The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

grevel wrote:
I have been putting together spreadsheets full of numbers and ultimatly ranking Orvis "sucess" on the west coast.

George,
I think your case may be flawed, unless you are taking into account single customer's buying trends over the years. As many noted, sometimes we come in for a $5 zinger, others for a $400 rod. And what I spent 20 years ago is not at all equal to what I am willing to spend today. Of course, you could just make the assumption that your numbers include members of each demographic, so its a "slice" of reality. But just a warning, as this is where professors will ding you on case studies.

BTW - I too am the owner of a 20+ year old Western Orvis rod. It was not a kit, but it was a beginners package with a Madison reel, line, etc. I replaced the reel seat a few years back and gave the rod to my son. It is still one of my favorite rods. It is an unfinished graphite blank (the carbon wraps are right out there), and it is a parabolic rod, that can act like anything from a 4 to 6 weight depending how hard you push it.