A Bit of Sadness

[Tony Buzolich]

This morning early I was listening to the Bob Simms Outdoor Show. KFBK #1530 from 5am-8am. After several of the fishing reports and duck hunting stories he got ahold of Andy Guibord from Kiene's Fly Shop and announced that Kiene's last day would be tomorrow.

I thought about that for a while and felt sad. Andy said the shop had been open for 35 years and he himself had been with the shop for almost 30 years.

You meet and make a lot of friends over those years that share the same love of fly fishing like we all do here. Some are regular customers and act like family. Some share stories about fishing with Bill or Andy or one of the other guides there. They're all good stories we hold and hope we can cling to down the road.

Any of us that have opened and run their own business for any length of time know the effort that goes into making a business successful. Kiene's was a successful business when Bill was around.

Bill, you earned that place under the sun in Florida. Being around family, doing the things you've always loved, and having great memories of one of the best fly fishing shops there ever was.

Stay well and enjoy life, Tony Buzolich

[Carl Blackledge]

I 2nd that feeling

Carl

[John H]

Very well said, Tony. That is a fitting way to think about the shop at the end. Thanks.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Carl, Tony and John, here in the above posts, all had a positive impact on my business.

I think about half of our customers were our good friends.

Marilyn and I really miss our old friends from the shop.






Tim Au-young (from the shop) and his wife Heide are here visiting with us in Florida, right now.

Tomorrow we will all drive south for about 30 minutes to visit Steve Potter in Vero Beach, FL.

Life is good, here in Sebastian, Florida.

[STEELIES/26c3]

This morning early I was listening to the Bob Simms Outdoor Show. KFBK #1530 from 5am-8am. After several of the fishing reports and duck hunting stories he got ahold of Andy Guibord from Kiene's Fly Shop and announced that Kiene's last day would be tomorrow.

I thought about that for a while and felt sad. Andy said the shop had been open for 35 years and he himself had been with the shop for almost 30 years.

You meet and make a lot of friends over those years that share the same love of fly fishing like we all do here. Some are regular customers and act like family. Some share stories about fishing with Bill or Andy or one of the other guides there. They're all good stories we hold and hope we can cling to down the road.

Any of us that have opened and run their own business for any length of time know the effort that goes into making a business successful. Kiene's was a successful business when Bill was around.

Bill, you earned that place under the sun in Florida. Being around family, doing the things you've always loved, and having great memories of one of the best fly fishing shops there ever was.

Stay well and enjoy life, Tony Buzolich

Well put... and so true. Kiene's was a much friendlier and more respected enterprise when Bill was at the helm; I'll just leave it at that.

[BobVP]

Well said.
I visited Kiene's a total of....drum roll please.... One time! but I got to talk with some good folks that were generous with their suggestions about where I was headed. I think I bought a few flies...too long ago to remember that part. The only reason I never returned was Sacramento was hardly ever in my travel route.

What you built Bill was an iconic shop and a great legacy. I am glad you are still "here".

[Ralph]

Well said.
I visited Kiene's a total of....drum roll please.... One time! but I got to talk with some good folks that were generous with their suggestions about where I was headed. I think I bought a few flies...too long ago to remember that part. The only reason I never returned was Sacramento was hardly ever in my travel route.

What you built Bill was an iconic shop and a great legacy. I am glad you are still "here".

I went to Keine's once. There are several great fly shops along the way, and the one time I went, we got lost going there and stuck in commuter traffic on the way out. No disrespect to Kiene's, it was simply very inconvenient from where I was coming from (Truckee/Nevada City). One of the "fly shops along the way" was Reel Anglers in Grass Valley. Tom just announced he is going out of business and has everything on closeout sale.

[Woodman]

I went to Keine's once. There are several great fly shops along the way, and the one time I went, we got lost going there and stuck in commuter traffic on the way out. No disrespect to Kiene's, it was simply very inconvenient from where I was coming from (Truckee/Nevada City). One of the "fly shops along the way" was Reel Anglers in Grass Valley. Tom just announced he is going out of business and has everything on closeout sale.

Reel Anglers was another fine shop. I think Creative Sports in the Bay Area closed the doors a couple of years ago also. Sign of the times. The shops that remain, even in destination locations are dependent on their online sales to stay afloat.

Say no to Amazon, Bass Pro Shop, and Sportsmans Warehouse. They won't miss the tiny fraction of their sales that come from flyfishers.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Over the years a lot of good people owned that fly shop in Grass Valley.

I was always a little jealous of the smaller destination fly shops, all over rural America.



Tim Au-young and his wonderful wife Heide have recently both retired.

One of the first things on their "Bucket List" was an amazing 8 month World Tour.

They have timeshares too and are in Orlando, Florida right now.

So they came down to Sebastian, Florida and visited us for a few days.

Yesterday we all drove a little south from here and visited Steve Potter and his lovely wife Linda.

Steve was from Tracy and is a famous spinner of deer hair and Tim worked for us and manages the fly tiers at Cal-Expo.

We all had a wonderful visit, chatting about many subjects.

Tim and Heide will come back for a week and then Steve can take us fishing in his new 18 foot Hewes Redfisher skiff.





Life is so good in Florida, fishing in fresh water, brackish water and salt water.

[Bob G]

Hi Billy -

I can still remember when you and I visited the Grass Valley Shop to "High Grade" through a large selection of dry fly necks for your Shop.

Please give Tim my best regards.

Best, Bob