

Recreation Economy Report, more than 140 million Americans engage in outdoor activities each year, directly delivering $646 billion to the economy and supporting 6.1 million domestic jobs.

“During a time when some American industries are struggling, we are seeing solid growth,” said Will Manzer, CEO of Eastern Mountain Sports and chair of the OIA board of directors. “Since 2005, the outdoor recreation economy has grown approximately five percent annually.

In fact, outdoor recreation supports a significant number of jobs, on par with— or, in some cases, more than—other sizeable American industries.”

“We launched the new Imperial series and opened our Fresnillo facility in Mexico around the same time,” explained Jeff Schluter, vice president of sales and marketing at St. Croix.

“Our original plan was to begin Imperial production in Park Falls and transfer it to Fresnillo after the new continued on next page...

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factory was up and running. However, we decided that because the Imperials feature very technical blank designs, our Park Falls facility is the best place to manufacture them. Plus, it gives St. Croix a unique identity by offering a U.S.-built fly rod starting at $190.”

So, the Imperial, which began as one of St. Croix’s first made-in-Mexico products will remain a “Handcrafted in Park Falls” rod series for the foreseeable future. With 34 models, from a dainty 6-foot, 2-weight to a powerful 9-foot, 10-weight, the award-winning Imperials have been acclaimed by editors and consumers alike for their smooth, crisp casting action, quality components and attractive cosmetics–all offered at an affordable price. Nothing will change on the popular rods–except adding “Made in U.S.A.” on the label.

Opinion… Watch the Fine Print on Wilderness Legislation

By Brett Wedeking The Wilderness Act of 1964 created a system of lands in the US, “retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions.” America’s wilderness system has since preserved over 100 million acres of land in its natural state. That may soon change.

The Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act H.R. 4089 (the reintroduced version of H.R. 2834) has already passed the US House of Representatives and S. 2066 has now continued on next page...

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been introduced into the US Senate and could be on the president’s desk this summer.

The bills could be seen as a victory for anglers constantly battling for public access, conservation measures and the introduction of new people to the sport. However, the language makes for possible bypass of the fundamental requirements of the Wilderness Act for preserving the natural character of wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act encourages public use and enjoyment of these lands in a temporary manner. It prohibits motorized vehicles, building roads or structures, landing of aircraft and more, “except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for administration for the purpose [wilderness preservation] of this Act.”

Considering the goal is to preserve these lands in their natural state, wilderness areas are rightly devoid of these things. H.R. 4089 supersedes these provisions stating that managing for fishing, hunting and shooting sport opportunities, “shall constitute the minimum requirements for administration of the wilderness areas.” S. 2066 contains similar language. According to the Congressional Research Service (a division of the Library of Congress), the “language could be construed as opening wilderness areas to virtually any activity related to hunting and fishing, even if otherwise inconsistent with wilderness values. Despite the Wilderness Act’s explicit ban on temporary and permanent roads, [roads] arguably could be constructed in wilderness areas.”

So, due to vague language at the very least, the possibility of cars, ATV’s, motorboats even aircraft in wilderness areas exists with this bill. It could open up the building of cabins, hunting blinds and other permanent structures as well. It’s easy to imagine the justification of logging, dams, even commercial development in wilderness areas through the language in these bills. All of these uses are in direct conflict with the tenets of the Wilderness Act. Further, the bills would be exempted from the National Environmental Policy Act which provides for federal environmental review and public disclosure of actions taken on federal lands.

Hunting and shooting organizations like the NRA, Safari Club Intl. and continued on next page...

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AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

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Pope & Young have jumped on in support and a few fishing groups, including B.A.S.S., too. However, the sentiment is far from unanimous.

Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers chairman, David Lien says: “These public land designations are the holy grail for hunters, anglers, hikers, backpackers, climbers, equestrians, outfitters, and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere and need to be protected, not plundered.” The Wilderness Society states, it “would result in the destruction of the very wilderness values that millions of American hunters and anglers cherish.”

Truly, America’s wilderness areas are already prized by anglers and hunters and many other user groups for their pristine and natural character. The abundance of fish and wildlife, the lack of roads, buildings and easy access is what attracts recreational users to our wilderness areas.

Imagine a road cut into your favorite lake in the Golden Trout Wilderness and hatchery fish planted in the lake to facilitate angling opportunities.

Or, think about the road along the South Fork of the Flathead, with its rebounding population of bulltrout, extending up into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and down the other side to Seeley Lake. Both are possible scenarios under these bills. We already have plenty of “off the bumper” fishing and hunting opportunities in this country. Only 2.7% of the lower 48 is designated wilderness. You have to work hard to get into that kind of country, and the payoff is always that much sweeter. It should stay that way.

Though H.R. 4089 already passed, read more about the status of S. 2066 at www.govtrack.us. Contact your senators to voice your opinion. continued on next page...

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TU’s Latest Success News…

A stakeholder-driven collaborative effort came to fruition in July when Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2012.

The bill will pave the way to designate the Hermosa Creek watershed as a Special Management Area, giving it a unique set of protections tailored by the people who know it best.

Located just outside of Durango, Hermosa Creek is an increasingly rare example of a place where things are going right—healthy fish, healthy game herds with plenty of opportunity for sportsmen to enjoy

those attributes. And the hunters and anglers who use it have the rare opportunity today to protect an entire watershed and the exceptional hunting and fishing that go with it.

The Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2012 was formed from a set of recommendations put together by a working group that came together to find balanced solutions to preserve the area.

Of particular importance to those involved was the protection of the watershed as a whole, a tactic not widely used. By using the watershed to define the boundary of the special management area, stakeholders were able to keep a pristine and intact habitat just as it is today.

“The Hermosa area is a jewel for all outdoor enthusiasts,” said Pat Oglesby

of the Grand Valley Anglers Trout Unlimited chapter. “My passion is fly fishing, and Hermosa Creek offers my wife and I easy access to one of the most gorgeous locations in southwest Colorado where we can catch native Colorado River cutthroat trout in a beautiful setting. The Protection Act will guarantee that future generations will be able to enjoy this special place as we have.”

Company News Nautilus Reels is looking to sign new sales representatives for two territories: the Southern Rockies and South Central.

The Southern Rockies continued on next page...

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Orvis to Carry Tenkara

If it’s true that you’re ultimately judged by the company you keep, Tenkara USA just jumped into the big leagues when it announced that Orvis will start

carrying Tenkara USA’s rods, line and flies and help promote the Japanese method of fly fishing called tenkara.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Tenkara USA was founded in 2009

by Daniel Galhardo and is the first company to introduce and promote the method and equipment for tenkara outside of Japan. Since its introduction, tenkara has developed a passionate following and growing popularity in the US, Canada and throughout Europe.

Galhardo thinks this partnership with the 156-year-old Orvis company represents a huge milestone for the sport. “Tenkara has generated a lot of heated debate within the fly fishing community over the last couple of years. Having a well-established fly fishing company like Orvis embrace the method and promote it to its customers is an irrefutable validation of tenkara,” said Galhardo.

20

Orvis contacted Tenkara USA in early 2012 expressing interest in their products. Galhardo says, “The trust a large company like Orvis is putting on Tenkara USA based on the quality they saw in our equipment speaks to our worldwide leadership on tenkara.”

Tom Rosenbauer, director of marketing at Orvis, sees a potential for tenkara to remove many of the typical barriers to entry new fly anglers experience. “Tenkara can be a great way for people to get introduced to fly fishing. Eliminating the reel and line handling removes a lot of the complexities of the sport, and the ability to get a drag-free float on pocket water makes it easy for novices to grasp this concept. Plus, it’s inexpensive and the tackle is simple and not intimidating,” said Rosenbauer.

2013 Fly Fishing Show dates and locations: • Denver, Colo., Jan. 4-6 – Denver Merchandise Mart; • Marlborough, Mass., Jan. 18-20 – Royal Plaza Trade Center; • Somerset, N.J., Jan. 25-27 – Garden State Exhibit Center; • Winston-Salem, NC, Feb. 9-10 – Benton Convention Center; • Seattle (Lynwood), Wash., Feb. 16-17 – Lynwood Convention Center; • Pleasanton, Calif., Feb. 22-24 – Alameda County Fairgrounds; • Lancaster, Penn., March 2-3 – Lancaster County Convention Center.

Additionally, the International Fly Tying Symposium will be conducted Nov. 17-18, 2012 in Somerset, N.J.

Rosenbauer added that tenkara is not only a refreshing foray into fly fishing for westerners, but also a good way to introduce children to the sport.

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The Fly Fishing Show Sets 2013 Schedule

Products to Watch

A return to the Pacific Northwest and a change of show site in North Carolina highlight the Fly Fishing Show’s 2013 nationwide schedule.

In North Carolina, the new Benton Convention Center in centrally located Winston-Salem will host the international fly-fishing event.

The downtown facility is connected to both the Embassy Suites and Marriott hotels.

“After an absence of several years, we’re returning to the Seattle-area with the show moving to nearby Lynwood’s Convention Center featuring an adjoining Best Western hotel and free parking,” said show producer Chuck Furimsky.

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Orvis developed and owns the patent to construct waders using sonic welds, which are reputedly stronger than stitched seams, and are inherently waterproof as opposed to seams where threads are stitched through fabric. Their original Pack and Travel SonicSeam Waders were of a minimalist design—no bells and whistles, just lightweight, durable waders—in fact so durable that

original field testers are still wearing four-year-old waders that have not developed a single leak.

only manufacturer making GORE-TEX waders in the U.S.A., The G4Z carries a retail price of $799.95.

In fall 2012, Orvis will introduce the men’s Silver Sonic Convertible Top waders, with added features requested by guides and anglers who had grown to love the originals. Seam strength has been improved even more, with a new process that offers 50 percent stronger seams.

Also turning heads is Simms’ new Contender GORE-TEX jacket and bibs.

Close descendants of the award-wining ProDry® GORE-TEX rain suit that was perfected (and now used extensively) on professional angling circuits, the 3-layer GORE-TEX Performance Shell Contender products are 100% waterproof, windproof, lightweight, durable and breathable. Designed to provide long-lasting performance in a wide range of conditions, the Contender jacket has a MSRP of $349.95 and the bibs come in at $299.95.

Simms Went Large at ICAST, unveiling its entire 2013 line. Included in the mix are new G4Z and G4 Pro waders featuring a new 5-layer GORETEX waterproof membrane that’s reportedly 25 percent more breathable than anything on the market. As the

continued on next page...

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Simms’ women’s line updates its sun protection offering in 2013 with new shirts and pants featuring UPF 50 ratings.

Opinion

For the REAL product skinny on the best products at IFTD, stay tuned to anglingtrade. com and Angling Trade’s E-newsletters direct from the show floor in Reno.

By Kirk Deeter

Let Our People Surf (and Date) Lastly, Angling Trade is very proud to announce that our very own art director Tara Brouwer has completed her first book project titled, Everything I Know About Dating I Learned Through Surfing. Produced with her friend Nancy Spooner Bsharah, the project is a 96-page (+ cover) full-color coffee table book filled with surf quotes and

Fly Fishing’s Fairest Competitive Platform... is Carp.

personal stories that give both surfing and dating advice in one. Tara did ALL of the artwork in it and laid it out; she also contributed roughly 10 personal dating stories.

Granted, Tim and I don’t surf, and we don’t date. But we do love collaborating with Tara, and we want to let her know we’re always proud of her work. If you want to buy the book, check it out at www.surfdatebook.com.

A few years ago, I wrote a story for Field & Stream magazine called “Carp Crazy,” in which I said carp fishing is the equivalent of soccer for Americans (the rest of the world loves

continued on next page...

Ed Hepp (L) and subscriber Jeff Hickman (R) enjoying the ride en route to Kanetok, AK.

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especially among fly anglers—even beyond what Barry Reynolds, Brad Befus and others were hip to more than a decade ago. We’ve even reached a point that the some of the blog crowd have decided that the only real “cool”

it, most Yanks don’t get it). I also made the mistake of calling carp fishing a “fetish.” The great illustrator Ralph Steadman (of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fame)—to my delight, F&S had commissioned a Steadman illustration for my piece— created a fantastic image, but for the fact that the focal carp had huge and very prominent female breasts. I’ll never forget my editor calling me and saying: “Everything is great with the story, but holy s$&t, we can’t run a package with t*@ts on a fish!”

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

After tense negotiations, everything got sorted out (illo edited), the story went on to be a smash success (listed in America’s Best Sports Writing), and carp fishing has seen a steady rise and acceptance—

now is “anti-cool,” which means bashing carp as trash fish, just like the tweed and bamboo crowd that most of them despise in the first place. All

of that isn’t terribly relevant regarding what you’re about to read, but it is an interesting backstory nonetheless.

I think carp are here to stay, as part of the mainstream in fly fishing in America. They should be. And for this industry to find new growth tangents, carp can and should play a compelling role.

Let’s face it, the fly fishing industry revolves around trout, as perhaps it should. Saltwater fly fishing is almost an entirely different sport--no less wonderful--played with the same basic tools. But fly fishing is about trout. And the future of fly fishing for trout revolves around two things: access and conservation. continued on next page...

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To grow the fly fishing realm beyond the static trout and saltwater par— digms involves making our sport an adventure. Part of that is explo— ing new places and experiences, in freshwater and saltwater, around the world. There is so, so much more to understand and experience in that

regard. But financial constraints for most would-be anglers (the number of folks who can boogie off to Bora-Bora in search of giant trevally is seemingly decreasing by the day) should also compel this industry to look in the “backyard” waters from Indianapolis to San Diego... and that’s exactly where

2013 MARLBOROUGH, MA JANUARY 18, 19, 20 SOMERSET, NJ JANUARY 25, 26, 27

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LYNNWOOD, WA FEBRUARY 16, 17 PLEASANTON, CA FEBRUARY 22, 23, 24 LANCASTER, PA MARCH 2, 3

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

If the fly fishing industry wants to get serious about a competitive fishing/ tournament platform (and maybe we don’t... maybe we like being purely about the experience), I think it’s time to lose the hula hoops, and the one-flies, and the designated beats on a river.

Let’s be honest. The hula hoops make for fantastic casting competitions. But that’s like playing lawn darts with a fishing rod.

And it takes insight, no doubt, to figure out what one single fly to use all day on a river. But if you draw the right beat, that means you get to play a par 3 all day, while the others who draw crummy beats are left to tee it up on a par 5, over and over. I know this, because I have won (and lost) one-flies, and I recognize that the best results came purely by standing in the right water, and not because of my angling skills.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC FEBRUARY 9, 10

Fly Fishing is NOT part of the show

IT IS THE SHOW!

flyfishingshow.com 28

Moreover, if we’ve learned anything from the bass-fishing crowd, which many of us label as the “bubba nation,” it’s that competition drives attention.

In fact, many of our most prominent fly fishing brands now slobbering over the prospect of “crossing over” to the all-tackle realm) have latched onto the tournament scene to do just that. Which is smart.

But therein lies an opportunity for fly fishing.

PHOTO BY BARRY AND CATHY BECK

DENVER, CO JANUARY 4, 5, 6

the carp swim. Actually, carp swim just about everywhere.

Don’t get me wrong, I think one-flies are absolutely fantastic as fundraising events, social get-togethers, and all that.

I wish we had more one-flies than we do now. I think the one-fly in Jackson, Wyoming, for example,is part of the cultural fabric of this sport, and I hope it lasts for at least another century. But I don’t know many one-fly winners who really, truly walk away and think that they were the best fisheman on that day. continued on next page...

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North American Carp Fly Fishing Championship.

West Coast... Rocky Mountains...

Midwest... East. Carp across America.

And, as an industry, we put some real money behind the effort to make it a real draw (perhaps even a real media property to boot).

There’s no doubt in my mind that all those things that factor into fly fishing—casting prowess, fly selection, presentation, stealthy wading, etc.— will weigh into finding the ultimate winner. In fact, there’s no doubt in my mind that the ultimate fly fisher in America can and will be found.

On the other hand, I have recently seen a number of carp fishing fly tournaments, and in each of those cases, I think the best stick on the water won the competition. No doubt.

So here’s what I think our industry needs to consider, and this is something that Angling Trade will be willing to throw its support behind as well, as a vehicle to grow fly fishing as a whole, from coast to coast.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Let’s set up a carp series.

Five venues, across the country. I’m thinking Lake Henshaw in southern California (where I just saw the Henshaw “Throw Down” event attract newbies and experts, guides and novices, salties and trout bums with great effect)... Beaver Island in Michigan (off the “Carpatan” peninsula... and you have to see the 30

flats experience on Beaver Island to believe it)... the “Carp Slam” on the South Platte River in urban Denver (one of the original carpbased events)... the Bighorn River in Montana (carp in the heart of a great trout destination)... and another “wildcard”destination in the East or Southeast (incented by the total package). We take the winners of each event, and fly them to an “undisclosed location” just as the original Bassmasters people did, and make a

But it will happen in carp water.

Where it’s all even, and everyone has a fair chance to tempt and battle what may be the most ficke fly-catchable fish that swim.

And I think it will benefit this industry as a whole.

Any takers? Would-be competitors, sponsors, or otherwise, I’d love to hear from you via email at editor@ anglingtrade.com. I think we can make something interesting happen, and I think we should. at

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media phenomenon are seeing calculable results.

Gracie says there are two types of people/businesses effectively engaged in these out-reach mediums. At the top of the heap is the quintessential narcissist. If you have nothing to sell—other than yourself—Facebook is a great tool to stroke the reach of an oversized ego through self-starring photos, videos, and daily play-byplays. On the flip side, the fly shops, guides, lodges, magazines, services, and big brands that represent this industry should consider approaching these entities from a different angle.

This is where you want to be the “anti-narcissist.”

Like Me, Friend Me, Buy Me Why it pays to be social

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Written by Geoff Mueller

At the time of this writing social media powerhouse Facebook crossed the 900 million-user mark. While you’re reading this it’s toppling one billion. If Facebook was a country its population would rank among the massives (think: India and China). It’s a community of friends, of friends of friends, of relatives, of long-losts. But in addition to faces it’s also become a land of brands. Fly fishing has been quick to catch on.

32

Facebook allows companies such as Redington (more than 12,000 followers) and Simms (pushing 20,000) to build captive audiences, to address that populace at all hours anytime of the year, and to ignite interactions between consumer and brand on a level that’s never been seen before.

How these interactions play into sales is still largely gray. But those in the know, such as Denver-based IT guru Michael Gracie, say businesses successfully entrenched in the social

“It’s basically a different methodology for businesses up on the social media stage,” Gracie says. “Instead of trying to garner the limelight through blatant selfpromotion and sales pitches, the most successful strategy has been a rope-adope.”

In other words, and what Gracie has seen work well for companies he’s involved with, including Trout’s Fly Fishing (more than 11,000 Facebook “likes”), is a formula of focusing attention away from self and moving it onto others. This includes linking to and sharing specialized content with the potential to reverberate through the fly-fishing food chain via interconnected “likes” and “shares.”

As a breaking story, killer photo, or quality video snowballs into viral proportions, new eyes shift toward the page that initiated the post and audience reach expands.

This word-of-mouth, or click-of-thekeys, marketing is essentially free.

Facebook pages for your business cost nothing, but Facebook wouldn’t be a publicly-traded company without the

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potential to generate considerable ad revenue. At this point advertising on Facebook is relatively inexpensive, as little as 50 cents per click thru for a one-time targeted ad. You don’t pay if your ad flops and you can set up a budget through the Facebook interface to pull an ad once it reaches a pre-set target. Companies such as Redington and Trout’s have successfully experimented with these advertising options in order to generate more likes. The genius is the specificities that allow a company to fine-tune messages and target unique users and user demographics—for instance, anyone in the greater Manhattan area who’s ever uttered the words “saltwater fishing.”

These marketing efforts continue to go both ways, effectively bridging the consumer gap. General Motors is perhaps the best example of a colossal Facebook failure. On the eve of Facebook going public last spring, GM pulled all ads from the site, saying its impact on consumers had been negligible—a $10 million misfire that wasn’t driving traffic where it needed to go. The case of GM’s lackluster results provides a good lesson for companies trying to wring the most out of social media tools.

“The problem with GM,” Gracie says, “was they weren’t actually engaging their potential customers.

They were playing the self-interested sales pitch, when they should have been playing to everyone else’s interests.”

The formula is this: promote fun and do not over-inundate your audience with a deluge of “buy me” messaging—even when a sale is the ultimate goal.

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as much or more fun happening on those pages as there is promotions,” Gracie says. “Sometimes the pitch is as simple as ‘look at these huge rainbows so-and-so was catching at the Casting for Recovery event.’

What that’s doing is getting people interested in posting their own fun stuff and posting it to our page.”

In addition to the entertainment factor, Trout’s owner Tucker Ladd has experimented with the opposite, going full bore with sales messaging aimed at moving stagnant product.

After hitting their fan base with four or five consecutive pitches, he found a new result in the form of the “unlike” button. Through trial and error, Trout’s has managed to strike a sweet spot somewhere in the 80 percent entertainment to 20 percent sale-pitch posts.

“People don’t tolerate too much promotion. What they really want to see is you being amusing,” Gracie says. “In the middle of all that you slip in a promotion and most people don’t mind. In some cases they take advantage of it.”

With this mixed-messaging strategy in mind, social mediascapes such as Facebook and Twitter function best to the tune of their intended purposes— as vehicles of mass communication.

They excel at cultivating audiences and bringing a diverse array of topics to the table that cover a wide brushstroke of angler interests. At this point, the direct commerce connections are far less developed than an eBay, Amazon, or Google’s AdWords system.

Andrew Bennett, who owns and operates three lodges under the

Deneki Outdoors banner, concurs.

For his Alaska, British Columbia, and Bahamas entities, Facebook and Twitter are basically small—but essential—parts of a much larger marketing machine.

The eventual goal is to drive sales, but the immediate objectives revolve around building audience, customer loyalty, and feeding brand awareness. Bennett is a blogger, first and foremost. And his intense posting schedule runs on a six-days-per-week cycle. As a general rule, he wakes up in the a.m. and writes two blog articles before setting foot out the door. These daily posts combine into weekly newsletters and go on to be abbreviated and encapsulated through the social media streams. It’s a huge time commitment and the result is a steady stream of content for an informationhungry fan base. Those fans read, they engage and interact, and in some cases they buy.

“The whole goal is to provide useful and interesting content, do it on a consistent basis, have people get to know us and build some credibility, with the occasional dose of selling,” Bennett says. “It’s not a charity and we do have a product to sell.

And as long as we don’t go overboard, most people understand that.”

Useful and interesting content means different things to different people, but generally the “photo caption” contests of yesterday have become tired and fly-fishing businesses have been forced to get creative. Benentt’s content ranges from expert tips to new product reviews to conversation generators that prompt people to get involved in a greater discussion. But no matter how far you push it, photos and videos of the “epic fishporn” genre still generate plenty of thumbs ups.

“I think the reason social media works for us is because we have a lot of content underlying it,” Bennett says. “I try to encourage conversations on Facebook and I’ve gotten to know people on

Twitter. But fundamentally underlying that is a lot of useful, meaty content and this is why people follow us on the social media side.”

When you add up the time put in and divide that by customer loyalty, new connections, and bottom line sales, Bennett says the outcome is worth it. To what degree—in dollars—however, he won’t say.

Kara Armano, of Backbone Media in Carbondale, CO, revs the social media engines for Sage, Rio, and Redington.

She currently uses Facebook and Twitter platforms, with multiple daily postings designed to enhance brand visibility. Armano says social media’s value stems from its interactive qualities.

It allows her to run product giveaways, conduct surveys, and experiment with cross-promotional contest-oriented apps—all of which drive consumer interaction.

“The versatility is key,” she says. “I think companies that aren’t on Facebook and don’t have an active presence are facing serious issues if they want to attract any new customers, let alone already existing customers. And it eventually comes around to sales, being more in the face of the consumer.”

After a successful series of posts, Armano uses Facebook Insights, which shows percentages of fans being reached and who they are. It also provides useful beta for tailoring future content for effective interaction. At the top of Armano’s list are photos and video, as well as articles on hot-button issues and linking to product reviews from outside sources.

As the “likes” continue to grow across the fertile social media field, the hope for fly-fishing businesses is that so too will the wants. In fact, a developer recently dug up new wording in Facebook’s code indicating it could be

testing a “Want” button. This would allow the social network to differentiate between what one likes versus what they desire to throw dollars at. According to the stats, 44 percent of those who went online yesterday visited Facebook— making it the second most visited site behind Google. Tapping into that

user base and acquainting it with your product offerings—with a healthy does of engaging entertainment in the mix— is the kind of social media wizardry that could spell the future of sales growth.

And that’s something you should ultimately want to like. at

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A River Ran Through It “The Movie” and its Legacy, 20 Years After Written by Chris Santella

If you’re 40 years of age or older, chances are good that you remember “the movie.” It made your secret pastime go Hollywood—literally! It was solely responsible for an unprecedented boom in a generally sleepy niche industry that barely qualifies as an industry. It ruined your local river. It made America long to cast 80 feet with a perfect loop.

Or did it?

On the 20th anniversary of the release of A River Runs Through It--a movie that premiered nearly a decade and a half before the term “Brangelina” entered the lexicon— Angling Trade wanted to revisit the phenomenon with a few industry people who were there…in one case, someone who was really there.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Marc Bale, International Sales Manager, Far Bank Enterprises (formerly Sage), Bainbridge Island, Washington “If you look back at the sales trends in the early 90s, the tide was generally rising—even though the economy had been struggling. When the movie hit, it took what was already a rising tide and turned it into a torrent. I believe it brought many new entrants into the sport—some soft estimates said as many as a million—and reinvigorated some people who were occasional fly anglers. Those who don’t think there was an impact weren’t looking at the data. At Sage, we saw sales grow 20% a year from 1992 to ’96. That’s considerable growth. There’s no question that many people came and left. A lot of these anglers were not wholly committed; Brad Pitt made fly fishing look pretty cool, and people found it was not that easy. I also feel that some of these entrants were squandered by the industry, which wasn’t prepared to handle the onslaught. Working with beginners is not always the specialty fly shop’s forte, and I think some new anglers were lost here. On a personal note, I always liked the book, and was pleased to see the movie follow the book carefully.

36

Redford made the sport look pretty interesting. It was a positive experience from a viewing and sales perspective.”

Mike Michalak, Owner, The Fly Shop, Redding, California “It got a lot of us in the industry excited, and created a lot of inthe-sport buzz. But the impact of the movie was transient, and there might have been more credit given to the movie for popularizing fly fishing than was deserved. Did it create many sincere converts to the sport?

My own answer a year or two after the movie was, no. My answer after 2 decades is, hell no. The movie created a temporary, artificial demand that led to many new shops opening. Many of our long-term specialty suppliers are small, with limited inventory, and they were overwhelmed by the sudden increase in the market. The initial loading of these new stores was much higher than normal re-orders would have been at existing businesses. As a result, vendors were unable to service long-standing customers like The Fly Shop. We learned from this experience to diversify our wholesale base so we were not wholly dependent—or as wholly dependent—on a single vendor in any single product category.”

John Herzer, co-owner Blackfoot River Outfitters, Missoula, Montana “I’ve been guiding out of Missoula since 1990. When I got my outfitters license a few years later, we were going to be Wild Trout Outfitters.

But there was another company with that name and they threatened to take legal action, so we switched to Blackfoot River Outfitters. First because a ‘B’ better than a “W” alphabetically but more importantly, it was shortly after the movie came out—the timing was perfect!”

The name recognition from the movie helped us get going straight away. At the time, some local people were upset.

The sentiment was, ‘The movie ruined the river.’ That’s

bull—though the movie did help establish Missoula as a fishing destination. When I first started and would exhibit at an outdoor show out of state, people would come by the booth and say ‘Missoula—Oh, where’s that?’

All that changed, and much of the growth had to do with the movie. I wouldn’t say that we had a bunch of newbies coming to Missoula, asking to fish the Blackfoot River. Instead we got a lot of accomplished anglers who were perhaps already coming to Montana to fish, and wanted to try our region. People realized that we had 400 miles of river, without the crowds. Now a lot of people move to Missoula because it’s a great place to fish. As an angler from the valley, I thought the film was well done, even though the Gallatin (where most of the angling footage was filmed) doesn’t look anything like the Blackfoot.”

Jason Borger, Author/Artist/Filmmaker/Casting Double, Vancouver, Washington

have never thought about it otherwise.

Even if just from from an awareness perspective, I think that the movie has had a long-term positive impact on the sport.”

What’s the next pop culture phenomenon to catapult fly fishing into the limelight and capture the hearts, minds and credit cards of America’s next generation of fly anglers? Box office statistics suggest that it won’t be The River Why or Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. And Oprah or Justin Bieber taking up fly fishing could be a double-edged sword.

“You have to remember that A River Runs Through It came before we had all the distractions of the Internet, and the ground for the sport’s expansion was already fertile,” Marc Bale added.

“I don’t know that fly fishing will ever see another catalyst like this. Though phenomena like this are serendipitous.

You can’t really plan them.” at 37

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

just a couple of miles from where I caught my first-ever trout on a fly rod.

It was about as perfect a combination “I was just as I could’ve hoped for. I came out of graduating film study and a few months later was from college working on an A-list feature with an with a degree academy award winning director, and in film/teleon a story heavy with fly fishing. vision proI ended up moving to Los Angeles duction and once the filming concluded, and did theory, and film, TV and commercial work for five I’d heard that years. As it turned out, it was more my the movie fly fishing connections than my experiwas going into pre-pro- ence on the movie that helped me get duction. The work. There are a surprising number coordinator contacted my father (Gary of people in Hollywood who love to Borger) right about that time, and with- fly fish! Now that I’m back working in a few weeks, we received parts of the around the fly fishing world, I find that there is still a lot of interest out there in script, and were asked to show up on the set in Montana. It turned out that the movie. At almost any event I do, I was a reasonable combination of the there are people who come up and say lead actors—Brad Pitt and Craig Shef- ‘I got into fly fishing because of fer—in terms of height and build, so I A River Runs Through It. There’s no ended up as one of the casting/fishing doubt that many new anglers drawn in doubles for both of them. The shadow by the movie dropped out, but there’s cast scene (which I doubled) was filmed a group who stayed with it who might

Reno Dining

Places to Eat in Reno For those of you who are headed to the IFTD show in Reno, Angling Trade has whipped up this list of restaurants—some in the casino belt, others a bit further off the beaten path.

4th Street Bistro 3065 W. 4th Street 775-323-3200

to entertain clients or treat yourself after a day on the show floor, this is a sure winner. The food is delicious, the service top-notch, and ambience inviting. Check it out; you won’t be disappointed.

Beaujolis Bistro 130 West Street 775-323-2227 A charming French-style bistro in downtown Reno, Beaujolis is a bit pricy, but worth it. Located in a 100-year-old building, one-half block from the Truckee River, the restaurant is small and cozy. The food is delicious with authentic French cuisine, as well as modern interpretation of French cooking. You may forget that you are in Reno.

Brew Brothers 345 N. Virginia Street 775-786-5700 (Inside the Eldorado Casino)

Opening at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays, 4th Street Bistro offers “outstanding contemporary cuisine” (Reno Magazine) and uses local, organic ingredients. They also have a wide selection of gluten-free and vegetarian dishes.

Atlantis Steakhouse 3800 S. Virginia Street 775-824-4430

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

(Inside the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa)

Trip Advisor’s number one restaurant in Reno. If you want an upscale steakhouse 38

food, but neighboring restaurants happily deliver.

Dish Café & Catering 855 Mill Street 775-348-8264 Dish Café serves upscale comfort food with locally-grown, organic ingredients. Open from 7:00 a.m to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Dish is known for delicious sandwiches, incredible quiche, and mouth-watering desserts. The Cowboy Tri-tip Panini is a particular crowd-pleaser. In addition, Reno News & Review named Dish the best catering company for the past four years.

Fuego 170 S. Virginia Street 775-322-1800 Fuego is a tapas and wine bar located in Reno’s Riverwalk Dining District. It serves a wide selection of tapas, as well as, Spanish wines, port, sherry, and margaritas. Check it out on Wednesdays when all bottles of wine are half price, or Fridays when live flamenco music starts at 6:00 p.m. They also offer daily happy hour specials.

Little Nugget Diner 233 N. Virginia Street

Brew Brothers has been picked as Reno’s best microbrew beer selection, and live music. Their menu includes wood-fired pizzas, burgers, ribs, and eight microbrews.

Ceol Irish Pub 538 S. Virginia Street 775-329-5558 Ceol is the Gaelic word for music and if you like Irish music, this is a must hit spot. Starting at 9:00 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night, Ceol features great Irish music with no cover charge. Whiskey drinkers will want to check out Whiskey Wednesdays with $2.00 off all whiskey. Ceol’s doesn’t serve

(Inside the Nugget Casino) Home of the “Awful Awful,” Reno’s bestknown burger, the Little Nugget Diner/Rosie’s Cafe is a mandatory stop for burger aficionados. The restaurant is located in the Nugget Casino, open 24 hours a day, and accepts only cash. continued on next page...

Reno Dining

Louis’ Basque Corner 301 E. Fourth Street 775-323-7203 With family-style seating (read long, shared tables) and Basque-garbed servers, Louis’ provides a unique dining experience. The food is delicious and the Picon Punch legendary. Try the rabbit stew for a traditional Basque meal. Reservation accepted.

Naan and Kabab 2740 S. Virginia Street 775-825-3113 Chef Maurice blends his classic French-cuisine background with Mediterranean

and Middle Eastern dishes to produce truly memorable meals. Naan and Kabab is open for lunch and dinner, and reservations are accepted.

beque to pizza to Thai food. Take a walk and find what you hunger for! (We have featured a few fan favorites in this list... but venture out on a culinary quest.)

Peg’s Glorified Ham n Eggs 420 S. Sierra Street 775-329-2600

Reno Street Food Citicenter Station (Friday, August 17) 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

(Several other locations) Open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily, Peg’s is consistently named one of Reno’s best breakfast spots. The restaurant’s namesake dish (a ham steak and eggs) comes topped with caramelized bananas.

Patrons also rave about the chile relleno and eggs plate and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Riverwalk Dining District Between Arlington Avenue and Lake Street

Not sure what you want to eat or can’t agree with your friends, go the Citicenter Station (N. Center Street across from the National Bowling Center). Gourmet food trucks and “pop-up” restaurants, along with live music, microbrews and wine make this the place to be Friday night.

Squeeze In South Reno – 25 Foothill Rd, Ste 3 775-853-6090

(along the Truckee River) The Riverwalk Dining District has over 35 eclectic dining options from bar-

Northwest Reno – 5020 Las Brisa Blvd, Ste A-4 775-787-2700 Voted Reno’s best breakfast spot in 2011, the Squeeze In is known for its omelets.

The menu includes 66 different specialty omelets, three homemade sauces, and a wide selection of “usual” breakfast choices.

Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Squeeze In also serves lunch.

Sterlings Seafood Steakhouse 407 N. Virginia Street 800-687-8733

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Sterlings is located inside the Silver Legacy Casino and is widely considered one of the best casino restaurants and steakhouses in Reno. With dark wood, drape-adorned booths, and candle-lit tables, Sterlings has ambiance and sumptuous steak, veal, poulty, and seafood. If you have room, try the blackjack pecan pie for dessert. Reservations are recommended. at -List by Sarah Deeter

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Question & Answer

trend over the past 5 years - while U.S. population has increased 7%, hunting & fishing licenses have decreased by 10%. The trend can’t continue for any of us to be viable long term.

That definitely became a driving force in our (Cabela’s) 5-10 year plan to bring participants to the sport as a whole. It took over 2 years to sketch and plan; and just shy of a year to develop using Cabela’s in-house training development team.

Written by Kirk Deeter

AT: Tell us a little bit about the online training tool.

Jeff Wagner - Planning & Inventory Business Lead - Cabela’s

Q&A Cabela’s Fly Fishing University: One-of-One with Jeff Wagner

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Interview by Steven B. Schweitzer

In May of this year, Cabela’s, in conjunction with the Federation of Fly Fishers, launched free fly fishing instruction as part of the Cabela’s Fly Fishing University two-part training initiative containing in-store classes and online modules. On the surface, it’s a simple online training program, but digging deeper reveals it is much more than that. I had a chance to chat with Jeff Wagner, the driving force behind developing the program. Mr. Wagner is no stranger to fly fishing instruction himself, being a Master FF Instructor, on the FFF Board of Governors, a world-class competitive fly caster, and the Planning & Inventory Business Lead 42

responsible for Process Improvement and PM work at Cabela’s.

AT: How did the Cabela’s Fly Fishing University come into being?

JW: It actually was an idea several years in the making. Back in early ’09, Bruce Richards, Dusty Sprague and I sat down to brainstorm my initial concept and sketch out collective ideas. I had envisioned the concept after working in smaller fly shops and for a mid-sized outdoor retail business. It just made sense to do it given our backgrounds and the need to break down the perceived barrier of entry to learning fly fishing. Many more folks were involved, there’s no way I could have ever done it on my own.

AT: Why did Cabela’s decide to invest significant resources in developing a free training tool?

JW: Those, like me in the outdoor retail business, have seen a disturbing

JW: The online modules are free to use by anyone at any time. Five modules exist now, with more planned in the future. We cover rods, reels and lines, flies, entomology overview, leaders and tippets, knots, and basic fly casting. It’s out there to be used by individuals, fly shops, guide services…anyone interested in bringing new entrants to the sport. And FFF stepped up big-time to help—once a registered participant completes just one module online or takes an instore class modules, they receive a free one-year online membership to FFF. (http://www.cabelas.com/fly-fishinguniversity.shtml). We are looking to add spey casting and teaching in the coming months.

AT: How is Cabela’s using the online curriculum?

JW: We piloted it in Reno, NV, and Billings, MT, and received some very valuable feedback to make it better.

Now that it’s fully launched (since May 2012), 13 selected Cabela’s retail stores offer the Fly Fishing University every Saturday from May through August 2012. In the initial weeks of going live, several thousand completed the course, and participation is growing rapidly each month, so it’s starting to deliver against our initial objectives. We put major emphasis

on using the experts we have in our stores, like Lance Egan for example, to teach the courses.

AT: How does the industry benefit from a tool like this?

JW: When the three of us sat down to further develop my initial project idea, we got excited over the nearly infinite downstream advantages of it.

The tool can be used to extend the learning path and take advantage of local fishery opportunities; it’s not just about trout or who has the best rods or reels for sale. For example, carp or bass which are in every state, offer a nearly unlimited supply and incredible angling opportunity to a beginner to advanced angler. The Fly Fishing University is limited only to the creativity of the local users.

AT Commentary The evolution of a fly fisher typically has three simple stages: 1) being a new entrant needing how-to instruction, 2) growing self-participation and continued advanced learning, and finally 3) transforming into a disciple “spreading the gospel.” No-cost program’s like Orvis’ Fly Fishing 101 and Cabela’s online Fly Fishing University are clearly delivering against enemy number one to our sport: perception of complexity and elitism. It’s no shocker to say that offering free fly fishing instruction can serve as a direct pipeline of new customers to Cabela’s and Orvis... and that’s a huge benefit in developing and offering such tools. But it also will bring new entrants to the local specialty fly shops too. More entrants in the sport mean more individuals looking for further training, advice, rods, reels, guide trips and what not.

Forward thinking to reach new participants by companies like Orvis and Cabela’s (and FFF) supports AFFTA’s

third operating pillar of bringing new entrants into the sport. It’s very fitting they leverage their corporate engines to deliver new customers to them— engines such as massive marke—ing reach, ubiquitous brand equity, internal expertise and technical prow-

ess. Frankly, it’s their (Cabela’s and Orvis’s) social responsibility to do so.

As such, it then becomes the social responsibility of AFFTA and the local fly shop to follow suit and keep the new entrants engaged in the sport for a lifetime. at

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The Complete Angling Writer Written by Jay Cassell

grown from it has been equally joyful - and profound, provocative, and compelling. What sets fishing writing apart from other sports?

In trying to dissect fishing literature, certain questions keep cropping up.

What are the components? What makes a book or article “literature,” as opposed to simply decent writing? If you are a writer–new or experienced– then how can you improve your writing about fishing?

How do you craft something that will last, and be read for generations.

Theodore Gordon, Robert Traver, Sparse Grey Hackle, Roderick HaigBrown, John Taintor Foote, Guy du Maupassant —the ranks are filled with respectable, endearing names.

How does one join this fraternity?

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

There is no one answer. But there are elements to consider.

The body of fishing literature is deep and vast. From A treatyse of fysshynge wyth an Angle, which appeared in the second Book of St. Albans (1496) by Dame Juliana Berners and The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton in 1653, up to A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean in 1976 and No Shortage of Good Days, by John Gierach in 2011, with many, many fine tomes in between, the writing about fishing over the years has been different from other sports. Perhaps because of the personal nature of fishing, the joy one derives from it, its ability to be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, the literature that has 44

To begin, you might ask yourself two questions. What’s your favorite book, or story, about fishing? And, who is you favorite fishing writer? Who do you admire, and why? For me, Big Two-Hearted River, part of The Nick Adams Stories, by Ernest Hemingway, has always struck a chord. The first time I read it, I immediately wanted to be in the author’s shoes– hiking into the wilds somewhere in Michigan, on his own; setting up a simple campsite in the woods; cooking meals out of cans; fishing (with a fly rod and live grasshoppers) for native trout, many of them trophies; then actually catching some monsters. The writing isn’t flowery–it’s to the point, stark, straightforward; yet the descriptions are compelling, and transport you

into the author’s world. As a fisherman, even back then, in high school, I just wanted to put down the book and go fishing.

I’ve read that story many times over the years, and I still want to go fishing in the wilderness every time I read it. But I’ve come to see more about the story. The second time I read it, I figured out there was a lot more going on than fishing. The author hiking through a burned-out town represents what he experienced in Italy in World War I. The first trout he encounters are docile, not lively—this somehow represents how he feels, that he needs to rest and recuperate from his time fighting.

Later, the fish are lively—the author is beginning to recover. Yet he still doesn’t want to fish into the huge swamp downriver, as he has a bad feeling about it. Perhaps it reminds him of a battlefield?

The point is that writing doesn’t have to be flowery to be good, a book or article doesn’t have to try to be something it isn’t. To me, good writing (on fishing and many other topics) must come from the heart, it must give the reader an insight into what’s going on in the writer’s mind.

If the writing is solely about a fishing trip, then the story must impart information—be it tips on how to impale a grasshopper on a hook, as Nick Adams does; or how to choose the correct fly for a certain fishing situation.

If there is a deeper story to be told—be it Hemingway trying to recover from the war, the travails of the Maclean family in A River Runs Through It, or the need to get away and bond with friends and family, as in Ted Leeson’s Inventing Montana, then let fishing be the backdrop or canvas onto which you can paint the bigger picture.

I grew up reading Nick Lyons’ “Seasonable Angler” column in Fly Fisherman magazine years ago, and came to appreciate his selfdeprecating humor, how he would give readers a view of his family dynamics, and how he would constantly try and usually fail to get

his kids hooked on fishing. His book, Spring Creek, about spending a full month probing the secrets of a creek in central Montana, is a classic.

Who better to ask about angling literature than Nick? I asked him what makes a good fishing writer. continued on next page...

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“A really good fishing writer has been there, and learned the crafts of fishing AND writing clearly and entertainingly,” Nick said. “So much else is partly faked, partly boasting, partly full of cliches, partly second or third or fourth hand. The best is solid and unique, with his or her own voice and a wealth of experience to share.

Ted Lesson, author of A Habit of Rivers and Inventing Montana, among others, basically concurred. “To me, the best fishing writers share three qualities: first is an agility of mind, a way of thinking or seeing that makes interesting connections, that always produces something unexpected.

Second, they are widely read, and what they write, in terms of both material and style, is informed by this wide-ranging kind of experience.

Third, they understand how to control language and can articulate subtleties, produce perfectly calibrated tones in the writing.”

Share your voice, know what you’re talking about, bring something unique to the table. But, what writers can we look to for this type of prose?

According to Lyons, “The very best of the past half century are clearly A. J. McClane, Ray Bergman, Lee Wulff, Joe Brooks, Roderick Haig-

Brown, and several others–because of their all-around expertise, broad experience, solid and readable prose style. Haig- Brown is the most literary, and in a separate class, though there’s a lot of practical knowledge in what he says. The distinction is an important one: solid, practical, wise angling writing on the one hand, writing of true literary value on the other.

“I should add that Ed Zern is our best and most consistent humorist.

“Very good and durable full-time writers would include the late Bill Tapply, Charley Waterman, Tap Tapply, and Frank Woolner–you knew they had studied the subject, knew it well, genuinely enjoyed fishing, brought curiosity and intensity to what they wrote–and all wrote well.”

I asked Lesson to name his favorite writers of days gone by. “I’d say Norman Maclean and Roderick Haig-Brown, certainly. I’ve enjoyed reading Arnold Gingrich and Harry Middleton. I’m sure I’m leaving some people out here, but these are the ones that come immediately to mind.”

Moving in to present times, Nick cited a few of his current-day favorites: “Closer to our time and still writing, I like Ted Leeson, Tom McGuane, John

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Gierach, and several others–literary with clearly first-rate knowledge of what they write about. They’ve been there. They’ve spent time on the water (as Lou Tabory says).

Lyons also pointed out that some excellent writers have specialties in which they are the best or nearly so: “Lefty Kreh on fly-fishing techniques, Steve Raymond on all aspects of steelheading, Paul Schullery on historial matters, Tom Rosenbauer on fly-fishing techniques and strategies, and a lot of others on every specialty from flats fishing to bluewater fishing to bass and pike and even carp fishing – who know their subject extremely well, write clearly, and whom you find devoid of fakery or sentimentality.

“Joan Wulff on fly casting is an excellent example of that specialty, and her books show the degree of her expertise.”

“I think the best example of the kind of writer I’m describing is Tom McGuane,” added Leeson.

“His sentences are immaculate and his control of tone is superb.

In somewhat different ways, John Gierach and Jim Babb have these same qualities but use them to different ends; they tend to be storytellers. McGuane is more apt to explore a subject and see where it leads. I like all their books.”

Leeson expounded on what sets a good book apart from the others. Much of it is truly subjective. “It depends on the reader,” he told me. “Some people read to find the familiar fishing stories, guys catching fish, narratives that align with their own experience. Personally, I prefer writing that offers original or fresh insights and ideas, or that put into words impressions or thoughts I’ve vaguely intuited but couldn’t express myself. I read to be surprised–kind of like fishing.”

Favorite books? Philip Caputo, who wrote the bestselling A Rumor of War, and Acts of Faith, among many others, cites Russell Chatham as his favorite fishing author, with his favorite book being Chathams’s Silent Seasons.

Thomas McIntyre, author of Dreaming the Lion, Seasons and Days, and the soon-to-be-released The Snow Leopard, said he has always liked Richard Brautigan’s Trout Fishing in America– that masterpiece has some beautiful passage about fishing, but there is a lot more going on. It’s a murder mystery, a warped consciousness, a view of the world like no other. As McIntyre told, me, at the very least it’s provocative, and might cause some debate.

John Gierach once told me that his favorite book was the one he just finished reading. There’s something to that.

As Leeson notes, it all depends–on the writer, and on the reader.

So, good writing, good writers, favorite books? For me, circling back to Hemingway, I’ve always enjoyed his stark style, without the fakery or sentimentality that Lyons talks about. And there is always something beneath the surface–as a reader, you just have to pay attention. It will surface and, as Leeson notes, surprise you. Like fishing.

Blogging You can’t write about writing without including the Internet. Blogging is a different type of writing, many may not consider it fine prose, but it‘s not supposed to be; it is timely, fast, inquisitive, and challenging. A good fishing blog informs you about current issues on fishing, presented in a straightforward, readable manner.

Most good blogs I’ve read (including Kirk Deeter and Tim Romano on Fly Talk (fieldandstream.com) are

fun–they entertain, they ask for reader feedback. Are they literature in the pure sense of the word?

Generally no–but some of them are solid, and durable, as Nick Lyons likes to call some writers; and there is nothing wrong with that.

An aside–there are of course some websites that publish excerpts of good books, and which review others. Midcurrent.com is head and shoulders above the rest in my view.

- JC

at

feature

Rules of the Media Road Written by Ben Romans

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Reading an email from Tom Bie, an apprehensive, taut lump formed in my lower throat. His message informed me that I published a piece in The Flyfish Journal bearing an indistinguishable resemblance to a composition previously featured in The Drake. Unbeknownst to me, the author, after waiting too long for the Journal to give a thumb up or down on the submission, forwarded the work to Tom, who wasted no time putting it in print.

Embarrassment washed over and I swallowed the dejected sensation in my gullet, sank in my chair, and mulled one of the most humiliating situations an editor can encounter.

I wish the author told me the piece sold, but the bottom line was, it was my fault. I broke some cardinal editorial rules. Thankfully, Tom wasn’t angry, but the email exchange afterward highlighted a seemingly growing list of issues facing the industry’s revered 48

print, digital and web-based media.

Pick your poison, editor or writer, I’ve spent time in both worlds, and there must be a call for professionalism.

Media formats grow more varied by the day, but one constant remains— they all need content. It’s a great opportunity for promotion. Think about it—authoring a piece that highlights your shop’s geography, photographing a nearby river’s hallowed hatch for an e-zine, or filming the next YouTube sensation are all great marketing tools.

Any approach can put a face on your operation and, placed in the right

vehicle, give your outfit a marketable persona.

But in the pursuit, it’s easy to get lost.

It’s easy to forget about what’s decent and what’s considerate, and just because you can do something, doesn’t always mean you should. I found that out the hard way.

Motivated by my mistake, I talked with other writers and editors about what’s lacking in publishing relations today, and what the protocol should be—notions to help writers, editors, photographers, and publishers (new and old) get on the same page. So, ex-

cuse me while I step on my soapbox, but here are few things I took away, for your consideration. ________________________ To the editors, publishers and purveyors of our industry’s respected media: Reply to Contributors. There’s no greater frustration for a writer or photographer than putting time, effort and money into a submission, only to learn it’s sitting in email limbo. Try to avoid brushing off submissions, unsolicited or not. No one should be expected to reply to queries or review submissions with lightning speed, but it shouldn’t take four months either, especially if material contains timely information.

Review what you receive, whether it arrives over the wire or via snail mail, and reply with tact. Maybe set aside a portion of time every week just to review submissions and reply to authors.

You may not like someone’s initial efforts, but you do yourself a disservice by responding with an unkind word and consequently sour someone from future (possibly incredibly good) contributions. This industry is much too small to afford anyone the luxury of burning bridges.

Pay Timely & Competitively.

Putting your heart and soul into a submission, then waiting for a pay check six months down the line, sometimes feels like you’re not paid at all. If you want the best material; if you want your A-list of contributors to offer the right of first refusal, or you simply

want to avoid those pesky ‘where’s my money!’ emails—the answer is simple.

Pay on time, don’t be cheap, and don’t offer to pay with intangibles. Keep promises and don’t point fingers.

I understand this is tough for some new ventures to follow, especially electronic or Internet-based productions, and am aware that some business models don’t have the wiggle room to match competitor’s pay scales. It comes down to simple market dynamics. If that’s the case, to avoid a financial loss, expect some people to solicit similar material in other places.

Likewise, I’m not familiar with any industry production with $4K in the budget for a feature, so editors/ publishers are within protocol to snub anyone asking for the moon. continued on next page...

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Don’t dribble out a few drops simply to show your hand in the process. Edits for the sake of editing, or because you think you’re making it “sound better” are not justifiable reasons. When it’s said and done, you should have enough confidence in every edit to provide the author a sufficient explanation of why you did what you did, and allow them the chance to discuss any wholesale changes. Contributors certainly appreciate it, and if you’re one of the good editors, your assistance will help them become better contributors down the line.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Own Up to Mistakes. I’m hard pressed to name a publication without at least one mistake. We’re human, it happens. But misspelling an author’s name or erring on a photo credit deserves attention. Contributors take pride in their work, and in many cases, the final is signature—intangibly worth more than the figures on a pay check.

So try not to screw them over. If you make a mistake, follow up with a correction notice. Afterward, if you want to soothe an irked contributor, think about following up with another assignment, especially if the work speaks for itself.

Stand By Your Marks. The exercise of editing differs among practitioners.

I’ve worked with editors steeped in the ways of grammar, punctuation, and verb tense with a keen eye for spotting holes and fat that must be cut away.

On the flipside, I’ve worked with others who simply edit because they feel they have to—akin to a dog pissing on a fire hydrant, not because he needs to, but because he has that overwhelming desire to leave his mark.

50

Explain Yourself. To take the previous commentary a step further, there’s no worse feeling for an author eagerly awaiting the publication of an article, only to open the pages and see the piece is nothing close to the original.

Whatever edits and changes you make to a piece, or whatever photos you decide to include or omit in a spread, discuss decisions with the contributor whenever possible. Editing should be a collaborative process. ________________________ To the writers, photographers and other contributors of our industry’s respected media: Don’t Shotgun. By far, one of the biggest bumps in the road for any magazine, e-zine, blog or journal needing content today, is also my prevailing editorial pet peeve. Don’t create with the intent of soliciting the exact same piece to multiple players. Conceive for a particular medium and its audience.

In my career, I’ve received (and tossed) innumerable submissions and queries concluding with requests for speedy replies because copious other publications already expressed interest.

Contact one vehicle at a time. Give a publication the right to refuse before shopping around. Don’t throw material out just to see where it sticks. Pitting one outfit against another trying to

make an extra C-note leaves a bad taste in editors’ mouths and certainly won’t foster any long-lasting working relationships. Avoid that, and your work may improve as an offshoot. By targeting your outlets and audiences, you’ll focus without trying to be all things to all people, you’ll build stronger relationships with varying channels, and in the long run, be more successful.

Chill Out. It’s exciting when words flow from your fingertips to the keyboard with uninterrupted fervor. But that pales against the feeling of wrapping it all up in an email message and hitting the send button. . . Then the waiting begins.

After you blast it into cyberspace, forget about it for a while. Give the editor(s) time to read and digest it. No editor sits at a computer, biting fingernails, waiting to read unsolicited work landing in the inbox, so following up 48 hours later with ‘well, what d’ya think?’ often has the opposite affect you desire. Unless your last name is McGuane, life doesn’t stop at the sight of your submission. Give it a month, then follow up with a polite email or phone call.

Meet Deadlines. If you make a commitment to something, do it. It’s as simple as that. By portioning out an assignment or reserving space in an upcoming issue for your efforts, someone stakes a share of business on your word. If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, you leave people in a tight spot, and there’s no incentive to put work on your plate again.

There’s nothing wrong with being hungry. From the editor’s desk, it’s refreshing to see raw ambition from time to time. But don’t spread yourself so thin trying to find a pot of gold that your submissions suffer. No continued on next page...

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one is making armloads of money in the media side of this business. If it were possible, someone surely would have figured it out by now. As authors, editors and photographers, we generally do what we do because something deeper motivates us—let that voice guide your principles.

If you’re on task and a story takes a different direction, or your sources lead you into new, relevant information—ask for an extension. Don’t wait until the night before deadline and sheepishly email saying you don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle. Editors and publishers appreciate best-effort scenarios and are more likely to open room in the timeline if you’re honest and upfront.

Be Humble. Good editors make authors look good. When collaborating, try to take your ego and emotions out of the equation. It’s likely the toughest advice for anyone to follow—myself included. When I work on a project, I sacrifice the most valuable thing I have; time. When I submit a manuscript, it’s more than words on paper; it’s a collection of moments lost at a computer instead of with my children, or (heaven forbid) fishing.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

It’s hard to avoid taking some edits with a grain of salt. But in most cases, there’s a method behind an editor’s madness, and though I’ve worked with some editors who are better than others, it’s a part of the game and nothing flowing through a camera lens or punched on a keyboard is etched in gold.

Don’t Double (or Triple) Dip. Grant exclusivity whenever possible.

Selling an image or series of images taken ½ a second apart featuring the same scene, the same backdrop, and the same anglers, to three competing titles publishing on similar schedules, won’t make anyone happy—especially if it’s unique. While this suggestion

52

applies more to photographers, writers should still pay heed.

Conversely, don’t hang up your hat after playing up only one perspective.

Get more bang for your buck by crafting multiple angles—just be resourceful about it. Traveling to an exotic location or encountering a unique event often yields varying slants and anecdotes.

For instance, a trip to beautiful North Dakota can supply a piece about the state’s abundant carp opportunities, a travelogue with anecdotes connecting local guides and residents, or even an article relating the popularity of hot dish—regional slang for any number of casseroles high in calories, sodium, and cream-of-somethin’ soup (i.e.: they’re delicious).

This notion is somewhat tricky with the rising popularity of online and electronic media. Is it a conflict to create a photo essay for a print publication using the same imagery appearing on an online slide show? Some publications say web and print are the same, others specify usage differently, and unless there’s something spelled out in your contract, it’s a question you should discuss with the editor. At a minimum, in the interest of full disclosure, be honest about where variations of your work appear and leave it up to the editor/publisher to make the call.

Don’t Flip Flop. Stay with the one that asks you to dance. Hypothetically speaking, say you solicit photos to magazine A, but they decline. You take your work to magazine B, they like what they see and agree to purchase several images for upcoming features.

Weeks later, magazine A expresses a change of heart and requests an image, one you’ve already committed to magazine B, for a cover—and they’re willing to pay handsomely.

It’s certainly a tempting fruit. Prominent placement, more money, and the admiration of your photo brethren is

tough to pass up. But you made a deal.

Don’t break it. The industry is small, people talk, and too much jostling can land your name on every production’s “buyer beware” list.

Study. This one should be a no brainer. Before you submit, become familiar with the blueprint. Know what images should make the cut, the writing style, or the topics garnering attention. As an editor, nothing is worse than receiving an unsolicited submission or query from someone obviously unfamiliar with the format.

In the same vein, if your piece doesn’t meet the editorial needs, don’t follow up with ‘well, can you tell me what you don’t like so I can fix it?’ or any variation thereof. Editors aren’t teachers, and there’s simply no time in anyone’s schedule for that level of back-and-forth. That’s all I have to say about that. ________________________ I enjoy working in this industry.

I enjoy exploring new places, spending time with like-minded people and the camaraderie of it all. I enjoy seeing my byline and the occasional photo credit. And, I enjoy getting that crisp check when it’s all said-and-done. My passion fuels my lifestyle.

Keep in mind these are just ideas, notions and peeves discussed among a handful of editors and contributors—don’t perceive anything as a line in the sand. But in the end, no matter what side of the fence you’re playing from, professionalism takes a commitment, and the principles should apply no matter how big or small the job. Take heart, and put your best foot forward—it’s the right thing to do, and it can ensure your next job in this industry won’t be your last. at

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Maximize Fly Sales

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

Written by Lance Gray

How many flies do you sell each year? How many flies sit in your shop’s bins for more than three months? How much do you spend on each fly? How much do you make on each fly? What’s your hot fly right now?

What isn’t selling? The list of questions goes on, but many dealers have no idea on how to answer any of them.

Getting a better handle on marketing flies can save a shop, so let’s start here with ideas on how to devise a plan for handling fly inventory and marketing flies, then we’ll talk about ordering.

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Most customers who walk in a fly shop often head straight to the fly bins. Flies are the essence of this sport! Fly shops are named so for a reason; their bins are smorgasbords of ideas, and customers are fascinated by them.

The 2012 March-April Angler Trends Report speaks volumes on this subject, suggesting that a staggering 58.1 percent of anglers surveyed had bought flies in the past two months. I conducted some informal follow-up research by surveying seven retail fly shops from around the US. I tossed out the largest and smallest shops from my survey, and averaged the other five to find out that my typical

retail fly shop carries 51,700 flies. At $.85 wholesale per fly that’s roughly $43,945.00 in inventory cost. At a retail price of $1.75 per fly, that equates to $90,475.00 in inventory—that’s cold hard cash tied up in the fly bins and an average profit of $46,530.00. For these five shops, fly sales averaged 22 percent of total sales.

Flies are terminal tackle, and terminal tackle is tackle that is easily lost, damaged or just plan worn out to the point that the product can’t be used again. Every retail fly shop knows that, but it’s the shop that has control over its flies that makes money, while the shop with flies that scarcely sell, loses money. It’s as simple as that.

Selling Flies Not taking care of the bins is probably the straightest path to failure. Mislabeled bins, mixed sizes in bins, mixed patterns in bins, dirt, dust, dead insects or even flies that have been damaged due to pests, are all major problems. A simple plastic cover or even a bed sheet positioned over the bins at night can save you big bucks in sales and damaged product. Keeping bins clean, organized and full is vital.

Shops that are most successful in fly sales have one thing in common: they know how to manage inventory.

Knowing what sells and what doesn’t in real time is the key. Get control of your inventory. Know what is hot and what isn’t. Put some sort of inventory control in place. You need to have hard numbers on what is selling and what isn’t (not just hunches), and use that data to dictate orders.

That can start with just old fashioned “bean counting.”

Make a list of all your flies and count them. One of our smaller-sized survey shops actually does this. The shop owner breaks down his 4,200 flies/110 patterns into four groups. He counts one group every month and learns what sells and doesn’t sell that way.

Reba Brinkman at Hunter Banks Company in Ashville, North Carolina, thinks “controlling inventory is everything.” She explained her inventory control system: First, each fly bin has a bar code (SKU) on it. That fly is matched with the SKU for the point-of-sale system.

Cost, manufacturer, retail price, and “when received” continued on next page...

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is entered into the POS system.

Here’s the cool part: The customer takes a fly cup, picks up a hand held wireless scanner and picks the flies they want. They must scan the bar code tag for each fly. When done shopping, the customer brings the fly cup with the flies to the counter for check out. The scanner is downloaded into the system and the sale is completed. Reba added: “We count the flies in the cup and spot check patterns to make sure that the system is running smoothly.” The result nets instant inventory control, cost breakdowns and alerts to trigger re-orders. Better yet, they have hard numbers for next year’s early ordering process.

There are always corrections that a shop can make to increase fly sales.

Photo: Jason Arnold

A couple of these are simple. First maximize your add-on sales. For example, when a customer buys Hexagenia flies, ask if he or she needs paradrakes, paranymphs or even stillborns. If the customer doesn’t know what you’re talking about, explain the life cycle of the Hexagenia. One of our shops has seasonal hot flies and a hatch life cycle chart to educate customers on current hatches. It shows the life cycle of the aquatic insect with the flies that match each period. It’s simple but effective on sales. And it’s an educational value-add for the customer.

Isolate and promote new or special patterns separate from the day-today patterns. If it’s a new fly, place a little flag at the bin for customers

to notice it. Place hot seasonal flies, specialty flies, or flies tied by certain people in an area and highlight that area with add-on merchandise. Indicators, leaders, split shot… make it a little “fast grab” area. Include rigging instructions for customers to take with them.

Lincoln Gray (my brother) who manages Sierra Stream Fly Shop in Chico, California, has specialty flies tied by local guides set apart from the commercially produced flies. The flies turn over continuously because anglers like flies tied by guides. In fact, he matches them for the season and a copy of rigging instructions.

Education increases sales.

Ray Narbaitz, a retired sales representative (yes retired), offers straightforward advice on fly sales based

Freedom Hawk’s President, David Hadden; Islamorada, FL

We build fishing reels... on plain old common sense: “When I used to give clinics at the shops, I used to hammer on them on several things,” he explained. “Never let anyone buy just one of any kind of fly. I had a whole line I used to give them to get customers to buy at least three of each fly. That alone could increase sales to a customer by a good 50 percent in a lot of cases. And never let a customer go to the fly bins by themselves. Having the sales person talking excitedly about the flies will get the customer excited.”

When the Caddis start, coming off these two dries have been really hot in one of these two sizes, however, a bit before the hatch, we have been doing really well with these soft hackles. After the hatch is over, continued on next page...

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they have wanted the soft hackles again, but a little deeper, so we have been fishing these bead head soft hackles...

their orders but, as with everything else in life, “shit does happen” and everyone works together.

The customer may or may not read the hatch chart, but if the sales person is genuinely excited and informative, sales will increase!

The other huge dealer concern with fly companies was fill-in shipments during the height of the season (Part two of Jeff Perin comment from above). We asked Bruce Olson at Umpqua Feather Merchants and Ray at Solitude Fly Company how they handle fill-in orders during the peak of the season. Both had mechanisms in place for handling fill-ins. They both forecast what flies are going to be needed during the height of the hatch, based on multiple year averages. That average is then produced to be available for fill-ins. These numbers are based on predictions and seasonal numbers that could be wrong, but it is a starting point. Dealers and manufacturers should predict on sound numbers (we hope) but it’s still a prediction. Predictions are based on fact—that is why inventory control is very important.

Buying Flies Buying flies is a whole other challenge—which, frankly, most shops hate to tackle. I have been on both sides of the fence on this issue. From being the fly buyer at Powell’s Fly Shop to owning my own manufacturing fly company, I have seen pretty much everything. The thing that everyone has to remember is that the dealer and fly company’s relationship is truly symbiotic.

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

We asked dealers what would be their perfect fly company. Many had some great suggestions but one stood out. Jeff Perin from The Fly Fishers Place in Sisters, Oregon, said: “One that allowed seasonality adjustments to preseasons and had more fill-in flies in stock during the height of the season.”

The first part of this statement is brilliant. Dealers should be able to control and adjust pre-season orders in mid-stream. That means being able to control inventory as it is being manufactured, a concept worthy of today’s ever-changing economic market. I asked Ray Chang at Solitude Fly Company about Solitude’s policy when it comes to changing pre-season. Basically, Solitude’s position on pre-season orders is that they work with shops with changing pre-season. As an offshore manufacturer, he likes a good, solid three months of dealers not changing 58

Buying flies is like buying cars... not fun. Dealers that aren’t prepared need to get prepared. Here is a great a synopsis of what you the dealers, manufacturers, reps and the manufacturers themselves listed as important aspects while buying flies.

First and foremost (and I have already hit on this a couple of times), knowing what sells and doesn’t sell, or when you need it and when you don’t, are keys. A POS system can tell you everything you need to know about these things. Take every fly company’s catalog together and throw them on a table and go to work. Look at each program. Look at pre-season terms, dates and cost

of flies. Highlight (know) what fly you get from each manufacturers and see if other manufacturers have the same flies (standard stuff). Look at quality of the product. If every company ties the Adams Parachute the same—this means you have multiple companies you can get that fly from in a pinch.

Go through all the specialty fly patterns you carry from each manufacturer. Look at patterns that you can replace or substitutes for other patterns from other manufacturers.

Look at every product. Get samples from sales representatives; ask the manufacturer for flies to see. They will send you samples in a heartbeat.

On a spreadsheet, compile all the information by pattern, manufacturer, substations, cost, and program breaks. By getting it on paper you can see the money you save, or could save.

Before you order, go through all other products that the manufacturer is offering. If you can add other products—fly tying, fly boxes, hooks, vests or whatever the other product is—into the manufacturer’s program and get better pricing, then do it.

If you feel that that the product doesn’t live up to your standards, then go someplace else. But make an educated decision. The worst thing that a dealer can do is not to be prepared. If a dealer can make another 5 percent a fly throughout the year the total additional profit is $4523.00, based on our original numbers. If you can save another 5 percent on another inventory- based product by using manufactures’ programs you could get even an even better percentage off. More money in your pocket!

Get in gear...

Have manufacturers and their representatives help you. Developing a working relationship with these people is prudent. They can help you even save more money. In fact, they know how to maximize your dollars. That is what an incentive program is about.

Fly Boxes • Vests and Bags • Clothing Entomology • Accessories • Gifts

Getting everything on paper and then into your POS is a ton of work, but it is work that is going to pay off next week, next season, and for years to come. The setup is always the most difficult. Once the setup is in your system, and with your diligence, your fly bins will produce more cash.

Top fly patterns at our dealers fly bins:

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Red Copper John

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Flashback PT

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it’s the kind of due diligence that’s becoming necessary.

Last spring, Winston received four review requests for premium rods.

It asked for contact information and took credit card numbers to secure its cache of loaner product. When the sticks never resurfaced, Winston marketing manager Leslie Clark went on the hunt and found that phone numbers had been disconnected.

Credit cards were declined.

Fake e-zines ignite investigations in trust Lenders Beware Written by Geoff Mueller

AnglingTrade.com / August 2012

AT recently broke news on several Massachusetts-based e-zines that borrowed—on false credentials—with no intent to return. The questionable “publications” duped at least three major industry brands. Months later, when high-end rods, reels, and waders amounting to thousands of dollars disappeared, Johnny Law was called in and most losses have since been recouped.

That’s the good word. The implications, however, remain troubling.

Theft and fraud are no joke. But the ease at which these “media” entities were able to infiltrate the marketplace and quickly score a leg up on well-intentioned manufacturers is laughable.

Vetting the legits from the illegitimates can be painstaking considering the oceanic breadth of the Internet, but 60

Clark says she received e-mail requests for rods from five online fly-fishing magazines in 2011 and 2012. Loaner rods were sent under the company’s standard policy. The e-mags included On the Fly, The Global Angler, The Hendrickson, and Fly Angler Magazine.

“We Googled addresses and they were all UPS stores,” Clark says. “Disappointingly it looked like the work of an individual familiar with the industry.”

Soon after, Matt Crawford, who handles Simms Fly Fishing accounts via Pale Morning Media, in Vermont, contacted Clark. Crawford says he was reading the AT post and almost choked on his coffee after recognizing one of the titles.

“I was able to call Simms, and from there we rerouted our goods back to Bozeman,” Crawford says. “It also inspired me to check back through my e-mail and cross-reference where I’d sent other waders. The errors of my ways became apparent.”

Crawford and Clark contacted Massachusetts’ authorities. Clark went to the Taunton, Mass., Police Department, and Crawford called the FBI. Meantime, Crawford attempted to touch base with the publications.

Two e-mail links were dead and the other went unanswered. Taunton PD,

however, tracked down the perp. Rods had gone bye-bye, likely sold to the highest eBay bidder, but Winston and Simms received reimbursements for lost goods.

Kara Armano, who runs Sage, Rio, and Redington loaner accounts through Backbone Media in Carbondale, Colo., hasn’t been so lucky.

She also shipped gear to the titles in question. As of this writing, and after a series of “whoop-ass” e-mail followups, Sage remains minus three rods and one reel.

All say requests received, and the manner in which they were driven through proper channels, suggest that this person—or persons—is an industry insider. “Even down to the products they picked,” Crawford says, “products that have been around for a while and we would relish exposure on.”

As far as lessons learned, how these types of requests are handled is being reevaluated. It’s crucial for a company or PR firm to explore all inquiries and ask, “how does this benefit my brand?” before simply sending it out the door. In addition, be meticulous.

Seek answers to questions such as audience potential and research the source. Who are the names behind the e-zine? How will your product be represented? When will the review run?

Strike up conversations beyond e-mail and get a real person on the phone to discuss logistics. If something still stinks, take a credit card number and charge it. Refunds can be administered upon return of loaner items.

Companies like Sage, Simms, and Winston benefit from exposure across various media channels—that’s why they have loaner programs to begin with. But becoming a sucker leaves a sour taste. Work off a list of trusted sites, and consider scrutinizing “John-

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After sleuthing around the Massachusetts-based sites—all of which have since been unplugged—it seems that in addition to pinching gear, much of the content was also poached. A story on “High, Muddy Water” techniques, for instance, was several years old and the new byline did not correspond with the original author.

Armano says: “With these e-zines we oftentimes are forced to just go on their word. And in the fly fishing industry, that’s how trust has been traditionally built—on your word.”

Clearly, fly fishing is not immune to the B.S. delivery systems of savvy scammers. Lenders take note. at

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