Though fly-fishing is considered a niche within the overall sport of fishing, its popularity among anglers has spawned myriad gear and apparel manufacturers and shops and even a small handful of travel agencies like Fly Water Travel in Ashland, Ore., that specialize in sending fishermen to the casting spots of their dreams around the world.
Fly Water, founded in 1999, was recently acquired by Bainbridge Island, Wash.-based Far Bank Enterprises, the parent of gear and apparel companies Sage, Redington and Rio Products. The acquisition enables Far Bank to bring travel into its fold, while simultaneously giving Fly Water greater resources to take on new projects and develop new ideas.
"For us to pursue some ideas that we had as a small company that might have been a relatively large risk for us would just be a less substantial risk under their umbrella," Fly Water co-owner Brian Gies said.
Far Bank had been considering adding a travel element to its portfolio for some time, even had considered starting its own agency, said Tag Kleiner, vice president of marketing.
It was the missing element for Far Bank, whose other three acquired companies produce a wide range of fly-fishing supplies at different price points.
"We have this all-inclusive tackle program," Kleiner said. "We have everything that you need to go fly-fishing except for, really, water. … We've been looking at how we can potentially bring a travel element into our brand portfolio."
That led Far Bank to Fly Water. The companies took time to get to know each other and decided it was the right fit. Far Bank hopes to learn more about consumer engagement from the agency, while Fly Water looks forward to benefiting from the size of a larger parent company.
Fly Water was founded when travel entrepreneur Brad Jackson approached co-owner Ken Morrish, who in turn approached Gies, about opening an agency.
Jackson had co-founded the Fly Shop, a retail, guide and travel company, but left in 1988. About a decade later he decided to get back into the travel agency side of the business and start a new company, Gies said.
Agency co-owner Ken Morrish with a king salmon in Chile. The travel agency was recently acquired by Far Bank Enterprises, which owns three fly-fishing equipment and apparel companies.
Morrish is well-known in the fly-fishing community as a writer and photographer, while Gies was a recreational fly fisherman who had just spent a year traveling the world after a career change.
"It sounded exotic, and it sounded interesting," Gies said.
The team rented a space, got the necessary supplies and went to work finding the right suppliers.
"The first year, we really just spent doing nothing but traveling," Gies said. "Just visiting as many destinations as we could possibly see."
Although the business has grown since then, Fly Water still maintains personal relationships with all its suppliers and visits every lodge or operation it sells.
"One of the things from early on, and we still do it as a company, is we really don't sell any place until we've seen it," he said.
The agency has a staff of 10, and most of its business comes from referrals. Fly Water's typical clients are men between the ages of 50 and 70 with relatively high incomes. Gies said the population of 40- to 50-year-olds interested in traveling for fly-fishing has grown in the past five years.
The number of women interested in the sport has also grown over the past 10 years, Gies said. Just a few months ago, Fly Water arranged its first women-only group trip.
"As more and more women get into the sport, they'll become a bigger part of the traveling crowd, as well," he said.
Destination-wise, Patagonia in South America is especially hot among anglers right now, as are New Zealand, Alaska and the Caribbean. The American West is popular, too.
While fly-fishing is a niche specialty for an agency's focus, Gies said Fly Water isn't that different from others at the end of the day.
"It's no different than somebody who's selling cruises or safaris or something," he said. "We're trying to get to know who our people are and what they like and put them into places that we think they'll enjoy."