WFS 325 – Kern River Fly Fishing with Guy Jeans – Skwala Hatch, Golden Trout

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/325

Presented By: Togens Fly Shop, Zoe Angling Group, Angler’s Coffee, Reyr Gear

Sponsors: wetflyswing.com/sponsors

Guy Jeans, owner of the Kern River Fly Shop, host of the Kern River Fly Shop Podcast, and vocalist of the band Stoneflys; is here to take us on a wild ride up and down the Kern River. We talk about the 10 native species in California including the golden trout. We find out what fishing is like in different parts of the Kern River, the seasons and hatches, gear, techniques, and flies they use.

We also dig into Guy’s newfound passion in podcasting – talk about some of the remarkable guests he’s had on the podcast. Plus, we hear some of his band’s original songs and I got to tell you.. they’re pretty awesome!

Kern River Show Notes with Guy Jeans

05:15 – There’s a great fly fishing club in Ventura called, Sespe Fly Fishers – they helped Guy get started in tying flies, building rods, casting, etc.

05:45 – We talk about Ska music

06:45 – The Kern River is in the Sierra mountain range, Southern Sierra – 3 hours North of Los Angeles. The river is about 170 miles long.

07:30 – The most popular fish that people come to fish for is the native California Golden trout, the Kern river rainbow, and the little Kern Golden trout

09:30 – Guy went permit fishing in Xcalak Mexico

11:00 – They also have the tailwater called the lower current, below a giant lake where they fish smallmouth and largemouth bass – they fish here in June

12:00 – They also fly fish for carp in Lake Isabela – they held carp fly fishing tournament in May

15:00 – They do 4×4 trip where they have full outfitter camps with a chef and tents

16:00 – Their hot season is in July, August, and part of September. March and April is a prime time to fish in their section on the Kern river – salmon fly hatch and mayfly hatch

17:00 – People took some of the Golden trout and put them in places like Wyoming and Montana

17:55 – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has a program called, Heritage Trout Program – a mini-contest within California that challenge people to catch the 10 native trout species in California. If you catch 6 of the 10 natives, you get a certificate that has prints of the species you caught drawn by Joseph Tomerelli

19:00 – Guy mentions the 10 Native Trout in California

20:20 – There are 2 forks – North Fork Kern River (flows into Kernville and comes down from Mt Whitney) and South Fork Kern River (doesn’t get blown out, you can fish it anytime)

23:10 – It’s mostly dry fly fishing for the wild golden trout – from downstream to upstream. Presentation is the key.

24:30 – The typical flies they use are stimulators, smaller stimulators, parachute adams, royal wulf, and ants

25:15 – The gear recommended are super light – 2 wt or 3 wt

25:30 – The biggest golden trout you can probably catch is 15 inches – typical is 6 to 12 inches

28:10 – Tim Landwehr was on the podcast at WFS 273 where we talked about smallmouth and largemouth bass

28:30 – Guy is holding casting clinics in California

29:00 – They use pontoon boats because of the river structure

30:00 – They have an Instagram called Kooks of the Kern where people post funny photos of what they do on the Kern river

33:00 – There’s a wild trout section in the wilderness area part of the North Kern and they fish stonefly patterns. Nymphing works good there too. They also have chinook and kokanee salmon in lake Isabela.

36:20 – In Fall, they have caddis, mayflies, and some tricos later in the season

37:30 – Their website is the best resource they recommend to people who want to learn more about Kern river fishing. You can listen to their podcast there too.

39:10 – Guy had a guest on his podcast who’s a fishing game warden – he told a story of when he confronted some gang members that were fishing

39:40 – I read a book years ago called, Wildlife Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden

41:00 – Guy tells us about their location which is close to the ocean and they would fish the surf in Ventura – they fish corbina, surfperch, and leopard sharks

41:40 – We had an episode about corbina and surf fishing with Al Quattrocchi at WFS 219

42:55 – People sometimes come to Guy’s studio to record the podcast

43:44 –  Kern River Podcast is on Waypoint TV and Anchor. I use Libsyn for the WFS podcast and Buzzsprout for another podcast we do

47:40 – Guy tells us about his music journey in the 80s and 90s – Ska music

51:00 – Merle Haggard has a song called, I’ll Never Swim Kern River Again – scroll below to listen

56:15 – Eeland Stribling was on the podcast at WFS 309 – Eeland is a standup comedian

57:30 – Guy was on the Heidi and Frank show called Stay or Go – apparently, people like their songs

59:10 – Guy tells the story of when they played at a huge venue in Mexico and their amps blew up because of electric surges

1:00:50 – For sidelines, Guy did some commercials in Hollywood as the fly fishing guy in the background. He also worked with actors like Christian Bale in the movie, Vice – he taught Christian how to cast

1:05:00 – Guy shares some tips – Fish from downstream to upstream, stay hidden – be stealthy, good presentation, good cast

1:03:00 – May and June are the best times to fish for the golden trout – the Fall is good for the kern river rainbows. Summertime is good for the carp and smallmouth bass

1:12:30 – They have a brewery in Kern called, The Kern River Brewery – they won many years in a row at the Great American Beer Fest. One of their best beer is the Citra IPA

Kern River Conclusion with Guy Jeans

So there you go. Another great interview with a fellow podcaster. I always get excited whenever I talk to people who share the same interest. Hopefully, we could put together an episode with me as a guest on his show too. But we’ll see.. I’m not sure if I make a good guest. What do you think?

I’m really amazed at all Guy has going – the fly shop, the classes, the podcast, the band. He surely is living the life he loves and like he said, none of it feels like work. 

Oh and Guy’s band, Stonefly.. man they create good music! Their songs are definitely going on my playlist. If you haven’t heard them yet, you’re missing out on some good stuff!

But then back to the Kern River.. if you want to catch some of those beautiful golds, you know where to find them. Try and catch all 10 California native trout species. Let us know how about your experience. Send me a message at or DM me on Instagram @wetflyswing

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/325