Scott Hall has been selling fly fishing gear at Grand River Outfitting and Fly Shop in Fergus for the past 12 years, but now he’s not just selling the gear, he’s making his own.
“I just got tired of selling other companies rods. said Hall. “I said to myself, why isn't there a Canadian Company doing this?
It was this question that eventually led to the creation of Hall Rod Company Inc., Hall’s own brand of locally-designed fly-fishing rods.
The company has been around for about three years, and is slowly gaining momentum, with Hall set to debut a new rod at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show next week.
“They have a casting platform, so you can test the rods,” said Hall of the show, which takes place March 19 to 22 at the International Centre in Mississauga.
It’s one of the ways Hall has been promoting his company’s products, which are currently only available in the Fergus shop and online.
As the company name suggests, Hall Rod Co. sells fishing rods, but not just any fishing rods. They are fly-fishing rods, made with high-end materials and construction process.
“It’s made with really good stuff,” said Hall.
He could elaborate on the technical details of the graphene and high-density carbon, but kept it simple, saying, “It’s not just a rod.”
Hall has the rods manufactured through specialized partners in South Korea and China, with cork handles from Continental Cork in London, Ont.
But he has relied on fishermen to help refine the design.
“I give these to all my guides, all my friends that fish, and they test them,” he said. “I take all those opinions together and then I send that back to the factory.”
He offers several different weights and length of rod, including the one debuting at the Sportsmen’s Show – the “Euro Nymph” model, a weight used for small creeks and little fish.
“There’s so many different types of fishing in the world,” said Hall, explaining that the rod matches the fish you are trying to catch.
His wife, Tania Elliott, who is also his business partner at Grand River Outfitting, has also helped to design the rods. Hall credits Elliott with having chosen the unique blue-green colour of the rod he’s dubbed “Tailwater,” one that he advertises as perfect for light bass.
The rods range in price from an entry-level $275 to $800 for the “Grand.”
“The Grand is my top, top of the line,” said Hall.
He said Bill Spicer, host of The New Fly Fisher television series, will be casting that one at the Sportsman Show, and he’s hoping for good reviews.
“You have to have influencers,” said Hall.
But he also hopes customers see the benefits of buying a local product, noting the fastest he can get warranty replacement parts for the other rods he sells is seven days.
By contrast, with his own rods, “you break it in the morning, you can fish it in the afternoon,” Hall said. “I have all the parts and pieces.”
For now, the business remains small, but Hall has hopes to expand it.
“The hope is to get into some other fly fishing shops and get selling through those,” he said.
But he also enjoys the community he has created at the Fergus shop, where people of all skill levels can come in for advice, see demonstrations, get inspirations, and even find a guide for a fishing trip on a local river.
“It’s a very unique business, because there are only two shops in Ontario that are dedicated fly shops,” said Hall. “I kinda enjoy what I do.”