Fly-shop owner uses personal touch to battle big-box stores in Moncton

RIVERVIEW, N.B – A Riverview fly-shop owner has been forced to change the way he does business after the arrival of two big-box outfitters in the Greater Moncton area.

Bryant Freeman, who owns Eskape Anglers, said he wasn’t getting any bites selling fishing rods and reels.

“I just cannot see my way to compete with these two big companies that are selling the exact same thing,” he said.

When retailers Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s moved into the city, Freeman said he had no choice but to sell off almost all of his high-end fishing rods and reels below cost.

READ MORE: Cabela’s opening an economic boom for Moncton

He said he does not have the ability to complete with the grandeur and the experience shoppers get at the bigger stores. He believes customers are worse off, because they miss out on local expertise.

“I spent years on the river and so much time learning the ups and downs and what to put on a fly rod and how they work and the balance and everything,” he said.

Raye MacDougall, one of Freeman’s longtime customers, said he believes there is a place for the big-box retail stores, but they don’t provide the same service he can get a smaller shop.

The local know-how is what Freeman is counting on to save his family business. He is now focusing on selling specialty products the larger stores don’t carry, such as genetically bred fly tying feathers, which he personally dyes himself.

Freeman is counting on customers who are still looking for a personal touch — as a world-renowned fly tier, he said he knows how to tie one-of-a-kind a flies that aren’t perfect.

“That’s why they catch the fish,” he said. “They look natural, as if they fell out of a tree.

“If you go to a fly box, you open it up and look, and there is one that Bryant Freeman tied.”