Our Story
DALLY'S OZARK FLY FISHER:
The Fly Fisher's Choice
STEVE DALLY and JIM DUGAN have probably spent more time in fly shops, guide boats, sitting at tying tables and hanging out on riverbanks than most would
consider sane. They both are total gear rats and not short on opinions. Jim has a penchant for the sweetgrass, slow rods and collectors reels; Steve likes fast action sticks, large arbor reels and jumping in anything that floats. A slow talking Missouri farmer, and a wisecracking Aussie journalist, these two might be our version of the odd couple.
But they were united in two ways, their shared sense of humor and their philosophy of what makes a great fly shop: the people, the know-how and the gear. The pair acquired the well-known Mountain River Fly Shop, in Cotter, a shop with tremendous unrealized potential.
So was born Dally's Ozark Fly Fisher and our commitment to deliver to you:
THE equipment, flies and gear you need, and at the right price, to fish the White River, the Ozark waterways and beyond;
THE best advice and education on where and how to fish;
AND a home away from home which understands stuff like your obsession with finding the perfect thread color for a 22 midge; that getting the right fit in waders is more important than the label, and how to help you find the rod that whispers sweet nothings up your arm.
Yes, we fly fishers are a weird group to the normal world, but welcome to a place that celebrates our shared strangeness.
We'll sympathize when you are in the doghouse for chasing down the cat with a pair of scissors, we understand how it feels to spend your days dreaming of waters and fish and we know why you would stand all day in cold water in a downpour rather than be by a warm fire. Here the coffee is free, so are the rod demos or tying tips, and some sugar from one of the dogs. Steve and Jim wouldn't have it any other way.
Thorne. Our core product lines remain the same Simms, Sage, TFO, Fishpond, Umpqua, Hareline, Rainy's and of course Wapsi but you will see new and innovative products added regularly to be tested by ourselves and our customers against our criteria. Does it work, does it last and is it good value?Steve's, the manager and front man, has been working in various sectors of the industry: media, marketing consultant, guide, and has spent 7 years working in fly shops on the White River system, largely in managerial roles. Jim's a very successful businessman in his own right and a sales and marketing junkie. He has fished the White River system for over 20 years, plus annual trips throughout the Rockies and beyond. Both of them are made infinitely smarter and way more presentable by their wives, both extremely tolerant women.
Rabecca Dally's smiling face is already well-known around the shop, and while she considers herself still a relative novice fly fisher, her fly suggestions are always worth following. Rabecca will tell you her main job has been raising 3 great kids, Derrick, Crystal and Lynsey, but her degree and profession is as a teacher at Small World Pre-School in Mountain Home. Her knowledge of education has been a positive influence on the way we teach classes. It also means we are one of the few fly shops that can arrange licensed professional day care for young children while you fish.
She has a happy knack of catching more and better fish than most everyone she fishes with. Motherhood has and is a priority for Brenda, and she is revelling in the relatively new role as grandmother. But her career in banking honed her eye for the small details, and for imparting some practicality into the broad brush plans of the guys.
So this is who we are and what we believe in. But there is one final element to making a great shop and that is you the customers. We create the skeleton, put flesh on the bones but its our family of customers who breathe life. You make our creation dance and laugh, sometimes weep with your shared experiences.
The customers are why all of us in the team get up out of bed and come to work with a grin on our faces. It is your enthusiasm to fish, your dedication to the fly rod, to drive and fly in many cases hundreds of miles to pursue this weird obsession that inspires us too.
We are privileged to be able to share it and to help you get the most out of your White River experiences.
We want you to love this place as much as we do.
