Kern River Fly Shop

I driven up from San Diego twice to fish this section of the Kern River and have had the pleasure of stopping into Guy’s fly shop both times. The first time I fished and camped the Kern over Easter weekend. I had never been to the river and stopped into the shop for guidance. They were so helpful and recommended some flies for fishing at that time of the year. Their guidance allowed me to have a blast catching rainbows all weekend.
The second time we came up was for the beginner fly fishing class. I brought my girlfriend who was interested in learning to fly fish. After Guy’s instruction she was casting well enough to fish with me over the weekend. There was a family with a young boy in the shop and Guy took the time to show the boy his insect collection and explain about insects and how they live in the river.
It is a small shop with minimal selections on gear, but they have a great fly selection and their prices are fair. I would recommend anyone driving through Kern to stop in and say hello.

I purchased new Simms waders, vest and net from Don at Guy’s fly shop in Kernville. Don’s knowledge and great personality made the transaction so easy. Thanks Guy for having such great people working for you. Don even delivered my waders to Bakersfield. That’s great service!

The Kern River Fly Fishing Shop and Guide Services are superb. Located in the beautiful Kern River valley in the city of Kernville, the shop and guiding services care run by Guy Jeans. The shop has all you need in fly fishing gear. However, the guiding that Guy provides is truly amazing.. I had been out on a river about 6 times and had some strikes but hadn’t caught a fish. Guy brought me to two beautiful spots on the Kern and proceeded to break down all aspects of knot-​tying, casting, mending, line management, and landing fish. He did this with patience, kindness, and a generous spirit. He is a gifted teacher, knowing exactly at what level to pitch his suggestions so the learner can incorporate his suggestions. Right away he corrected some basic things I was doing wrong in trying to hook a strike. We started out nymphing and In short order I had landed three rainbow trout, my first ever. We then went to another location and did dry fly fishing. There we saw many fish rising and had a few strikes but I was unable to set the hook. Still, it was a terrific day on the day on the Kern and Guy had upped my game. I am looking forward to another guided fly fishing trip on the Kern with Guy.

Wow… another fun day of fly fishing with Guy. This time I really got to fish because I left my lil fly guy at home… lol. Guy is really patient and was able to get me casting plus he knows all the great spots to fish. Now I feel I can at least have some chance against my lil one with our bet we have going on… Thanks to Guy’s lesson:)

I have both of Guy Jeans’ Sierra Fly Fishing videos. These are what actually made me want to get to the area. The shop is small, but well stocked. Guy wasn’t there the day I visited. Flies seemed to be priced at $ 2.25 and up. No complaints. I bought some nice emergers, dries, and an interesting pink one called Kern Candy. I didn’t catch any fish with it, but that is probably due to my lack of experience on the Kern. The person attending the shop was friendly and helpful. I hope to one day soon book a day with Guy and learn more about the beautiful Kern River and how to catch those awesome Rainbows.
FYI: I got there early and discovered the Mexican restaurant next door sells a decent cup of coffee for $ 2.

My Brother-​In-​Law and I did a 4 hour lesson last Saturday ⁹⁄₃ with Guy, it was a great experience! He helped us both in many different ways. This was only my 3^rd time Fly Fishing, and I feel I somewhat know what I’m doing. I caught 7 Rainbows and will defiantly do another trip with Guy!

An excellent Fly Fishing supplies shop even though the Kern River is best fished with lures, salmon eggs or power bait.

If you are coming to the Kern River Valley to taste some of the outstanding fly-​fishing, you’ll want to make time for a stop at the Troutfitters. They have friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff who will tell you which of their wide variety of local patterns are producing trout. They’ll also give you advice about how to fish them, and they’ll even guide you to the best spots on the river if you are so inclined.
Over Memorial Day I stopped in and bought a hot stonefly nymph pattern that produced ~15 trout over two days. They were kind enough to tell me not to start my fishing too far upriver — advice which allowed me to catch most of my trout not a mile from their store. Highly recommended!