Thoughts on Fly Culture
- This topic has 23 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated Nov 21, 2007 at 4:41 am by
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I decided to start a new topic on the whole Orvis/fly_culture topic.
The recent comments on the Orvis sentiment got me thinking about why it is that I myself have changed opinions on certain brands and styles as they pertain to my own fly fishing outlook. Basically, everyone enters this sport in their own way. Some of us are born with a fly rod in hand and others, like myself, started gear fishing and switched over for one reason or another. Some watch “A River Runs Through It” and others read a good old book about the lore of the fly and decide that they want to peruse a new lifestyle . Outdoor superstores catch our attention when we are in the discovery phase which is not unlike going to a department store to find a new clothing style for work. In this regard, Orvis is like the Rodeo Drive of fly fishing with it’s assortments of tackle and high end clothing and leather bags and interactive web page. It’s all there for the consumer and when starting out let’s face it we need to buy a lot of stuff.
I started my fly-fishing outfitting in a dual relationship with both Orvis and a local fly shop. Both offered great advice and great products. At first I loved the Orvis lifestyle but over time I realized that my personal style was more minimalist and the products at the fly shop seemed more appealing. For example, I once had a big expensive fly vest and I filled it with expensive (not hard to do mind you) equipment. After logging a hundred hours on the water in different fishing situations I realized that I preferred a chest pack to the vest. After logging over 150 hours, I realized that I used only about 50% of the stuff I owned. Once I developed my own style I realized that I wanted to catch fish instead of catching attention. Incorrectly, I felt that the Orvis label was more flash than necessity so I avoided it. Now I’m at the point where I don’t really care what the label is as long as it fills a need in my setup.
John Gierach writes about this in “Trout Bum”, chapter one when he says, “I took up fly-fishing long enough ago that I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I remember I had the novice’s ready-made fascination with all the mysterious gear and gadgets. In fact, it was probably the exotic tackle and accoutrements that first attracted me to the sport . . . the stuff fly-fisherman carried was both beautiful and serious looking at the same time . . . I was clearly hooked on the ambience before I even got started, which is why I got started in the first place.”
I think that Orvis does the best job at marketing the fly fishing lifestyle and although this appeals to most of us we seem to have a natural resentment toward the very thing that we are trying to create. I agree with Zach’s comments that Orvis has lasted so long because it has been successful in marketing various aspects of what we do on a regular basis. But there is a definite human trait to feel uncomfortable when marketing starts to penetrate into “our” lifestyle even if it is this very marketing that got us interested to begin with.
By the way, I still have the Orvis product catalog sitting in my stack of essential bathroom reading material and probably always will.
Orvis rubbed me wrong when they felt the need to rename the Wooly BOOger. It ain’t a “Bugger”. I don’t care what their catalog says.
Interesting topic Neal. One of the first “expensive” rods I bought was an Orvis clearwater off of ebay. I paid $125 for the rod, a fly tying kit, and a pair of Orvis boot foot neoprene waders. Too good of a deal to pass up. Now I like the rod and I have got good use from the fly tying stuff but you can have the neoprene waders! I hate those things!! My yellow lab Riley has even assisted my in breaking the rod while trying to release a fish. And Orvis took great care of me and replaced that rod with a new one in a matter of just a couple of weeks. But…I am guilty of having a problem with Orvis gear. I feel that Orvis come with too much of a Yuppie lable for me to own. I want a working mans gear like Sage, Scott, or Winston. Plus I feel like Ovris has spent their money more on marketing then they have on innovation and trying to make their gear better than everyone elses. That is just my opinion. But any of the Orvis rods that I have casted in the past few years only leave me with a so so feeling. They just don’t have the “WOW” factor to me.
That is my two bits.
Joel
I’ve spent a lot of time fishing for salmon and steelhead in Ohio and Michigan. We use the phrase “Orvis Hatch” to describe the group of folks that only show up on the water
The great thing about orvis is that it makes it easy to figure out who to make fun of on the stream, well orvis and fly vests
The guys decked out in nothing but Simms (who is now into the clothing business as well) are just as silly.
Although I don’t like everything that Orvis makes, kicking Orvis for doing what & how they do it is ridiculous. I think we even need to thank Orvis for their participation in keeping up the fly fish economy rolling and their conservation efforts.
Jay
Nice thread! Neal! I agree most of your thoughts!
Let’s see…
A question like this …if you put a Orvis- Clearwater label on the G2 rod. Am I going to use that rod?… Of course I do and love to…Nothing wrong with “hate” or “love” of one brand…But there are certain something wrong with the “BLINDNESS” Somebody say… I hate XXX because it is XXX… Don’t you think it is funny…I think this is as funny as… I love 000 because it is 000 😉
I love orvis’s shop indeed. Because I can drive there naked and have everything ready for fishing 10 mins later, at the same time, my kid and wife have their shopping experience satisfied. No body get bored. Isn’t that Great!! Do I use scott/sage/patagonia… Oh…yeah! I love them all… in different aspects… they are all Pro and have their place in my heart…
😀Three thoughts on this.
1. My good buddy works at a pretty big regional fly shop.
Stayed out as long as I could… ;D Not only do I have to be worried about what hatch is coming off, but I have to be sure not to fish the redds and the way I play a fish to hand, and the correct way to pose with said fish, but now I have to worry about the way I look as I fish.
Stayed out as long as I could… ;D Not only do I have to be worried about what hatch is coming off, but I have to be sure not to fish the redds and the way I play a fish to hand, and the correct way to pose with said fish, but now I have to worry about the way I look as I fish. Oh yes, last but not least, keeping the catch for the table. Come on people, it’s fishing. Who cares what people look like as they fish, as long as they are following the law, and the ones that are suppling the clothing/tools to use as they do so. I for one am happy to be able to spend my hard earned money the way I see fit. Not the way someone else thinks I should.
I haven’t set foot in a Orvis store, only because there is not one close by. But if there were, you can bet that I would do so. Not because of there name, but because they supply a line of material that I would like to look at, and may buy.
Am I a traitor to the sport because I buy fly tying material from Michael’s Craft Store, how about the Walmart section for hobbies, and Hobby Lobby? The fish don’t care where I buy the stuff, why should anyone else.
You know, I tried to get upset about some of the statements, but the only feeling I could come up with was humor. This is a good topic, it allows others to ponder if others are talking about them on the water, or when they drop off their fishing buddies after a day or week of fishing.
Food for thought.
This is life or death man!
Could not agree more Steve
Working mans products?…..sage? honestly you can not be serious! this was a joke right?
$700 waders…….truly for the budget minded working stiff!
come on!
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