Fly Fishing Rod Manufacturing Company For Sale

[gofish60]

Listing at Scout and Spur Group in Colorado.
Fly Fishing Rod manufacturing Company. $895,000
Who? Where?
Interesting????
Gofish

[cdmoore]

Sweetgrass.

[gmflyfish]

Heard it thru the grapevine - Sweetgrass

Gregg

[joaniebo]

Without the current rodmakers at Sweetgrass, wouldn't the business be pretty much worthless except for equipment and inventory?

[gofish60]

My thoughts exactly, Boobie. That's the problem when a highly skilled "legend" of a certain business with a fantastic reputation for a quality product retires anywhere, but especially where his/her personal skills were so instrumental in the development of the product and certainly are recognized as being so important for the quality of the finished product.
gofish

[flyfishingpastor]

There are some very talented people there, but when the "legends" move on; I'd guess it would be pretty hard to make much money with all the talented makers out there. It really is a shame because some of the newer people there are quite talented and were apprenticed to the "Boo Boys."
Maybe they just understood the reality of trying to continue a brand without the names associated with it? Don't know, but I wish them well! I stopped by there a couple months back (with Snorider) and one of the young men (don't remember who) took time out to show us around the shop and chat with us for awhile. Good people there.

Pat

[gofish60]

[snorider]

Luca, and Joe are both extremely talented builders and great people, and I hope they figure out a way to keep the business in Twin Bridges. Our "new" (built 1916) house is just down the street from Sweetgrass rods and I visit them every once in a while to ogle and cast a rod or two. Top quality rods from top quality people! The current cadre of builders is doing a fantastic job and I hope someone will continue the tradition of the The Boo Boys.

[gespliesste]

The bamboo rod business is shrinking and not growing in the future. The times are changing no matter what name you have in the trade. Bamboo rod business don't have a huge growth potential. In most cases it can not even provide enough income for one owner. Spezialy if you have to put first this amount on the table.

[doloresboy]

A couple of weeks ago I sent my Brackett Winston up to Glenn to have a ferrule re-wrapped. He confirmed it would be done promptly. Great guy! Glad I didn't dawdle!

Matt

[lkbamboo]

gespliesste

"The bamboo rod business is shrinking and not growing in the future" and what do you base this statement on?

Lowell

[snorider]

https://vimeo.com/68416072 just cause I like the Music and watching Luca cast

[Hellmtflies]

The bamboo rod business is shrinking and not growing in the future. The times are changing no matter what name you have in the trade. Bamboo rod business don't have a huge growth potential. In most cases it can not even provide enough income for one owner. Spezialy if you have to put first this amount on the table.

X's 2! Olaf, you are spot on here!

[Flyman615]

Fortunately, there are some outstanding young rod makers there and out there--many of whom are relatively unknown--who may very well be both qualified and interested in keeping the Sweetgrass legacy alive.

Just as Glenn and Tom did for Winston, lo those many years ago.

Hope so!

Scott

[gespliesste]

Hi Lowell, I'm a very lazy writer and this would be a very long discussion. This is just my personal statement, I'm not a prophet and I can only guess what could happen.
But I have now 16 year as rod maker under my belt and have at least a little bit knowledge of the trade with bamboo rods. How many bamboo rod makers do you know who are in there 30is and do nothing else than building bamboo fly rods have two children and a wife that stay home with the kids? Not many, your wife has to work and she needs a dame good job and at it best the rod maker needs a second job to generat enough income. I don't know if we than can still speak of a full time rod maker? Some tried this when the economy was down and hoped to make a living of bamboo rod making, most if not all of them failed. I'm lucky that I'm financially independant I never had to make living from this. Many rod maker are older this days and doing this as hobby and living from there pension. Some of this ominous waiting list are not because they have so many rod orders on hand, it's because they have only time to make a few rods in the year, they have to cut the lawn, play with the grand children, go to the doctor and go fishing.
When you go to a bamboo rod makers reunion how many people you see over 60 and how many under 40? Let's look 15 years ahead, a lot of the over 60 will be dead, sorry but this is they way of life. And the very small group of the now under 40 will than around 60. But the already saturated market, through all the hobby rod builders we have now, will be even more saturated trough the collections which will come to the market from the descendants of the dead collectors. What we end up is a complete over saturated bamboo rod marked with all kind of rods and a very low buyer's market. Like in all economies when this happens the prices will fall. You will have a hard time to sell a new made rod if someone can buy a good used rod for much less. OK you can say there will be new young people come after us with new interest in this. Yes maybe some but personally I don't think this much to prevent my assumption. The sentimental value is not there, like to the older guys how grow up with bamboo rods.
This discussion has also much truth in it: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=97951
I know many don't like to think about this way and it does't need to be happen. And some others see there investment of there collection in danger. But my feeling and signs tell me it will go in this direction. So maybe now you understand why I think "The bamboo rod business is shrinking and not growing in the future".
Believe me I do not like it either, but times are changing!

[BigTJ]

I would absolutely love to quit my job as s consultant and become a full time rod maker. That is saying a lot because I really like my current job. However I figure I would take about a 80% pay cut. There's just no way with three kids and a stay at home wife. Buying Sweetgrass would be a dream come true but I don't have a million bucks plus whatever I'd need to put into it to sustain the business. Maybe in the next life.

[Hellmtflies]

Hi Lowell, I'm a very lazy writer and this would be a very long discussion. This is just my personal statement, I'm not a prophet and I can only guess what could happen.
But I have now 16 year as rod maker under my belt and have at least a little bit knowledge of the trade with bamboo rods. How many bamboo rod makers do you know who are in there 30is and do nothing else than building bamboo fly rods have two children and a wife that stay home with the kids? Not many, your wife has to work and she needs a dame good job and at it best the rod maker needs a second job to generat enough income. I don't know if we than can still speak of a full time rod maker? Some tried this when the economy was down and hoped to make a living of bamboo rod making, most if not all of them failed. I'm lucky that I'm financially independant I never had to make living from this. Many rod maker are older this days and doing this as hobby and living from there pension. Some of this ominous waiting list are not because they have so many rod orders on hand, it's because they have only time to make a few rods in the year, they have to cut the lawn, play with the grand children, go to the doctor and go fishing.
When you go to a bamboo rod makers reunion how many people you see over 60 and how many under 40? Let's look 15 years ahead, a lot of the over 60 will be dead, sorry but this is they way of life. And the very small group of the now under 40 will than around 60. But the already saturated market, through all the hobby rod builders we have now, will be even more saturated trough the collections which will come to the market from the descendants of the dead collectors. What we end up is a complete over saturated bamboo rod marked with all kind of rods and a very low buyer's market. Like in all economies when this happens the prices will fall. You will have a hard time to sell a new made rod if someone can buy a good used rod for much less. OK you can say there will be new young people come after us with new interest in this. Yes maybe some but personally I don't think this much to prevent my assumption. The sentimental value is not there, like to the older guys how grow up with bamboo rods.
This discussion has also much truth in it: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=97951
I know many don't like to think about this way and it does't need to be happen. And some others see there investment of there collection in danger. But my feeling and signs tell me it will go in this direction. So maybe now you understand why I think "The bamboo rod business is shrinking and not growing in the future".
Believe me I do not like it either, but times are changing!

Excellent! I can only add that there is simply zero recruitment into this bamboo game today. Collecting antiquities of any type, books, reels etc. and across the board are way off. The younger element simply isn't interested and doesn't have the expendable dollars. It's sad but from my view correct.
Mark

[PYochim]

Maybe Winston will buy it.

[bamboo rodley]

People are failing to bring technology into the discussion. My guess is that in the next ten to fifteen years there will be all kinds of changes in rod making technology, i.e. robotics, advanced CNC, 3-d printing, etc. No telling how this will effect things. I know it is hard to imagine, but certainly the possibility exists for the manufacturing of very high quality bamboo rods made completely by machine. We'll have machines that can learn a process and repeat it exactly. 3-D printing will drop in price dramatically, which could totally change the composite fly rod industry. These things are already happening, but cost prohibits them from reaching the fly rod industry. It will only be a matter of time before that is no longer the case.
Hand made items will still be out there, but will be more of a luxury item, even than they are today.

[Cane Head]

Maybe Winston will buy it.

Love the irony associated with this!

Cane