Hi everyone! i’m going to be leaving for the US tomorrow morning from singapore… i will be visiting California (monterey, San Francisco and paolo alto), Seattle and Vancover… i would like to do some fishing possibly saltwater and freshwater, but am happy to settle for either. please can anyone point me in the right direction for some fishing, and some fly fishing stores. i’ve never been to the California, or seattle for fishing so all help is greatly appreciated!
many thanks,
Ren
FWP,
The closest freshwater fishing is about 2.5 hours north east of San Francisco known as Putah Creek. Weekends tend to be crowded. If you have access to a boat then an hour’s drive from SF are San Luis Reservior or O’Neil Forebay. SLR can be dangerous when the wind picks up. The waves generated are huge. Some of the east bay parks have small man-made lakes that have fishing for stocked trout and bass.
The best salt fishing south of San Francisco is between Half Moon Bay and Davenport (just north of San Cruz) and then again just south of Santa Cruz to Watsonville. Most places just require you to park and walk down to the beach. There are a number of reserves in the area so watch for them. Places like Ano Nuevo and Elkhorn Slough to name two. About halfway between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz is the lighthouse where good fishing can be had at the breakwater which is on the south side of the lighhouse.
I am not familar with saltwater fishing north of SF, but the scenery is spectacular.
if you are driving from SF to Seattle, definately stop above Lake Shasta on the Upper Sacramento River. Good views, great fish. If you have extra time, head east of Redding a couple of hours to the Pit River below lake Britton (watch your step, wading can be challenging here) and Lower Hat Creek. They are not to be missed. Check www.kiene.com or www.flyshop.com for reports/guides/etc.
Maodiver and Tyronefly,
thank you very much for the heads up! i shall do my best to try the spots, i will be flying up from SFO to seattle, so i doubt i’ll be able to try Shasta… is there an internet listing of all the fly shops in california or seattle? i’m about to look around the house for a map and then try and pin point where the shops are.
regards
Ren
Go to the websites for the big gear manufacturers such as Sage, Orvis, Scott, Winston, Abel, Tibor, Ross Reels, G. Loomis, etc and look for there Dealer Locator Pages. Usually can find shops listed by state.
Here is a list of some greater San Francisco Bay area shops. This list is not comprehensive: The actual city where the shop is located is given after the shop name.
Fish First! - in Albany (adjacent to Berkeley) www.fishfirst.com
Western Sport Shop - San Rafael and Santa Rosa www.westernsportshop.com
California Fly Shop - San Carlos www.californiaflyshop.com
Leland Flyfishing Outfitters - San Francisco www.flyfishingoutfitters.com
Orvis - San Jose - www.orvis.com
Orvis - San Francisco - www.orvis.com
Creative Sports Fly Shop - Pleasanton - www.creativeflyshop.com
www.kiene.com - Sacramento
www.americanflyfishers.com - Sacramento
http://www.flyfishingspecialties.com/website/contact.htm - Sacramento Area and Los Gatos (Bay Area)
www.flyshop.com - Redding, Ca
Just FYI, Shasta is a LONG drive from San Francisco. The Truckee and other Tahoe streams are a little closer.
www.renoflyshop.com - Reno, NV
www.tahoeflyfishing.com - South Lake Tahoe, CA
Flyfishing Specialties in Los Gatos is closing their doors at the end of June. In the Monterey/Carmel area there is Central Coast Fly Fishing Shop http://www.centralcoastflyfishing.com/
I almost forgot. The Northern California Fly Fishing Board is a great resource for fly fishing in Northern California. http://www.ncffb.org
the midge fly shop in los altos
FWP, check out www.fishsniffer.com for California local fishing news. Jim
For Seattle and surrounding area fly shops;
http://www.pugetsoundflyco.com/
http://www.allaboutthefly.com/
http://www.redsflyshop.com/
http://www.pacificflyfishers.com/
http://www.patricksflyshop.com/
For a local forum try; http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/
Sadly, the midge fly shop is no more. Here is an article from the Los Altos Town Crier. http://www.losaltosonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16623&Itemid=123
truly sad news. i shopped there every summer/fall when i come to the bay area.
Dear all, thank you for the replies! i greatly appreciate the help. i’m currently in Monterey and will visit some of the shops in the next few days! thank you again for all the directions and help!