In December I went to a local fly shoppe to purchase a fly rod. I gave the salesman the range I wanted to spend and the purpose (Steelhead fly fishing trip on the Hoh). After testing a few out I ended up purchasing a Sage DS2 890. I spent a month flailing the waters of western WA in search of those chrome beasts. After talking to my guide I went back to the fly shoppe to purchase a multi-tip fly line. I had the exact specifications I needed. The fly shoppe did not have what I was looking for and said "This brand is equivalent to what you are looking for". Not knowing enough to tell the difference of 100gr sink tips and 300gr sink tips I trusted the "Professional" behind the counter.

Enter the Guided Fly Fisihing trip(1/31/2002)... With Bob.
Here is a professional who took the time and effort to demonstrate and teach a novice like myself. I now know the difference in 100gr and 300gr heads (huge difference!). I also learned a very effective method to shoot the line out (YAAAAYYY!!! No more flailing with false casting). I learned many more things from Bob. All I can say is thanks. Bob hooked the only fish of the day and let my Uncle and I fight it until it got off (my Uncle needs to learn to run down the bank faster, the fish outran him). This was an awesome experience. For most of the day we used Bob's gear, as ours were not prepared to fish the Hoh at all. Bob, you are a great guide and even better person. Thanks for a great day on the river.

Enter the fly shoppe again...
I returned to the fly shop yesterday to voice my complaints. The gear I was sold was not capable of the method of fishing I had done on the Hoh. I spoke to the store owner and he exchanged both the rod and line for items I had requested in the first place. I now have a GL3 1178 and the RIO Dredger VersiTip. On top of exchanging the used gear back, the owner also gave me a 20% discount.

Now I feel that I have the correct gear and basic skills to find a metalhead...

Bob, without your knowledge and candor I would still be stuck with ineffective gear and many frustrations (and I know, that is good water... for gear)...

If anyone is thinking of a guided trip (Gear or Fly), I would highly recommend Bob.

Bob, I also would like to thank you for this forum. I have learned many things here and hope to learn more.

-Stephen
No longer a Rookie...But, a Migrating_Smolt