Members' Bio: Where'd you come from?

[Sasha]

Welcome streaminbeast.

[Hatch71]

Streaminbeast ....Hey Welcome to the forum.... Chris

[Bernard]

I think it was 1977. I'd already been fishing a lot as a kid but stumbled upon a small shop with a HUGE sign that said "Fly Fishing Only". I walked in and a fly was tied in front of my eyes as a demonstration. I was beyond hooked. Not long thereafter I even worked summer jobs wrapping cards of chenille in the back workroom and on rare occasion being trusted with the cash register. I used to tie these horrific and monstrous crawdad flies for kicks and the customers bought them. One day I finally tried one and although it fished horribly, a bass took it. The garage out back had materials that folks today would kill for.

Here's the shop in 2010

Creative Sports Enterprises, Walnut Creek, CA

There was one summer when the trees along the freeway onramp behind the place were covered in Pomegranates. My buddy Sean and I snuck over the fence and collected bags of them. The rest of our shenanigans wouldn't sit too well in public but we were kids. Those were definitely the days. Incredible memories.

B

[1mocast]

Welcome Bernard,
Thanks for sharing those childhood memories...mark

[RichardCullip]

Thanks for the peak into your background, Bernard.

[midger]

Bernard,
So, coming out of the closet, so to speak, eh? Welcome and I hate seeing the old place you started it all in as a second hand store. BTW, what'd you do with all the pomegranites? You surely didn't eat them?

[Bernard]

Bernard,
So, coming out of the closet, so to speak, eh? Welcome and I hate seeing the old place you started it all in as a second hand store. BTW, what'd you do with all the pomegranites? You surely didn't eat them?

The pomegranates were shared and consumed!
B

[Justin]

Nice Action B!!

Justin

[flybob]

Hey B, nice insight into the Mystery Man that you are!

Bob

[flyfishnevada]

Hi, noob here. Only my second post. My dad was raised in Central California and always fished and hunted. He taught me young, but mainly bait and gear fishing. Like a lot of people, I got away from all that when I hit my teens, but by my early 20s I got the itch again. I started bait fishing small streams around Carson City, Nevada, progressed to lures and started fishing with some guys from work. We used to fish Hinkson Slough near Yerington in the good ol days. No crowds and big stupid fish. We routinely caught 20 inch bows and cutts all morning on lures and flies, bass all day and more trout in the evening. I learned to fly fish there and soon my spinning rods began collecting dust.

Over the years, I got a float tube and we fished all over Nevada and the Sierras. Pyramid, Spooner, Carson and Walker rivers, Davis and Frenchmen, etc. I learned to tie flies and built a rod or two. I moved to Smith Valley about 8 years ago and became kind of a loner. I haven't fished with anyone but my boys in years. I really got into the East Walker and the alpine lakes up around Bridgeport, June and Mammoth. Lately, I have tried my hand at trolling from a boat for a new challenge (and an excuse to drink a few beers ). I still throw hardware now and then, but rarely for trout. Fly Fishing has become a passion. I will semi-retire this summer and I plan to get back on the water. Kids, work, commute, has really cut into my time on the water. I will be making up for that.

[flybob]

Hey Dan, great bio!

Welcome to the home of the Addicts, don't know if you care to drive that far south, but there is gang of us heading up the Golden Trout Wilderness for the Opener on the 1st of July.
Here is a link to the thread:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3624

There are a few of us who pursue the warm water species on the fly as well.
Hope to run into you one of these days!
Bob

[1mocast]

Welcome Dan...

[stanbery]

Dan

Welcome aboard.

Jon

[Justin]

Welcome to all the new members.
I also thought it would be good to bump this thread up again.

Justin

[Kitchndude]

Hello All,

Grew up in Riverside, CA, live in Rancho Cucamonga CA now. Spent 3 years in Vegas in the mid '90's.

Always enjoyed fishing, particularly with my father-in-law in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, he passed last October, but he left many a well-stocked pond on his properties. The house he lived in had a 3-4 acre pond which he stocked, fed, aerated, and maintained lovingly for most of the last decade or so. It was here that I had a five species day on my 5 wt. a couple of years ago. Thanks to Justin for showing me the light of the fly. I was always a C&R guy, mostly because I didn't like all the stuff ya had to do to the fish from pond to table. After reading Mike's article on Trout Handling Basics, I had more of a reason to continue C&R with a few trout-friendly adjustments...Thanks Mike!

Oh, the five species? Crappie, LM Bass, perch, catfish, and...(drum roll please...) a turtle. All out of that pond.

I was in a punk band from 1982-1992. Made some records, toured a bit. I have had the benefit of living two lives now that I have become a suburbanized, overweight father of 2 girls (8 and 11). You can check out our band's facebook page (The Conditionz) or our website that is under development: http://www.theconditionz.com/ Not trying to sell anything yet, apologies if this is not appropriate in this forum.

I've been in the foodservice industry for some time now, and I had the privilege of working with Justin at a University here in SO Cal. When he found out I liked to fish, he brought a couple of fly rods to work one day and taught me some basic fly-casting techniques. We were casing in the middle of campus! I remember the photography professor running to his class and dragging his students outside to take pictures of us flailing away at the lawn...

Justin took me to a well-traveled local creek for my first live experience. He tied on tippet for me, encourage me, and was more excited to have turned someone on the sport than fishing himself. After a few hours, I stuck a single dink and was hooked. A blessing and a curse, heavy weighting on the former for me, the latter for my wife

I love our local creeks and am committed to keep them teeming with our quarry.

Thanks for reading my story.

Aaron