We Have BIG News...

 

Mad River Outfitters has become a place that fly anglers around the world call their home base for everything fly fishing. From learning the basics of the sport, to buying their favorite fishing flies and so much more.

Over 27 years ago Brian Flechsig took a risk and started a family owned fly shop named after his favorite local river in Central Ohio. From that point on the Mad River Outfitters team has made it their goal to welcome the world to the fly fishing sport.

So to celebrate our 27th-and-a-half birthday, we’ve decided to re-introduce Mad River Outfitters to the world and in-particular the world of fly fishing again. 

MEET THE NEW MAD RIVER OUTFITTERS

So let’s talk about why we decided to give MRO a face lift.

The MRO Angler has been around since the beginning itself, back in 1994. His giant reel that tied in the ‘O’ on Outfitters and his left hand cast and right hand retrieve were all quirks that represented the ‘classiness’ of the fly fishing sport. We’ve always felt the logo reminded us of late 19th Century fly fishing or the classic American drama, A River Runs Through It (1992).

Mad River Outfitters Website in 1999 (left) our website today (right)

Since the early nineties, we at Mad River Outfitters feel the fly fishing sport has evolved in so many ways. The sport of fly fishing is far more than fishing for trout in small streams and is now obsessively practiced across the world. We felt it was time to bring our logo into the 21st Century.

We wanted something that evolved our brand, not revolutionized it. Something that held on to the classiness of the sport of fly fishing and emphasized the sportiness of it as well.

SO WE HIT THE DRAWING BOARD...

Some of the many iterations of what would eventually help develop the new Mad River Outfitters logo & watermark.

We wanted our new watermark (i.e., the text portion of the logo) to represent the sportiness of fly fishing, but also to retain the comforts of the sport, it’s classiness, it’s old school late 19th Century feel. We also wanted it to feel like you were out in nature or at a National Park.

THE MRO ANGLER’S NEW DO

Retro MRO Angler (left) and the new MRO Angler (right)

The Mad River Outfitters Angler has become as significant as the words on our logo over the years. Seeing him instantly reminds you of who we are. So we wanted to give him a setting to fish in and to finally change his right hand to a left hand retrieve.

LET’S TALK COLOR

We knew from the get-go that we couldn’t stray away from our original green. It’s been ingrained in our brand for decades now. So we decided to give it an honorary name of it’s own: ‘94 Green. To compliment our old school color scheme, we wanted to give our new logo some utility, so we added three new flavors to the mix: Deep Green, Fly Line Green and Bone White.

‘94 Green on Bone White, some of our new colors.

One thing that was difficult about our Retro Logo was its modularity (or lack thereof). It was horizontal, we couldn’t use it in square or even circular formats. So we put a lot of thought into that element with our new logo design.

Our new Mad River Outfitters badge (above) and some of the many new variations (below)

We’re super excited about our refresh for our 27th-and-a-half Birthday (and a little bit nervous). But after a lot of work, thought and intentionality, we think we’ve finally landed on something that can only help solidify Mad River Outfitters’ mark on the sport of fly fishing, even more.

We also can’t wait to show you just how much more we have in store... Stay tuned.

We couldn’t leave out our favorite game fish!

Since ‘94 (above) and our full logo (below)  

Homage to Brian & Flip (above) and the Mad River Hatter (Below)

Mad River Women (above) and Mad River Musky (below)

Mad River Outfitters

833 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363

admin@madriveroutfitters.com

www.madriveroutfitters.com

New this Winter: Virtual Fly Tying Classes!

 

We are excited to offer virtual fly tying classes for the winter of 2022! The classes will be held over Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 6:00pm - 7:30pm, EST. Classes will kick off in February and run until the end of March.

Full material kits are included with the cost of the class. These are full retail packs of materials and not just "sample" packs. This will allow you to tie the fly during class and many more! Click here to learn more about our virtual fly tying classes or see below for individual class pages.

Virtual Fly Tying Class Overview:

February 1, 2022: Bulkhead Deceiver with Pat Kelly
6:00pm - 7:30pm EST
This class is sold out.

February 15, 2022: Basic Scandi Fly with Ryan Ratliff
6:00pm - 7:30pm EST
This class is a basic introduction to a classic style Steelhead and Salmon swinging pattern.
Learn More

March 1, 2022: Wooly Bugger with Katie Johnstone

6:00pm - 7:30pm EST
This class is intended for beginner fly tiers. Katie will teach two different Wooly Bugger patterns as well as tying techniques.
Learn More

March 15, 2022: The Gilmer with Ryan Ratliff
6:00pm - 7:30pm EST
The Gilmer is a fly designed by Ryan Ratliff. It is a Bluegill imitation and is a killer pattern to use for fish that are keying in on young of the year Bluegill.
Learn More

March 29, 2022: Guide Swim Fly with Pat Kelly
6:00pm - 7:30pm EST
Pat will teach one of his go-to guide flies for Smallmouth Bass. He will also show a variety of ways this fly can be tied.
Learn More

Click here to visit our Virtual Fly Tying Class page.

Mad River Outfitters

833 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363

admin@madriveroutfitters.com

www.madriveroutfitters.com