Anyone who has spent significant time in a great fly shop knows that a lot more happens in these eclectic small businesses than buying and selling. Fishing tips are given. Cups of coffee are shared. Friends are made. But obviously, the transactions are what keep things humming along.
I continue to champion the value of patronizing local fly shops. We need them. They need us. There is no doubt about that.
However, the siren song of online tackle dealers and web-only sales are hard to pass up. There is something to be said for choice, convenience, and savings. At the same time, those three pragmatic facets ought not shift all or most of our fishing business to the virtual storefront. There should be a balance. It isn’t wrong to buy something online. It isn’t inherently right to buy something from a brick and mortar.
Hopefully you’ve not had a crisis of conscience about this issue. But it is worth considering. Here are three reasons why shopping online might be the way to go:
You have to order it.
I am right about in the smack-dab middle of sizes. Sometimes this means that waders, boots, or clothes are out of stock because they’re sold out. If your dimensions are at either end of the human shape bell curve, there is a chance that they don’t carry something that fits your proportions. Or, you’re sold on an east coast brand that you’ve seen on social media… but you live in the Rockies. You have fly shops, but they don’t have what you want. The only way to get some things, or some sizes of some things, is by going online.
You have to take advantage of a deal.
There is legitimate virtue in supporting a small business. But this should never come at the cost of choosing lesser gear or opting to wait a few more months to save another hundred bucks. If a manufacturer is running a big closeout sale – go for it. If a coastal shop is thinning out their overstock of trout gear – save some cash. If you received a Bass Pro or Amazon gift card – spend away and don’t feel like you’re violating some sort of fly fishing statute.
You have the choice.
I used to live very close to a fly shop. The owner was less than pleasant. Thankfully, there was another shop only about 15 minutes away. But if I didn’t have another option? Maybe I would have gone online instead of compromising my sensibilities. Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, don’t feel obligated to drive a certain distance or spend a particular dollar amount to give a pinch of incense to the so-called arbiters of angling.
Of course, you could ask your fly shop to order something that they don’t have in stock or they don’t carry. You could even ask if they can match an online deal (within reason). It never hurts to ask, and it does communicate that you want to be a part of something bigger than a transaction.