With a disappointing fall run of the striped bass in the books in 2025 it's time to switch gears for most anglers and head into the holiday season and New Years before hitting the fly fishing show circuit. In addition it's also the time when most fly fishermen and women get reacquainted with their fly tying rooms and desks full of materials and stuff acquired over the year. And as far as those hard core anglers sticking it out in the now frigid cold weather to catch the last of the fall run? Well, "It's over Johnny". I see that just about all of the head boats have called it quits for the year this past week due to the weather and the lack of bass activity they've seen in the northern part of the state, although below points south of Atlantic City they still have the tail end of the run happening.
And with nothing to report fishing wise from me I'll start the process of finding suitable content and topics for the blog. Most are probably done hearing about nursing and my own episodes of "This Old House" from out here in Mercer County. I can say, like the fall run, that burning off lead paint and sanding and painting are done for the year. But, I still have work to do, and will share that from time to time.
I'm now moving operations inside where it's rebuilding due to a mix of water and insect damage that has occurred over the last 100 years. That will include more bad plaster repairs and painting, which will include going from latex to oil based paints. And then there's the hardwood floors, which need a few sections of boards replaced due to water and pet piss stains dating back to the 1940's.
But I'm going to lead off with a prediction for my beloved Orvis. I'm an Orvis guy through and through. Yes over the years I've bitched and even distanced myself from time to time, but truth be told, I'm just down with them, and they've been good to me.
I reported the news earlier that Orvis was closing 31 retail stores and outlets across the country. Orvis' Princeton location is one of them. They have been in the process of selling off the store and packing up products to return to the Mother Ship or distribution centers.
CEO Simon Perkins has made several statements on why Orvis is restructuring their 150 + year old family owned business. I've said that all things we used to know have changed, which has included fly fishing. Yes, the beaches and fish migrations have changed, and there's new technological advances in fly rod and reel design, but fly fishing, in its simplicity, has remained the same. Tie on a fly, wave a stick around, and hope to catch a fish.
While you can cast blame on things like the economy, the way and when consumers buy, and the now, or more so, global involvement in everything we buy and use, it's the customer, the consumer, who has changed the game the most. Call them cheap if you will, but it's brand loyalty and commitment that has influenced the business end of the game the most. Fly fishing is a community, and that goes from fly shops like Tightlines in Parsippany, to mixed stores like The Saltwater Edge in Rhode Island, to the larger manufacturers like Orvis. We were loyal to the brick and mortar locations and to even the catalogue offerings from our favorite brands. They were an identity, a community.
So what happened to Orvis. Well, besides the business end of things, they lost their loyalty to their customer base. It went from stuffy old white guys, like your Grandfather's Orvis, to trying to keep up with Joneses. They went from bamboo rods and fleece tipped vests to trucker hats and the PBR drinking kids to the what's politically correct in the moment crowd. I saw that firsthand going from the 1990's through the mess of our society a few years back. I even saw politics, in a way,
cross into casting flies for trout and striped bass. And once you pick a movement, or a side, you risk losing your base. Now truth be told old guys die off and you have to attract new blood, but that new blood doesn't need, nor can afford, the latest new waders, rods, and reels. And they don't buy dog beds either.
I'm not in the know of all things retail when it comes to fly fishing and fly tying. We've seen companies that have been the staple of things morph into something else or fade into the distance. We used to have one-stop shopping but now things have become more streamlined and niche. Hareline had become a place to satiate the casual material needer as well as for the commercial tiers. But we all know good bucktail is hard to find and a place like BuzFly, or Brad Buzzi, is about the best source for that.
And then there's the flies. You can fill your boxes or fly wallets with homemade replicas of patterns from the greats, or stop by the local fly shop when you're on that trip of a lifetime, buy them at the shows, or order them online. While I know tiers, like those that fill orders for 1,000 dozen per year, we know most of the flies we buy are tied by people from overseas, and sold under such and such brand, like Orvis. One such powerhouse of tied flies, hooks, and materials, is a company called Fulling Mill. I saw Orvis make the change at the retail level when the packing went from Hareline to Fulling Mill.
I don't know the entire FM story but it started in the 1930's with some guy who was a rugby player who got hurt. It was an overseas company who came to America, like brick and mortar, in 2005, mostly to feed Orvis which was one of their biggest accounts. They set up shop in New Hampshire, just a state over from Orvis which is in Vermont. Orvis headquarters was in Sunderland, which went up for sale, and is now in Manchester, where it all started.
You know all those flies you bungle up when you try and tie them? Well for companies like Fulling Mill they have an army of will-never-see-the-Upper Delaware tiers who crank out flies for a living. While we have heard of the fly tying mills operating in third world countries, companies like Fulling Mill are proud that their employees, not contractors, are paid living wages, with benefits and even a pension.
Basically flies are tied for them are tied in Kenya or Sri Lanka and shipped around the world, including to Vermont, for Orvis. It's probably all done due to the cost of doing business. Cheaper labor doesn't mean sweat shop conditions. While I would love to see those fly ting factories here in the United States, I just can't imagine them paying someone $65,000 a year with medical benefits, PTO, and a 401K. So I guess everyone wins. It's just part of doing fly tying business.
While Fulling Mill may be a behind the scenes powerhouse what they don't have, in my opinion, is a relatable brand, at least at this point. There's no face of, say Orvis, like with Tom Rosenbauer, who I can't believe is still doing it, and hasn't retired yet. Or a face like Blane Chocklett from the Chocklett Factory. He's was on a tear with his flies starting with the Gummy Minnow now through the articulated line of Game Changer flies. Without a face it's hard to build a brand, and a community.
But then last week I saw the above post from FM featuring Tom Rosenbauer, and it piqued my interest. Yes those two companies have had a twenty plus year relationship, but why Tom now? Rosenbauer and Orvis are geniuses. His face is synonymous with Orvis. If you trust Tom, then you trust Orvis. I hope he's made millions with them because no one employee has probably sold more books, rods, reels, flies, and gear than Tom. I also hope he has a great pension and is enrolled in the fly of the month club for life, kind of like the old Jelly Of the Month Clubs.
I also saw Tim Flagler, who is famous for his tying videos and talks, pop up on the Fulling Mill posts as of late. Yet another face we trust, one that Orvis has embraced. George Daniel is another face showing up, a face that Orvis tried to pimp out, but I don't think had the relatability that the others did. So add Tim and George to the "new" faces of Fulling Mill.
Powerhouse shops, like TCO below, are showing Fulling Mill products on their internet sites as well. While they're had a relationship for years, I now see their name going side by side with they products.
And why would that be? I think the idea is to try and build name recognition, even though they've been around for nearly 100 years. "Hey, that's all of our stuff you're buying", they are finally saying. They not only want the cash, but the name recognition as well. It's business, and to increase your business and stake in the fly fishing industry, you have to grow, and be seen.
So now back to Orvis. Are they done? Well as we knew them? Yes they are. Will they still cater to the who's left rich old white guy crew? Absolutely. Trips to exotic lands, endorsed lodges, outfitters, guides and fly shops, of course. Still have an online presence and "shop", sure. But what they need is an influx of money, and that maybe where Fulling Mill comes in, and why we're seeing the hemorrhage and restructuring of what we used to know Orvis to be. Their Orvis News blog, and the community that followed, is gone, gone with the coveted catalogues we used to receive each year. Gone, well soon, are a lot of the retail stores and outlets. It's almost like Orvis is trying to paint the house and make it ready for the big sale, or at least, a newly formed company.
Companies that are preparing for sale do certain things. Streamline their companies and tie up all the loose ends getting rid of things that are causing revenue hemmorhage, like dog beds and clothing. Getting rid of cash starved and expensive things like retail stores and outlets. Reducing the costs, like stopping the catalogues and not going all in at the retail shows, and putting their efforts in things that keep them in the black. Changing return policies from the "100%" satisfaction return, like with waders that are 20 years old, to a more customer responsible return policy. And lastly, lowering the costs of running the ship, which sadly means reducing the Orvis workforce though layoffs and buyouts. That'll make the company, at least appear, more financially stable for a new buyer.
I believe Orvis wants to remain in the game. They could allow themselves to be bought by one of those hedge fund assets manger conglomerates like Blackstone. They could also just allow themselves to be merged into one of the giant outdoor retail companies, which we've seen like with Simms, but risk losing their identity, and their base. Or, they could align themselves with a like-minded company, with several familiar faces as their brand spokesmen and women, and let the new games begin.
I don't know Fulling Mills financials. I'm sure Orvis is worth a billion dollars on paper. But what I'm seeing as of late just made me think and arrive at this prediction. Orvis and Fulling Mill will become one, somehow. I think I'll get a better handle on my thinking at this years The Fly Fishing Show. After a few years off, with Covid being an easy reason to pull back
from the shows, Orvis made an appearance in Edison. It wasn't their usual big display, but just enough, with Tom Rosenbauer manning the booth, to have a foot in the show.
This year Orvis will be at three of TFFS's, Edison, Denver, and Pleasanton. If you see Fulling Mill showcased inside the booths walls then you know something is in the works. Let's be honest, there's nothing new product wise being announced this year. The Mirage reels are running as are the Helios line of rods. But an industry shocking announcement that Orvis and Fulling Mill are teaming up might be an industry shocker.
In the end they want your money, any way they can get it. That's business and that's businesses competing for market share. While the profit margins of selling flies may not be equal to a $1,000 fly rod they add up, and they don't take up the same amount of room as waders do in the distribution warehouse. In the meantime, if this goes down, Orvis will continue to clean up the house and the Kenyans and Sri Lankans will continue to crank out flies.
We'll see where this goes. But remember you read it first here.