Fly Shops in January

Working in a fly shop in January has it's ups and downs. Customer counts, fish counts, and fishing reports are all down. Talks of spring tactics around hot coffee are the norm throughout the day. Spring steelheaders come and go, quickly loading up on beads and Air Lock bobbers. Neglected chores are finished up quickly between customers... then comes the new inventory. Boxes and boxes of new stuff from Solitude Flies, Simms Fishing Products, Hareline Dubbin, and more begin to arrive. It is basically Christmas in January.

I've never seen this many purple J. Slams at one time. Surely, this fly bin will be the first to empty as spring anglers come out of hibernation and present these large dry flies to hungry cutthroat. Once the purple ones are gone, anglers will grab the tan, pink, and peacock versions that work almost as well.

New Simms shirts and gear are rolling in. The new Patagonia Rio Gallegos Wader, which has been re-worked for 2016, is here. Slimmer fit, grey in color, and logo'd with the Fitz Roy trout. This wader is my new personal favorite among the new gear in 2016.

We still have our Saturday morning fly tying classes for all levels. We have plenty of room, plenty of instructors, and plenty of flies to tie. These classes on Saturday morning are completely free and all gear is provided, or you can bring your own. The coffee is hot and the doughnuts are fresh, so no more excuses (unless it's a powder day). January is the time to be visiting your local North 40 Fly Shop.