CAPE NEDDICK — Jim Bernstein began his life’s work as a fishing ambassador in 1992 when Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop opened above a lumberyard. The lumberyard has moved, but the specialty shop remains at the same spot on Route 1 and has grown into a gathering spot for fly fishermen.

Nearly a quarter century later, the shop hums year round with customers seeking fly tying classes, rod building seminars and tips on where to wet a fly.

Bernstein, 52, the store’s long-time manager, said having a staff of skilled anglers has helped build a loyal clientele in a niche business catering to those who just can’t get enough fast-action fishing.

How has fly-fishing in southern Maine evolved since your shop opened?

I think fly-fishing has always been here, and people had always been fly- fishing for sea-run (trout) in the winter. But it’s gotten more popular. In the late (1980s), fly-fishing for stripers was not as popular as it is now. Right about 1992, fly fishermen in salt (water) began to target stripers and bluefish and even bluefin tuna. Now there’s more fishing for sea-run trout in the brackish water. But when I started, the stripers were the main (saltwater) species. Fishing in salt began to evolve because the stripers nearly went extinct in the late 1970s. Then they started coming back. And in 1992 there were opportunities to really fly fish for stripers.

Are most of your customers tourists who are not familiar with fishing here?

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We absolutely get the tourists. But we get quite a few locals. Then there are people who travel two hours. There’s a fisherman in Rhode Island who shops here, and one from Bangor. We’ve had classes that drew people from three hours away, from Vermont. We do a lot of classes in the winter. From January to March we do a fly tying class that’s very popular. When we first started we had a guide from New Hampshire who could tie a certain striper fly, and we had just one guy sign up. Normally that class would be canceled, but that’s not the way we do things. The instructor was willing to teach the class, and the fisherman was enthusiastic, so we held it. Early on when things didn’t work, we tried harder to make them work. Now that class is very popular. We run a fly tying class every Saturday from January to March. … And we have a rod building class that’s a full-day class. That has a waiting list.

I’ve often heard that when “A River Runs Through It” came out (in 1992), fly-fishing took off. Is there truth to that?

First of all, the book was way better than the movie. But it definitely did get people into fly-fishing. It grew fly-fishing almost to the point (where the industry) couldn’t keep up. But what I saw was more people get into fly-fishing that had never fished in their life. What I love about fly-fishing is that it is something you can do your entire life and you will never know it all. You are always learning something new.

Some of your staff guide out West, right?

Actually, the first kid I hired, he was 12 years old and he was just an incredible fly tyer. At 12 years old he was already winning competitions and building fly rods. Both his parents were artists and he was an artist, and also a very, very good fly fisherman. He tied flies for the shop. His name is Adam DeBruin. I try to use as many locally made flies as possible. So he tied for us. He tied beautiful flies. Being an artist, he would get an idea, cut a trash bag and use it for a fly. A dog might come into the shop and he’d cut the dog’s hair to make a fly. He became recognized for his patterns. Now he’s 34 and guides in the Florida Keys and Montana.

You have a lot of repeat business?

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Absolutely. They’ve become friends. I have more friends now than I ever thought I’d have. There is a certain camaraderie that goes along with fishing. What really amazes me is there can be two people who meet in this shop and talk fishing. It’s very social and we have free coffee. We always have. And I’ll see two people from different walks of life end up going on fishing trips. Two people who in normal life you would never expect to come together, and they’ll be friends. The common passion brings them together.

Where are your favorite places to fish?

I fish a lot of places, but I will always prefer the small streams of Maine and catching little native brookies and letting them go. I love to go to the Florida Keys and fish for tarpon, or Costa Rica for sailfish, or the Bahamas for bonefish; New York for steelheads. I’ve fished in Canada for Atlantic salmon. But if I could only fish for one fish, I’d pick the native brook trout in Maine. I guess it’s being on a small stream alone where there are no crowds. It brings me back to my roots.

 


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