Twenty four years ago, Backwater Angler carried-on the spirit and tradition of service of Wally Vait’s original Gunpowder River fly shop called On the Fly (founded in 1989). Since then, the staff has enjoyed sharing in a tradition of curating products designed to last, instructing and teaching fundamentals of fly fishing, and promoting the stewardship of natural resources through this indelible, lifetime sport. The river, our valued employees, and our loyal customers have provided much joy, support and encouragement over the years.
Our intention is to see to it that the shop and guide service will be passed on to the right entrepreneur, (or group) to continue and carry on the tradition of service and support to the community that we have upheld for 36 years.
A fixture in the Mid-Atlantic fly-fishing community, Backwater Angler is located in the heart of the Gunpowder River’s nationally recognized Blue Ribbon trout fishery. Situated within a charming, updated commercial/residential building just three blocks from a high traffic intersection (22K cars a day in 2024) in a safe and wealthy community with schools ranked among the best in Maryland.
The shop is currently a four day a week business with added income and traffic from fishing and hunting license sales and located near the Hereford Area of Gunpowder State Park, (with 2,500 acres and 18 miles of hiking trails). Located minutes from the 31 mile Torrey Brown Rail Trail that saw over 1M visitors a year in both 2022 and 2023, Backwater Angler is in high demand for instruction, education, and guiding services and online sales can be easily expanded.
Point of sale and most fixtures included. Seller is available to provide training and support during the transition.The shop has a thirty-sixyears history of selling sporting goods and providing guide services in the area and serves as a regional hub for fly fishing; loyal customers from PA, MD, DC, VA, NJ, NY. Fishing licenses sold to residents of 37 of 50 states. Sale may include current inventory, branding, mailing list, owner noncompete, website and e-commerce assets
This is a wonderful and rare opportunity to work in an industry full of dedicated craftspeople interested in protecting specialty retailers. It is well suited for those intent on fostering meaningful personal connections, facilitating the willing transfer of knowledge, and creating a warm welcoming atmosphere so shared stories and experiences may continue in a small, storied shop full of great gear and people.
We will only accept serious inquiries and letters of intent by email only at backwaterangler@gmail.com
A signed non-disclosure agreement and letter of financial ability will be required before further details are released. Bids will be accepted until July 29th, 2025.