Mr T
10-10-2008, 10:11 PM
I've been out of fly fishing for some time now for a number of reasons but am hoping to get back into now as much as I can. I wanted to pass along a story of my first time at Kienes.
Many years ago, (20+?) I wanted to get in to fly fishing. I was pretty broke, and dumb so I went to big 5 to get all set up. I cobbled up a 7 weight piece of junk setup with a level floating line, some beater glass rod and some junk leader. No clue about tippet, or any thing like that, dry/wet, huh?
I flailed, a lot, at Arden pond and behind it on the river, with no success at all except a couple bluegills dumb enough to impale themselves on a badly dragging fly. This went on for a month or so, until I came across a guy fishing the pond one day just vacuuming out trout on a fly rod. I was mesmerized. There were people fishing bait on either side of him and they got nothing, meanwhile every 2-3 cast he hooked up with another truck trout. I got up the nerve to talk to him and found him to be very nice, he even showed me what he was using, a #16 black ant fished wet and hand-twist retrieved. (I’ll never forget that).
I asked where I could get stuff like that and if he fished the river. Sure he said all the time, great river to fish with a fly. He told me to go to Kienes’ over behind the graphic hobby house and talk to the guys there, and they’ll set me straight. It took me a week to get up the nerve to go in there, I drove by, but this place looked EXPENSIVE, and I was broke. Finally one day after what had to be a low point in casting, with no fish and losing all my flies, I went in with the gear I had. I walked in there and immediately thought to turn around in shame. This stuff was good, my gear was junk; get out before you get laughed at! A guy came up before I ran and said hello and asked if I had any questions. “Well, yeah, actually if you don’t mind, I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing and why I can’t catch a fish with this thing.” I handed the rod and reel to him, and he looked at it, kind of grinned and then said, “What do you want to catch?” “A steelhead out of the American river.” He looked at it again and said “ok, you can do it, but it might be a little hard with this gear, ‘because it’s not the easiest rig in the world to cast.” “It’s all I can afford right now, I replied” “ok, let’s see what we can do.” 45 minutes later I walked out the door with a small bag with a leader, some tippet, some flies, a quick casting lesson, and a hand drawn sketch of the river. “Fish these flies, here in this spot, and keep at it, you’ll hook up”, he had told me when drawing the map. Three X’s marked the spots. I went out later that week, the first time I got a chance and still cast like junk, but the spots he drew on the map were close enough that I could reach them. I broke some flies off and lost some tippet, and did not catch a fish. Still it felt fishy, so I went back a couple days later. About 20 casts in, I got a grab, a MAJOR pull down and then BANG it was gone. It was the last fly. I ran back to the truck, got out of my gear and went straight to the shop. It was near dark, close to closing time and I barely got in there. I walked/flopped in there, and there was that guy; he looked at me and smiled, he knew. From that time on I was hooked on fly fishing. I went as nuts as I could buying and tying, fishing and reading and dreaming about another grab like that one night. I will always remember most fondly the fact that I went into a shop with junk and got welcomed, not made fun of, helped out, not forced to buy stuff or told I had get this or that, but simply guided along in to something really special in my life that I still love to do more than 20 years later. Yeah, of course, the guy was Bill. I didn’t know it was his shop at the time, and he didn’t brag about it. I’ve told a number of people since then this story, and anytime anyone asks me of a shop to go to, I always tell them to go to the place behind the graphic hobby house… (Even though you out lasted them!)
Thanks again Bill.
Many years ago, (20+?) I wanted to get in to fly fishing. I was pretty broke, and dumb so I went to big 5 to get all set up. I cobbled up a 7 weight piece of junk setup with a level floating line, some beater glass rod and some junk leader. No clue about tippet, or any thing like that, dry/wet, huh?
I flailed, a lot, at Arden pond and behind it on the river, with no success at all except a couple bluegills dumb enough to impale themselves on a badly dragging fly. This went on for a month or so, until I came across a guy fishing the pond one day just vacuuming out trout on a fly rod. I was mesmerized. There were people fishing bait on either side of him and they got nothing, meanwhile every 2-3 cast he hooked up with another truck trout. I got up the nerve to talk to him and found him to be very nice, he even showed me what he was using, a #16 black ant fished wet and hand-twist retrieved. (I’ll never forget that).
I asked where I could get stuff like that and if he fished the river. Sure he said all the time, great river to fish with a fly. He told me to go to Kienes’ over behind the graphic hobby house and talk to the guys there, and they’ll set me straight. It took me a week to get up the nerve to go in there, I drove by, but this place looked EXPENSIVE, and I was broke. Finally one day after what had to be a low point in casting, with no fish and losing all my flies, I went in with the gear I had. I walked in there and immediately thought to turn around in shame. This stuff was good, my gear was junk; get out before you get laughed at! A guy came up before I ran and said hello and asked if I had any questions. “Well, yeah, actually if you don’t mind, I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing and why I can’t catch a fish with this thing.” I handed the rod and reel to him, and he looked at it, kind of grinned and then said, “What do you want to catch?” “A steelhead out of the American river.” He looked at it again and said “ok, you can do it, but it might be a little hard with this gear, ‘because it’s not the easiest rig in the world to cast.” “It’s all I can afford right now, I replied” “ok, let’s see what we can do.” 45 minutes later I walked out the door with a small bag with a leader, some tippet, some flies, a quick casting lesson, and a hand drawn sketch of the river. “Fish these flies, here in this spot, and keep at it, you’ll hook up”, he had told me when drawing the map. Three X’s marked the spots. I went out later that week, the first time I got a chance and still cast like junk, but the spots he drew on the map were close enough that I could reach them. I broke some flies off and lost some tippet, and did not catch a fish. Still it felt fishy, so I went back a couple days later. About 20 casts in, I got a grab, a MAJOR pull down and then BANG it was gone. It was the last fly. I ran back to the truck, got out of my gear and went straight to the shop. It was near dark, close to closing time and I barely got in there. I walked/flopped in there, and there was that guy; he looked at me and smiled, he knew. From that time on I was hooked on fly fishing. I went as nuts as I could buying and tying, fishing and reading and dreaming about another grab like that one night. I will always remember most fondly the fact that I went into a shop with junk and got welcomed, not made fun of, helped out, not forced to buy stuff or told I had get this or that, but simply guided along in to something really special in my life that I still love to do more than 20 years later. Yeah, of course, the guy was Bill. I didn’t know it was his shop at the time, and he didn’t brag about it. I’ve told a number of people since then this story, and anytime anyone asks me of a shop to go to, I always tell them to go to the place behind the graphic hobby house… (Even though you out lasted them!)
Thanks again Bill.