Fly-Fishing Southern California

I just found out I'll be travelling to sunny Southern California this weekend (from Virginia), and staying for maybe 6 weeks, working on the troubled Nuke plant down there. I'll be staying in San Jaun Capistrano or San Clemente.

Do any members know any good public places to fly-fish in the area between Camp Pendleton and L.A.? My time off will be limited, so I don't want to go too far, but I might consider going up into the San Gabriel Mountains if I hear it's worth the drive. I also would prefer to stay away from the L.A. traffic nightmare. Other hotspots that I know of that aren't too far away are Lake Elsinore and the Pacific Ocean.

Here at home I prefer small streams for warm-water fish like bass and sunfish, but I'm willing to cross-train. For example, ponds in public parks, mountain trout streams, the surf, etc., are all interesting places to try if I hear good reports.

Chris

There's some great beach to fish right at San Onofre/San Clemente. Look up fliflicker.com for some great info on flies, techniques and a good message board. I fished it on vacation several times with my 6 wt and had a blast. There's some inland lakes about an hour away where you can rent a boat for a reasonable rate (40 a day) and fish for stocked rainbows and warmwater species.

Charlie

There is some great surf fly fishing in that area. Like bluefish said check out fliflicker. You will need a shooting head on a running line for your 6wt or 8wt and a stripping basket to store your line in. Also check out Gary Bulla's site http://www.garybulla.com for information. There is some small steam fishing in the San Gabriel moutains and Piru Creek up by Pyramid Lake but trout fishing is limited unless you travel up to the eastern Sierras.

Beaver

As already mentioned, there is great beach fishing all along the So Cal coast, including public beaches right near the plant.
Most of the So Cal lake fishing will be bass and panfish at this time of the year since the water gets too warm for trout. Also, in most of the lakes that do still get trout will find the trout deep. One exception is Lake Cuyamaca in the mountains east of San Diego. It gets trout year round and is shallow. At about 4000ft altitude the water stays cool enough most of the summer.

Note that catch and release for trout is not allowed in most So Cal lakes while it is ok for other species. At Cuyamaca, all fish must be caught as this is necessary in this fishery.

There are a number of lakes in San Diego county that aren’t too far away from San Onofre. Lake Hodges southeast of Escondido has been great for bass, bluegill, and crappie lately as has Lake Sutherland outside of Ramona. Most of the lakes operated by the city of San Diego are only open three days a week. Hodges and Sutherland, though in north San Diego County are part of the city lake system. Information on the San Diego City Lakes can found here:
www.sandiego.gov/water/recreation/

Another north San Diego county lake of note is Lake Dixon, just north of Escondido. A potential world record largemouth bass was caught there a few years ago but it was foul hooked so it didn’t count. Info on Dixon Lake can be found here:
www.escondido.org/dixon-lake.aspx

Farther north and inland are Lakes Skinner, Parris , Elsinore, Hemet and Diamond Valley. Google will find you information on those lakes. I haven’t fished those as I have so much to choose from in San Diego County.

All of the local lakes have daily permit fees in addition to CA license requirements. Most of the lakes fish better from on the water, whether in a tube, kayak, or boat.

Small trout are available in some “local” mountains. These include the forks of the San Gabriel, Sespe Creek and Piru Creek. You will have to drive though high traffic areas to reach these waters.

Irvine Lake is a private lake near Irvine that is stocked with huge triploid trout. It also has bluegill, crappie, bass, and catfish. I think the current access fee is $22 but I believe you don't need a CA license. Its not known as a flyfishing destination and it can get crowded but some people to flyfish there. You can look it up at www.irvinelake.net

Also in the San Bernardino and Big Bear areas are Bear Creek and Deep Creek. The better areas require a lot of walking and sometimes some bushwhacking. Same for San Jacinto creek in San Jacinto state park.

Best consistent trout fishing is a few hours north to the Kern River drainage or up the Eastern Sierra between Lone Pine and Bridgeport.

Another option is to book a guide for some saltwater fishing on San Diego Bay our out on the Ocean. There are a number of guides working out of San Diego as well Orange County and Long Beach areas. Mako Shark trips out of San Diego are very popular. Bowman Bluewater Outfitters is the premier flyfishing for shark service in So Cal.

Nearest Fly Shop to San Clemente/San Onofre is His and Her’s Fly Fishing in Costa Mesa. Next nearest would be Bob Marriotts in Fullerton, then Bluewater Tackle/San Diego Fly shop in Solana Beach and Temecula, followed by Stroud Tackle and So Cal Fly Fishing Outfitters in San Diego.

Thanks for the responses everyone. You've been a big help.

I thought I'd give an update on my experiences so far in California.

First, a run-down of the creeks I've been to. The East Fork of the San Gabriel on Memorial Day weekend was so crowded, I had to park a mile from the trailhead and walk along the road past hundreds of cars, many of which were illegally parked. Fortunately, none of them seemed to belong to fishermen, just people looking for some time away from L.A. After hiking an additional ~2 miles along the stream, I gave up on getting away from the crowds and tried to make the most of the stream. The water was a little cloudy, so I didn't see many fish, but several small rainbows did manage to become my first few trout on a fly rod. Overall, I would say this stream has only small fish, but they are pretty aggressive.

Some time later I went to the West Fork of the San Gabriel. This creek has a paved bike path along it, so there is lots of traffic, but not as many people in the water. I did see a dad with his two kids pulling 6" trout out on a kid's rod with worms and putting the trout in a cage. Not a good sign considering this stream is catch and release only. There were lots of trout, mostly small, and very spooky, but with patience they could be caught.

I made another trip to the San Bernadino Mountains and fished Deep Creek near the end of Lake Arrowhead. This is a much more remote location, but still surprisingly crowded with people. The water by this time of the summer was exceptionally clear and the fish were very spooky. The size seemed slightly better than on either fork of the San Gabriel, but with the combination of overhanging vegetation and clear water, fish in the bigger pools were virtually uncatchable. Any time I got close enough to cast, all the fish in the pool headed the other way and clammed up. The fish would also run away if the fly line hit the water, so most casts had to have the fly line land behind on obstacle, or on shore. I focused on smaller pools and places I could hide behind a tree or other obstruction and managed a few rainbows. Most were 8" or less. This was my favorite location, but a long drive (>2 hours) from southern Orange County.

I also made a trip to Trabuco Creek, but did not fish. It turns out this little trickle is stocked in the cooler months. The fish are put into little man-made pools that are accessible along a rough gravel road in the Cleaveland NF. People line up after stocking with their spinning rods and garden worms to take home some dinner. It's a chance to catch some larger fish, but if you don't get there first, all that's left are the wary ones.

Overall, my first few experiences with trout, compared to the sunfish and bass that I'm used to, is that they are extremely shy in clear water, that they are not as picky regarding fly type as I had been led to believe, and that surprisingly large numbers of them can be present in small streams. They also appear to fight much harder than bluegills, despite what warmwater fisherman say, and trout will wear themselves out to the point of exhaustion. Getting hooks out of the small fish was not easy because they wouldn't stop flopping in my hand. Then when released, several took a few seconds to regain enough strength to swim away on their own.

Although I have not fished any lakes, I did take my family to Lake Perris. The water was surprisingly cold on a hot June day, and I did not see any fish in the clear water near the swimming beach. The numerous pleasure boats ensured constant wave action.

I have also tried a few times in the salt water, including on the beach, along several jetties, and in the Dana Point Harbor. I've seen plenty of small to medium sized fish in the harbor of different species, and large schools of baitfish, but so far have not been able to hook anything.

I have been to two local fly shops. His-n-Hers in Costa Mesa is a charming little place with friendly service. Bob Marriott's in Fullerton is a bigger store with lots of stuff and a busy staff. They were also very helpful to me.

Thanks for the report, waskeyc, and I mean that........
but it saddens me

Waskeyc, If you have the time go to the south fork Santa Ana River by Barton Flats and the Santa Ana River from south fork to Seven Oaks. Also in that area is Jenks Lake and Bear Creek.

Another place you could check out is Lake Gregory in Crestline. They rent boats and there are some nice trout stocked there.
I haven't been there in a few years but will go when the weather cools some. Your report of where you've been is why I mostly fish the Eastern Sierras. Anyway welcome to my world. Jim
PS: Now that school is starting the crowds will slow down.