Orvis

Just had an absolutely lovely visit to this location today! Spoke with Duber for quite some time about getting kitted up for a trout fishing trip. I appreciate that he was knowledgeable and eager to share his information, but not pushy or a know-​it-​all. Duber seems to be genuinely invested in helping his customers learn more about the sport and equipment so that they can have the best time on the water possible. He took over 20 minutes of his time to walk me through the flies, lines, and accessories that would help me fish trout in a small stream — I could tell that he was tailoring his advice based on the type of fish, type of stream, and his personal experience in that area. I really appreciated the expertise, and felt confident admitting that there were things I didn’t know, because when I did, he would explain them in a way that wasn’t talking down to me. As a female fly-​fisher, I often get a lot of «Are you here to purchase something for your husband?» and I didn’t get one second of that from Duber (or from anyone else in the store!). I felt that he took my questions seriously and was happy to share his time. I won’t hesitate to go back to Orvis for my fly-​fishing needs in the future. (Side shout-​out to Tom, who remembered me from my last time in the store, which was several months ago. That’s good customer service!)

Signed up for free 3 hour fly-​fishing group lesson, it was AWESOME! Very knowledgeable and friendly staff, and you get a free second session at Fletcher’s Boathouse where they provide all the rods/​reels/​flies for you to try out. Fly fishing is not as hard as it looks, we picked it up in about 20 minutes.

The staff was either arrogant or unhelpful. Some examples.
‘Do you guys make this in another color?” -«No. WE don’t make it but Barbour makes it in other colors. You could get it online.»
«This is an inveeestment piece.» –Talking about a casual coat.
«This allows us to feel like southern gentry. Well, some of us are…»

one of the best Orvis stores in the entire country, mostly because of fishing manager Dan. Friendly service.

Wow, did they see us coming.
The Mister is a frustrated urbanite who really just wants to move to Montana and fly fish his road rage away while wearing well made casual clothes in earth tones. (Okay, that last part was me, but still.)
Orvis is a fantastic, if upscale, lifestyle brand with good, solid products. We stopped in the Arlington store to balance out going to Pottery Barn. (Marriage: it’s give and take.)
It was a fantastic experience. The sales staff was friendly, but not pushy. They were always around if you needed them, but you also had room to breathe. They offered to let my husband practice casting off their roof — an awesome urban accommodation. They also had a ton of fishing and outdoor outings, groups and information. The inventory was fairly large for the size of the store and included well made goods for the outdoor minded yuppie.
As we walked out the door, the Mister was so perked up by the trip, he was already talking about his next fishing trip. He didn’t even honk at anyone the entire drive home.

My preferred local Orvis store. The fishing manager Dan and his crew are top notch. They carry specialty fly fishing item (2 handed or spey) for the Potomac. The fishing team shares a plethora of information from local fishing, knots, spooling reels, etc.
Local maps on the store wall point to fishing spots near the shop. They will special order items for you and gear you up for what you need. I would hang out there to talk fishing if they had some sofas or arm chairs.
Fly tying material is well stocked. Rods, reels, lines, gear etc is well stocked and again will order items not in store.
Parking is difficult as you need to pay meters or garage unless you want to park residential and walk in. Metro accessible. Dogs welcome.
I send my clients to this store to purchase fly fishing equipment and tying material.

Kinda like a «starter» LL Bean. They have a smaller selection than most outdoorsy stores, but some specialty stuff: mosquito-​repellant clothing, sun-​protective clothing, and a whole section of dog items (beds, «jackets», toys). If you are a dog-​lover, stop in just to see the life-​sized stuffed labs/​other breeds. I guaranteed you’ll want to pet ‘em!