I am a lucky man because not only do I have a new family I love, I also started a new job in commercial real estate 4 months ago that I enjoy and going to work at my ‘day job’ is fun again! (for those who may not know, I get to pay the bills at our store but do not work in it – at least not yet!). However, in addition to those items above I am lucky because we are now working on an opportunity to open a second fly fishing store in Fergus on the banks of the Grand River (which is something I have dreamed about for 15 years). Finally, I am lucky because I have great staff working with me at WILSON’S.

Hugo, John, Sheldon, Joel and Danny make a great team but my manager in particular, Vasilios “Bill” Katraouras, is someone I would love to clone. Not only has he been in fly fishing retail longer than the majority of people in the industry, he has forgotten more than most people ever learn about the sport. His leadership behind our counter makes us a better company and I am very lucky to have him heading up our team.

I have written in the past that one of the greatest kicks I get from being in fly fishing retail is just meeting the people in our sport. I have also written that I do not want to be an expert and this is not because of false modesty. Those who know me know that I am truly not an expert fly angler. Nor am I an expert fly tyer or rod builder. Heck, I’m lucky some days to cast a line beyond the tip of my rod. That said, I also do not want to be an expert because, not only do I not have the talent, I know for a fact that it would take the fun out of the sport for me. I am just a fly shop owner who loves fly fishing and the challenge of building a specialty retail business. In a perfect world I would be able to melt into the background and not have anyone know that I have anything to do with our store because I prefer to have the real experts – my staff – front and center.

Well, Bill recently got a call at the store from someone in a local fly fishing club who wanted to speak with “the boss”. I have asked Bill to field these calls because I hired him to be “the boss” and he runs the store so well that I trust his judgement implicitly. Well, our local caller insisted on speaking with ‘the boss’ so after realizing that his explanation was going nowhere, Bill, being the gentleman that he is, politely took the message and passed it along to me when we met yesterday morning. When he gave the message to me I looked at it and asked why he wanted me to deal with it.

“Billy, you’re the boss – you deal with it.”

“Jim, I tried. This guy was adamant that he speak directly with ‘the owner’. Sorry. You’ll have to return his call.”

“Okay. What’s it about?”

“I think he wants a donation…”

“Did you tell him that I would ask you what we should consider giving?”

“Yup. But he wanted to speak with ‘the boss’”

I appreciate this person calling and we will do what we can to help but sometimes being the boss is frustrating. Oh well. I will return his call as soon as I can.

Just for the record, if anyone reading this needs to speak with ‘the boss’ please do so at your convenience – his name is Bill and he is the manager of our store in Toronto. Billy can be reached at 416-869-3474 and he will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. And I will be more than happy to let him know you’ll be calling…

This time of year is busy because, well, many of us are last minute shoppers. The blur of the season is heightened for those of us who work in fly shops because we also have to place our pre-season orders. So on top of serving customers, keeping the store clean, doing returns, updating the website and keeping our significant others on the right side of happy we have been meeting with manufacturer’s reps to go over their 2012 product lines. We have some exciting things coming down the pipe so stay tuned!

Our store manager Billy and I had a conversation with a good friend of the store yesterday. Kim is heading out on a trip to BC in the coming weeks with a handful of other anglers from the Toronto Area and he was kind enough to relay a conversation with one of the anglers in this group that had all of us scratching our heads – and it involved me. Kim explained that this other person was wondering what skagit lines he should bring and how he might best balance his rod and when Kim mentioned to him that he should come to WILSON’S for advice the response was, “I am not interested in supporting that store because I have heard that the owner is a jerk.” Kim was a bit embarrassed passing this information along and while I was disappointed to hear it I appreciated him relaying the story because this is not the first time we have heard comments like this – and until yesterday none of us could understand why.

For a few years now I have heard similar things about myself and each time I have scratched my head in wonder because, at the risk of sounding defensive and/or self-serving, anyone who knows me personally knows otherwise. Our conversation then steered towards trying to figure out why people have this misguided opinion of who I am and what the store is about and we think we finally figured it out…

I am from a smaller town in northern Ontario and grew up with the expectation that you treat people the same way you want people to treat you: with respect, kindness and courtesy. That said, the reason I opened WILSON’S is because when I first got into fly fishing in 1993 I walked into what was then the only fly shop in Toronto and was treated like dirt. After that experience I figured a lot of people were likely treated in a similar fashion so I decided to open my own store and focus on providing the 3 things I wanted to find in a fly shop as someone new to the sport: great service, excellent selection and friendly advice.

Although one of my life’s goals is to ultimately work in the store I have yet to do so because I work in commercial real estate to help pay the bills. It takes money to grow a business and doing things like launching our new ecommerce site is not possible without the occasional injection of capital. I am not at a point where I can walk away from my current job but look forward to the day that I do. So while I do not work ‘in’ the store on a daily basis I do work ‘on’ the store every day and I am always trying to figure out how to make things better for our customers. It is a constant juggling act and although we are not even close to where I think we can get to with the business I hope you will agree we are heading in the right direction.

A big part of why we are heading in that direction is the current team we have in place. As anyone who runs a company will attest, having the right employees is one of the toughest things for a business to identify and this fact is even more difficult for a specialty retailer. A fly shop can’t hire someone off the street like a shoe store and have them start serving customers because our employees need to have a level of product knowledge that at least matches (and hopefully exceeds) that of our customers and this knowledge comes only with years of practical experience. Over the years I have had employees who have ranged from great including Billy, Hugo, David, Ian, Sheldon, Danny, Eli, Simon, Gord, etc and unfortunately some bad employees who will go unnamed. It is important to note that many of these ‘bad employees’ were not bad people, just bad employees, and we get along to this day. But one of these folks sticks out above all others and we realized yesterday that he is likely the reason why we keep hearing, “Wilson is a jerk!”

As Billy and I talked with Kim about why this image persists we started telling telling stories about this one employee in particular and we finally realized why the store has had a stigma in certain quarters for all these years. While this ex-employee is not a bad person he was caustic with customers and did more damage to the image of WILSON’S – and me – than I could have ever imagined. Frankly, I now know he often treated people the same way I was treated in that other fly shop all those years ago and I am embarrassed by the legacy of mistreated customers he left behind. As an absentee owner I was initially unaware of what was going on but I started to hear how he was treating people and his actions ultimately lead to his dismissal. Notably and unfortunately for me, it turns out this person also often represented himself to customers as ‘the owner’ of the store and they rightfully assumed he was me because he didn’t correct their assumption. It is this misconception that haunts the store – and me – to this day. Yes, the person who represented himself as the owner was a jerk… he just wasn’t me.

So what can I/we do about it? Likely nothing other than make people aware that their perception of who I am and what we are could not be further from the truth. The only thing we might ask is that anyone reading this who has this impression of us – or knows someone who does – comes in and judges for themselves. As for me, my friends and family will likely attest that I can be a jerk at times but I like to think – and hope they will agree – it is the exception rather than the rule…

We posted this last Christmas and had so much positive feedback that we thought we would reprise it so please forgive the repetition…

The night before Christmas
And all through the store
The coffee was brewing
As friends came in the door.

The fly rods were leaning
In the corner with Bill,
And Ian had his eyes
on the reels and the till.

The waders were hung
on the wall with the boots,
And the customers came
in long jackets and suits.

We sold tools and books
and nippers and things,
fresh water patterns
and many with wings.

There were duffels and vests
and dry bags for Jim Wilson,
by Orvis and FishPond
and Simms and by Filson.

Some caddis and streamers
And hackle and flash,
The orders kept coming
From fly fishers alas.

Customer questions
came out of the blue,
On Loomis, On Nautilus
on Patagonia too!

The day ended at five
with the staff on the run,
but the customers were pleased
with their boxes of fun.

As we gear up for the winter
We thank one and all,
for your business and friendship
In Spring Summer and Fall.

We hope you have enjoyed
your visits this year,
And want you to join us
in the New Year for a beer!

Hugo will be in the office
inputting new stock and new flies,
And Sheldon will be here
To teach some new ties.

We have many things planned
that we hope will excite,
but for now it is Christmas
And to all a good night!

Thank you & Merry Christmas to all of our customers! We hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday.

I am delighted to welcome you to the new online presence of WILSON’S – “Canada’s Fly Fishing Outfitter”. This website represents our renewed commitment to being Canada’s fly fishing store of choice and we hope you like the path we are on.

There are many people to thank for this project becoming a reality and the first two are Ruth McLeod and Joel Langlois. Ruth and Joel took us up on our challenge of creating a new website that is easy to navigate, interesting and informative and I hope you agree they have delivered. Our hats are off to them! The team at the store – Bill, Hugo, Gary & Ian – have been diligently working behind the scenes as we have navigated the perils of organizing what has seemed at times ‘unorganizable’ and their efforts and patience with this process are greatly appreciated. I also wish to thank our suppliers over the last few months as we have navigated some interesting waters. Their ongoing assistance and words of wisdom have been invaluable and we appreciate the opportunity and privilege of being their retail partners.

As you wade through our new site you will see we are making more than a few cosmetic changes. Perhaps most importantly, we are delighted to announce that Rick Whorwood has joined us to head up our Education program. An FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor in both single and double casting, Rick is a great teacher who will take our fly fishing education program to a new level. Joining Rick at our schools are Marty Tannahill (who also has his Master  Certification in Single Hand Casting) and Doug Swift. Our new team members, along with Wally Schmidt and Eli Garrett, will be teaching our Beginner Fly Fishing Schools, On-Stream Instruction courses and fly casting lessons in 2011. The other exciting development in our school program is that we will be holding Fly Fishing Schools in 3 locations in the east, north and west ends of the Greater Toronto Area and at a fourth location near Collingwood. Watch for details in the coming weeks !

On the topic of fly fishing education we should also make you aware of the new courses we are offering. Notably, If you are an advanced fly angler who is looking for a new challenge, check out our FFF Casting Course that teaches you everything you need to know to become an FFF-certified casting instructor.

On the fly tying front we are delighted to announce that Sheldon Seale is heading up our fly tying classes. A well known fixture in the Toronto fly fishing community, a past-president of the  Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club and Fly Tying Editor of the Canadian Fly Fisher magazine, Sheldon’s skills are a welcome addition to our team and we fortunate to have him on board. [We also now having "open vise" fly tying sessions after Sheldon's classes every Saturday from 1pm until 5pm and another "open vise" session on Tuesday evenings from 6pm until 8pm. Check the calendar on our website for details].

Another addition to our team is Ian McLeod. Originally from Ireland and an avid fly tyer and angler, you will find Ian behind the counter on a regular basis and he will also be hosting our “Open Vise” tying session on Tuesday evenings. Please make a point of saying hello to Ian when you stop by in the coming weeks!

The final, and most important group I want to thank are our customers. Many of you have been with us since we first opened our doors on April 28, 1998 at 26 Wellington East in downtown Toronto and I can’t express how much the team at the store and I appreciate your loyalty, friendship and support. On the days when being in fly fishing retail is not that great, you make it fun!

There is a lot of change for the better happening at WILSON’S and this new website is just a part of it. One of the things on the site that you will notice immediately is our ecommerce page is not yet live – but it is coming soon! In the interim, if you have any special needs please let us know and we will do our best to help you out.

Again, thank you for your interest and your ongoing support. We hope you enjoy your visit!

Very Best,

Jim Wilson