Kern River Fly Shop / Kern River Fly Fishing Guide Service, Kernville CA

Guy Jeans' is a MASTER when it comes to fly fishing.his knowledge of the Kern River is extremely impressive and he is a wonderful teacher. I was fortunate enough to have him as a teacher/on-set coach and learn basic skills from him. He's patient, calm, articulate and knows how to give tips/adjustments with a surgeon's precision. He's also one of the kindest humans to boot.everybody over at the shop was lovely. I highly recommend this place. Oh also, during our lunch break he went out n caught like 6-8 fish. He's a savant

Went into the shop and was pleasantly surprised to see a woman behind the sales desk. Point one for Guy Jeans!
Second point given for areas to fish. Third point for having flies in the shop that are known to do well in the area.
Point 4 was thé ease in registering for the surf fishing clinic.
Point 5 was for Guy being a great instructor!
See below for more details:

As a woman in a man dominated field, l was pleasantly surprised when I arrived this morning for a surf fly fishing clinic.
Guy is a great instructor, and didn’t « mansplain » or talk down to my partner and I.
2 HUGE THUMBS UP!

The instructions were easy to follow. Literally drawing lines in the sand to simulate where to find fish in the surf, and how to look for obstructions and valleys in the surf.

I didn’t realize that it would have beginning casting instructions, and it was great to have the refresher, including the lesson on single and double haul techniques.

2 of the men in the clinic were beginners with fly casting and when they looked like they were having difficulty, I was able to assist them as well.

The class size was small, so it was easy to have one on one instruction with Guy if needed.

I never knew how much fun surf fishing could be, and to tell you honestly, the $75.00 price for the clinic was a deal based on the instruction and information.

I suggest if you plan on surf fishing, buy the package with the rod! It is a great deal for a great rod with reel and line!

I highly recommend Guy Jeans for his surf fishing clinic.
We mentioned fishing the Kern, and his price for a full day of fishing is a good deal!
We will definitely hire him as a guide soon on the Kern.

Always a great experience with Kern river fly shop.
My husband booked a guided trip for us hoping I would like it enough to fish with, and I ended up hooked!

I have since booked several guide trips with Kern river fly shop and they are always amazing experiences. From fishing the upper Kern with Rob to learning to fish the surf with Guy, I have learned so much in a short period of time.
It’s a lot of knowledge to take in but Rob is always very patient and excited about sharing everything he knows every time we are out on the water. Hes just as excited as I am when I hook a fish and learn something new. I always feel safe getting down to the fishing spots and in the water. I’m thankful he’s taught me to be confident/sage on the water when I’m fishing on my own.

I more recently booked a surf clinic and guided day with Guy. I was surprised how much I learned in such a short time at the clinic. At the guided trip, He helped me catch onto it so quick. It was awesome to feel confident and catch a few fish the first time being out. Guy was patient and explained everything to me so I understood it easily. I even went out on my own a couple days after and was able to catch quite a few on my own just after those two classes. I love how all the guides genuinely love what they are doing!

Great trip on the Lower O with Rob Buhler. He really knows the river. Rob is extremely knowledgeable and prepared and enabled me to get the most out of my trip. Highly recommend him as a guide for both the Owens and the Kern!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND RYAN BUHLER AS A FLY FISHING GUIDE!
2/19/22: I took a full day (8hr.) guided fly fishing trip on the Kern River with Ryan Buhler of the Kern River Fly Shop in Kernville, CA. It was a spectacular day of fishing, countless fish landed and released. (Not to mention missed strikes and “long distance releases”). Ryan is a very knowledgeable and gracious guide. I am 67 years old and have been fly fishing and fly tying for 39 years. I learned a great deal from Ryan about the Kern River drainage, where and when to fish, techniques, and effective fly patterns. He has a gentle touch and provided no more or less information and assistance than I required. I most certainly recommend him to fly fishers of all skill levels. Everything about this trip was first class and I will not hesitate to book with Ryan again. It was a pleasure spending a day with Ryan Buhler.

My wife and I did a half day trip with Rob Buhler from the Kern River Fly Shop on the 20 mile section. It was an absolute blast. Rob was a great guide providing lots of information, techniques, tips, and encouragement. He was great at answering all the of the many questions I had about fishing the Kern. Rob provided detailed information on the setup rigging we using and the flies we would be using. I had been to the 20 mile section about five times before with zero fish to my credit. That was resolved after about 5 minutes on the river. I really enjoyed that we changed areas and techniques during the day. I definitely plan to do this again and would recommend them, and Rob specifically, to anyone interested in learning more about fly fishing.

I had a great experience with Ryan at the beginner clinic. My kids and I had no previous fly fishing experience and I found Ryan to be very knowledgeable and patient with his instruction. I'm looking forward to going to the second clinic soon.

I did a half-day fishing trip with Rob, and had an incredible time. I started fly fishing earlier in the year, and this is my first time fishing in a fast moving river like the Kern. This was money well spent in the fly fishing lesson alone. Rob taught me how to identify good pockets to fish, how to fish in fast moving currents, and - most importantly - how to figure out which flies to use. We had a super fun lesson on turning over rocks to see what sort of insects were present, and match them to flies.

It was a great day on the river! Yes, we caught fish, too! I highly recommend fishing with Rob! The fly fishing shop has a great selection of flies and gear for the Kern - stop by if you have time!

Looked up store hours on the website and stated it was open from 8-5 on Friday. It is 2: 00 on Friday and they are closed with no signage on the door as to why they are closed. Made a special trip. Very disappointing. I called and got a recording asking for my name, number and message. Left a message wondering why they were closed. Not going to wait for a reply. Can’t believe their are closed on 4th of July weekend.

We enjoyed our beginner fly fishing class. Learned plenty to get started and practiced casting on the river. Rodrigo, Matt, and Ryan were great instructors and made the experience fun. They welcome questions. Wear sunscreen and bring water.

This was our second trip out with Ryan. He is an awesome guide. This time we had a bigger group so he brought Danny out to guide with him. We all had a great day and will recommend this experience to friends and family.

As others have said, a quick stop on your way to the river will get you accurate advice on the way fish have been behaving in the water and the flies needed to get them out of it. Friendly and disinterested service; if you’re not a Kern River expert stop by the Fly Shop because they are and their advice makes all the difference.

Super organized team. We were a group of 6 and got Rob and Danny as our guides. All you need to do is show up and they have everything you need. For first timers, you will need to get a fishing license from the market around the corner and they take care of everything else. They provide all the gear, lunch, drinks, chairs, etc.

Both gentleman are patient, courteous and knowledgeable. Every single one of us caught multiple fish and 5 of the 6 were rookies.

I would highly recommend them and sincerely appreciate them.

Super neat shop and great customer service. They have a bunch of flys and years of experience. Highly recommend!

Great shop, kowledgeable and friendly staff.
My son and I combined information from Guy's premium fishing report with a visit to his shop this weekend where he and Koal set us up with flies and confirmed a good spot to fish.
Golden trout hammered our "Kern Emergers" all day (mostly the red ones) and we even managed to put a few in the net. We had a blast and can't wait to get back for a guided trip with Kern River Fly Shop!