Wailing and gnashing of teeth from either side of the issue aside...I was in (to the YB TCO) on 3/6 (on my way home from the Lancaster show, as it happened) and personally I thought that for a fly shop, their tying selection was downright skimpy, given the size of the building...same reaction to their fly line selection. In contrast, I was expecting/hoping for something more in line with the selection at their other locations, Reading especially, but even more, given the size of the space they have to work with at YB. Unfortunately, the breakdown seems to be about 20% tying, 20% lines, leaders, gear, flies, 10% rods, 10% boots & waders, and 40% shirts, hats, and non-fishing-related camping gear.
Granted, they're a damn sight better than most Orvis "Outdoor Lifestyle shops that happen to have some fly tying stuff in the back" (not that all Orvis shops are like this, but you all know the type), but for what I thought would be more of a "fly first" place, I was surprised at the square footage given over to non-fly generalized camping/outdoor gear. Not necessarily a positive or a negative for me, so long as the gear & tying sections are there too...and just based on the all or nothing "Is it better than no shop at all?", I guess that having the tying stuff they do is better than nothing...but if "better than nothing" is the sole criteria upon which a shop is rated, then one's bar is set far lower than mine.
If they're planning *significant* expansion in terms of the materials they stock, I'll withhold judgment until I've given them a second visit (likely sometime this summer). If it's not significantly better though, there's little to attract me back there. Nothing wrong with the approach they seem to be taking, but for my needs/wishes, there's just not enough in the way of tying selection to get me to make it a stop on any trip I may make from the western to the central part of the state.
