Bill Kiene semi-retired
07-20-2009, 08:50 PM
Taken from the 'Sierra Sun' :
This past week I received a call from “Doc” Azevedo, the owner of the United Trails Store and RV park located at the Hirschdale exit off I-80 east of Truckee. He's been trying to open a fly fishing shop in his back building for the past year. He was very excited to tell me that he found someone to run the shop, and that I had probably heard of him. It was Andy Burk, who has quite a bit of notoriety in the fly fishing community. Many of you may know him for the work he did the past 10 years at the Reno Fly Shop and Truckee River Outfitters, which closed its doors in 2008. I had the good fortune to work at Truckee River Outfitters in 2007. Andy worked mainly at the Reno Shop during that year, but he was a pleasure to work with. Andy brings a vast amount of experience to any fly shop, and the one at United Trails will certainly benefit from his ability and personality. He started fly fishing when he was 12 years old with one of those post Korean War bamboo rods that many servicemen brought back. He began his fly fishing career with a job at a fly shop in Burney called Spring Creek Anglers in 1984, where he worked until he got a job with the Fly Shop in Redding in 1988. In 1998 he began with the Reno Fly Shop and was there until last year. I met Andy and “Doc” at the shop this past Wednesday. Andy was at a familiar location — behind the flytying vise tying some great-looking flies. His dog Rosie was at his side. That warm smile and his great sense of humor is what most people remember about Andy. Once you talk to him for any length of time you realize that he knows an incredible amount about fly fishing. The shop has a basic supply of terminal tackle and a small selection of flies that Andy tells me will expand to include some of his own flies. They will cost more, of course, but are well worth the extra cost. There is not a lot of other fly fishing equipment such as rods and reels at the present time. A unique part of this shop is Andy's own artwork that he has for sale. This includes his well-know Clown Trout series of paintings. Another must for fly fishers is to check out the glass case as you enter the shop. In the case are some great flies tied by some of the most notable fly-tiers in the world. Some like master fly-tiers Cal Bird and Poly Rosborough are no longer with us, but their work lives on in their flies. You can spend quite some time in front of this display. Andy tells me that he will rotate it periodically to display other works. Also included are some gems such as opals and crystals that Andy has collected during his rock-hounding excursions. This is another passion of his, and he has included much of this in the same display case that holds the various fly collections. According to Andy, there will be no guides out of the shop and even he is not guiding this season. Shop hours are Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. He will probably be there Monday through
Wednesdays from 7 a.m. until around 10 a.m., after which he says he will be fishing! Stop by and say hi to Andy and check out the shop. The location is certainly great, since you can stop by on your way to the Little Truckee, and it is certainly close to just about any section of the Truckee you would like to fish. If you want to see more of Andy's artwork or flies, go to
www.andyburk.com
www.bigflyproductions.com.
— Bruce Ajari is a Truckee resident and regular fishing columnist for the Sierra Sun and other area newspapers
This past week I received a call from “Doc” Azevedo, the owner of the United Trails Store and RV park located at the Hirschdale exit off I-80 east of Truckee. He's been trying to open a fly fishing shop in his back building for the past year. He was very excited to tell me that he found someone to run the shop, and that I had probably heard of him. It was Andy Burk, who has quite a bit of notoriety in the fly fishing community. Many of you may know him for the work he did the past 10 years at the Reno Fly Shop and Truckee River Outfitters, which closed its doors in 2008. I had the good fortune to work at Truckee River Outfitters in 2007. Andy worked mainly at the Reno Shop during that year, but he was a pleasure to work with. Andy brings a vast amount of experience to any fly shop, and the one at United Trails will certainly benefit from his ability and personality. He started fly fishing when he was 12 years old with one of those post Korean War bamboo rods that many servicemen brought back. He began his fly fishing career with a job at a fly shop in Burney called Spring Creek Anglers in 1984, where he worked until he got a job with the Fly Shop in Redding in 1988. In 1998 he began with the Reno Fly Shop and was there until last year. I met Andy and “Doc” at the shop this past Wednesday. Andy was at a familiar location — behind the flytying vise tying some great-looking flies. His dog Rosie was at his side. That warm smile and his great sense of humor is what most people remember about Andy. Once you talk to him for any length of time you realize that he knows an incredible amount about fly fishing. The shop has a basic supply of terminal tackle and a small selection of flies that Andy tells me will expand to include some of his own flies. They will cost more, of course, but are well worth the extra cost. There is not a lot of other fly fishing equipment such as rods and reels at the present time. A unique part of this shop is Andy's own artwork that he has for sale. This includes his well-know Clown Trout series of paintings. Another must for fly fishers is to check out the glass case as you enter the shop. In the case are some great flies tied by some of the most notable fly-tiers in the world. Some like master fly-tiers Cal Bird and Poly Rosborough are no longer with us, but their work lives on in their flies. You can spend quite some time in front of this display. Andy tells me that he will rotate it periodically to display other works. Also included are some gems such as opals and crystals that Andy has collected during his rock-hounding excursions. This is another passion of his, and he has included much of this in the same display case that holds the various fly collections. According to Andy, there will be no guides out of the shop and even he is not guiding this season. Shop hours are Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. He will probably be there Monday through
Wednesdays from 7 a.m. until around 10 a.m., after which he says he will be fishing! Stop by and say hi to Andy and check out the shop. The location is certainly great, since you can stop by on your way to the Little Truckee, and it is certainly close to just about any section of the Truckee you would like to fish. If you want to see more of Andy's artwork or flies, go to
www.andyburk.com
www.bigflyproductions.com.
— Bruce Ajari is a Truckee resident and regular fishing columnist for the Sierra Sun and other area newspapers