Turkey Seminar Tomorrow - 3/12/11

Another reminder to get down to the store by 10 am on Saturday for our FREE Turkey calling and techniques seminar this Saturday - Tony Giorgi will be on hand starting at 10 am, and will be available through 1 pm. Don't miss this informative (and FREE) event.

Representatives from the National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF) will also be on hand with membership information. This is a great opportunity to support the organization which supports turkey habitat and access.

For those of you who have not met Tony, he runs Bass 'n Boars, a guide service located in Sonoma county. He's been successfully hunting the wiley gobblers longer than he cares to remember.

So, head on down to the store and get ready for Spring Turkey Season!

Flyfishing 101 Classes Scheduled

There is more to successful fly fishing than learning how to cast. This class covers the skills and techniques necessary to get you on the stream and catching fish! Ace teacher and experienced fly fisher Carlo Bongio - who also manages the fly department for us - gives this essential overview of fly fishing, including learning three types of casts, knot tying, presentation techniques, and understanding equipment, trout habitat and entymology (the study of insects -- the natural food of the trout).

During the session, students will have opportunities to both learn and practice techniques. Beginning with a description of the fly fishing equipment and how it is put together into a complete outfit, this class then focuses upon essential fishing knots, the different types of flies and when to use them. Once all students understand the “why” aspect of fishing, coursework moves to casting and controlling line for different conditions and presentations. By the end of the course, budding anglers are ready to concentrate on catching fish. We recommend these sessions rather than casting-only classes for novices.

This class is limited to 6 students and goes from 9 am to approximately 12:30 pm.
Reservations required - contact Carlo at 415-456-5454. (Note - classes generally fill early, so don't delay!) All gear provided. Cost: $95/student.

Saturday, March 5
Saturday, March 26
Saturday, April 2

Waterfowl Season-End Sale!

The last truckload of gear has finally been unloaded at the mothership in San Rafael*, and we're even through a goodly portion of the totes and boxes which came down. Things are still a bit crazy and disorganized, but we've wrangled stuff around enough to make some sense of things.

One thing we know for sure is that the general waterfowl season ended last weekend, and that means one thing - time for us to clear out the last of the waterfowl shells, gear and equipment. The Annual Waterfowl Season-End Sale starts NOW!

It also means that some of you who didn't have the opportunity to drive north to take advantage of our store closing sale in Santa Rosa have the chance to save big on waterfowl gear. Heck - even if you found a lot of great bargains up there, you are welcome to head on down to San Rafael and save big!



All Steel Shot Waterfowl loads - Buy a Case, take $20 off our already low prices! Save $2/box!
All Camouflage Clothing - 40% OFF! (And make sure to check out the SALE RACKS - save even more on one-of-a-kind and closeout items)
All Camouflage Waders - 40% OFF!
All Duck Calls - 30% OFF!
All Decoys - 20% OFF!
There's also a few SALE tables set up for even more serious savings, a few firearms which have lowered pricing, and new consignment guns in the rack.

*Just in case you missed the news, we closed our Santa Rosa store at the end of January. All credits, gift certificate records and firearms for pickup have been moved to our San Rafael store.

Santa Rosa Sale Continues

We are still getting quite a few questions about the status of the Santa Rosa store. If you don't subscribe to our email newsletter, you may have missed the official announcement:

We have come to the difficult decision to close our Santa Rosa location. With the general economy idling, it makes sense to focus our resources on the San Rafael store only. We will be closing our Santa Rosa store at the end of January when our lease ends at that location.

Luckily, our most important asset - the knowledgeable anglers and hunters who make up the Western Sport Shop staff - will be joining us in the San Rafael store as we recombine operations in 2011.

My hope is that you will have the opportunity to continue to rely upon us as your hunting, fishing and fly fishing destination.

If you only shop in the San Rafael store, not much will change, except you may notice some new (and old) faces behind the counter in the new year.

For Santa Rosa customers, there are a few things to be aware of:
- All Western Sport Shop Gift Certificates and store credits will be honored at the San Rafael store.
- Any firearm pickups must be made in Santa Rosa before January 24th. Any pickups after that time will take place in the San Rafael store.
- Any warranty issues on items purchased in Santa Rosa can be taken care of through the San Rafael store.

Obviously, we are sad to have to close the Santa Rosa store, but feel that it is best for us overall.

The good news for you is that we need to reduce a good chunk of inventory from the Santa Rosa location. After the rush of Christmas, we have been going through all of our inventory, back room stock and items which - quite literally - we had forgotten we had. It all needs to be reduced, so it is time to act! We are discounting inventory in the Santa Rosa store up to 50% OFF of our regular low price. Great deals can be found in all departments - fly fishing, hunting and regular fishing. As we get more room on the sales floor, we will be adding more items - come on by now for the best selection of hot deals and make sure you come back to see what has been added!

Here are the highlights:

30% OFF all General Tackle
30% OFF All Tying Material
30% OFF All Fly Fishing Accessories
All Flies ONLY ONE DOLLAR!
20% OFF all Federal Centerfire Ammunition - Premium, American Eagle and "Blue Box"
15% OFF all Camouflage Clothing (also at San Rafael!)
15% OFF all Decoys (also at San Rafael!)

Plus, here are a few special deals for the readers of this blog:
20% OFF all optics (binoculars, scopes, spotting scopes & shooting glasses), rings and bases
15% OFF all Hunting Waders
20% OFF all New Books in stock
50% OFF all Used Books in stock

And don't forget the Huge Book Sale going on in our San Rafael store:
All NEW BOOKS - 20% OFF!
All USED BOOKS - 50% OFF!

Please note - Sale items are strictly limited to stock on hand. Sales items limited to Santa Rosa store only unless specifically stated otherwise. No layaways or partial payments on sale items. All items sold "as-is". No exchanges or returns on sale items.

This Saturday! Long Range / Reel Repair Seminars

Get your chores done early, because you don't want to miss the free Long Range Fishing and Reel Repair Seminars taking place this Saturday, June 26th at our San Rafael store. Whether you are already signed up for our September Shogun 5 Day Fishing Trip out of San Diego, or just have a curiosity about this wide-open saltwater fishing, drop on by and learn from the experts!

The Long Range Fishing Seminar will be led by Charter Master (and Western Sport Shop staff member) Richard Birnbaum. Starting at 1 pm, Richard will go over the schedule of the 5 Day Trip, talk about the types of techniques which will be used and the tackle needed, as well as the sheer fun of fishing for hard running fish. Then Jeff Burroughs, author of Long Range Sportfishing San Diego Style will go over some more of the necessary techniques, and the excitement of this high velocity fishery! Jeff will also be able to sign copies of his book.

In addition to that, there will be a fundraising raffle for the Friends of Rollo Fund. The Shogun has graciously donated several gift certificates, good towards payment of trip fees or for on-the-dock fish processing. It's a nice way to help a great cause and maybe even save a few bucks on the trip!


To start the day off, renowned reel repair and tuning expert Alan Tani will be leading one of his Hands-On Reel Repair Seminars. Starting at 9:30 am, Alan will be set up with several workstations and tool sets, willing to help you dig into your conventional style reel (sorry - no spinning reels at this seminar!) to get it cleaned out, tuned up and ready for the hot summer fishing season.

This popular clinic demystifies the inner workings of your reels, lets you get a better sense of how to care for them, and gives you the confidence to dig in and fix something yourself.

(Please note, you may bring more than one reel to work on during the seminar, but may be asked to rotate with others to allow everyone a chance to learn the inner workings of their reels.)

Again -
This Saturday - San Rafael

Alan Tani Hands-On Reel Repair Seminar - 9:30 am - 3 pm

Long Range Fishing Seminar with Richard Birnbaum and author Jeff Burroughs - 1 pm

Used Book Sale Starts NOW!

20% OFF All Used Books!, originally uploaded by Western Sport Shop.

For our San Rafael store customers, this weekend is the kickoff of the Big Summer Reading Used Book Sale! All used books in stock are now 20% off the marked price. This is a great opportunity to pick up a good chunk of fly tying reference books, fishing "how-to's" or great stories afield.

Come on down now for the best selection!

Used Books on the Shelf, originally uploaded by Western Sport Shop.

This Weekend - Tune Up Your Quacking and Save BIG!

As you know, the 2009 Western Sport Shop Fall Shooting Sports Super Sale starts this Friday. It's your chance to stock up on the gear you need, with the best pricing of the season on ammunition, decoys, clothing and key gear for three days!

When you come into the San Rafael store on Saturday, you'll have the opportunity to hear duck calling done right - we're happy to welcome Curt Wilson from Zink Calls to our San Rafael store. Curt is known throughout the US as one of the most dynamic and accurate callers. He has been seen on instructional videos both on the Avery Outdoors website and on through nationally distributed called DVD's featuring Zink calls.

For those of you who haven't heard of Zink calls, we brought them in a couple years ago and they have become a staff favorite for their tone and rugged construction. If you already own a Zink call, bring it down to the San Rafael store between 10 am and 3 pm, and have Curt critique your calling. (And if you don't have a Zink call - it's OK - just show up and get ready to learn!)

If you are a bit shy about calling in front of a master, that's OK too. Feel free to listen to Curt and pepper him with all kinds of questions.

Of course, if you don't have a decent call we can fix that problem!

WEB ONLY FALL SHOOTING SPORTS SUPER SALE DEAL -
Print this out and bring it with you to either store and you will get 15% off any Zink call in stock
Coupon Valid 8/28/09 - 8/30/09 only. May not be combined with any other offer or sale.

Alan Tani Reel Repair Seminar - Saturday April 11th

When do you want to service your fishing reel? Well, before it starts growing green fur like this one did...

We were extremely lucky to have fishing reel tuning & repair expert Alan Tani in our San Rafael store for another of his free "Hands-On Reel Repair Clinics".

This is for all the anglers who want to learn some basic maintanence techniques and don't mind getting down dirty.

All you need some reels in need of cleaning (Conventional only - sorry - spinning reels are not invited!) and a willingness to learn.

Alan will be on hand to walk you through the steps of breaking down your reel, analyzing the things which need to be fixed, and getting everything back together (hopefully with no parts left over!) and running smoother than you can remember!

Please note - this class is limited in size, and attendees may be asked to limit the number of reels they work on to allow others the opportunity to learn. So, mark your calender for Saturday, April 11th at the San Rafael store - work starts at 10 am and we'll kick you all out at 4:00 sharp!

Bass Bite Heats Up

This week the hot bite has been big pre-spawn largemouth. Even with lake levels having risen as many as seven feet in some areas, the water clarity is still good and the fish are still biting.

Lake Nicasio produced over 25 fish between 2 and 6 lbs for one of my regular customers over the course of 4 or 5 days. He reports a couple big ones caught on spinnerbait. But, almost all the rest were caught on a green neon Robo-X Pitching Craw rigged on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook and red 1/4 oz Brass and Glass setup.

Another local - Kelly Oward - stuck a chunky fish just under 5 lbs on a full size Brush Hog in green pumpkin w/black and purple flake. That bait was also rigged on 1/4oz Brass and Glass, but with a 5/0 EWG hook.

More exciting are reports that Alpine Lake in the Marin Watershed had the start of a great pre-spawn bite earlier this week - joining the ranks of Kent Lake and Nicasio Reservoir as we head into spring. Then, with three verified fish caught in the 9 to 11 lb range, it jumped to the top of the board as a "best bet!" All three of those fish were caught on Booyah Boogie Baits - a "chatterbait" style which has been a lesser known technique to most anglers.

Phoenix Lake also chimed in with a pair of 4 1/2 lbers caught on Chrome Rat-L-Traps and 8 more 1/2 - 1 1/2 pooud fish fooled with wacky rigged 4" Senkos.

Local bass pro and Team Jigmonster tournament angler Chris "Flipper" Franks caught almost 11lbs of smallies for a top-10 finish last weekend at the Lake Berryessa tournament. He had a great time doing it - culling all day and catching over 30 fish on the Jigmonster Chaos series football head jig alone. Flipper says the brown and purple PBJ jig was the hot bait and the only bait they wanted.

Jigmonster Lures in San Rafael -
At the San Rafael store, we've just received our first batch of these custom Jigmonster Chaos series football head jigs, as well as the Jigmonster Mayhem flipping jigs (our Santa Rosa store getting theirs this next week).

Marin County Bass Club Meeting -
On wednesday 03/11/09 at 7:00pm the Marin County Bass Club will be meeting at Western Sport Shop in San Rafael their regular monthly meeting. I will be giving an in-depth seminar on jig fishing starting at 7:30pm and lasting till about 8:30 I will cover everything you ever wanted to know about jigs. The talk is free and open to the public, so head on down and learn some serious skills!

Spring Cleaning in the All Departments

Every day brings us a little closer to the spring seasons - it's always great to see some weeks of rain after such a dry fall and winter. Those fat, wet drops hitting the hills mean prime early season conditions, in addition to banking a bit of much-needed water.

Like the rising levels in the reservoirs, our back room is starting to fill up with the first shipments of spring gear. New reels from Shimano, rod & reel outfits, specialty hooks and lures have all started arriving and we're getting things out onto the floor as quickly as we can.

This means that there are more than a few bargains to be found on the sales floor as we make room for new stuff. The next few weeks is a great time to take advantage of our "Pre-Spring Cleaning!"

Plus, the California State Sales Tax changes on April 1st. We'd rather see you put that extra percentage into flies, lures, line or gear!

All Flies - 30% OFF! This Fly Sale will end soon - right now, there are a ton of great patterns and styles. We're simply overstocked on certain sizes. Now is a great time to stock up on all fly patterns in stock!

Discontinued Fly Rods - Serious discounts on rods with cosmetic changes or model changes for 2009. There are still a number of Sage, Winston, Scott and Redington fly rods which fish fine, but have changed for this year. All rods come with a full factory warranty.

Selected Fly Lines - 30% OFF! Spey and traditional lines with packaging changes or other differences - look for the display in the store.

Spring Cleaning "HALF OFF!" Stuff -- Selected Umpqua leader and tippet, all kinds of various tying materials and selected Tiemco Hook styles at half off.

All items are subject to prior sale. Strictly limited to stock on hand. That sort of stuff. So, don't wait - get on down to the store near you and take advantage of these deals (and more!)

Turkey Seminars - Reserve Your Spot!

Big Thanks go out to Tony Giorgi of BASS' N BOAR Guide Service. Tony gave Saturday's A to Z on Spring Turkey Hunting clinic up at the Santa Rosa store. He covered a wide range of necessary tips and special tricks to a good group of interested customers. We learned a lot as well - it's great to get practical feedback from another person who is as crazy about spring birds as we are.

There is hope for those of you who missed that clinic - Tony will be back at the Santa Rosa store for another A to Z on Spring Turkey Hunting presentation on Saturday March 14 at 10AM.

But, don't volunteer to do all your Saturday chores the week before, because the San Rafael store will be hosting Curt Wilson of Zink calls this Saturday, March 7th at 10 am. Curt is one of the most successful hunters we know, with excellent calling techniques.

There is no charge for either of these seminars, but the way they are starting to fill up, there may not be room for everyone - best to call the store to reserve your spot. (And, hey, it's ok if you want to go to both!)

Get your calls out there's only 27 days left till the opener. Have you patterned your chokes this season. Lots of new ammo out there this year.