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Ralph wrote:
Points all well taken.
I take it from your previous post that you are very new at this game and are likely not aware of the tenuous state of affairs when it comes to fly fishing retailers. Local fly shops are a dying breed. It takes more than all the fingers on both of my hands to count the number of shops that have gone out of business in Northern California in the last year. Your local shop provides exactly the information you are requesting. They are the guys who will show you how to spool up your line, suggest the right fly selection, and provide guidance when it comes to connecting with the right place at the right time. Quite simply they have a vested interest in your success and your relationship is a two way street. You don't know what you've got until it's gone.
I can get virtually all of my gear at cost, on pro-form, or sometimes free - yet I rarely do. Maybe I'm stupid or old fashioned, but I feel the extra bucks I spend at Tony's or Kiene's or FF Specialties are an investment in the future of our sport. When was the last time LL Bean, Cabela's, or Bass pro sponsored a Yuba River clean up, or hosted a local kid's fly tying theatre, or gave you a loaner rod because yours was back at the factory getting a replacement tip?
I am only 43, but still old fashioned too. <grin>
I paid this summer $5.99 at B&C Hardware for a 5 gallon plastic bucket to put in my dogs pen for water even tough I could get the same thing at the new Home Depot in Auburn for $2.19. So yes, buying local for me is rather important also and believe you me, I willbe buying many things at Nevada City store. And, my Christmas list to my wife will have their business card stapled to it. hehehe.
I already plan on attending the classes the Nevada City shop offers and have no plans on venturing out on my own now. I want to meet them and many folks here. My question for this thread was "future" related as I noted and just doing some thinking outside the box is all.
In fact, I am going to start saving up for your classes also as they look rather good. Being Self Employed myself, it will take a while of saving for those classes but I will get there.
So, yes, I plan on buying many goods at the local shops and also taking classes and asking them tons of questions.
BTW, I went to all those shops you mentioned above. If they offered this LL Bean rod, I would of purchased from them, but, I don't think they can get that one for me <grin>. Whether it was a good choice is to be seen, but it was my choice and if worse comes to worse, I will have a real compact rod for packing and it will still get used. In time, I may get a better setup locally when I know what is going on in the world of Flyfishing.
tj
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