Steve McLaughlin (right) and Mike Hennessy owner Hawaii on the Fly with a double header of Giant Trevally (GT’s) landed on the fly, December 2012 on Christmas Island Republic of Kiribati.
From Front Range Anglers:
Front Range Anglers, a 31-year-old Boulder fly fishing retail business located at 2344 Pearl Street, has been acquired by Steve McLaughlin, a 45-year fly fishing veteran. McLaughlin purchased the assets and property of Front Range Anglers from Bill Leuchten, owner of the business for the past 10 years. Terms were not disclosed. In addition to its traditional extensive selection of premier-brand gear and fly-tying materials, customers can expect to see stronger adventure travel opportunities in the Rockies and extreme saltwater fly fishing worldwide.
McLaughlin’s background includes business process consulting, technology sales and management. “Front Range Anglers offers me a unique opportunity to combine my passions and make this business an industry leader in all aspects of the sport,” said McLaughlin. “The operation has an incredible level of customer service and satisfaction, largely due to the knowledgeable and experienced staff. We’re talking about a senior level staff averaging 25+ years of experience plus several members of Fly Fishing Team USA. I’ve enjoyed watching Bill grow Front Range Anglers and getting to know the wonderful people here over the last 10 years.”
McLaughlin brings a lifetime of fly fishing and outdoors passion to the business. He typically spends more than 150 days a year on Colorado water. In the last 12 months alone, McLaughlin has pursued his passion for the sport in Ambergis & Placencia, Belize; the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico; Oahu, Hawaii; the Florida Keys and the Republic of Kiribati/Christmas Island.
“For the past year I have been looking for a solid retail business platform that had the potential of growing the sport in terms of product and services, with particular emphasis on adventure travel in the Rockies and destination fly fishing throughout the world,” McLaughlin added.
“As an initial step in that direction, we have partnered with industry leader Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures of Bozeman, Montana, to provide our customers with the best travel service and the most diverse catalog of trips available,” noted McLaughlin. “With over 140 world-class lodges around the globe, our Front Range Anglers customers will now have access to the world’s premier fly fishing destinations- both freshwater and saltwater. Yellow Dog’s Director of Operations, Jim Klug said, “We’re excited that Steve has purchased Front Range Anglers, which for more than 30 years has been a Colorado fly fishing institution. We’ve worked with Steve for years as a client of Yellow Dog, and now look forward to working together to offer the Front Range Anglers clientele the world’s finest fishing destinations. His love for the sport and his passion for the sport will be a great addition to the Front Range Anglers business model.”
Combined with numerous relationships Front Range Anglers has developed with private water operators and guided trips along Colorado’s Front Range public waters, Front Range Anglers has become the place to visit for technical and stream-related fly fishing products, guided trips and advice.
McLaughlin comes to Front Range Anglers with more than 30 years of experience in technology sales and management. He was most recently President of St Andrews Management Ltd, a consulting firm for technology acquisition and implementation in the Retail and Distribution markets. He recently retired from Epicor Software of Dublin, California, as Senior Vice President of the Retail Solutions Division. Some of the 5,000 Epicor customers include many Boulder County businesses, including McGuckin’s Hardware and Guiry’s Paint.
The transaction was managed by Richard Feist of Business World Brokers.
Front Range Anglers is the premier Colorado dealer for every major brand of fly fishing gear, fly tying materials and tools, services, instruction, and regional/international fly fishing adventures.
Steve McLaughlin (right) and Mike Hennessy owner Hawaii on the Fly with a double header of Giant Trevally (GT’s) landed on the fly, December 2012 on Christmas Island Republic of Kiribati.
