Interviews of our original club members and interesting bits of history.
An Interview With Ernie Kinzli
by Andrew Feldman
An Interview With Ernie Kinzli
by Andrew Feldman
AF: Where did you grow up?
EK: Here in Santa Cruz, but my high school years were spent in Warm Springs, closer to San Jose.
AF: Who taught you how to fish?
EK: My father and I learned together, we started when I was in the third grade.
AF: What were you doing before "Ernie's Casting Pond"?
EK: I ran the fishing department at United Cigar in downtown Santa Cruz.
AF: How old were you when you opened your first fly shop?
EK: That was 31 years ago and I was 42.
AF: What line of work would you have gone into if you hadn't owned your own fly shop?
EK: My father had a dairy farm, and I considered doing the same. I even studied Animal Husbandry at UC Davis. When I was in my early twenties I was interested in being a fireman.
AF: Is there a story behind the name "Ernie's Casting Pond"?
EK: Yes, the original location was going to be on Capitola Road, and there was a real casting pond there. That location ended up not working out, and we landed on Soquel Avenue. So the shop moved, but the name stuck.
AF: What are your hobbies besides fishing?
EK: Hunting, gardening, and collecting antique hunting and fishing equipment.
AF: What's the trout capitol of California; Bishop or Redding?
EK: Well, thereีs two kinds of fishing; fishing for big fish, and fishing for little fish. If you want big fish, Redding's the place to go.
AF: Where have you been fishing lately?
EK: I just got back from Oregon. I was fishing for King Salmon on the Nestucca River, close to Pacific City. I also recently visited Alaska, and was in the Katmai National Preserve.