The Underground’s Fly Fishing Retailer Post and Economic Bailout Plan

Sure, the Underground’s feeling the economic pinch just like everyone else, but I’m not worried, reasoning what’s true for AIG is true for me: the Underground’s simply too big to fail.

As I write this, the Feds are no doubt readying an 80% buyout of the Underground (I figure a billion or so would do it), and there’s only one fly in the ointment: Traffic figures sadly suggest we’re succeeding, rendering us ineligible for bundles of your tax dollars a bailout.

Damn.

Without any hope of gluttony at the government trough, I suppose all that’s left is to continue, and we’ll start with a few broader insights into the recently-concluded Fly Fishing Retailer Show.

(image courtesy Derek DeYoung/Canvasfish.com)

First, Yes, It Was Smaller

FFR is where manufacturers roll out their new trinkets, and retailers either froth at the mouth or simply yawn and move on. The show - small by most standards - saw growth last year, but for all the obvious reasons, it downsized a bit this year.

Fewer booths dotted the landscape, and someone suggested 14% fewer bodies wandered the hallways (since my body was 1.5% larger than last year, I bravely narrowed the gap for the industry just a bit).

What’s new?

First, The Juicy Gossip

For months, unhappy rumours have been circulating about Scott Rods, a company loved by many but plagued by mismanagement and an odd marketing focus.

Given my affection for their rods (I once said they were the bestest brand with the worstest marketing), I was relieved to hear the news was all good.

I stopped by the Scott booth (they rolled out their new A3 rods, proving once again they can pair numbers and letters in relatively uninteresting ways), and they were upfront about their issues and the recent reorganization.

The financial questions have been resolved, and they’re back on track (sigh of relief). In an interesting homage to transparency, they even sent a letter to that effect to their dealers.

Yay, Scott.

What About Last Year’s Underground Favorites?

Last year, a few exhibitors earned Underground favorite status, and visits to this year’s booths confirmed my Nostradamus-like powers of prescience. Simply put, they mostly scored:

Canvasfish.com

Last year, Derek DeYoung of Canvasfish.com was stuck out in the boonies - his marvelous, stylized oil paintings of trout visible only if you liked to walk. For Derek, 2008 was a good year.

His work appeared on the cover of Gray’s Sporting Journal and in a few other magazines, and life, as the artistic types sometimes say, is hopping. I plan to write a whole post about this guy later, but suffice it to say I like his work.

(image courtesy Derek DeYong/Canvasfish.com)

Flybook.com

Craig Langer’s FlyBook hosted online booking system for guides, outfitters and shops only had one customer after launching just prior to last year’s FFR show, but this year, he’s got 30 customers and is growing fast.

Compared to a flashy new fly rod, this isn’t sexy stuff - unless you’re a guide or outfitter who is chewing up all your personal fly fishing time doing menial, mind-numbing office work.

Langer’s online solution is elegant and affordable, and if you’re a guide, it deserves a look. And yes, it’s about time the fly fishing industry as a whole entered the 20th century (and yes, I’m aware it’s the 21st century…).

Lamson Konic Reel

Let’s face it; it’s not hard to make a good $350 fly reel - and there’s no shortage of the things in this industry - but being basically cheap, I’m more interested in the $100 reels that simply always work.

In the good old days, fly fishermen had the clunky-but-bombproof Pflueger Medalist; now the affordable end of the market is awash in a sea of reels produced overseas, many of which are wholly anonymous.

Last year, I pegged the Lamson Konic for “soon-to-be-a-sales legend” status, and I was right; the $120 reel with the $400 sealed drag assembly quickly became one of Lamson’s top sellers, and is credited with keeping Lamson’s growth streak alive - even in the grips of a recession.

The new Lamson Guru

Given my desire to surplus my very-loud LL Bean/Hardy Marquis currently holding all my 6wt lines, the Konic remains a top choice, though Lamson’s new machined Guru reel ($179 or so) and wholly redesigned Velocity also look interesting.

In short, Tommy likes.

This Year’s Themes: Green, and Video

This seems to be the year the fly fishing industry discovered the environment. Given the industry’s dependence on clean water and a healthy environment, that’s a fairly shocking statement.

In all fairness, a few companies have long been concerned with environmental issues (Patagonia, Orvis, Loon to name just a few), but by and large, it’s taken until now for “green” to become the new black.

In fact, “the green thing” largely overshadowed most of the product announcements at the show; all the seminars focused on environmental issues (several of the earlier sessions were sparsely attended).

As a result, there weren’t any seminars focuses on typical topics like online marketing, CRM, merchandising, etc, and for a show catering to retailers, that’s an odd reality.

For example, the biggest show buzz revolved around Simms’ announcement - apparently in conjunction with Trout Unlimited (the other, less-famous TU) - that it was doing away with felt wading soles by 2010.

This isn’t the simple deal it appears to be, so stay tuned for more.

Watching Fly Fishing Instead of Doing Fly Fishing

The other big trend would have to be the explosion in fly fishing adventure videos. They’re hot, and yes, everybody has one, and yes again, even the video geeks were scrambling to add a “green” element to their movies.

The AEG guys were making the rounds - rumor had them hurrying to get their steelhead epic out quickly on the heels of their Mongolia DVD - and several new filmaking faces could be found among the show’s booths.

The full-length, big dollar movie “Drift” by Confluence films (I have a review copy, and I’ll watch it soon) was premiered. Written by Drake publisher Tom Bie, it looks to be a little like AEG for the over-40 set. More after I see it.

Also, the unfortunately named “Fly Boys Fishing” were showcasing their new “Raising the Ghost” adventure video effort. They didn’t cough up a copy for review, but what I have seen of the video suggests adventure and fish porn in equal quantities.

Steve Apple of “Fishsizzle” fame - a quirky little movie that brought annoying fly fishing icon Al Braughtigan to life - showcased a trailer for his upcoming “Hustle & Fish” movie, which frankly looks pretty damn good.

Clearly artistic, but (so far) lacking the posturing, and yes - even a plot thrown in for good measure. More on this one just as soon as we get the teaser.

A few others were making the rounds, including a very interesting Bonefishing video by Charles Rangeley-Wilson.

As you can see, I’ve got a lot of watching to do.

What About Gear?

As you can also see, I’m over 1000 words and I haven’t even started the gear goodies. To do justice to the gear stuff, I’ll fire that post in a day or two.

In the meantime, I’ll whet your appetites with:

• Sage may have hit our funny bone with their Bluegill-specific fly rod, but reel manufacturers weren’t laughing at Sage’s new reels, which are impressive
• William Joseph’s magnetic closure - that’s said to be “one-handable” yet largely waterproof - also scored some buzz
• Also buzzworthy was Simms’ not-yet-released vibram rubber wading boot, though the backstory on this is very juicy indeed
• Patagonia updated its line, and managed to somehow make their industry-legend Patagonia SST jacket entirely recyclable
• Orvis extended their wildly successful Helios fly rod line with the Helios Ion small stream fly rods
• Hardy & Greys launched their revamped USA presence with a lot of impressive gear and a big booth

Stay tuned, Undergrounders - there’s more to come from the FFR show.

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