I caught this 33" steelhead just as we were loosing daylight on                 an Upper Sac float trip with my brother-in-law Tim Barrett.                                 PHOTO BY: Tim Barrett

I started fishing as a young boy snagging minnows in the canals of Venice Beach in California using a treble hook and bread. Later, as a Boy Scout, I used a spinning rod with a lure or bait. As a young man in my 20’s I would fish the Mammoth Lakes and Kern River area with my lifelong friend Tim Barrett every year in search of big fish.  When I moved to Ventura in 1985 in my early 30's, the abundance of easy accessible water was just what I needed to make my transition to fly fishing. Which followed learning how to tie my own flies. 

I  became actively involved in the Sespe Flyfishers 1989 as a member and as a board member were I enjoyed helping newcomers learn how to fish and cast a fly.  I also helped Jerry Bliss and Jim Stallings teach fly casting at Ventura College for years. The funny things is, I now co-instruct the same fly fishing class at Ventura College each spring with Earl Arnold. (SEE LINKS FOR SITE)

My love for fly fishing and enjoyment of teaching others how to fish motivated me to start my guide service, “Tight Lines”, in 1994. The memories of guiding my clients over the years on the waters of Ventura County have been a great by-product of my passion for fly fishing.    

In Richard Alden Bean’s book, Fly Fishing Southern California’s Lakes & Streams, I was featured as a source for fishing the streams in Ventura County. Two of my pictures, along with one of my daughter’s, Cassandra, were used in his published book in 2000.  Her picture of me and my dog fishing Sespe Creek is located next to the title page, one of my pictures is used on the back cover, the other two are located on page 12 and 13. My guide service is also listed on page 100 under Information Sources. 

My passion for bringing the next fish to a net has driven me to fish most of the great waters of California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, but I still enjoy the feisty, wild trout of my own home waters like the Sespe and other small streams scattered through out the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest above Ojai.  

If you happen to overhear me talking to a fly fishermen, you will probably here me say, “On a good day on the Sespe you can catch an incredible amount of wild trout on a dry fly ... and that not a fish tale, that's the honest truth!"  

I am a General Contractor, who started as a union carpenter 1971 working for Del Rey Builders / a framing contractor who built big apartment buildings in the West L.A. I worked for them for over 10 years. During that time I was constantly doing side jobs which later lead me to start my own business, Weir Framing & Building specializing in remodels and house additions. I did custom finish carpentry for developers in the San Fernando Valley for over 20 years. I still am available for jobs, so please call me if you need some work done. (805) 320-1124.

Lastly, I have been blessed to live in such a beautiful place like Ventura. Sometimes while I'm fishing the streams of Ventura County, I think I must of died and gone to heaven. 

My dog, Cali on a nice warm spring day on Sespe Creek.

PHOTO BY. Randy Weir