California So Far
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.
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