A local classic—the West Laramie Fly Store - 70 years of serving fishermen and fisherwomen.
If you hanker for some Wooly Boogers, Hare’s Ear, Buzzballs, Micky Finns, Adams, Caddis or other delicacies, the West Laramie Fly Store has been the place to go since the 1950s. For generations of residents and non-residents, it’s a traditional stop before driving on to the many popular fishing spots in Albany County and beyond.
The store is bound to be busy this Memorial Day weekend with people who like to fish, eager to learn if their favorite place is accessible and to get their 2021 fishing license.
Outsmarting trout
The stock of fishing flies on display in the store is amazing to those of us who aren’t accustomed to the requirements of the sport. Trout are the most sought-after fish in Albany County, according to current co-owner of the West Laramie Fly Store, Brandon Specht, who says trout flies represent 99% of their sales of fishing flies.
For the fisher, first there is the question of whether the insect imitator on the end of your line will sink (“wet fly”) or float (“dry fly”). That, and the experience to know where to place your fly on the water, is what makes trout fishing the sport that it is.
Though some love the taste of trout, the goal for many is catch and release, letting the fish go without harm after removing the hook from its mouth. If fishing has been slow, and one happens to get caught, a few anglers might pump a fish’s stomach to see what types of insects or insect larvae the fish are eating, then search through the tackle box for something that closely imitates what was found. That’s why the would-be fisher will need a variety of flies.
Fly tying
It takes a steady hand, a small clamp, and a supply of various colors of feathers, hairs, and other tiny things to produce a passable fly imitation. The types of insects fish are after aren’t only ordinary house flies. There are many other flying insects that the fish might be biting on. A new “hatch” of mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, midges and others are what the person with a rod and creel must keep an eye out for. And the fly-tyer needs to be able to imitate all of them. Needless to say, artificial flies are miniature artistic creations worthy of admiration.
The origin of fly-tying is lost in the past somewhere, but it took two natives of England to be the first to write about the practice. According to Encyclopedia Britannica online, Dame Juliana Berners (c. 1460 – 1496) was a nun and prioress of Sopwell Nunnery [Roman Catholic] in England. Reported to be an accomplished hunter and angler, she wrote “A Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle” in 1496.
Later, Izaak Walton (1593-1683) wrote “The Compleat Angler” in 1653, giving rise to the current American environmental organization founded in 1922 and named for him. Both books and the Izaak Walton League may be credited with the appreciation and development of fly fishing as a sport, rather than for sustenance.
Jim Ross of Laramie has been tying flies as a hobby for many years. When he retired from UW in 1999, he began a 12-year career of demonstrating fly-tying at the West Laramie Fly Store. Every Friday and Saturday morning found him at his bench, creating flies while onlookers watched. “I’d even tie custom flies for certain people who requested them,” says Ross, who reluctantly gave that up about 10 years ago.
“It’s quite the place in West Laramie,” says Ross, “I knew three generations who would come in—dads would bring their sons, then the sons would bring their sons, and they all had to stop at the West Laramie Fly Store first. It was a tradition with them.”
“Actually, I know of four generations of fishermen who have been coming here,” says store owner Specht. While many of the repeat visitors are from Colorado and other states, it’s popular with locals as well. Specht has been gradually taking over full ownership of the store from his grandfather, James Robert “Bob” Littlewood, who bought it in 1969.
Fly Store history
Yearly Laramie City Directories (not to be confused with telephone books) are available at the Albany County Library and provide some clues about the origins of the West Laramie Fly Store. These books give the names of residents and businesses, their addresses, and often state the names of owners or managers.
First mention of the West Laramie Fly Store is in the 1951 directory. There was no telephone. Claude E. Brown, Jr. and his wife Diane were the proprietors. Their home address is given as 658 North Pine St., but the address of the West Laramie Fly Store is simply “1 ¼ mile west of Laramie.” According to Laramie historian Jerry Hansen, folks in town just called it “the fly store” at that time. Hansen recalls that for a short time the store moved across the street, about where the Butcher Block is now, but it was soon back on the north side of Highway 130/230, where it remains today.
The store was a simple log cabin, maybe 10 feet by 14 feet, and there is a possibility that the Browns lived there too, perhaps earlier than 1951. “Family lore says that the store began with a [nearly] blind man who lived at the back of the building and sold flies he made at the front,” says Specht. “Claude Brown flies” are prominently advertised in the 1975 Laramie directory, though by that time ownership of the building had passed on to others.
Claude E. Brown Sr. (1908-1963) was married to Blanche, and though he was a car inspector for the UPRR, he is probably the fishing enthusiast who started the fly store. He tied flies, as Jerry Hansen remembers, and taught the skill to his son, Claude E. Brown, Jr., who suffered from poor vision and wore thick glasses, Hansen recalls. Apparently both the father and son were involved in the business and “Claude Brown” flies might have been made by either one of them.
By 1956 the store obtained a telephone, though the owners that year are not stated in the directory. That may be about the time that Raymond L. and Elizabeth McKinsey purchased the business, as they are listed as owners in 1958. The wares had expanded to hunting and fishing equipment, gun rental, groceries, gas and oil. This is also when the store began operating daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., a practice that continues.
Later owners were Dwight E. Richards and his wife Grace in the early 1960s, and in 1966 Kenny and Bonnie Lankford owned it briefly. It was from them that Bob Littlewood purchased the store in 1969. Over the years since then there have been many different leaseholders/managers of the store, including Robert Coffin, Kenneth T. McKinney and Wayne W. Herrington. Notably, Claude Brown custom-made flies were sold through at least 1975.
The current store is in the same place as the original log building. “There is even a portion of the east side of that log building inside here,” says Specht, pointing to part of an interior wall now. “The old cabin was enlarged to the present size on all four sides—they even built an apartment up top, and over time a bunch of different family members associated with the store have lived up there, including me,” says Specht. Specht began co-ownership with his grandfather 17 years ago. “We have had different addresses over the years, Rt. 130/230, 1657 Jackson St. and now 1657 Snowy Range Road, but we’re in the same place.”
West Laramie pioneer
In the early days, “there was practically nothing east of the Fly Store to the Laramie River,” says Specht. “KOWB was to the east, and until recently, the station house was in back of their radio tower. But the house has been torn down now, and the station moved a long time ago to the south side of Laramie [Soldier Spring Road].”
“My uncle Bob Coffin put in a yogurt store on the east side of the building; he started the Fine Edge ski shop there too. That’s when the last bit left of the old log building became covered up by that east side addition,” Specht says. Later, Coffin moved the ski shop to the Northgate Plaza, selling bicycles too.
“We’ve been selling Conoco gas since the earliest days, but we never changed the name of the business to put Conoco in the official name like other gas stations do,” Specht adds. “We’ve always wanted to say West Laramie Fly Store was our main business. In fact,” says Specht, “gas isn’t our main business. It’s a loss-leader, everyone knows that about gas. It gets people stopping, but what we make our money on is what we sell inside.”
That’s a lot of fishing flies, guns, ammunition, candy bars and other sundries, along with the friendly advice from knowledgeable clerks who, though they may not say where their personal favorite “fishing holes” are in the Snowy Range, they will give some general insights about which gravel roads are passable and sell the fishing or hunting licenses. Lots of anglers are now digging out their gear, deciding what more they need for trout fishing in 2021. They are also thinking about stocking up at the West Laramie Fly Store. Could it have been Laramie’s first convenience store?
By Judy Knight
Knight notes that “fisherman” is gender-specific, and the use of the word “fisher” to describe those who fish is likely to catch on soon.
Source: Laramie Plains Museum, Boomerang collection
Caption: Undated 1950s photo of the West Laramie Fly Store, with the KOWB radio tower in the background and telephone lines (indicating the date is around 1956). The price of gas isn’t legible on the one Conoco pump, but it would have been around 30 cents, which translates to $2.92 in 2021. Claude Brown’s custom flies are advertised prominently.
Source: Judy Knight photo
Caption: West Laramie Fly Store in January 2021. The apartment above can be seen in the center; the door on the east side addition leads to a bit of the original log building, inside on the left.