^^That's a tough thing, in SF(yes, San Francisco). There aren't really any "local" shops. You can drive an hour north to Outdoor Pro Shop, where the fly fishing department is maybe 5% of the store, and hope the fly guy is working (he actually rocks). California Fly Shop is at least a 90 minute train ride, plus a fifteen minute bike ride. Kiene is the best I've seen, but once you drive to Sac, you gotta deal with traffic to the other side of town. Leland shut down in the city, and when I went to their shop, looking for help before a salt trip, they said they are mostly online now, and to call such and such and he'd mail everything to me from their SF warehouse. That's not buying local. I haven't tried to get to the shop in San Pablo by bus, but it's not life-changing, anyway.
I have toyed with the idea of opening a mobile fly shop. We come to you, etc. it just hasn't launched.
I guess what I'm saying is, I have no shame buying fly gear off eBay. At least until my car is fixed.
Bookmarks