Fly Tying School

[dpitt]

4 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

The thing I really like about Bob Marriott's is that if there's any doubts, questions, or if they happen to be out of stock of something they personally call you immediately.....and they really know their stuff well. 

F-C would just ship whatever they had in stock, and you wouldn't know that the order wasn't filled completely until whatever they ship gets delivered.   That kinda stuff doesn't fly with me. 

I use Feather Craft quite a bit before,  never checked out Bob Marriott's online shop, will give it a shot. Thanks!

[fishinwrench]

2 minutes ago, dpitt said:

I use Feather Craft quite a bit before,  never checked out Bob Marriott's online shop, will give it a shot. Thanks!

They have a superb crew taking & filling orders 👍 

1st Class

[snagged in outlet 3]

2 hours ago, BilletHead said:

                          Tru dat Pete,

     But there is nothing like picking out your own material. Bucktail is the first thing that comes to mind. I will just miss that shop. We go way back. I do mail order though.

I’m that way on hackle's.  

[kjackson]

It's been a while since I ordered anything from them, but a shop worth checking out is Waters West in Port Angeles (Washington). It used to be my local shop back in the PNW.  While the selection of material is a bit limited, you'll find that a lot of the stuff comes in colors you won't find elsewhere. The shop dyes its own in steelhead and salmon colors--which can be productive here. Prices seem to be a bit lower on some items as well.  

[Lancer09]

Just saw this thread.

Plateau closing is a real bummer. There has been a fly shop in that spot since as long as I can remember when I started college back in 2008. 

Back in the what felt like the glory days of it, 2011 to 14 maybe it was amazing. Great stock , events, everything you wanted your local shop to be. After moving to KC in 14 it still seemed to be great until I moved, and when I got back last year I was less impressed. Just didn't seem to have everything or the vibe that it used to.
When I lived in Jackson I was good friends with people who ran the orvis shop and knew a lot of guys and guided with a few that worked at JD's. Going to tying classes, and even just stopping in to talk fishing was another level. 

There is enough around here that I feel like it could/should work with getting stuff stocked, community outreach, things like that.

Either way, I'll miss plateau. 

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, Lancer09 said:

 

 

1 hour ago, Lancer09 said:

Either way, I'll miss plateau. 

    I will also, it's where I met you for the first time. Plateau was never the same after Jim left. 

    So are you still out west somewhere or back this way?

[trythisonemv]

On 12/20/2024 at 9:52 AM, Ryan Miloshewski said:

Not a fan. I went in there one time and they barely had anything and were rude. Could've been just the day, but I've not been back since. That was 5 years ago.

They didn't have enough money to float it during covid they really struggled. Nice guy from joplin. He just couldn't keep it stocked and couldn't compete with amazon

[trythisonemv]

Sad ... ty and Jim were the best. That's where I learned to tie flies

[tjm]

I'm curious when these fly shops started?

When I started tying in the '70s, I was in southern New  England and although there were quite a few fly fishers  and most of them tied flies,  the fly shops were either the bait shop or a mail order like  Kaufmann's Streamborn or Orvis. The local bait shop had or would get  everything that was sold by Raymond C  Rumpf or Universal Vise Co.

The first "pro" fly shops that specialized in just fly fishing tackle, materials, etc. happened there ca'81-'82 as best that I recall. And then it seemed like there was a flock of them all at once.  I know that in destination fishing places in Mt. and NY there were fly specialty shops perhaps as far back as the early 1900s. And suspect that in Mo. the first would have coincided with the establishment of the trout parks, but in a place like Springfield or KC, I wonder who supported such shops?

 

[Lancer09]

18 hours ago, BilletHead said:

 

    I will also, it's where I met you for the first time. Plateau was never the same after Jim left. 

    So are you still out west somewhere or back this way?

We are back.

Between Rent and Child care hitting us for over 5k a month we moved back last summer. 

It really was the best with Jim was there. I don't know if anyone else is on the board that was a part of the shop in an official capacity but that seemed to be the best. Those few years when it switched from back country to plateau was amazing. 

Great community, classes, people stopping in and talking and it SEEMED like someone almost always bought something. 

I think it's hard here with BPS down the road but it really can, and should be a different crowd that hits the two hard. The sense of community is what is going to keep a shop going here in swmo. Having been to shops all over the west it can be amazing if you foster it. Fly fish food in utah, also bought Jimmy's out in IF are amazing. Half the ones in colorado or west yellowstone i'd go back to in a heart beat. Like I mentioned I know a bunch of people out in the Jackson shops too and it was always good how much local support they got because they catered, did outreach and were trying to grow fly fishing in the area.