In the category of “One step forward, two steps back…” We are now in week two since we opened our fly shop in Fergus and every time we think the ‘to do’ list is getting shorter we remember another item or two that needs to be taken care of. Those of you who have kindly taken a moment to drop in to say hello will already know that we have held off ramping up our inventory beyond what it is (which, by the way, is more fly fishing inventory than Fergus has seen in quite some time) because we have not had security bars in the windows. That situation has now been rectified and our next pile of boxes full of goodies is due in Fergus next week. In the interim we have been doing a LOT of listening to what customers have been telling us and we have been taking more than a handful of notes.

So what is coming down the pipe? Well, first and foremost we have our website team working on a new landing page for the Fergus store and we are editing our current website to reflect our new staff, our fly fishing schools and our impressive fly fishing guide program. We are also finalizing some pretty cool contests that are going to be a great reason for people to drop into the store and continuing to tie up the loose ends. Stay tuned…

One of the critical ingredients to running a business is having the right people in place. This is especially true in specialty retail and perhaps even more so in fly fishing retail. Unlike a run-of-the-mill retailer that sells, for example, shoes a fly fishing store does not have the luxury of being able to hire someone off the street, giving them a uniform and a name tag and putting them behind the counter to take orders. Customers who walk into a fly shop expect that the person behind the counter will know at least as much about fly fishing as they do – and hopefully more. People expect a level of expertise in fly shops that is frankly tough to find as an employer. Not only do these employees need to know fly fishing they need to know how to sell the product and, most importantly, how to treat customers. People come into a fly fishing store to shop the first time but they come back because they enjoyed their experience. Finding employees who understand the concept that the customer comes first is surprisingly tough in fly fishing retail. We don’t quite know why but in our experience many potential employees who we think are normal, sentient beings undergo a sort of transmogrification when they get behind a sales counter that turns them into complete knobs. Some put it down to the ego that is unfortunately found all too often in fly shops. We attribute it to being just plain stupid and the bad customer service that results is the reason why we have had to let go more than a few people over the years. These people for whatever reason could not grasp the concept that the sun in fact does not shine out of their derrières.

We are fortunate to have a great team in place in our Toronto store that is lead by Vasilios “Bill” Katraouras. Backing up Bill are Hugo Ma, John Lambert, Danny Desiato and Sheldon Seale. They make everyone feel welcome and we are lucky to have them all on our team but these guys can’t be in two places at once and with a second fly shop opening shortly we have been faced with trying to figure out who we can get to help Rob Heal who will be running the new operation under Bill’s guidance.

Well, we have! We are delighted that we have found a second full-time and 2 part-time employees to work alongside Rob in our new Fergus store. In addition, we have added 3 more fly fishing guides to our team all of whom have drift boats. There are temporary signs in the windows of Unit 6 at 105 Queen Street West in Fergus to make people aware that we are opening our fly shop on the banks of the Grand River shortly but the most important issue – having the right team in place – has now been resolved. We will be posting pictures and bios in the coming days as we start to move inventory and fixtures out of our store in Toronto (and my garage at home).

Watch for more details shortly – our team is growing!

With the 2012 trout opener now on the horizon many anglers are starting to think about digging their gear out of the basement and figuring out what flies they need before they hit the river – and we are doing something similar. In preparation for the opening of our new Fergus fly shop on the banks of the Grand River we have placed custom orders with local fly tyers who are intimately familiar with local patterns. These flies will be available at WILSON’S in the coming weeks and if you are not sure what you need to start the season off on the right foot check out the Ontario hatch charts in the members section of our website. If you are not aware we have hatch charts for the following Ontario fly fishing destinations on our website at no cost:

- Beaver River
- Boyne River
- Bighead River
- Connestogo River
- Credit River
- Forks of the Credit
- Grand River
- Mad River
- Noisy River
- Nottawasaga River
- Pretty River
- Saugeen River
- Whiteman’s Creek

Our new manager of guiding, Rob Heal, and the rest of the team at WILSON’S are delighted to announce that Jeff Parks has joined our team. If you are not aware, Jeff has been fly fishing the rivers of south/central Ontario for over 30 years and he has been spending as much time as he can on them in his own drift boat. Jeff says that if he had to pick one river that calls to him the most it would be the Maitland – but if you press him he’ll smile and say that any time on water is a good day.

Many anglers who have hired a guide know that a good guide can make the difference between a good day and a great day. If you have hired a guide or two over the years you also know that some guides are so intense that they take the fun out of fishing. These guides think your day with them is, well, about them instead of about enjoying a day of fishing. It is important to note that a day with Jeff is not just about catching fish. He will get you onto fish and coach you if you so desire but he also gives his clients a new appreciation for the river, it’s inhabitants and all it’s surroundings. In Jeff’s mind, the client’s relationship with the river is what a day should be all about – and that is the reason why we are so pleased to have him on our team.

We are now booking drift boat trips for the coming spring fishing season so if you would like to get out with Jeff please contact him, Rob Heal or our Toronto store at your convenience.

*We hope to have our Fergus Fly Shop on the banks of the Grand River nailed down shortly and once done we will publish the contact information.

Brant Subdivision Proposal

Notice of Meeting – Hardy Road, Brantford

This above links are to files that provide details on a Public Meeting that concerns the lower Grand River. The following emails were forwarded to the store late Sunday and it is important to pass this information along to all anglers who fish the exceptional waters of the Lower Grand River:

“Larry Mellors recently gave me a heads on a subdivision proposed along the Grand River in Brantford. This will change the character of the stretch of the Grand River Exceptional Waters stretch that we all know and love. If you care about this, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to attend the meeting to learn more and voice any concerns you may have. I don’t want to hear any of you complain in 3-4 years when this stretch muds out after every rain event and is crawling with bucket anglers who only have to park their car and walk 50 feet to the river. Please feel free to pass on to any of your friends who fish this area frequently.

Public open house on Wed Feb 22 (see attached files).

Larry Halyk

Subject: Oak Park Road subdivision proposal

Further to the email I sent earlier tonight, I just wanted to provide a little more context and detail on that proposed subdivision that Larry Mellors gave us the heads-up on. I have attached a PDF of the public notice as well as a map that I prepared that shows landmarks to help you place where the development is actually proposed. The attached PDF with ortho overlay shows landmarks such as the footbridge, location of the trail parking lot we use to access Sarah’s Island, and the approximate locations of proposed subdivision areas 1 & 2.

The bottom line as far as I can tell is that this subdivision is proposed for the area downstream of Sarah’s island, not upstream as you had indicated in your original email Larry. These lands are mainly worked out gravel pit and are therefore less sensitive to disturbance than the lands upstream, that feature the perched fen and sensitive valley slopes. Having said that, there are still major concerns that off the top of my head include:

- Encroachment of development into the valley lands at area 2 just downstream of Sarah’s Island (should be a wider open space buffer between subdivision & river)
- Stormwater impacts on coldwater fishery
- Enhanced access to the Exceptional waters area (therefore loss of unique character of that reach)
- too much residential development vs. industrial: residential development is a bugger because even with education, subdivision residents are always trying to circumvent “at source” stormwater BMPs and squat
on adjacent open space by manicuring it and building sheds etc.. It is usually easier to implement state of the art infiltration and stormwater BMPs with industrial development.

I can’t attend the Feb 22 meeting (I have a stewardship council meeting) but wonder if there are other mechanisms to voice concerns. Larry is there a deadline for written public comment? Is anyone able to attend the open house to obtain more detail on what is actually being proposed?”