Flyfishing San Fransisco Area

Hello fellow flyanglers.....

I am a 38 year old flyfisherman from Sweden that is visiting friends in san Fransisco between 19 Dec and 24 Jan. They are citypeople and cant help me so im trying here.

I would like to get in contact with someone that can give a few tips regarding where and how to go about to find some nice spots to wet a fly. What's biting during winterseason, locations, rodweight , flies etc etc...the more info the happier im gonna be....

I have access to a car and I can handle a few hour drive easily just help me wet a fly...... would be fun to catch my first "whatever" in America ;o)

Best Regards

// Vance from Stockholm , Sweden

Hello Vance from Sweden, I don't want you to go without a reply here but my best advice would be to get in your car and drive straight to Dunsmuir, CA and find the Ted Fay Fly shop and Bob Grace will take really good care of you. A 5 or 6 wt rod with floating line and 5/6x leader/tippet will be all you need to bring besides license and wading gear...wading staff...though Bob has all of that in stock in his fly shop plus the best flys for the region.

Take the central offramp and turn left, go about .75 miles and on the righthand side of Dunsmuir Av, you'll see the Ted Fay Fly Shop. Dunsmuir is a really small town so you won't have any trouble even if you go the wrong way. The Upper Sacramento River is open year round and you are in for a big surprise. Good luck if you go Vance !

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

Montanamoose.... thank you very much for the info.... the #4 is definetly coming with now.. ;o)
Very appreciated.......

Tight Lines.....

// Sneak

The Upper Sacramento around Dunsmuir can be good, but take your cold-weather gear for Dec-Jan-Feb. Another bet, closer to SF would be Putah Creek around Vacaville/Winters for trout, the Lower Yuba out of Marysville for 'bows and Steelhead, as well as the American River in Sacramento for Steelhead and Salmon. All of these are open at some time or another.

www.dfg.ca.gov can give you the regulations and open seasons. Kiene's Fly Shop www.kiene.com or American Fly Shop www.americanfly.com in Sacramento can steer you in the right direction.

Also, don't forget any of the coastal streams north of SF that have runs of Steelies after fresh rains.

Check SF area fly shops for the most current info on these areas.

Take 5-6wt for putah, and 8+ weights for steelhead.
hope this helps

maodiver

You're welcome Vance, you'll enjoy the Dunsmuir area, oh and by the way, it was mild there today and about 64 degrees.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

Good day sir... and welcome to the "Left Coast" - but don't let the handle fool you. California is truly a Republican state if you look at the true #'s.

The Dunsmuir area is great, that's no foolin'; but look to the Trinity River west-nor-west of Redding. Interstate 5 north, at Redding turn left (west) on 299; keep a sharp eye at about 45 miles. Look for Trinity Dam Blvd off 299. Turn right (north) to the Lewiston area cut-off. Check for directions via MapQuest.com and watch out for the nutzo drivers on that old, paved logging road.

Fish the fly-only waters if they are open (check the regulations). 250' below the Lewiston Dam to One-Lane Bridge is the fly-only water; One-Lane Bridge is a ""one-lane bridge"". If not open, the section below One-Lane Bridge downstream to Douglas City, to the Klamath River is a very, very good bet. It can be tough to fish from the road but look for Steel Bridge, Rooster Tail, Cemetary Hole areas (in reverse order). These are popular when the crowds hit but the Browns range in the 12 pound class and are not un-common if you are patient, stealthy and creative.

But truly look at the reg. book. A fine location for the Steelhead, Jack and King Salmon if they are running. Be prepared however, watch the water levels. They regulate the water flow to accomodate the dishwashers and air conditioners during the weekends so the middle-to-end of the week is more stable and substantially more productive.

If open, fish from the Hathery downstream to Two-Lane Bridge (1000 or so feet above One-Lane). Find the shallows and walk to the holes. Start in the middle of the river where you can, and fish the deep banks hard and long-line it. Keep your body l o w as they do get a fair amount of fihing pressure.

The Regulators have tried to kill-off the German Brown Trout a number of times because they are "not native" (duh), but to little avail. They've killed the entire upper length twice that I am aware of over the last (20+) years; thought they'd plant just Kings (I think) but the Browns are "to die for" and keep coming back as big as your leg. They have to be big to compete with the Salmon! But then, so do the Rainbows, and "shakers" of 15" and greater can be had quite readily.

8-1/2' or so, 5-7 wt., shooting/rocket taper or similar. Keep a sinking-tip line handy for the deep holes depending on the water flows. My best bet was to lose anything that floats and stay on the bottom. Dry's and terrestrials are Ok and certainly good for the sole but require work. Begin early; walk the river downstream to as far as you are able just to become familiar with the waters, then fish your way back upstream. The early morning 'til noon and the early evening 'til sunset.

If you need specifics, anything brown or black, 8-18 in size, weighted. Split-shot sucks, so if you tie your own, weight them. Weight them twice! And the buggier the better. Some of my best flies fuzzy attractors and were reduced to steel, threds and very little else and continued to work jus' fine.

My "Nooner" fly is merely a (weighted) #6 with some surgical rubber along the shank and a black hackel for the head. It's called the Nooner for good reason, but it works well during the very early evenings as well.

If closed, from Lewiston follow Goose Ranch Road & you'll see parking for the Cemetary and w/a short walk you'll find Cemetary Hole. Look for Browns Mountain and Steel Brige Roads as well. Big, big fish.

But please, everyone who reads this... catch and release these bee-u-tee-ful brood-stock.

Stop in and visit the Trinity Fly Shop (off Goose Ranch, before Steel Bridge I believe) and they'll fix you up with all the tools and info you'll ever need.

Catch-and-release, catch-and-release, catch-and-release!

I hope this info doesn't come back to haunt me some day. The Trinity is/was a favorite haunt for over three decades. Watch for snakes that both slither and walk. It was never difficult to find Pot farms on the Upper Trinity, above the lakes - keep your eyes open and carry no fire-arms. The 'native' browns are abundant there as well.

cougar_bait
ps. you owe me on this one folks

One final note... 3/4 all your casts. Dead up-stream and strip it back to ya'. Feel is everything here!!! Parallel the bank and the tree falls. No romance, no dinin' and dancin'... just product!