It is mid-May. You are at work. It is sunny. You have your gear in the car and you are wondering if fly fishing conditions on the Grand River are worth cutting out early.

In a word: YES!

Temperatures on the upper reach are perfect. Water clarity is excellent, Hendricksons are still coming off and we are seeing some craneflies, grey foxes and the beginning of a tan caddis hatch. Tell your boss you are not feeling well and you need to go home… and if he/she falls for it stop into WILSON’S Fergus at 105 Queen Street West to say hello!

We are now 2 weeks into trout season in southern Ontario and many anglers are scratching their heads because of the weather we have had wondering what flies to use and where they should be fishing. We are pleased to be able to report that the Grand River is getting back to seasonal norms in terms of flow and we can also tell you that hatches are at least a week to 10 days ahead of historic norms. Some of the regular readers of this blog may also be wondering why we have not been posting on a more regular basis and the reason is we have been up to our a$$ in alligators with the opening of our Fergus store. During this period we have been doing some employee training and part of that training has included how to access this blog and write entries. In the grand scheme of things we will admit that writing the blog has been put on the back burner but our new life with a second store to look after is starting to settle into a manageable pattern and you will see us returning to more regular entries shortly.

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…

Tomorrow is the beginning of the 2012 trout season here in Ontario and we want to pause to appreciate where we have come from and what lies ahead. We began our 15th year in business last week, we now have a second store in Fergus and this marks our 1,200th post on our blog. Any one of these occasions in our books is worth celebrating but we think the fact that they are all happening at the same time is pretty cool. Frankly, it boggles my mind that I have sat at a computer 1,200 times to type an entry onto this blog but it boggles my mind even more that WILSON’S is now in its 15th year of business. It seems like only yesterday that my parents (both now deceased), the rest of my family and my friends all gathered at our original location in downtown Toronto to celebrate the opening of our fly shop back in April 1998. That said, what completely blows me away is that we now have a second store in Fergus on the banks of the Grand River. To be honest opening a second store in Fergus is something I have dreamed about for years but in the category of “careful what you wish for” it is now a reality and our whole team is scrambling because we didn’t have time to properly prepare for it. In one sense this new store scares the heck out of us but we realize that had we not acted on it as quickly as we did someone else would likely have done so and the opportunity would have been lost – forever. So, after speaking with our families, our customers and our conscience, we took a deep breath and took the plunge. We have not yet resurfaced – and likely won’t for some time – but the shot of adrenalin we have taken through opening our second store in Fergus is keeping us on our toes!

I personally look back on the years since WILSON’S first opened with mixed emotions. Much has happened in those years on both a professional and personal level and to be honest I would not change any of it – even the dark times. I was 35 years old when I decided that I would open the kind of fly shop I wanted to find as someone new to the sport and while I am probably more surprised than anyone that 15 years later we are still around I am also proud of what we have built. I think the only reason why we are still here after the ups and downs we have experienced is simply because it is still enjoyable. If we take a step back we also realize that what makes working in a fly shop enjoyable is all of the customers we meet on a daily basis who share our passion for fly fishing. We realize there are very few people who are able to say they love what they do and we are fortunate to be part of that club.

We have had many people work in the store over the years – both good and bad – and we have learned much from each of them. Some of this learning was related to fly fishing, some of it was related to business and some of it was related to, well, let’s just say it is related to how some people choose to live their lives. Until recently, our friend Eli Garrett held the record for being the longest serving employee of WILSON’S. We appreciate Eli’s loyalty as much as his honesty and hard work and always enjoy seeing him at industry functions. Eli’s record was recently surpassed by Vasilios “Bill” Katraouras who manages our Toronto store. You could not ask for a better person to have behind the counter in a fly shop and Bill’s thoughtful words and actions make being a part of the team at WILSON’S fun.

We truely have a team working at WILSON’S and each one plays an important role in helping make our fly shop a business. Hugo Ma, John Lambert, Danny Desiato and Sheldon Seale are all equally passionate about fly fishing and each brings a special skill set that makes our team better with them on board. To that end, If you are not aware our rogues gallery now has a second chapter in Fergus headed up by Rob Heal who is managing our new store and heading up our new fly fishing guide and education programs. Rob is one of the most respected and well-liked fly fishing guides in Ontario and we are delighted to have him on our team. Working on a full-time basis with Rob is Mike Pratt who is one of those young guys who you want to find in a fly shop. You know the type: knowledgeable, helpful and full of energy. Jay Mowat and our old friend John Hoffman round out the team at WILSON’S Fergus and we are thrilled that they have agreed to join us.

So here we are. 15 years, 1,200 posts and 2 stores later and we all hope that you like what we are doing as much as we like doing it. We hope you agree we are heading in the right direction but we are always open to any helpful advice you may have so please send us an email with any thoughts you want to pass along. We thank you for your ongoing support and wish everyone tight lines this season!

With only a few days left this month the April photo contest here at WILSON’S has only a handful of entries so if you are so inclined and are interested in winning a $50 gift certificate to spend with us either online or in one of our stores send us a picture because your current odds of winning are excellent!