Shipping Policy

At South Branch Outfitters, we’re committed to getting your gear to the water as quickly as possible. Because we are a small business dedicated to our local fly fishing community, we have implemented strict security measures to protect against fraud and ensure we can continue to serve you.

Shipping Rates & Delivery

  • Standard Flat Rate: $15.00 on all orders.
  • Free Shipping: Enjoy free standard shipping on all orders over $75.00!
  • Processing Time: Orders typically ship the next business day (Monday – Friday).
  • Carriers: We utilize standard ground shipping via UPS, FedEx, or USPS.

Need it faster? If you require expedited shipping, please contact us at info@sboutfitters.com or call 908-867-8067 before placing your order.

Strict Fraud Prevention Rules

To protect our customers and our business, all orders are subject to the following security protocols:

  • Matching Addresses Required: For your protection, the billing address must match the shipping address. Discrepancies will result in the order being canceled automatically. For legitimate gift orders, please contact us prior to purchasing.
  • Orders placed via VPN, proxy services, or from IP addresses that do not geographically align with the billing/shipping location will be flagged and are subject to cancellation.
  • No Third-Party or Forwarding Addresses: We do not ship to freight forwarders, 3rd party delivery services, P.O. boxes, virtual addresses, or overseas.
  • Verification Speed Bumps: High-value orders or those flagged by our security system may require additional verification. We reserve the right to request a phone confirmation or a redacted photo of a government-issued ID to confirm the cardholder’s identity before fulfillment.
  • Signature Confirmation: All orders valued over $250.00 will require a physical signature upon delivery.
  • Right to Cancel: Any order suspected of fraud will be canceled without prior notification.

We appreciate your understanding. These steps ensure that nefarious actors don't interfere with our ability to support the local fishing community we love.

Return Policy

We accept unworn, unused, unopened returns in the shop within 30 days with proof of purchase. You will be refunded the full purchase price minus the original credit card processing fee (approximately 3%), which is charged to us at the time of sale and is not returned to us when we issue a refund. This deduction does not apply when the return is our error — if we sent the wrong item, or the item arrived defective or damaged, you will be refunded in full. Outside of 30 days, we offer in-store credit with proof of purchase. No returns will be accepted after six months.

All on-sale items or gift cards are final sale and cannot be returned.

Online Orders

All returns must be confirmed by us before you ship anything back. Email info@sboutfitters.com to request a return authorization first. Items sent back without prior confirmation may be refused, and we are not obligated to issue a refund for them.

On full-price online orders, return shipping is the customer’s responsibility. We do not provide prepaid return labels, and original shipping charges are not refunded.

Credit Card Policy

We accept all major credit cards, Apple, Google, and Samsung Pay. As a small business, Credit Card processing fees do impact us much more than a large storefront might - as such we are unable to refund this amount as it is withdrawn from our accounts immediately upon transaction. We have elected to pause charging a service charge back to customers with the opening of our online store as we recognize the option to pay in the store with cash is no longer an option for some customers ordering online. We appreciate your support of a small business and encourage you to continue to support your local fly shops!

Warranties

For any warranty issues, the customer must contact the manufacturer directly (with a few exceptions listed below). The customer owns the warranty - we do not. Once an item is sold, they need to register the item (for rods, reels, boots, waders, nets, and vices specifically) with the manufacturer. If they have a warranty claim, the manufacturer will handle it. We cannot return or replace their items. We will not hold their items in the shop. We are happy to assist a customer with how to initiate a warranty claim and for select brands are able to do that on behalf of a customer. For Douglas rod purchased from SBO, we can conduct warranty repairs in the shop (inventory dependent). For Redington warranties, we can initiate the claim on behalf of the customer. Dr Slick and Loon warranties can be handled in the shop.

Guide Trips
Please click here for additional guide trip information.

1. There is a limit of 2 anglers per guide. This is for safety and instructional purposes; a guide can only reasonably be expected to pay full attention to two anglers spaced along a river at once. For example, if someone wants to go out with 4 anglers, they must purchase two 2-person trips.
2. On a guide trip, all anglers are considered “guided anglers.” We cannot allow someone to just “join and fish alongside.”
3. Guide trips are catch-and-release only.
4. Guide trips are primarily for wading or bank fishing; fly-fishing; and targeted at trout (in season) or bass/panfish during warm weather. If someone wants a different offering or species, we need to know in advance of their purchase for coordination purposes.
5. Private waters:
a. There is a limit on the number of trips per day.
b. There is a limit on the size of the trips allowed on the private waters.
c. If there is a large trip or an inflexible date, the customer must contact us before booking.
6. Distance waters: trips on waters requiring significant travel from the shop, such as the Big Flat Brook, carry a $50 travel surcharge to cover the guide’s fuel and travel time. We will tell you whether the surcharge applies before your trip is confirmed.

Guide trips are valid for one year from the date of purchase. Outside one year, the value of the trip is forfeited.
Rescheduling Policy

  • Up to 48 Hours Before Trip: You may reschedule your trip up to three times without penalty. The fourth reschedule request will be considered a cancellation and a refund will be given in accordance with the cancellation policy.
  • Within 48 Hours of Trip: If you request to reschedule within 48 hours of your trip, and we cannot resell the date, it will be considered a late cancellation. If we can fill the date, your reschedule request will be honored without additional fees.
  • Guide-Initiated Rescheduling: The guide may reschedule within 48 hours due to weather or river conditions without penalty. There is no “penalty” for guide-initiated rescheduling.

Private Waters — Peak Season

Peak season is April, May, September and October — the same four months in which we can only run private water on weekdays. Two thirds of every guided trip we run falls in them.

Peak-season private waters trips are non-refundable once a date is confirmed. Private waters have a hard limit on trips per day and those dates are limited and in high demand. When you take one of those dates, it comes off the calendar and is no longer available to anyone else. For that reason a confirmed peak-season private waters date cannot be rescheduled, transferred or refunded, and the rescheduling and cancellation terms below do not apply to it.

You are welcome to substitute anglers up to 24 hours before the trip. Guide-initiated rescheduling for weather or river conditions is unaffected and carries no penalty. If you are unsure whether the date you want falls in peak season, ask us before you book.

Cancellation Policy

  • We always want to get you out on the water, so we encourage you to reschedule if at all possible in accordance with our rescheduling policy!
  • All cancellations outside of 30 days of a trip will receive a refund for the balance minus a $25 cancellation fee. Inside 30 days, the cancellation fee increases to $125. Inside one week, no refunds will be given.
  • For guide trips with multiple anglers, if one or more of the anglers can’t make the trip, and you are within one week of the trip, no refunds will be given for any guests who do not show up. You are welcome to substitute an angler up until 24 hours prior to your trip. Outside one week, a refund of $50 will be given per angler who cancels.

Premium Rental Gear

Premium gear is brought in for you specifically, and we usually order it as soon as you reserve it. Once that has happened the cost is ours whether or not the trip goes ahead, so premium rentals follow the same shape as the trip itself:

  • More than 30 days before the trip — full refund.
  • Inside 30 days — refund less a $50 restocking fee, or half the rental price, whichever is less.
  • Inside one week — no refund.

The same terms apply if you decide to switch from premium down to standard gear. The difference is refunded on the scale above, because the premium gear has already been secured for you and cannot go back.

Standard rental gear is not affected — it lives in the shop, so you can add it, drop it or change sizes at any time up to the day of your trip.

If we cannot supply the gear we promised, or your guide calls the trip off for weather or water, the rental is refunded in full.

No-Show Policy

  • If you do not arrive for your trip, it will be considered a no-show, and no refund will be issued. Our guides will wait for 30 minutes before the start of the trip and will attempt to contact you. If you do not arrive within this time frame, it will be considered a cancellation.



If you believe you need additional explanation or an exception to any of these policies, please email info@sboutfitters.com. The employees in the shop are not authorized to provide exceptions to policy. Any changes to above policies must be in writing.