The Ted Fay Fly Shop, the oldest fly shop in California, has been sold. At the beginning of 2026, Bob Grace passed the fly rod baton to Corey Allen and Jessica Kenny of Dunsmuir. Bob will stay on through the rest of the year to show Corey and Jessica the ropes—something that matters deeply to him. After 29 years of ownership, Bob has a vested interest in seeing the shop’s legacy continue long after he steps away.
I met Bob in the late 1990s when I started guiding. At the time, I still had a “real job” in the Bay Area before moving full-time to Siskiyou County in 2000, settling into my so-called vacation home outside McCloud. Our friendship has endured through the years, and I’m grateful for it.
Bob, born and raised in Chicago—a true city boy—worked for years as a stock and bond trader in San Francisco. He had been fishing the Upper Sacramento River long before reinventing himself in his adopted small town of Dunsmuir. In time, he became far more at home in the country than in the city. Bob began with the Ted Fay Fly Shop when it was located at the old Acorn Inn before moving in 2007 to its current location at 5732 Dunsmuir Avenue, where it’s been for 19 years. Notably, he had no prior retail experience when he acquired the shop from Joe Kimsey in April 1997.
Joe Kimsey had purchased the shop in 1983, after Ted Fay passed away. Joe was a folksy, storytelling kind of guy who loved recounting his fly-fishing adventures and tales of the “Old Man,” who had an estate near his home. The “Old Man” was William Randolph Hearst, beloved by Joe for allowing him to fish the McCloud River on the Hearsts’ Wyntoon estate.
As part of Bob’s purchase agreement, Joe Kimsey was supposed to stay on for two years as a part-time employee, serving as a sort of customer relations ambassador. One piece of advice Joe gave Bob stuck: “All you have to do is help the customers out and give them the honest information they want.” Joe ended up staying not two years, but twelve, continuing to entertain everyone who walked through the door. Always recognizable by the signature suspenders he wore, Joe remained a fixture in the shop until 2011 and passed away in 2013.
I met Joe in the late 1980s at the San Mateo Fly Show at the San Mateo Fairgrounds (now the Fly Fishing Show in Pleasanton). He showed me how to tie on a dropper fly, and I booked a guide date with him shortly after. I remember him selling the original Bombers and other assorted flies at the shop during that era.
HISTORY OF TED FAY FLY SHOP
Ted Fay purchased the Look-Out Point Motel in Dunsmuir in 1948. When the motel was taken by eminent domain for the construction of Interstate 5, Ted moved the shop into his garage. That was the only time I ever met Ted. After his death in 1983, Joe moved the shop to the Garden Motel—later renamed the Acorn Inn, which still bears a prominent sign along I-5.
Ted Fay popularized a distinctive style of fly fishing adapted to the Upper Sacramento River: short-line presentations, quick repeated casts, and heavily weighted flies adapted from those used by the Winnemen Wintu. The principal pattern eventually became known as the Bomber.
THE BOB GRACE ERA
Over time, the shop’s clientele shifted—from mostly working stiffs to more professionals. Bob once said, “We are not talking to country bumpkins.” What drew Bob to fly fishing in the first place? “I like it because it forces you to be totally in the present moment,” he told me. “You have to pay attention to that line every second. It takes your mind off whatever problems or worries you have. It’s like a meditation.”
Everyone who walks into the Ted Fay Fly Shop receives Bob’s full attention—from ruddy-faced trout bums to well-heeled professionals. He gets to know customers as they return season after season, the way any small-town storekeeper with an engaging personality does. The job demands long hours and little vacation time, but the days are filled with joking and banter among longtime regulars. Personally, Bob is one of the most personable and friendly shop owners I’ve ever encountered. His personality draws people to the area and into the sport.
“To be honest,” Bob says, “this job can be really mind-numbing—answering the same questions 10 to 20 times a day. But that gives me an incentive to get to know customers on a personal level, to make it more interesting.” Bob has an uncanny ability to remember names. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been in the shop and watched him shout a customer’s name the moment they walk through the door.
THE NEW GUARD
So what does the future hold for the Ted Fay Fly Shop under Corey and Jessica? The shop will maintain the same hours: open seven days a week from late April through November 15, then five days a week during winter—Thursday through Monday, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These hours align with the Cornerstone Café and Bakery, which is back and serving excellent food and pastries.
Corey and Jessica plan to be active in the community. Jessica has already led river cleanups on the Upper Sacramento River, and together they want to be strong stewards of the water. Jessica is an inspiring angler and hopes to bring more women into the sport. They plan to host fly-fishing clinics and fly-tying lessons, and both are committed to getting young people involved in fishing. It’s a beautiful local river, and they want to spark enthusiasm so the next generation will care for it. I ran a few clinics during my guiding days, and they were always very successful.
Corey and Jessica will work with local guide services—so guides, drop your cards at the shop. Bob is committed for at least a year, with the option to stay on longer if he wishes. In many ways, Bob could become the next Joe Kimsey behind the counter. The shop will continue carrying familiar brands—Simms, Patagonia, Redington, Sage, Echo—as well as accessories, fly-tying materials, and flies. They also plan to reintroduce Bomber flies into the bins, honoring a tradition Ted and Joe once maintained by tying them themselves. I fished those old Bombers early on and caught both trout and steelhead with them.
As a side note, Corey will be going by the name Ted, and Jessica by the name Fay.
The Ted Fay Fly Shop legacy will carry its rich history into the future. Spanning 75 years, it remains the oldest fly shop in California. Congratulations to Corey and Jessica, and best wishes to Bob on his well-earned semi-retirement.
Rick Cox is a retired guide who currently resides in Mount Shasta. Rick guided in Northern California for 30 years, mainly on the McCloud and Upper Sacramento rivers. Along with his home waters, Rick has fished from New Zealand to Patagonia and the entire western United States for steelhead and trout.
