Just For The Sake Of Discussion

[strangercreek]

I ran across this article about wether the sport of Fly Fishing is growing or not. I also found that the International Fly Tackle Dealers show has now co located with icast, as opposed to having their own convention/show. Do you think this all just due to changes in marketing (maybe not keeping fly fishing so separate, or maybe manufacturers wanting to get ALL their products in front of a larger audience?) I am interested to know the thoughts of some other members on here.

Jason

http://featherchucker.blogspot.com/2013/03/is-sport-of-fly-fishing-hurting.html

[Quillback]

Last week I watched "Bass - The movie", part 1, they did feature some guys fly casting for largemouth, which is one thing you never see on the conventional bass fishing shows. It looked like fun, one guy was using a surface frog type fly and fishing it over surface weeds, and another guy was shown fishing a shad pattern. I liked the looks of that shad fly and it got me to thinking that one of these days I might get a fly rod and do some bass fishing with it.

I think that, at least in the bass fishing world, fly fishing is not viewed as a technique that will load the boat or win tourneys.

[Justin Spencer]

Don't really know about the growth of flyfishing, but it is going strong in the Ozarks I believe. We have quite a few young fly fishermen many just out of, or finishing college, as well as the older generations. The passion in these younger fishermen is encouraging, and most with children are already teaching them the sport. The internet has certainly had a negative effect on the brick and mortar fly shop, so if you appreciate the advice they give you spend a few extra bucks and buy as much as you can at these stores or your free fishing info could be a thing of the past.

[Brian Sloss]

Fly fishing accross the country may or may not be on the decline, but I agree with Justin on two fronts. First, it seems to be growing in the ozarks a bit and secondly, you need to support your local fly shops if you want them around because the big box stores and online shopping is taking a bigger and bigger share of the market. I know where I am, if all I sold was fly gear, I would soon be out of business. On the other hand as a compliment to the rest of the business we do, it is a big asset.

[Wayne SW/MO]

With the explosion of companies offering fly fishing equipment and related goods I don't see how a conclusion like that could be brought forth? As the population increases it becomes harder to make statements that require counting every penny. Even one person switching from buying flies to tying their own can upset the figures.

[ozark trout fisher]

I am one of those people who would be thrilled to buy flies at a shop....If they even existed in central Mo where I live, or south central MO where I fish, I'd probably never buy from the online outlets or the big stores. But it's not a possibility, because there are none. So I have to be one of those people buying stuff almost exclusively online. I don't like it, but it's not really an option for all of us. Most of the streams I fish aren't ones with fly shops on their banks either. If I'm driving down 63 to Little or Big Piney the only place I can buy flies even close to along the way is bass pro..............

[Justin Spencer]

Plateau fly shop in Springfield. Sloss on 11 point, me on NFoW, Reeds fly shop on Current, I assume all the trout parks have a shop, so you can find them if you look. Smallmouth rivers may be a different story.

[ozark trout fisher]

I get that, but I mostly fish small streams that don't have fly shops anywhere near them...I do try to buy at shops whenever I happen to be near them. It's just not often, that's all...

[Brian Sloss]

I have often thought Rolla would be a good place for a fly shop, given its location close to the Meremac, Current, Little Piney, Spring creek, Mill creek and a number of smallmouth streams.

[Jerry Rapp]

Ron Kruger got ticked off at OAF, and won't post anymore. But I have "guided" him several time, running the trilling motor, while he did the flyrod thing for bass. Pretty amazing thing. He has that one bait that seems to always catch them. I tried the long rod several times, it was just never my thing, but those who know how to use it are just as good as the ultimate flippers, skippers, roll casters etc. And none of them use a-rigs.........LOL!