EclecticGuy

Over the last few years I have produced a number of fly fishing related items out of personal interest. Surprisingly, I get a fair number of inquiries to purchase these items – including tenkara flies, several other fly patterns, ice fishing tip-ups, hand-made brass fishing reels, horsehair fishing lines, Walton’s Engines (aka twisting or furling engines), and custom rods – all by word of mouth. The interest and volume got to the point where I needed to automate the purchasing process and market my “wares” a little. My book, The Reelsmith’s Primer, is also nearing completion and I will offer it, materials kits and materials, custom leather reel pouches and cases, and reelsmithing tools for sale.

Since making these items is just a hobby for me, I intend for Eclectic Angler to be a resource as much as a store. I’ll show people how to make a horsehair line, sell them the hair, or sell them the completed line. My goal is to develop a community around making and using your own fly fishing equipment. The site is no where near complete but I wanted to get the framework and basic design started so I can get feedback and start automating orders.

I’m handling all of the design, development and e-commerce myself using a combination of Open Source, RapidWeaver (all I can say about it is “wow”), GoDaddy, and PayPal. Putting the site together is almost as much fun as building the items themselves! This process has also given me a great perspective on what a new small business must go through to launch a web presence. There are lots of decisions and options and pricing alternatives. I can see why new business people are perplexed!

So, without further adieu, I give you The Eclectic Angler.