Fly brand manager role filled at St Croix Rod

Tom Larimer (pictured) has left his role as national sales manager for G Loomis to become the fly-fishing brand manager at St Croix Rod in the USA.

Tom brings over 25 years of experience in the fly-fishing business to his new position, having started out in the tackle trade working with a retailer before starting his own guide business aged 22.

After guiding four seasons for Fred Telleen in Alaska and Ray Schmidt in northwest Michigan, he headed west to the steelhead and trout rivers of the Columbia Gorge before eventually starting his own business, Larimer Outfitters, in 2006.

He moved to G Loomis in 2015 but has also been an advisor, ambassador and product designer for several prominent fly-fishing companies over the past two decades.

He said: “My obsession with fishing has always been driven by innovation. Whether designing equipment, tweaking a fly pattern, or developing new techniques, I’m always thinking about how I can improve the game.

“The industry knows me as a fly angler because of my background, writing and teaching, but I love every style of fishing, regardless of the equipment. St Croix operates in that same way and is constantly looking to apply its experience and technology in new ways for the benefit of anglers.”

Larimer will be focused on helping position the brand to deliver better fly-fishing experiences to anglers and says he couldn’t be more excited.

He added: “I’ve owned four companies and love building brands. In St. Croix’s case, it already has vast knowledge and technology born from 75 years of serving anglers, a unique company culture and identity, and highly talented people – top to bottom – who love coming to work there every day. I like the longstanding tradition of continual improvement in Park Falls; things are never good enough and there are always changes that can be made to improve experiences for the angler.”

St Croix vice-president of marketing, Jesse Simpkins, said: “We are committed to handcrafting more and better tools for all anglers and that requires a focused expansion into fly fishing, where our technologies, materials, resources and Tom’s knowledge and expertise are already being leveraged to meet the needs of the fly-fishing market in exciting new ways.”

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