Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X I V H O S P I TA L I T Y / T O U R I S M e idea originated with Terra Fletcher, a former camp counselor and owner of e Trail Van, a shuttle service she started last October to bring Portland residents into nature all year long. While that business is on hold because of the pandemic, she connected with Back40 to launch the summer camp kits. "It absolutely speaks to our core mission, to get people outside and get people thinking about nature in a dif- ferent way," she says. With a loan from SCORE she eventually hopes to buy a 15-passenger van for the planned livery service, possibly also in conjunction with the home-camp kits. "With any luck, hopefully things with the coronavirus will settle down and we'll be able to give people rides in the new van in August," she says. Back40, which rents tents and other gear using an online platform, is also planning for the longer term as it does a brisk business in gear rentals during COVID-19 and embarks on the home- camp collaboration. "We find ourselves still running the same business but finding some new opportunities as well," says Back40 co- founder Henry Gilbert. Plans for next year include building a recently launched membership program offering unlimited rentals for a year, and finding a space in Portland to serve as its headquarters and inventory showroom. Fishing on the fly Fly fishing startups are also popping up amid the sport's growing popularity. One is Maine Fly Co. in North Yarmouth, started by Jeff Davis in his basement last year after many years in business development. Davis is a relative newcomer to the activity, which he got into only after sorting through his dad's affairs after his death and discovering his love of fly fishing that struck an immediate chord. "From that day, there is nothing I love more," says Davis, a self-taught rod builder with one full-time and one part- time employee working from home. ey make small-batch rods with names like Little River, the Kennebec and the Penobscot, that sell for about $269 to $349 each, and custom-made ones that range from $369 to $399. Maine orders account for 23% of the business, which has a nationwide following owing in part to a growing social media fan base. Davis says that sales in February, March and April were about seven times higher than last year, and they've been so busy they've had to delay three new design launches that had been planned for this year. ey expect to make 300 to 400 rods this year and bump that up to 700 in 2021 as Davis expands in-state manufacturing "Scaling came quicker than we anticipated," Davis says as he plans to look into putting up a barn — that he may crowdfund — on his property to house a centralized workshop that cus- tomers can visit. "at's my vision." When he's not building rods, the father of three sons spends much of his free time fishing, which he calls his therapy. "I come back revived and clear and excited for the next time out," he says. "It never gets old." Cape Elizabeth resident Bri Dostie, who has been fly fishing since child- hood, has also turned her passion into a business. Last year she started a social enterprise called Confluence Collective to promote more inclusive and accessible outdoor spaces through educational fishing stays in Montana, Maine, Colorado, New York's Catskill Mountains and Alaska, to experience fly fishing in the local context, though the programs are temporarily suspended because of COVID-19. She also works as a consultant on the same topic to fishing industry brands, outdoor recreation companies and local ad agencies and community groups. She sees her job as a storytelling one, changing the narrative of fly fishing as an insular, white male-dominated world to one of inclusiveness for all. Alluding the Oscar-winning 1992 film "A River Runs rough It," she says, "Not just Brad Pitt can throw a fly," and describes her mission this way: "My job is to help make sure the image, communication and story we tell is one where any person can see themselves represented, wel- come, heard and supported, and that requires a disruption." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s F O C U S » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY J U N E 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 16 Jeff Davis, owner of Maine Fly Co., holds carbon fiber hand- made fly fishing rods at Royal River Park in Yarmouth. Brianna Dostie, founder of the social enterprise Confluence Collective, aims to change the narrative of fly fishing to one of inclusiveness for all. P H O T O / C O N F L U E N C E C O L L E C T I V E The short-term is scary for this season, but if you can make it, the long term is fantastic. — Tim Harrington Sandy Pines Campground

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