By Tim Seyfert

When asked about the inspiration behind his store’s name, David Beronio, owner of Midge Fly Shop on State Street, Los Altos, said, “A midge is a little fly. A dinky little fly for a dinky little store.”

But beneath its cozy proportions — and the owner’s modest depiction — the fly fishing retailer has become a Los Altos landmark. Opened on March 1, 1983, the store celebrated its 20th anniversary Monday, making it one of the longest standing businesses in the downtown area.

Though no formal festivities were observed, Beronio, 56, will throw a neighborhood barbecue at the end of April, coinciding with the beginning of trout season, to commemorate his shop’s milestone.

“It’s always nice to have a successful business,” he said. “But the real reward is being able to do what you love for a living.”

Despite having been a fisherman his whole life, the San Francisco native wasn’t quick to mix work with pleasure. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, his fishing took a back seat to a hectic career in the corporate world. Only after nearly a decade of discontent did the then 36-year-old decide to back up and start again — permanently ditching his briefcase for a tackle box.

“I realized that life is too short to waste time. I decided to give my passion a try, and that’s where the store came from,” he said. “It became a way to make myself happy and make other (fishing enthusiasts) happy too.”

These days, Midge Fly Shop sees customers from as far as Europe and Japan — amazingly, without the help of a Web site, or even advertising. Shunning what any sane entrepreneur would view as standard marketing, Beronio relies primarily on word of mouth from his loyal clientele to help keep his poles and tackle equipment flying off the shelves.

Of course, Beronio isn’t all business. When he’s not in the store getting others outfitted to hook ‘em in, he’s usually casting a line off somewhere in North America during one of his frequent fishing retreats. His current favorites include Alaska and British Columbia.

“I’m not greedy. Everything’s just how I like it,” he said. “People might not trade paychecks with me, but I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing. Twenty years is easy when you’re having fun.”