I was in Reno, NV with Compass 360 Gear for a buying show this week. We had a great show and after breaking down the booth on the last day I realized that I had some extra time before my flight home. I asked Jake Maples of Compass 360 if he wanted to come with me to check out the Reno Fly Shop. Jake is a fly fisherman from the Alabama, so he jumped at the chance to go see the store and talk to the staff about some local fishing opportunities that we could explore the next time we are in town.
From the minute I stepped into the store I felt right at home. The atmosphere and the staff are great in this long standing fly shop. As I was talking to one of the staff members, a couple of more friends from the show walked in the door. They were looking to stock up on some local flies for Pyramid Lake. The four of us had a great time talking about all the fishing opportunities around Reno - including the Truckee River and Pyramid lake for Lahotan Cutthroat Trout. Jim Litchfield, the owner of the store joined in the conversation and was super helpful on what works on his local waters. Both the owner and the staff made us feel right at home in their shop. I learned a lot about the Lahontan Cutthroat - the state fish of Nevada - and the great success story on how it has recovered. Here is a video from the US Fish and Wildlife Service about this unique fish.
After about an hour of good laughs, fish stories and sharing of great information, I bought a hand full of unique flies that I plan on using on some of my local waters and called for an Uber to take me to the airport.
Once in my Uber I realized that I still had four hours before my flight so I asked my driver where I could get a good lunch and a local beer. He suggested Great Basin Brewery so I changed the destination on my app and we headed to the brewery.
The Uber Driver was right - the food and the beer were both excellent at Great Basin. I had a turkey club and a Wild Horse Amber Ale - this was definitely one of the best Ambers I have had - I highly recommend it!
On the plane home I added a note to my bucket list to fish both the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake in 2019 - and to definitely have at least one more Wild Horse Amber!
If you find yourself in Reno with some extra time, be sure to put both the Reno Fly Shop and Great Basin Brewing on your list of places to visit.
Thanks for reading,
Bill