~By: Lance Dean | November 13, 2016
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| Fly Fish Food Fly Shop Sign |
The crazy guys at Fly Fish Food have finally done it. On October 22nd, Curtis Fry and Clark Pierce opened up a honeypot for fly tying in Utah. Their store, located at 1653 N State St. in Orem, Utah, is dedicated to fly tying. A fly tyer or fly fisherman will not find rods or waders here, maybe a few nets but all other space is dedicated to what fly tyers need to fulfill their tying addictions. From tying benches to fly boxes and from hooks to Fly Fish Food specialty dubbings, Fly Fish Food has it all.
When a fly tyer walks into the Fly Fish Food Fly Shop, he is greeted by a large black Cashier’s counter which includes a small tying table at its far end where a couple vises, materials and some experimental flies live, waiting to be sorted through. Obviously this is where flies are tied to fill bins and possibly where the new Fly Fish Food innovative pattern is about to be created. Behind this counter a fly tyer finds a few fly tying benches, a small assortment of nets and vises just waiting to get their jaws on some hooks.
Directly in front of the fly tyer are many black racks full of tools and materials just begging to be dug through. To the right a fly tyer finds the fly bins where a fly fisherman can most likely find a fly for any fly fishing circumstance or a fly tyer might find that one fly he or she wants as a reference for the fly he wants to learn how to tie.
As the tyer walks past the counter to the left wall, next to the nets and vises a tyer finds the “Almighty Wall of Hooks and Beads”. Everything from TMC to Fulling Mill hooks and from brass to tungsten beads, Fly Fish Food seems to carry almost any hook and bead in any style and any size the fly tyer may need to keep his addiction in check.
At the end of the “Almighty Wall” the tyer sees a doorway that leads to the “warehouse” where it can be safely assumed that shop storage and online order processing takes place. Along this back wall where this door sits the tyer finds a ton of dubbing and fur. Fly Fish Food carries many varieties of dubbing, nowhere near every dubbing in the market but they carry a ton. Behind him, the tyer would find a rack almost completely dedicated to Fly Fish Foods specialty dubbings like the Bruiser Blends and Salty Snack dubbings the rack next to this he finds amongst other things, tube tying tools and accessories. Next to the dubbing on the wall the tyer see the vast amount of hair and furs that Fly Fish Food carries from many different manufactures. He could easily find everything from common furs like rabbit to uncommon ones like coyote. I personally was very tempted to purchase the coyote mask I found tempting me at the bottom of the wall.
Along the final wall the tyer searches through pegs and pegs of feathers where he finds top-notch saddles, necks, pheasant tails, Hungarian partridge pelts and many other feathers as well. He may become overwhelmed with the variety and quality he sees in the many feathers carried by Fly Fish Food. When the fly tyer finishes looking through the vast quantity of feathers, he is once again staring at the quality flies begging to be bought by wanting fly fisherman and fly tyers.
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| Fly Fish Food Store Front |
As his adventure concludes, the fly tyer looks through the many racks that are dotted across the floor. He discovers even more tools, materials, and glues are attached to the racks just ripe for picking. These rolling racks allow for convenient removal from the floor to the back warehouse leaving the main floor open for live streaming tying sessions that Curtis and Cheech have started. When I say live I don’t just mean YouTube or Facebook Live Streaming, I mean they clear the floor and allow guests into the store to tie along or watch as the session is streamed.
I had the opportunity to attend Fly Fish Food’s grand opening and all I have to say is WOW!!! That place was nuts it was shoulder to shoulder with fellow fly tiers and fly fisherman that swarmed the store like bees returning to their hive. The likes of Herb Patterson, Lance Egan and Spencer Higa were all spotted by me personally during my short visit to fly tyers paradise. Curtis, Cheech and their crew were bombarded by tiers and fly fisherman of all types and skill levels and they handled the craziness like the fly tying nuts they are.
I left having spent more money than I really wanted to and my wallet showed it, but at least I got my fix. I have been back to get a fix twice since the Grand Opening and each time I was greeted with a willingness to help me and answers my questions. The only complaint I have about the Fly Fish Food Fly Shop and every other fly shop that has a great selection of fly tying materials is that my wallet is lighter every time I leave.
So, if you are ever in northern Utah you need to take an hour or so to explore the Fly Fish Food Fly Shop and all it has to offer.
To visit the FlyFishFood online store click HERE.
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