Knowing Your Neighbors: Great Lakes Fly Shop

DULUTH, Minn. — Tucked away off Superior Street in the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth, you will find Great Lakes Fly Shop where Owner John Fehnel spends much of his time tying flies. Now, after owning the shop for 25 years, he is ready to retire and spend more of his time on the river.

“I’ve always had a passion for this. I’m a tyer and that’s what I do. I tie flies. I actually started tying before I started fly fishing. I’ve been commercial tying for almost 35 years. So it’s, it’s been in my blood. It’s one thing I would actually say that I never got bored of,” said Fehnel.

Before owning the fly shop, John spent 22 years in the Coast Guard where he was first commissioned, unofficially, to tie flies.

“So I was stationed up here at the Marine Safety Office by the Lift Bridge. And my boss was a fly fisherman, little skinny guy. And he always said ‘John, tie me up some flies.’ Of course he’s my boss, and I’m gonna tell him. Yeah, okay, sure. So I tied a bunch of flies. And that’s how I started getting into the commercials side of it,” said Fehnel.

After retiring from the Coast Guard in 1998, John’s passion for tying flies led him to doing whatever he could to own his own fly shop.

“Opening a store that was fly fishing only was really nerve racking. Now, I lost many, many, many weeks of sleep, hocked my house did everything possible to get the store open. It was a rough start. First five years were pretty rough, but I made it. And by the grace of God, I’ve made it this far,” said Fehnel.

During the past 25 years, John has guided tours, went to fishing expos, and has tied an innumerable amount of flies.  At one time he taught children how to tie flies who grew into customers well into adulthood. What kept him going all this time was the friendship and support from those who walked into his life.

“The people, the people that would come into my store. I don’t think I woulda ever continued doing it, if it wasn’t for the entertainment that I got from them. I won’t miss the business. Because let’s put something right up front. A business is a business. You got to make money. You got to pay bills. But the friends you make are way different. In a business, you make some of the best friends you’ll ever have in your whole life,” said Fehnel.

Now, with the doors soon closing at the Great Lakes Fly Shop for the last time, those who knew John and spent time with him at his work bench are going to miss more than what has become their favorite place to get flies.

“I think most people come in and they go, John, it wasn’t the store. It was you. And I go, you know, I never wanted it to be that. It was just a store to me. But it turned into that. And that’s really honorable to me,” said Fehnel.

Great Lakes Fly Shop’s last day open will be May 31. Until then, you can still pick up some flies or other fishing gear, as well as swap a few fish tales.