Richard Formato

Richard Formato is an avid catch-and-release fly-fisherman from Wytheville, Va. When not on the water, he operates a small business there. Formato loves to fly-fish in his native Southwest Virginia because of the great water and wonderful people. He also loves to fish the flats and shallows of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic whenever work and weather permit. He is on the Department of Conservation and Recreation's board of directors and is a trustee of the Shenandoah National Forest and Skyline Drive.

Recent columns

• What about Bob?
• Notes from the Charlotte Fly Show
• A chance meeting
• A wish for Jack

• Column archive
• Talk fly-fishing

10 years ago, when the fly-fishing industry went through a mini-boom, Orvis was the big loser.

A new breed of fly shops with non-Orvis high-end specialty rod brands emerged -- and a class of Orvis bashers graduated with them.

Premium vendors like Sage, Simms, Loon and Tibor materialized as the gear of choice, and the serious fly rodders gravitated to the smaller shops that specialized in hand crafted, superbly manufactured goods.

When Orvis expanded into nontraditional fly-fishing goods, they lost a lot of their cache as being a serious fly shop.

It just didn’t feel right to shop for flies with ladies knit tops on the adjacent display.

Like it or not, Orvis is an institution in the fly-fishing industry. They are a well-capitalized retailer with fly shops in the best real estate locations all over the United States and Orvis was smart to realize that a broad assortment in sporting apparel and home furnishings was good for earnings.

On Michigan Avenue, on Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile,” where you have the uber retailers like Tiffany, Gucci, Burberry, Saks Fifth Avenue, you also have Orvis.

For sportsman, a profile like this cemented Orvis' rep as the worst of the Yuppie generation.

Men and women with more money than sense started sucking up Orvis merchandise so they could be associated with the patrician art of fly angling.

Fly-fishing became associated with investment bankers, wearing Orvis branded merchandise, driving Volvos, and wearing Rolex watches.

But since then, something else has happened.

Orvis is back, and back in a big way.

Somewhere, someone at corporate got the message, and despite their commitment to clothing, furniture, and soft goods, Orvis’ new offering as a full line fly-fishing retailer is fantastic.

Check out Orvis’s Spring 2005 catalogue at Orvis.com.

They do not leave one stone unturned and have every single new innovation, every new fly pattern, and every new technology available in fly rods and gear.

Orvis is selling rods now from the delicate 6-foot flea to stout Tarpon rods built for 100 # plus class fish.

Orvis has improved it’s “action” in all classes, which is where it was as lacking compared to the other high end suppliers.

They also have some very nifty new items, like a dropper fly box where you can stow your pre tied droppers, so you don’t have to tie on streamside, which can be a pain especially in wind and low light.

They also lead the industry with a new breathable guide weight pants wader, with a built in gravel guard -- a product that doesn’t exist anywhere else in town.

Orvis is also offering a one-week turnaround on reel refurbishing (no matter whose brand it is), where they will check knots, splices, line, and backing. They will clean old line and reload line as necessary and re-lube your reel and have it back to you on one week for $15.95.

To stay viable, our Roanoke Valley shops will have to get serious about service.

The exception is the Virginia Creeper Fly Shop in Abingdon.

This is because of Bruce Wankel, who has an international reputation for his expertise on the Tennessee tail waters. His shop is his launching pad for provisions and guide trips, which are just within a few minutes is his shop.

Being an ex corporate executive, Bruce Wankel at Virginia Creeper also carries an up the continuum product line strategy starting with the value priced Temple Fork line up to the Thomas and Thomas brand, which is as fine a rod built anywhere in the world.

Because your local fly shop is mandated by the vendor to charge full retail MSRP, the local shop’s value is in service.

A guy like Bruce is worth the money because you can count on him to out service the competition on every level. He always is in stock. His store is always staffed with knowledgeable people that fly-fish, and he loves teaching people.

The “new” Orvis is a factor to be reckoned in Roanoke because they are selling you direct with a better breadth and depth of assortment than anywhere else in town.

This is a small price to pay for seeing doggie bowls in the same shop that sells a Rosenbauer’s CDC Rabbit’s Foot Emerger.

The last time I was in the Orvis downtown store, I had three employees ask if I needed assistance, and the employee who helped me actually would not let me buy a caddis fly because he didn’t think the fly looked right. Tweezers in hand, he selected a better fly.

Orvis is back in the game now because they have the better products in their stores, and via the catalogue and Internet.

I ordered some polarized glasses from their 800 number on Monday, and got them on Tuesday.

By any name, that’s good business.