Community Member Spotlight
Kevin MacDonld
What does fly fishing mean to you? What about fly fishing offers you most satisfaction?
Spending time with friends family and dogs in the outdoors. Regardless of the fish caught it is always an enjoyable time.
What does having AZ Fly Shop in the community mean to you? What do you like about AZ Fly Shop?
I had heard about AZ Fly Shop from Charlie Ray who is the best angler I have ever seen and he recommended me to AZ Fly Shop. On my first visit I spoke to Bare who told me his favorite fresh water fish to fish for is Carp. I thought he was crazy. Finding a great assortment of high quality items is important to me and they have it all. Once being added to the mailing list I received an invitation to join the 2nd annual carp fly fishing tournament. Naturally, I put a team together and participated. I found that the Urban Carp Tournament was not only a fun event but an experience I had never done before. Within the first 5 min of participating, I caught the 2nd biggest fish in the tournament. Using the fly that Bare recommended (Green San Juan Worm) I caught a carp that took me 35min to reel in. What I found was that AZ Fly Shop gives back to the community, not only was the tournament a great time but at the end of the tournament, they supported Casting for Recovery. I was amazed at this organization and its mission of providing healing outdoor retreats for women with breast cancer, at no cost to the participants. While I love going to Bass Pro Shop, anytime I get to support a Family Run business I chose that every time, especially with a knowledgeable team and high-quality products to assist me in my pursuit of fly fishing with better knowledge. Not to mention Chris and Jill using their solid business sense to open in a location that is easy to access valley-wide at Cactus and the 51. I am especially thankful for AZ Fly Shop because of Chris Rich’s invitation to go with a group to a Carp Nirvana undisclosed lake where we happened upon 1,000+ carp on a lake. Since the carp tournament (which was my first time catching a carp) I have gone 8 times in the last month.
Tell us your most memorable fly fishing story
Is there any advice or quotes that you feel everyone should hear?
We should all play a part in building the community of fly fishing in Arizona through AZ Fly Shop.
Is there anything else you would like to add or share with the community?