Undercover FlyShop Vist: LL Bean Retail Store

Our latest surreptitious fly shop visit finds us sneaking around the inside of an LL Bean retail store. The store, located in Southern, New Jersey, also happens to be the only source fly fishing gear within easy reach of my temporary residence in Cherry Hill, NJ. Since the bulk of my fishing and fly tying gear packed in boxes in a warehouse somewhere, I was glad to find a place to pick up a few flies.

As expected, the bulk of the store's square footage is devoted to men and women's clothing. While the Editorial Trophy wife picked up a few bargains from the clearance rack, I proceeded to the fly fishing section located at the back of the store.

I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to the fly shop, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. The shop carries a good selection of both trout and saltwater flies at normal retail prices along with a fair selection of rods from both LL Bean and other well known makers. I noticed a section of "pre-rigged" reels and "grab and go" bags of leaders, tippet and etc at what seemed like a good price and fit the bill for the angler who planned poorly and ended up with all his gear locked in a moving van.

It has always been said that the Editorial Trophy Wife had eyesight issues an eye for value, after all she did marry me. However, she outdid herself on our first trip to LL Bean, when she noticed a orange Clearance sticker on a Sage 9 weight fly rod. Since one of the upsides of my move North is the chance to fish the Salt, I wasn't able to pass it up. I won't divulge the price we paid but lets just say it pays dig through the clearance rack when you visit an LL Bean store. They had a bit of an issue locating the rod tube to go with my new prize but it all worked out and I was smiling when I left.

The staff at this location was friendly and knowledgeable and even took a bit of interest in some guy running around the fly shop snapping pictures with a camera phone. I explained that I was a blogger and in what must be a sign of the times, they simply nodded and went about their business. The location offers classes and has a FFF certified casting instructor on hand as well.

The question of the day came when a gentleman, who seemed to be new to the sport walked up to the counter and asked the equivalent of "what are they biting?" " If you could only buy one fly, what would you buy?" This caused a bit of debate among the other staff and customers. I managed to get some odd looks when I chimed in that "if you could only afford one fly, you should probably stick to garden hackle." I'll be back to visit our local LL Bean in the near future. I need to make friends with the Manager as I noticed what looked to be a carp or two cruising the pond beside the store....

Gear: Cabela's Fly Tying Desk

Fresh out of college, getting a new piece of furniture more than likely included opening a carton and spending a frustrated hour or two trying to decipher assembly instructions that were no doubt written by the one semi English speaker in the piece's village of origin. Now, later in life, and having the ability to occasionally shop at stores where the furniture is already put together and delivered by men with trucks, I tend to avoid he particle board and hex fasteners. For this reason, I was somewhat skeptical when I discovered Cabela's Fly Tying Desk with "some assembly required."


When I found the large carton on my doorstep the first thing that I noticed was that one corner was rather mangled. As this normally does not bode well for the contents of a package, I was already expecting the worst. However, upon opening the box, I found that the ample packing material had taken the brunt with not even a scratch on the contents. A quick unpacking revealed the instruction sheet (not many words - mostly drawings) and the dreaded bag of hardware. I also noted happily that the sides, drawer, and desktop were all pre-assembled.

The desk itself is made of solid oak and assembles with small Phillips head lag screws that thread into a barrel nut that is inserted into pre-drilled holes. The base comes together by attaching the drawer supports to the side panels and the top attaches to the base with wood screws and dowels. It all comes together rather quickly into a very sturdy package. No fly tyer wants to wrap thread on a wobbly platform. (Hint: have a short Phillips head screw driver on hand when you attach the top to the base as clearance is tight between the top and the drawer supports.)

The drawer, which has removable dividers, fits snugly into the base and the drawer pulls complete the package with decorative flies burned into them. A final tightening of the fasteners and then covering the holes with oak plugs and you are done. The desk is unfinished so it can be stained to fit your decor but it is attractive enough in its natural state to make this step purely elective on your part.



The verdict? The Cabela's Fly Tying Desk (the MSRP is $179 but it has been on sale for as low as $159 in the past) is a sturdy piece of furniture that gives good value and performs well for the fly tyer who is looking for a compact work station and who wants to get their tying station off the kitchen table. In the case of the desk that I received, the tolerances were tight and the pieces went together without difficulty.

With dimensions of 40.5" H x 25"W x 14" D this desk is not well suited for the production fly tyer nor for the angler wishing to store large amounts of material away from the prying eyes of his or her spouse. It will however, make a nice addition to the tying area of your home.

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