A Humble Beginning
In the midst of the Great Depression, Dan Bailey left a career in physics to pursue an irrepressible passion for fly fishing. The sport would never be the same.
Dan and his wife Helen headed West from the east coast in 1938, eventually settling in Livingston, Montana. The same year, they opened Dan Bailey Fly Tyer and Fishing Tackle.
“I didn’t want it to get big,” Bailey said of his business venture. “I just wanted to go fishing.”
A Proud Heritage
In 1956, the fly shop moved into 209 West Park Street in downtown Livingston (our current location). The new space offered expanded facilities to support the business' growing mail-order catalog, which outfitted fly anglers around the world.
The shop employed dozens of fly tyers — mostly women — who tied up to 750,000 flies annually.
Bailey himself was an adept and innovative fly tyer, modifying traditional eastern patterns for western fishing. His creations include the Marabou Muddler, Mossback Nymph, Bailey Wulffs-Black, Red Variant, and Green Drake.
A Fishing & Conservation Icon
Dan Bailey understood the inextricable link between the sport he loved and a wild, healthy environment. He fought tirelessly to protect the Yellowstone River from multiple threats throughout his lifetime, including several failed attempts to dam the river. Today, it remains the longest freestone river in the lower 48 states.
“In spite of the high value of our recreation industry little is done to conserve it, to say nothing of improving it,” Dan Bailey wrote in 1959.
Dan died on May 24, 1982 at the age of 78. His wife Helen followed one month later. To honor Dan's legacy, former governor of Montana Ted Schwinden declared August 14 to be Dan Bailey Fishing Day.
Passing the Torch
Dan's son, John Bailey, took the helm of the shop in 1982.
John carried his father’s legacy by fighting for Montana’s stream access law, which makes all waterways in Montana public. He continued to correspond with children and others who wrote the fly shop. He also was a committed supporter of local environmental education for children.
In the early 1990s, John served as a fly fishing consultant on the film adaptation of Norman Maclean's novel "A River Runs Through It." Bailey taught multiple members of the cast to fly fish. His instruction was instrumental to the authenticity of how the sport was portrayed in the film.
An Enduring Institution
In 2020, Dan Bailey's merged with longtime Livingston outdoor store, Timber Trails, to become Dan Bailey's Outdoor Company.
Our four-season shop proudly serves the greater outdoor community. From fly fishing to skiing, biking, hiking, backpacking and camping, we are a community of avid outdoorsmen and women who love to help others enjoy this incredible place we call home.
Like Dan Bailey, our lives are defined by one of the last truly wild corners of our country. We are honored to carry on the this iconic institution's legacy.
Dan Bailey's Outdoor Company: Helping People and Rivers Stay Wild Since 1938.
