Concord Outfitters has been in business for 26 years, maintaining an online ecommerce shop and serving the Greater Boston area with their brick and mortar location. The owner, Andy Bonzagni, is passionate about teaching others, small businesses, community involvement such as supporting local youth sports teams, and helping out the general public to find fishy destinations. They carry premium brands – Scientific Anglers, Simms, Orvis, Patagonia, Cortland, RIO, Diamondback, and Costa just to name a few.

His team, including Dylan Callahan and Vinny Giurleo, are expert anglers, global travelers, and will work hard to ensure you have a great customer experience. They work their tails off both in the shop and when they’re on the water, and have the results to prove it. I selfishly pick their brains for hot spots and flies every time I stop by.

Interested in getting into flyfishing and need a casting lesson? You’re in luck. Are you a fan of classic rods and reels or do you have some of your own that you’d like to trade? Say no more. Or are you itching to visit Louisiana, the Bahamas, Canada, Alaska, or Patagonia for the hosted fishing trip of a lifetime? There’s no better time than the present. Whether you’re a beginner or lifelong fly guy or fly gal, Concord Outfitters has something for you.

I was recently inspired by the Flylords Fly Shop Tour series and their #supportyourlocalflyshop hashtag. For this year’s Season 3, they visited shops in the Northeast. While they did fish Boston Harbor, they weren’t able to make a stop at the fly shop closest to where I live, and that’s Concord Outfitters in Concord, Mass.

I’m a big fan of fly shops. I’m extroverted and enjoy shooting the breeze with like-minded folks. What better place to do it than at a small business where you can actually get someone’s undivided attention and feel good about the purchases you make?

But why should you care in the first place? I’ll let Flylords explain: “Our mission: to spotlight and emphasize the significance of fly shops within the fly-fishing community. These shops serve as the pulsating heartbeats of local fishing communities, and stretch across the nation from coast to coast…These shops are the glue that brings anglers together, teach the next generation, and provide a sense of community. It doesn’t matter who you are, as long as you fish, you’re right at home in these fly shops.”

I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment. Angling is often a solitary endeavor and some people prefer fishing alone. I get a kick out of fishing with others, whether from the bank or a boat, but it’s not easy to align schedules, logistics, and locations with a good bite.

An option is to certainly attend events with organizations like Trout Unlimited (the Greater Boston Chapter is fantastic, and I would encourage you to join and become a paying member of TU). But if you want to talk to experts, aside from picking up the phone and calling a manufacturer (which is something I admit to doing), fly shops are an obvious choice.

And then there’s the business side of things. Where you spend your money matters. It’s hard to find discounts on new fly tackle. Rather than searching for the cheapest option, why not get the gear that’s going to work for you and spend your money at a place that will take the time to outfit you with the right stuff? In my experience, employees at fly shops will be honest, tell you about their likes and dislikes of certain products, and are never pushy when it comes to making a sale.

If you break or damage something or need help with a warranty you can bring it to the shop for assistance. This past year I had a Sage reel that wasn’t functioning correctly. The team at Concord Outfitters took care of shipping it to the manufacturer and communicated with me along the way until I had a new reel in my hands. A pleasant experience for this consumer.

So, next time you’re in the market for waders, boots, packs, rods, reels, or lines, stop for a second and think about where you want your money to go. And wouldn’t it be nice to actually have that product in your hand before you buy it? A fly shop is where you can do that. Or if you’re just looking for some flies, fly tying materials, leaders, tippet, tools, or fly boxes, your local fly shop has plenty of those too.

If you’d like me to visit or write about other fly shops, whether in New England or not, shoot me a note at da********@***il.com or direct message on Facebook or Instagram and I would be more than happy to.

PS – I’m not affiliated or sponsored by any brands or businesses and I pay retail prices for my gear.