Your Online Fly Fishing Professionals!
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Contact Information:
813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214
(614) 451-0363 phone (614) 451-0709 fax
888-451-0363 TOLL FREE
e-mail admin@madriveroutfitters.com
Mission Statement-
Mad River Outfitters is working hard to serve as "the source" for everything needed for your flyfishing experience.....from tackle to flies, from classes to guide service to destination trips. We also take great pride in offering knowledgeable and honest advice when it comes to your pursuit of the sport of fly fishing.
Along with companies like Orvis, Patagonia, Filson, Barbour, Simms and other fine vendors, we are proud to provide the best products, outstanding service, and knowledgeable instruction and advice. Customer Service has always been a benchmark of Mad River Outfitters and we pledge to do our very best to make your experience with us as pleasant as possible.
Not to mention, you simply won't find a more extensive selection of flies, fly fishing tackle or fly tying materials in the entire Midwest!
Our staff looks forward to sharing our expertise and enthusiasm for the sport of flyfishing with you in the near future.
Company History-
Mad River Outfitters was founded on December 1st of 1994 by current owner/operator, Brian Flechsig. Brian has been a fly fishing guide and in the fly fishing business for most of his adult life. He came to Columbus, Ohio from Cincinnati, Ohio where he was the manager of a fly shop there. After realizing the need for a better shop, and better service in the midwestern region......he moved to Columbus and opened MRO. With the help of some great employees and friends along the way, Mad River Outfitters has become one of the largest and most recognized names in the fly fishing business. In 2002, Mad River Outfitters was nominated as "Fly Shop of the Year" out of over 400 dealers in the U.S.
Our Staff- Click the names below to know more about who you are dealing with
Brian Flechsig
Brian Flechsig tied his first fly and caught his first fish on a fly rod when he was seven years old. Today, from his fly shop in Columbus, Ohio,which he founded in 1994, Brian outfits sportsmen, teaches classes and guides groups on fishing trips to some of the world’s best places to fish. He has been in the fly fishing business for most of his adult life. Brian is one of America’s new generation of fly fishing personalities and has been featured in a series of fly fishing instructional videos from Mad River Media, including the new title, Carpin’ with good friend Dave Whitlock. Regular guest appearances on the popular television show “The Walker’s Cay Chronicles” with Flip Pallot, have made Brian one of the most recognized names and faces in mid-western fly fishing arena.
He is the author of “The Fly Fisher’s Guide to the Mad River”, Ohio’s  premier trout stream and is active in many conservation activities and efforts to bring the sport of fly fishing to everyone. He has also just recently released an acoustic music CD entitled “River Songs”, and acitvely plays music when he can.
Brian oversees the entire operations of Mad River Outfitters along with his sister companies Mad River Media and Patagonia Trouters USA. He is very versed at many aspects of fly fishing....and holds a special passion for saltwater. He is also our head guide at The Wilds and spends upwards of 30 days a year guiding folks in pursuit of monster largemouth...but also still finds time for a few days on the Mad River in his AuSable River boat. For more information on Brian and a listing of his personal appearances, please see http://www.madrivermedia.net/
Jim Andrix
Jim Andrix is as much a staple in the shop as our dog bear! He has been working in the shop for over ten years now and now truly considered a veteran in the fly shop business. He is a favorite of many of our clients.
Jim has been fly fishing since the early sixties and is truly a pioneer in many aspects of the sport.....he just does it quietly. He is our resident warmwater expert and will gladly tell you that he is not much of a trout fisherman but would much prefer a smallmouth bass. He is also an excellent carp fisherman and has been featured in the Mad River Media DVD- "Carpin" with Brian Flechsig and Dave Whitlock. He is also known for developing the now-famous Jim's Lil' Bugger....one of the most versatile flies of all time........ which has recieved national acclaim in recent years.
Jim is a "Jack-of-all-trades" around the shop but also heads up our book and literature department.....due to the fact that he is addicted to fly fishing literature. In his spare time he prefers to fish local waters and share his time teaching his grand kids about the great outdoors.
Bill Conlon
Bill Conlon grew up in Marysville, Ohio which is on the far outskirts of Columbus, here in Cenral Ohio. After starting out at Ohio State as a chemical engineering major, he changed his mind a few times and wound up with a degree in micro-biology. This landed him a job at the well known Beechwold Hardware store in North Columbus. A number of years later, he and his wife started a publishing company called Linworth Publishing and they have been very successful with that to this day. Bill was smart enough to automate his role there which gave him some free time and that's how he would up here.
The moral of this story is that Bill really only knew that he wanted to be outdoors, or at least work in a business that was related to the outdoors, and could think of none better than one of his true loves......fly fishing.
Bill plays an integral part in the daily operations of Mad River Outfitters, serving as our General Manager, and is one of our star salesmen. He is a pleasure to work with and really enjoys what he does and the people that he gets to sell stuff to.....and you will see that in him. He is our "Fly Guy"' here at the shop and heads up everything to do with the fly department. In addition, he has also become an integral part of our "Trips" operations and is a warm and welcome host to many exotic destinations these days.
Believe it or not, he still finds time to enjoy his many outdoor interests which include fly fishing, hunting, cross-country skiing and hiking.
Chris Pemberton
Chris Pemberton has either been a friend, customer, guide and/or employee of Mad River Outfitters since we opened the doors. He was a manager here at the shop from 1997 through 2000. After a six year stint in the corporate world.....he's back with a vengeance!!!
Chris will be heading up the fly tying and tackle departments here at MRO and we couldn't be more excited. If if has to do with fly fishing....he's the man. He will also be doing some guiding at the Wilds and on the Mad as well as heading up a few of our store Trips and teaching some classes.
He is a die hard trout fisherman and spends much of his free time on the Mad River (he knows the river as well as anybody), but he is also well versed in warmwater and saltwater angling. Chris is a very talented artist and fly tyer and his love of the sport of fly fishing really shows. His other great passion is Ohio State Buckeye football.
We are thrilled to have Chris back on the staff full-time!
Neil Neidhardt
Neil Neidhardt has been working at MRO since the spring of 1995. He is a central Ohio native and grew up fishing the local waters. He has since had the opportunity to travel and fish some of the exotic places that this job has led him to. A clinical psychologist by trade who now sells Range Rovers full-time, Neil is one of the most interesting and exciting people you will meet in a fly shop. He is also known for his expertise on the Barbour and Filson clothing lines. Neil works every Sunday in the shop and occasional weekdays when he has the time. He considers himself a Mad River "lifer" and we do also!
Dick Davidson
Dick's life-long passion for fly fishing began at age 8 in Wyoming and Montana when size #16 flies were considered very "small" flies. He has fished from New England to the Blue Ribbon streams of the West and also in Alaska. During his college years, Dick combined fly fishing and backpacking to fish infrequently visited waters located in the scenic areas of the Bighorn Mountains, the Teton Wilderness Area, The Wind River Mountains and in Glacier and Yellowstone Parks. Dick is also an avid fly tyer and enjoys teaching fly tyers of all ages who are new to this hobby. At age 10 he was a commercial fly tyer, selling Joe's Hoppers to his neighborhood friends, until he exhausted his dad's supply of Herter's fly tying materials. Today, Dick's favorite fly fishing destinations include the Mad River in Ohio and the Montana Mother's Day Caddis hatch.
After having spent several years around here as Fly Tying manager and general computer geek.....Dick is currently working in the shop part-time. He will also be teaching fly tying classes as usual and helping out with the new Entomology class. He is also very instrumental part of making sure the "technical" aspects of Mad River Outfitters work.......he knows computers as well as he does hatches!
Jim Lenardson
Jim Lenardson has been fly fishing since his mid-teens when he started taking some classes from, and hanging out at Mad River Outfitters. Before long, he was manager of the shop. Jim is a very versatile fly fisher and knows quite a bit about freshwater as well as saltwater. He is a great angler, excellent fly tyer and a great guy to be around. He was also very instrumental in the design and implementation of our online store back in 2002. He has since moved on to the banking business full-time but still works in the shop on a part time basis and does some guiding for us.
George Russomanno
Way back in 1989, Brian Flechsig was conducting his 1st guide trip on the Mad River. Just as he and the client were heading upstream from Millerstown Rd. they heard a voice...."Hey, you guys seein' bugs?"...It was George Russomanno in hot pursuit of Hendricksons.
George and Brian have been working together since the late eighties and George has been an integral part of Mad River Outfitters since the beginning. He does a majority of our Mad River Float Trips in his AuSable boat and also spends over 30 days per year guiding for us at The Wilds. He also helps out with inventory, works in the shop part-time and occasionally heads up a saltwater or Montana trip for us. George is one of the best fly anglers that we know, an excellent fishing guide, and is truly a "Trout Bum".
Graham Stokes
Like many of our staff, Graham has been a customer at MRO since day one. An avid fly angler for more than 15 years, in 2006 he realized that his day job was cutting into his fishing time so he left the corporate world to pursue his dream of becoming a "professional fly fisherman".
Although based in central Ohio, and originally from England, he regularly travels to Chaffee County, Colorado where he fishes, floats and guides on the upper Arkansas River.
Graham joined our staff in January of 2007....and we are really lucky! He works part-time in the shop as our Guide Trip and Class Coordinator and also spends many days on the water guiding for us at The Wilds, for Trout on the Clearfork, Erie steelhead and local smallmouth bass. He teaches our Into to Fly Fishing schools these days and is a much sought after instructor....for good reason. He is also our "Boat, Float Tube and Kayak" manager here at the shop. If you need a boat....he's your man! He has really become an integral part of the workings of Mad River Outfitters.
Tyler Treece
Tyler Treece became fascinated with fishing as a baby when his parents gave him bluegill to play with as they fished and boated. His first casts with a fly rod- when he was 8 years old- he made right here in Central Ohio on the Scioto River. Since then he has been fortunate to fish many of the world's great destinations.
After attending Ohio Wesleyan and Colorado State Universities, where fly fishing temporarily became his highest academic priority, Tyler is now applying his education chasing trout, bass, steelies and carp of his home waters around Columbus.
We are thrilled to have a young, energetic angler like Tyler on our staff....he really knows his stuff and is happy and willing to share! He will be working in the shop part-time and helping Graham with some guiding and class stuff.
Map to the store-
* Please note that our address has changed to 813 Bethel Rd. instead of the 779 as pictured on the map!
**Notice: Starting on 4/20/08 we will be CLOSED ON SUNDAYS until the Holiday Season-
We will be open Sundays from 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. from Thanksgiving to Christmas
Mail Order/Special Orders-
Mad River Outfitters offers free shipping on all mail orders/e-orders over $25.00 and on all special orders! For out of state customers, we can save shipping and state sales tax......this is a deal that can't be beat. If you want to buy it, call us and we'll get it to you.
Shopping from catalogs can be risky. You sometimes don't quite know what you are getting or if it will fit, and then wind up paying large sums in shipping back and forth. Telephone operators usually can't give you sound advice on your fly fishing needs and are not familiar with the individual products.
Buy from professionals who have used and are familiar with the products!
Also remember.....we can special order any item from any of our vendors. If you don't see it in the shop, or online, simply drop us an e-mail or give us a call and we will be happy to help!
Mail ordering is easy! Simply check out our online store and see for yourself!
Online Store!
Check us first!
Free Shipping on all orders over $25.00!!!
The Finest in Quality Fly Fishing and Outdoor Products-
Orvis- Total commitment to quality products and service since 1856. The Orvis 25 year guarantee turns your fly rod outfit purchase into an investment! Free shipping on all orders placed from any Orvis catalog.
Patagonia- Style, quality and endurance are evident in everything that Patagonia makes. Every product guaranteed for life! Period! One of the best outdoor related companies on the planet if not the finest!
Filson- Rugged upland hunting gear and real, durable style for casual wear. A legend since they started outfitting for the gold rush!
Barbour- "The Best British Clothing for the Worst British Weather". Classic clothing of lasting quality for the outdoor enthusiast.
Columbia Sportswear, Royal Robbins and Woolrich- Great quality clothing and outdoor wear at great prices.
The Very Best that Fly Fishing has to Offer-
Simms, SAGE, Umpqua, Tiemco, Orvis, Temple Fork Outfitters, Scott, Winston, Ross, Tibor, Abel, Teeny, Wulff, Scientific Anglers Mastery, Whiting Farms, Fishpond, RIO.......
.........and many, many more
Expert Services-
Professional Guide Service-
 Mad River guide trips for brown trout in our exclusive AuSable River Boats- walk-ins as well
Clear Fork guide trips for brown trout
Smallmouth and carp guides on local streams and lakes
Day trips to Lake Erie for Smallmouth
Lake Erie and Lake Ontario Salmon and Steelhead guide trips- licensed PA and NY guides!
Exclusive Trophy Largemouth on the Fly at The Wilds in central Ohio
Annual hosted "Shop Trips" to destinations around the globe- Alaska, Bahamas, Montana, Chile etc.
Expert Repairs- On all rods and reels through our manufacturers and local expert craftsmen
Stream Reports- On local waters including the Mad River, Clearfork River and Erie Steelhead
Special Programs by Nationally Recognized Experts- Programs of special interest scheduled throughout the year on fly fishing, fly tying and other subjects
Destination Trips- full booking agency for hundreds of fly fishing destinations around the world
Newsletter and E-News- keeps you informed and up-to-date on programs and products
Professional Instruction-
Fly Fishing Schools
Complete Professional Guide Service- Trout, Steelhead, Largemouth, Smallmouth, Carp, Salmon
Private Instruction- Any subject, any time!
Fly Tying Classes- Beginning, Advanced and specialty- guest tyers too!
Individual and Group Casting Lessons
On-River Fly Fishing Seminars- Full-day experience on local waters
FREE "Getting Started in Fly Fising" Seminar- scheduled periodically throughout the year
Unique selection of books, DVDs and other media
Mad River Media DVD Series
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