These Yarmouth businesses will get you hooked on fishing
Melissa Watson builds a "Moose River" fly rod at the Maine Fly Company in Yarmouth on Aug. 7. Watson is an apprentice at the shop, which is in the Sparhawk Mill along the Royal River. Each model of fly rod built at the shop is named after a Maine waterway. "We currently have eight Maine rivers honored," said company owner Jeff Davis. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
Recreational fishing is a common pastime across Maine, whether it’s casting lines in a stream or surfcasting in the ocean. In Yarmouth, which has both Casco Bay shoreline and the banks of the Royal River, local businesses are also there to cater to your fishing needs and expand your tackle box.
It’s the start of a new era for fish — and perhaps fishing — in Yarmouth. As the ecosystem of the Royal River changes over the next year, with one of two dams currently coming down and the next set to be removed next summer, both the river’s fish population and local interest in fishing is expected to grow.
Whether you’ve held a rod since you could stand or are a novice interested in trying out the outdoor sport that boasts both serenity and excitement, these Yarmouth businesses are ready to get you out exploring Maine’s waterways.
MAINE FLY COMPANY
Jeff Davis owns Maine Fly Company in Yarmouth. Four rod builders work out of Davis’ shop in the Sparhawk Mill along the Royal River. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Jeff Davis went fly fishing for the first time 10 years ago, inspired to use the gear his recently deceased father left behind. The North Yarmouth resident quickly fell in love with the elegant sport.
“I was terrible at it, but it was really meditative. You’re in the middle of a river, you can’t hear anything. It’s kind of awesome,” said Davis.
Diving deeper into fly fishing and unimpressed by the available rods, Davis bought a kit, and a book, and crafted his own. The intricate process was “brutal,” he said, and the finished product was far from perfect. Undeterred, he made another, and another, refining the process each time. In 2019, he started selling his rods online and was met with a large consumer appetite for handcrafted rods from Maine, a rarity, he said, in the state.
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After three years working in his basement and training other rod makers, Davis now runs Maine Fly Company from Sparhawk Mill in Yarmouth, selling up to 200 handcrafted rods a month to fly fishers all over the world. They’re priced from $309 to $1,699 for a made-to-order cane rod.
Davis Atallah inspects a “Little River” fly rod at the Maine Fly Company in Yarmouth on Aug. 7. Atallah has built close to 250 fly rods and has kept notes on each one. Each model of fly rod built at the shop along the Royal River is named after a Maine waterway. “We currently have eight Maine rivers honored,” said company owner Jeff Davis. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Each type of rod is named after a river in Maine, with the “Little River” and “Kennebec” being top sellers. Yet the Royal River, which runs right below the shop’s windows, is a favorite river of Davis. He and employees will fish on their lunch breaks and the shop offers fly fishing classes on the riverbanks. The company strives to make the sport approachable to beginners and highlight the local ecosystem, said Davis.
“We’ve really embraced the Royal and our love for the Royal, and what’s in the Royal,” said Davis.
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As the scene outside the Sparhawk Mill is set to change over the next year as the Bridge Street Dam comes down, Davis hopes that the improving ecosystem of the Royal River will drive local passion around fish, fly fishing and conserving the beautiful landscapes of Maine — all of which are intrinsically intertwined, he said.
“I think it’s a really special time for people in Yarmouth,” Davis said. “I think it’s a really special time for the Royal.”
PINE STATE TACKLE
Keith Robbins, owner of Pine State Tackle in Yarmouth, in front of a wall of baits holding his custom lures. (Sophie Burchell/Staff Writer)
Keith Robbins grew up fishing on the Muddy River in Naples, catching brook trout for his grandmother, which she’d eat daily for breakfast.
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Enlisting in the Army, attending business school and a variety of careers and business ventures took him away from his hobby. When life brought him back to Maine, he decided to give fishing another go.
“I really wanted to get back to my roots, I guess you could say. “So I started looking online and I found these neat little swim baits from China,” said Robbins.
The “swim baits,” a plastic fish sectioned into multiple connected segments that undulate when they’re pulled through the water, are a newer technology in the world of spin fishing. Having ordered more of these international baits than he could use, Robbins began selling the rest on Facebook Marketplace where they were met with high demand.
He sold more online and at pop-ups at the Maine Mall in 2022. In 2024, he opened Pine State Tackle in Yarmouth on Route 1, specializing in less common bass fishing baits.
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“I advertise all over the Northeast through social media, and I will have people drive three or four hours to come put their hands on baits that they’ve never seen before,” said Robbins.
He wants to sell fishing gear that’s not available at national fishing stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods or Cabela’s, instead working with many companies in Asia that produce their own unique baits. He even has his own Pine State Tackle product line in collaboration with a Japanese company.
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This summer, bass fishing enthusiasts are particularly interested in “coike,” a soft spikey bait that looks like urchins, newly popular after being used to win a bass fishing competition.
The shop will move to Windham this fall as it needs more space, and Robbins will continue to seek out the rare and unusual for Maine bass fishers who come from far and wide to see his collection.
“I don’t want to be a tackle shop. I want to be a destination shop,” said Robbins. “I really like this weird stuff.”
ROYAL RIVER THREADWORKS
Brian Deerwester’s workshop in his home in Yarmouth, where he sews gear for his small business Royal River Threadworks. (Courtesy of Brian Deerwester)
An avid fisherman and hunter in Yarmouth since childhood, Brian Deerwester knew what worked.
“You get exposure to a lot of gear when you’re into hunting and fishing as an activity, just because there’s a million different brands out there,” he said.
He found that pouches for outdoor gear that are both durable and affordable were lacking. Also a lifelong tinkerer, he started sewing pouches and other outdoor sacks and pockets and selling them on Etsy.
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A small-scale operation, Deerwester participated in the Venture Forward Yarmouth, a business development initiative through Northeastern University’s Roux Institute, alongside other Yarmouth entrepreneurs in the fall. While still holding a full-time job, he operates the company by himself in his basement workshop on Yarmouth’s Bridge Street, near where the dam is currently being removed from the Royal River.
Products include a range of sizes of utility bags, now available on his website and hopefully in local retail stores soon, said Deerwester.
A gear pouch sewn by Brian Deerwester for his small business, Royal River Threadworks, based in Yarmouth. (Courtesy of Brian Deerwester)
In addition to his own connection to fishing on the Royal River, the area has a connection to textiles through the area’s mills, which once drew on the river’s power.
“I kind of like how there is some tie to manufacturing in the area and specifically in the Royal River that I’m keeping alive by doing this,” said Deerwester.
Deerwester says he walks down to the Bridge Street Dam every day to check on the removal process.
“I’ve been around the Royal River for most of my life. So it’s super exciting that they’re taking the dam down,” said Deerwester.
He hopes the project will draw more people to the sport he loves in a river so close to him, both physically and personally.
“Hopefully it unlocks some interest in people utilizing their local waterways,” he said.
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Tagged: fishing (hobby), Maine business, Maine outdoors, Royal River
Sophie is a community reporter for Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth and Falmouth and previously reported for the Forecaster. Her memories of briefly living on Mount Desert Island as a child drew her. More by Sophie Burchell
