A few semesters into Boise State University, Jimmy Gabettas made an appointment with his adviser to change his major for the second time. The adviser looked at the college kid and asked him, “Jimmy, what is it you want to do?”

His response was, “‘Well, I’d like a to run a fly shop.’ And then he said, ‘Then why don’t you just go do it? College will always be waiting.’”

So Gabettas moved from Boise to Pocatello and with help from his father, Jim, Gabettas opened the first fly shop, Jimmy’s All Seasons Angler, in the area in 1979. When the elder Gabettas retired from the BLM, he and his son opened the hallmark downtown Idaho Falls shop in 1986. The father-son duo ran both shops until 1996 when the younger Gabettas sold the first shop and joined his dad full-time in Idaho Falls.

“From day one, he was my partner. My dad took me fishing from the time I could barely walk,” Gabettas said as he describes the academic-like atmosphere of All Seasons Angler.

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Jimmy Gabettas, 8, with two little brook trout on a fly rod in 1967 on Trail Creek on a tributary of the Upper Big Wood River.

Gabettas was born near Burley and as a kid would sit on the banks of the Snake River in Burley and catch chubs all day. And, under the instruction of his father, he learned how to drop a fly in Silver Creek. James “Jim” Gabettas died in April 2020 at the age of 86.

With his father’s death, Gabettas began reconsidering how he was spending his days in the shop instead of on the water.

“My dad taught me to fish, and we did everything together. We went fishing and we hunted together and then we worked from 1986 to when he passed in 2020, side by side. It was just cool. He had an amazing long life.”

Gabettas said he knows the bond he had with his father was uncommonly close.

With thoughts of retirement crossing his mind for the first time following his father’s passing and knowing that he was still able-bodied enough to enjoy the outdoors and living in Idaho, Gabettas approached business owners he thought were most aligned with the no-guide, tie-your-own-fly approach to his shop.

“The nature of a fly shop is it’s to give people information, on access, where to go, where not to go,” Gabettas said. “And so, there’s always a friendly atmosphere for information sharing that comes with a fly shop and it’s all kinds of people now from all walks of life. They come in the shop, and they just have one thing in common, they want to go fishing and have fun.”

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Jimmy Gabettas with a brown trout on Lewis Channel in Yellowstone National Park in 1979.

But All Seasons Angler has carved a niche in the fishing world by providing a classroom and a stock closet of all the materials someone might need for the water they are fishing in.

Gabettas said he had been watching the industry and observing all the consolidation activity among fly shops buying other shops and other fly-fishing related businesses. But one place that stood out from the rest was another brick-and-mortar shop with a focus on fly-tying out of Orem, Utah.

“We are similar to Jimmy’s in that we’re a fly-tying oriented shop which naturally lends toward people, at a local level, coming into the shop more frequently to buy materials,” Curtis Fry said. Fry owns Fly Fish Food with partner, Clark “Cheech” Pierce. Pierce started Fly Fish Food in 2013.

“We also focus on being a destination shop in the sense that we provide an unmatched product selection with an accompanying level of fly-tying and fishing knowledge,” Fry said. “This tends to lead to a culture that fosters excellent customer service which also builds great and long-lasting customer relationships.

“In contrast, a shop that might focus more on the guiding aspect likely won’t see the customers as frequently.”

Fly Fish Food carries more than 30,000 individual items. Fry said roughly 70 percent of that inventory is represented by fly-tying materials, ranging from hooks, beads, furs, feathers, threads and synthetic materials.

“On the weird side of the spectrum we carry things such as Racoon fur, bear fur, calf tails, nail polish and feathers from the rear end of a duck,” he added.

For Gabettas that eclectic and expansive approach to customer needs is what makes Fry and Pierce the right people to take over. Gabettas and Fry began the sale discussion and process in late January.

“A lot of people have come in for all 44 years of the shop, with their children and some with their grandchildren,” Gabettas said. “That’s what I am going to miss the most, but I am not leaving. This is the place where me and my wife live. We’ve been asked a lot of times where you going, are you going to move to Arizona? Heck, no! We’re just going to do a lot more around here.”

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Jim Gabettas with a steelhead that he caught near North Fork on the Salmon River in October 1983.

Gabettas said he’ll be doing a lot more hiking but he’s also going to visit a lot of water he’s hasn’t fished since he was younger.

“A lot of the out-of-the-way places like many of the small streams in eastern Idaho, southeast Idaho and southern Idaho, and drainages in the Middle Fork of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River,” he said.

Fly Fish Food intends to keep the Jimmy’s name in the business title.

“To pay homage to the legacy Jimmy has built but also inject it with our culture and flavor that we’ve built over the years. We serve a very nationwide audience with our social media content, so it’s a great way to keep our audience engaged with the brand but also introduce the Jimmy’s name into the mix. We’ll call our location “Fly Fish Food Jimmy’s,” Pierce explained.

Fly Fish Food has hired Madison Hyde Losee as the new shop manager and AJ Jorgensen as the assistant manager. Both are locals with a lot of fly-fishing and tying experience, said Pierce.

“Madison, whose father and grandfather run Hyde Drift boats and are no strangers to the industry, has been fly-fishing her whole life. AJ is a seasoned fly-fishing guide and excellent fly tier. We have a mix of current and new part-time employees as well — all local Idaho Falls people,” Pierce added.

The access to inventory and supplies, along with all the angler education will keep all enthusiasts engaged but some will just miss Gabettas all the same.

An avid angler on six continents, Jeff Currier said when he heard of Gabettas’ retirement, that Jimmy’s influence would be missed by many anglers.

“I ran the old Jack Dennis Fly Shop for over 20 years, so it was rare that I ever visited any other fly shops, but when in I.F., I cherished my visits to Jimmy’s,” Currier said.

Gabettas says he will miss his customers, but he will see them on the river now instead of in the shop.

Curtis Smith, a customer for nearly 40 years, appreciates all the Gabbetases have done for for the sport and those who love it.

“I first went into Jimmy’s as a college student in Pocatello in 1986,” Smith said.

After years of shopping at the fly shop, Smith became friends and fishing buddies with Gabettas over the years.

“Jimmy and his dad have given back so much to this community beyond just being a fly shop,” said Smith, adding that he looks forward to more time with Gabettas in the boat rather than just seeing him behind the store’s counter.

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Jimmy Gabettas (left) catching a sea run brown trout on May 6 on the Tungufljót River in Iceland.