While reading the Fly Fish Ohio site, I came across this great editorial on the fly fishing industry.
The gist of the article is that the fly fishing trade largely focuses on a narrow segment of fly anglers, those that can afford expensive gear and exotic trips.
In order to survive, the author suggests that the fly fishing trade associations, merchants and other industry players need to take more inclusive approach to defining the market, reach out to other angling trade associations to form alliances, and invest in angler education.
What do you think?
Jay says
A thought provoking article. I found it to be a pretty accurate analysis of the industry in my opinion. As a bass fly rodder (I do fish for other stuff too), I would have to agree that the industry treats fly fishing for bass as a token segment of the sport. It’s funny that some of the biggest names in the recent history of the sport- Brooks, Kreh, Whitlock, and Clouser are/were serious bass fly fishers. Other than a handful of nifty new short rods (marketed as “tournamant length”- but who has ever seen a fly rod used in a bass tourney, seriously?) and a few specialty lines, there really seems to be very little innovation on this potentially huge segment from the industry. A lot of individual fly fishers and tyers are doing cool things, but how often does what they do make it to the pages of the big three magazines? If there were more content that didn’t make me feel impoverished, I would be far more likely to subscribe. My current mode is to by mags at the bookstore when I see interesting bass related articles. Needless to say, I rarely buy fly fishing magazines.
The industry is definitely missing out on some huge potential.
Leigh says
Jay,
Thanks for commenting. I am also a bass/sunfish/crappie fly angler and agree that decent magazine content on bass is slim. Warm water species offer just as much fight as a good brown or a rainbow.
The market is ready for a different point of view, and it would open up fly fishing to a much larger segment of the population.
Owl Jones says
I’m with you guys, but there’s just something about the mountains and trout! I do love to chase the bass, too – but not with the long rod as much as with a spinning rod and small plugs and plastic worms.
BTW, you just won the Midge Give-Away over on my site. Since you’re more of a warm-water angler, I’d be glad to send you something you might get more use out of like some custom crappie jigs or some woolie buggers. Just let me know.
Congrats!
Ty says
Absolutely agree with the above comments. Warm-water fishing is still the red-headed stepchild in this industry. Even on our local message boards, bass and other warm-water fish are considered by many a novelty, a diversion from the real business of fishing for trout.
But there’s no doubt this is a growing segment of fly-fishing anglers. I used to fish for trout 100% of the time, but now I fish mainly for bass, carp, panfish, etc. I’m clearly not alone and the flyfishing industry would do well to tap into this potentially huge market as Jay says.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing.