The earlier post regarding the Somerset, NJ show took me back to last year’s event. Thomas & Thomas were not present at the show but I thought I’d visit the show to get a gauge for the state of the fly fishing industry.
I got talking to a representative from another fly rod manufacturer and whilst mindful not to be underhand I couldn’t resist asking him how he felt his rods compared to those of Thomas & Thomas. His response made me chuckle. ‘Oh we love east coast rod companies’ he said. ‘We buy all our dog beds from them.’
The fly fishing industry has been brainstorming the topic of how to get youngsters more excited about our sport, for years. Instigating an East Vs. West, gangsta rap style feud is one of the more ‘off-the-wall’ approaches we’ve seen. Someone brief that guy that we’re the other east coast rod company and then promote him to VP of Marketing.
PS. Limited edition Thomas & Thomas Nano dog beds coming soon. MR.
KironaFly
February 6, 2012 at 12:05 pmFirst – Congratulations on acquiring T&T, a well regarded brand name built on the craftsmanship of outstanding fly rods. That’s what it is all about, isn’t it? Beautiful functional fishing tools.
Few things (sports) are more personal than the tools one uses when coming in contact with nature … FISH ON!!
The state of the industry & east coast / west coast thing is worth commenting on. Clearly there was a “boom” in fly fishing often wrongly attributed to the release of the film “A River Runs Through It”. Sure the film motivated a lot of people who otherwise might not have “fly fished” … but on the east coast where T&T became a leader … the boom was created by the resurgence of the Striped Bass. And I’d submit it keeps those Somerset / Jersey Boys & Girls going.
The West Coast just doesn’t have it (Stripers) in the same way as New England does (Salmon … that’s another matter). So my hope for T&T is that it becomes synonymous with Striper fishing again (along with those entertaining Albies, Bluefish, Snook, Tarpon …. etc.).
Looking forward to great and innovative products. Thanks for the reboot.
admin
February 11, 2012 at 5:59 pmThanks for the well-wishes, KF. Glad to have you along.
I’m sure you’ll see the T&T presence well-represented in the striper community. It’s definitely a world-class fishery out west, but don’t sleep on our East Coast/Great Lakes salmon/steelhead opportunities, though!
Dr.Mark
May 2, 2012 at 9:16 pmGlad to see we have a forward thinking new owner to take over our top shelf local rod company. Add Muskie to that list