Ask anyone who knows me; I am a fly fisherman (some would say to a fault!) I don't golf, ski, hunt, boat (unless of course it is for fly fishing), jog, or participate in team sports - I fly fish. I fly fish 4 to 5 days a week while home, every day while on vacation, and even through the winter where the law allows (and I wish they would allow more!). When I am not fly fishing, I am working in my fly shop, tying flies or reading about Fly Fishing.

As someone addicted to Fly Fishing, I like fly shops almost as much as I like fishing. In fact, I like fly shops so much that I walked away from a 20-year career in high-tech to pursue my life-long dream of opening one. I even chose to do it in the midst of a terrible economy and after the "river had run through it"! With fly shops closing at an alarming rate due to a down turn in the industry, many friends wondered if I had sniffed too much Gink.

Since I first became enthralled with the sport, I was drawn to fly shops like a kid to candy. Even now that I own a fly shop, I cannot drive past one without stopping in (I just have to look!). Oddly enough, I don't even consider myself a "shopper" yet I can spend hours in a fly shop. Not a corner of a "Sporting Goods" store, a section in a large "Outdoor Specialty" store, or a branded "Super Store", but a hard-core multi-brand "Fly Shop"!

Although I bought my first quality fly rod (a Cortland Black Diamond) at a general sporting goods store (Bert's Sport and Tackle in Pepperell, Mass), it was my exposure to Hunter's Angling Supplies in southern New Hampshire that hooked me on fly shops. Since then, I have visited literally dozens of fly shops across the country. Be it a small remote "Destination" shop or a large urban retail shop, as long as it's a "Fly Shop", I'm there!

You can tell a real "Fly Shop" the moment you walk in the door. Everywhere you look is fly fishing equipment. There are no aisles upon aisles of casual clothing (some technical fishing clothing is ok), hockey sticks, guns, or purple kayaks suspended from the ceiling to distract you. In addition, rather than "good-better-best", there are competing brands which allow the shopper to compare a brand "A" $500 fly rod to a brand "B" $500 fly rod (it's only fair!).

The other sure sign that you are in a "Fly Shop" is that the person who waits on you is like you, a hard-core fly fisherman not some "Weekend Warrior" who can't tie a nail knot or perfection loop to save their life (and most likely thinks a double-haul is something you do to free up a snag). Ideally, the salesperson should be sun burnt from too much time on the water and with permanent calluses on their stripping finger (or in a perfect world a bandage to stop the bleeding!)

Rather than a token 4' by 4' display of fly tying materials, I expect to see at least ¼ of the shop dedicated to the fine art of fly tying (try convincing a specialty store to tie up ¼ of their floor space with under $5 items that sell only part of the season!) Add to that at least 3 brands of fly rods, a half dozen brands or reels, three or more brands of fly line, leader and tippet, at least two brands of waders, some books, an unnecessary amount of gadgets and you have a "Fly Shop"!

Having traveled extensively, I can say that the best concentration of "Fly Shops" in the country has to be West Yellowstone, MT. That fly fisherman's (and fly shop junkie's) paradise has at least 6 shops (and all within walking distance) including some of the better known shops in the country such as Bud Lilly's, Madison River Outfitters, etc. On my first visit to West Yellowstone I walked around slack-jawed, amazed at what we were missing back home.

Even when stuck in an urban area such as Washington DC I can sniff out a "Fly Shop". While on a contract in northern Virginia a few years ago, I immediately went in search of a fly shop so I could get my weekly fix. My first stop was at a brand-specific fly fishing super store just down the road from my hotel (not my cup of tea). My next stop was at a mall a few miles down the turnpike that housed a well-known outdoor specialty store (ditto).

Thirty minutes and a few wrong turns later, I pulled into a little strip mall in front of a shop called "Angler's Lie". As I walked in and looked around, I knew I had found my home for the next few months. With names like Sage, Winston, and Simms plastered to the wall, and a well-stocked fly tying section I knew I had hit pay dirt. Sealing the deal was the fact that I was greeted by a guy sporting an Abel hat, a ZZ Top beard, and calling himself "Griz"!

I'm not knocking the other establishments, just saying that they are not for me. When I want fly fishing products or information (or simply a fly fishing "fix"), I head for the nearest "Fly Shop" bypassing the crowds, distractions, and missed expectations (lack of knowledge, choices, etc.) often associated with other types of businesses. Besides, there is more to a visit to a fly shop than simply products and services; it's a place where like-minds congregate.

Thanks to businesses like Aardvark Outfitters in Farmington, Fly Fishing Only in Fairfield, Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, Mountain Valley Flies in Solon, etc., both local and visiting anglers have access to tackle, services and up-to-date information just miles (or feet!) from their favorite waters. While I doubt any of the owners of these establishments are getting rich (this is a labor of love!), they are there year after year making sure anglers have a place to go.

Unfortunately, a disturbing number of today's fly fishermen have succumbed to the convenience (at the expense of expertise and service in my opinion) of discount department stores, generic sporting goods stores, outdoor specialty stores, brand-specific super stores, mail order giants and e-commerce for their wares. If this alarming trend continues, we could soon find ourselves without local "Fly Shops" in all but the busiest of urban areas.

While hard-core "Fly Shop" junkies are apparently a dying-breed, fortunately there are still enough to make it all worthwhile. These are the anglers who demand more from their merchants and appreciate and reward with loyalty, the skill, knowledge, information (try getting local stream reports from an e-shop!) and hard work of those whom make their living supporting our sport. I for one thank god for that, can you imagine a world without "Fly Shops"?