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3. Do you buy your fishing gear online?

Do you buy your fishing gear online?

Where (URL)?

Is the web site easy to use and easy to find what you want?

Are there anythings you don't like about the site?

If you prefer, you can PM me rather than post a reply. Any insights will be invaluable to me. (I will explain why I am asking later.) Thanks!

I buy most of my tying supplies and lots of other stuff from Feathercraft (http://www.feather-craft.com). Their website kind of sucks, but it's not impossible to use. However, their selection is great, their service is exceptional, and for tying supplies they send extra-large portions of high-quality stuff. I don't hesitate to recommend them, but I do wish they'd bring their eCommerce software out of the 90s.

Guys, I'm spoiled - there's a Cabelas only 1/2 hour south of Ann Arbor. I look at fishing gear online, and look for sale or discounted items, but its a short trip to actually go handle the stuff myself. I will have to check out Feather-Craft - Cabelas doesn't have everything (like no frickin' silver-sparkle chenille, which is essential to my KBF [Killer Bass Fly] that I will soon reveal).

Any other suggestions?

Jonathon

i've bought from Sierra Trading Post -- see the cheap rods thread. and Glenn River Fly Co. has kits that are really good. Oh, and the Ekich bobbin guy...mostly i reserve my online shopping for exotic items i just can't find at home, or "good deals".

Sierra Trading Post has the most easy to use site on the web. bar none. just blows me away how well it works. it is huge and very sophisticated. the stuff is usually overstocks, discontinued lines, seconds, and other remainders, so availability is an issue. if you know what you're after, and they have it, you're golden.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/
Glenn River is quite basic: look at the list (there are pictures), decide what you want and then send an e-mail. sometimes a reply e-mail arrives before the kit and sometimes not--all quite informal, and top-notch stuff.
http://www.glennriver.com/
and the bobbin guy has a simple order form. the site has all you need to know about how to work the automatic bobbin as well.
http://www.ekichbobbin.com/
sites i don't like are those that ask me to make too many decisions based on thumbnail pictures or generically written descriptions, or assume too much knowledge on my part.

I too have bought fly tackle from Sierra Trading Post as it is always deeply discounted from the typical MSRP. You won't find every model of a rod makers inventory and you won't find more than one or two manufacturers in any issue of their catalog but I have seen Redington, Winston, Orvis, and other makers products listed there from time to time. I would never buy a rod or reel without first casting the rod or handling the reel but one can do their homework and go to a big box store or a fly shop and check out the rods you like and ask the owner if you could cast them. Typically no fly shop owner is going to discount any of the high end name rods but STP gets close-out deals from shops going out of business or maybe even the manufacturers rhemselves that are discontinuing a particular model, line weight, or length.

Regarding lines and other items such as leaders, tippets, clothing, etc. I'll look for shops that advertise "free shipping" on orders over a certain value. Every few months Orvis will have a sale and if you are on top of it and check out their web site frequently you can get great prices on all sorts of the merchandise that they sell.

If I can avoid paying the PA 6% sales tax and get free shipping I will always buy on line.

orvis is having a clearance sale right now and have some pretty nice rods at about half price...

link to Orvis here

My favorites for materials that are hard to find elsewhere:

www.waterstrider.com -- Enrico Puglisi Tippet

Whitetail Fly Tying Supplies -- all kinds of stuff, including many colors of hi viz www.whitetailflytieing.com/

Johns Fly Materials -- swannundaze, hooks, poly yarn, and lots of other things. http://www.freewebs.com/johnsflymaterials/

I'm cheap, so yes, I buy gear online.

The Hook and Hackle Company
I buy a lot of my hooks and whatnot from these guys, but in all, they typically run pretty decent deals on all of their gear. They devote quite a bit of marketing effort toward rod building, so I suspect they know what they're doing in that department. I believe most items are 20% off when you order online, and their shipping rates are comparable.

The Fly Fishing Shop
I only included this website, because they offer free shipping on orders over $50, so I bought my first TFO rod from them. Given the recent "cheap rods, high performance" topic, I thought some of you might find this useful.

Wilderness Angler
I've gotten a lot of fly-tying material from this guy. Unfortunately, his shipping prices just went up - he used to offer free shipping, but it must have hit him harder than I thought, because they've gone up twice since he started. However, once you order one thing from him, the shipping doesn't go up. This is just his website - I have dealt with him exclusively via eBay.

All of the above websites are pretty comparable as far as pictures, navigability, and whatnot. I get too frustrated with a poorly designed website to stick around for long, so these apparently passed the test.

I do have to tip my hat to Cabela's! I had a problem with a pair of waders I just purchased, and a human actually answered the phone when I called customer service, and this human acted VERY interested in making sure I was happy once the phone call was over. There's something to be said for good customer service nowadays!

Chris.