By Kirk Deeter

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) recently commissioned the market research firm Southwick Associates, Inc., to do a study on retailers in the fly fishing industry. The results provide a clearer picture on the sport than we've had in a long time. Here are some tidbits you might find interesting:

- Total sales of all fly fishing products amount to just under $750 million, marking fly fishing as a niche endeavor. (For example, some brands of candy bars sell more than the whole fly fishing market combined.)

By Kirk Deeter

My favorite business stories in fly fishing are the ones that go something like this: Person genuinely loves fly fishing and realizes a need or an opportunity to make something cool, based on their experiences. Person then goes "all-in" with an investment to chase that goal. Person doesn't compromise their values, manufactures in the United States, and maintains a focus on innovation and the interests of the customer. Person's company is successful.

I'm pretty sure that's how the script is going to play out for Vedavoo, maker of slings, packs, bags and the like for anglers. Vedavoo is a small operation, but it made a strong impression a couple weeks ago at the International Fly Tackle Dealer trade show in Reno. (The name Vedavoo is an alternate spelling of “Vedauwoo”--an outdoor park with notable natural rock features in southern Wyoming; company founder Scott Hunter attended the University of Wyoming.)

By Tim Romano

A little over a week ago I posted a small slideshow from my time up at the Bristol Bay Lodge.

It was an amazing week at the lodge and things couldn't have turned out better. Turns out I shot over 7,000 images and it's been taking a bit of time to edit all of them. This week I added over 50 edited images to the original slideshow. Not to worry, they're at the front of the show this time... There's salmon, sashimi, boats, beavers (the airplane) and guides goofing off. Not to mention a few Alaskan landscapes.

by Kirk Deeter

            
We saw a number of interesting new products for the fly fishing market at the International Fly Tackle Dealer trade expo in Reno last week.  On a 1-10 “innovation” scale, given the fact that this was a smaller show compared to years past, I’m going to rate the new collective product offering a 7.  We’ll get into a number of specific product reviews in the coming days and weeks, but I wanted to kick things off with the NRS Clearwater Drifter.

It’s a drift boat.  No, it’s an inflatable raft.  Actually, it’s both—an inflatable watercraft that has a frame and is shaped like a dory.  This boat generated a lot of buzz at IFTD, and actually won a “Best of Show” award in the watercraft category.