Bob's Fly Tying Specialties
406 South Lincoln Avenue
Loveland, CO 80537
(970) 667-1107E-Mail us at > juliefly@aol.com
Located near the banks of the Big Thompson River in Northeast Colorado resides a quaint, little fly shop that attracts dedicated anglers from far and wide as well as a cult-like following of local long-rod believers. There are bigger, fancier fly shops around, but few can hold a candle to the exceptional friendliness and commitment to good old fashioned customer service that have become Bob's stock in trade.
The present………………….
On May 1, 2000, Bob turned ownership of the shop over to Julie Ray, his faithful employee for more than twenty years, and an extremely accomplished fly tier in her own right. Julie began working in the shop when she was "just a kid," helping with mail order repairs, shipments, and inventory. When Bob’s converted to a fly tying specialty store, Julie began teaching fly tying classes, and filling orders for custom tied flies. She added a retail angling library stocked with the latest books and manuals on fly fishing and fly tying, and currently authors her own column in Trout Tales, the shop’s popular website.
The Past…………………….
Bob's state-wide reputation for quality service was established back in the late 70's as a reel repair shop appropriately named Bob's Reel Service. But as the popularity of fly fishing accelerated in the region, owner/founder Bob Paul responded to the growing demands of the market, and by 1987, Bob's Fly Tying Specialties, a Certified Cortland Pro Shop, had become the first fly fishing specialty store in Loveland. It remains the best.
In addition to offering regularly scheduled fly tying and rod building classes conducted by friendly professionals, Bob's is one of the few shops in the country where you’re actually encouraged to use the shop's tools to craft your own rod(s) any time you want, on or off the premises. They carry most name brands, and a healthy inventory of demo rods in popular weights and lengths. They'll also be happy to build a rod to your specs, tie custom fly orders per your personal instructions, or order virtually any fly fishing item you can think of. One comer of the store is dedicated to a library of fly fishing books and Bob's offers a fly fishing video rental service second to none.
Graphite blanks by Scott, Cortland and St. Croix are in stock, and others can be special ordered. Reel seats and components are by Struble, Pacific Bay, Cortland, H & H of England and Perfection. Naturally, a full complement of fly fishing tools and accessories are in stock at all times, and again, the emphasis is on quality and service. You'll find Whiting Farms capes and saddles plus a large selection of fly tying materials; Peak Rotary, Renzetti, and Thompson vises plus tools and accessories.
There's more……………………….
Bob's is located in prime fly fishing country. Within a few hours drive from the shop flow the North Platte, the South Platte, the Frying Pan, the Colorado, and the Blue Rivers. The Big Thompson and the Cache la Poudre Rivers are within an hour's drive. There are hundreds of other high-country streams, beaver ponds, and alpine lakes nearby as well, not to mention several warm water lakes and prairie reservoirs, all of which can provide excellent fly-fishing. The pros at Bob's will direct you to the best reaches on their home waters provide you with local lake and river conditions and hatch reports or put you in touch with the regions best guides. Colorado's widely acclaimed spring-fed trophy trout lakes at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch are 15 minutes from the shop, and the head guide there is the rod building and fly fishing instructor at Bob's. If 3 to 10 pound rainbows and big browns are your game, call them for direct contact to the Ranch.
If you’re new to the region, on your way to Rocky Mountain National Park, or just visiting, stop in at Bob’s Fly-Tying Specialties, they talk fly-fishing, and you might catch a glimpse of the old bald-headed guy!