Edmonton Fly Shops...?
 

Probably opening up a similar thread, but why are there no small ma and pa fly shops in Edmonton?

I'm from Calgary and was up there last weekend and wanted to kill time by visiting some fly shops. Realized there were none. Are the big box stores adequate? Do Edmontonians not fly fish? Are Edmontonians more worried about a better deal versus better service?

Discuss...

The market is much smaller in Edmonton. All the ma and pa shops in the south rely on guiding as part of their income and there is not much for day trips around Edmonton. Edmonton and area has some great things to offer for fishing but can not compete with Calgary or the south for flyfishing.

the fishing hole west end is probably the closest we have. Probably my favorite place to do business. Cabelas sucks, wholesale is ok otherwise, we dont have anything!

Used to have Denny's, but like others here have said, it's a small market. Well, let me suggest otherwise. I'd actually say we have as many fly fishers as Calgary, but our fly fishers also spend way more time walleye fishing, moose hunting, etc than those fly fishers south, who spend way more time with the fly rod, and less time doing other types of fishing.

Also, like others said, southern shops rely hugely on guiding. Edmonton doesn't have the guideable trips. And now with the Internet and everyone looking for the cheapest stuff they can find (never mind the fact that the local shop employees are the guys educating these people, and letting them cast a rod, or showing them a product...), a shop here wouldn't last.

Cabela's: decent selection of rods, including Echo, Sage, St Croix, Loomis, as well as Hardy-Greys. Pretty abysmal fly tying section, but they carry Daiichi hooks for a sweet price (less than $5 for most packs) so I drag myself down there for that alone. Good waders/boots.

Fishin' Hole West: Not bad, typical selection. Decent if you're in the area. Good selection of waders, boots, fishing-wear. Decent hackle options right now (for capes anyway).

Wholesale South: Best fly tying selection in the city. It's honestly even better there than most shops I've seen in Montana, including some with really famous names. Pretty poor selection on high end stuff like waders and boots (last I saw, they only had cheapie boots at all, and the best waders were some Redingtons).

And anyway, the best shop I've seen anywhere is "Trout Waters" in Kelowna. Hands down.

Nick

That's too bad to hear. I thought there'd be a business opp for me.

Thanks for the replies.

I think a small fly shop in Edmonton would do well
I would be there all the time :)

I guess in Calgary people fly fish more

I think that statement it true as Calgarians are lucky to have the Bow River running right through the centre of the city.

Unfortunately there is the stigma that Trout are the only species or the Trophy species for the fly fisher. If anglers can look further than trout for the target species they will open themselves up to many exciting fish to pursue with the fly rod.

I had once asked the same question as the original post on a different forum which saw very negative answers. Personally I think Edmonton would be well served with having a Fly fishing specific shop. If the shop can cater to the Beginner with good schools for both fishing and tying and excel with their customer service they can support themselves.

A lot of the Calgary fly shops do rely on the guiding to help keep their lights on while a couple rely more on introducing the beginner to the sport. The Edmonton shop should follow the latter.

Nick pretty well says it.

Psst. Cabalas does not sell Sage.

Wholesale south had some nice Simms waders and boots. They are not there any more...sold?

Wholesale never had Simms.

I worked at the store when it first opened for a year and frequented it afterwards.

Wholesale sports on the south side for sure one of the better fly tying shops around.

Rob at Wholesale Sports south side is very knowledgeable. At Cabelas Norm is one heck of a fly tier very knowledgeable.

Any new shops opened up or Wholesales Sports is still the one to go to? Will be heading that way on Thursday and I need a few things.
Thanks!

Edit: Maybe anything in Red Deer?

Wholesale Sports (Edmonton Common) store is the place to go for materials, not so much if you buy flies if I recall correctly. Funny though, usually when you wander into the fly fishing section there is usually nobody around so you may have to ask the front desk if you need help in there.

Reg Denny's was the only ma and pa shop in Edmonton when I moved here in the 70's. Literally, 'cause their first shop was attached to their house in or the basement! Nobody stepped in to fill the gap when they closed out about 15 or 16 years ago.

Psssst I feel like they do.

http://www.cabelas.ca/search?q=sage&...y2=Fly-Fishing

"Had" must be the operative word because online they seem to have tonnes of Simms.

I only know because I get their weekly emails and see them there often.

Once again perhaps its a Calgary thing, is too bad because BassPro also has a great selection of flies.

Thanks! Yes, I am looking for materials, not flies. Need a new bobbin as well.
THanks! I will check them out.

The original thread is from 4 years ago. Things may have changed :)

I find that Wholesale and Cabela's both have around the same amount of flies to buy but I like the selection at wholesale better.

HAHAHA ... that makes WAY more sense.

Nope. Nothing has changed.

Edmonton still comes down to TFH, WS, and Cabelas.

TFH: I like the staff, good people, friends work there. Great customer service. BUT! I am most decidely NOT a fan of their 2 tier fly quality selection; either (1) buy regular priced flies, generally average to below average quality or (2) buy their premium flies at a premium price. Really wish the The Fishin Hole would just carry one quality type of flies, priced at about $2 to $2.50 a piece. Selection is alright, they make an effort to keep stock.

Cabelas: selection is medium, not great, not bad, pricing is fair. Norm on the southside is a good guy to talk to.

Wholesale: Pricing used to be good, now it's average, selection is all over the place. Whoever says Wholesale has a good selection hit it on a good day, which is rare. 4 years ago, I wasn't even sure they were going to keep their fly shop open; there were NO flies. Zero! And it stayed that way for almost 18 months. Used to have the BEST selection of fly tying materials. Now...there fly selection is better, still lots of empty bins, and the fly tying materials has many empty pegs. I only go to WS for convenience. Some solid guys work at the north and south locations, but it's clear to me that overall, the owners of WS have had issues deciding whether the fly shop is a priority.


As for a dedicated, stand alone Edmonton fly shop, it's a non-starter. Every guy I talked to that has both the requisite knowledge of flyfishing and retail management experience won't touch a fly shop, for good reasons that other posters above alluded to, and I agree with: lack of guideable water, the other 3 stores providing enough competition, too much overhead and inventory cost and risk given the potential, and a maybe there-maybe not loyal customer base.

Plus...online competition now for flies and materials exerting enormous pressure on bricks and mortar stores.

You couldn't pay me to own or invest in a fly shop in Edmonton. And I'm a guy who used to take a bus as a teenager just to get to Reg Dennys on the northside.

I went to both Cabela's and both Wholesale Sports. North Cabela's has an embarrassment of a fly shop, really. South is better, but still lacking. Wholesale Sports, I thought, are both alright with south being better. I did not look at the flies selection in either of the shops; I am talking about tying materials.

In the end of the day, none of the four had the hooks I was looking four. I was not able to find a yellow bucktail either and only Cabela's at the north end of town had the black ones (I grabbed the last two). So I am still looking for few things, which it appears I will have to buy online again as usually.

The shop in Red Deer that was mentioned above has some pretty weird hours of operation, which I have noticed only when I got there. So it was closed and I could not make it back during the right hours.

Thanks to all for the input.

As a former employee of wholesale sports, I can tell you that if you see something you like, get it now. Odds are it won't be back anytime soon. Their inventory system is terrible. I still go in the off chance they have something I need, but I rarely get to make a purchase.
These days I try to really plan ahead and buy online or when I'm down south. Edmonton is not a very fly fisherman friendly place.

^^^ couldn't have said it better. Lots of us love fly fishing in Edmonton, just not enough for a sustainable market.

It's no surprise though. Most of even "experienced" fishermen are oblivious to fly fishing around here. Many know about and some "practice", but the fact remains. Almost every time I fish the river for a pike or a walleye, I have people asking me whether I am really planning on a catching a fish. A few minutes later when I pull a walleye out and then another, and another, while most others are still waiting for a bite, they are impressed and say they had no idea you can get one with a fly. The next time I come, it's the same people sitting there with the same bate waiting for a bite.

Most think that fly fishing is only for Salmonidae family and nothing else. Many also think that it is super expensive to begin with, so they never bother to start. I remember prior to when I started, money was tough and for a few years I was "planning" to buy a rod, a reel, etc. Then I just said screw it and went and bought the 6 weight rod with a reel and a line for like $40 (I think). It even came with a few flies and a box. All "crappy", but it got me some fish the very first day. I still use that rod once in a while, by the way; it has a better reel on it and a decent line, but the rod is still in use.

Edit: I did miss the fishing hole post somehow and did not know about it. Too bad, to late :sHa_sarcasticlol: