I am in the process of planning a trip out to Northern California this summer and am seeking any info on what “not to miss” while we are out there. I’m looking at two weeks in July, starting in San Francisco, working north to Mendocino(maybe a bit father north) then eastward toward Sacramento, Tahoe, Yosemite, then west to Monterey/Carmel before ending back at Oakland to visit family before heading home. I’ll be with my 14 year old son, and renting a vehicle. I plan on sending some tackle ahead and need advice on what to bring. I would really like to try some west coast Striper fishing, then do some trout fishing inland. Is there any decent striper fishing that time of year, and would I need a guide to get out in a boat or are there flyfishing opportunities from shore then? I’ve read a little about flyfishing for rainbows near Mt. Shasta, and even though this isn’t strictly a fishing trip, we would like to hit a few choice spots along the way. The long stretch from Yosemite to Monterey screams for a fishing detour…is there anything along Rte 140, 59 or 152? Lastly, how about a shop near Oakland to get licenses, etc as soon as we get in. Thanks for any ideas in fleshing out the itinerary. The Fodor’s guide doesn’t have much on fishing. Thanks Again, Jim
Try posting your question on the nor cal fly board. [url=http://www.ncffb.org:90cda]www.ncffb.org[/url:90cda]
There isn’t much between Yosemite and Monterey, July is pretty hot in the valley. Someone will help you out on the nor cal board.
Bob
The best resource would probably be [url=http://www.theflyshop.com:06756]http://www.theflyshop.com[/url:06756]
The Sacramento,Trinity, Klamath, and Mc Cloud Rivers are all excellent and worth spending time on. The Smith River is also good for steelhead. The Flyshop is central to all and can set you up nicely.
Gary
Hey there BB,
The only thing for sure is that you’re gonna love this trip.I can’t help you with the fishing info but my wife and I did almost the same trip about 15 years ago. Flew into Seattle and drove to Santa Barbara along the coast where possible.One of the few times I was too busy to fish. You’re gonna overuse the word “wow” for sure. We visit friends in Carmel every year so I get to refresh my scenery fix often. BRING A CAMERA and have a great trip. [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/SanFran2005036.jpg:be329]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/SanFran2005036.jpg[/url:be329]
Mark
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/SanFran2005036.jpg[/url:be329]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/SanFran2005036.jpg%5B/url:be329%5D){kind=link}
[This message has been edited by Marco (edited 11 February 2006).]
Thanks for the replies, I’ll check out the links. Jim
I live in the Fresno area and consider the Lyell and Dana Fork my home waters in CA. If you have a chance to fish them by all means do it. If you do hit them save some time to eat at the Whoa Nellie Deli (the Mobil gas station) near Lee Vining ~~ check it out. The Kings River in Kings Canyon is nice but in July you may still have to fight run off and it can be fierce. If you need some information on where to go and how to get there drop me an email.
I’d like to recommend the Kiene fly shop website. A great resource for your travels thru Sacramento area (inc. striper fishing and summer steelies).
Do a little reading and post a question on their message board to find local info.
God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn
Here are a few places that you should hit (if in the area)…I’ll try to think of some more. Of course, email me if you have any questions, etc. (chris@goldcoastflies.com)
Near SF/Mendocino - not sure…but spend some time in the city…it’s worth it. Hit Chinatown and Alcatraz.
Over to Shasta, Sacramento/Yosemite, etc. - American river in Sac has rainbows in the summer, but it can be hot (also has steelhead and salmon in the winter, but it can be cold). There are MANY options north of Sac…some of my favorites are the Upper Sacramento (fish right across from Ted Fay’s flyshop in Dunsmuir), the Yuba (actually a little more east…but a great river).
Yosemite - Tuolomne Meadows. What a great hike at a great time of year.
Only 90 min from Sac (East) you can hit the Truckee (this is near Tahoe). It should be great in July…and don’t forget to try the Little Truckee for easier wading and a chance at some nice fish in a small river.
Over to Monterey/Carmel - not sure what route to take…the ones that you mentioned can be tedious and it’s hot in the summer. The Kern river (south of Fresno-ish…east of Bakersfield) is nice at that time of year. A nice freestone river that is gaining more steam. A short hike will get you away from the crowds and into wild fish.
Once you get to Monterey don’t worry about fishing. Make SURE to hit the aquarium…give yourself the better part of a day for this. Also - if you get a chance - rent some kayaks as tool around the bay. Incredible.
Again - email me with any more questions.
Have fun.
Chris
I caught my largest ever trout (a weighed and measured 29", 8.5 lb hen) on a float trip down the Lower Sacramento through Redding in mid August. Check with the guys at The Fly Shop in Redding for more options.
The Shasta area is a good five hour drive from San Francisco! CA is a long state when you’re moving north-south. If you only have two weeks out here, make sure you plan enough driving time for some of those long stretches.
And budget time for heavy afternoon traffic if you’re trying to get around in the Bay Area. That’ll add a couple hours to your commute if you don’t time it right.
Here in the Bay Area, one of the local papers has a pretty decent fishing report that covers pretty much the entire area you described. It comes out every Thursday in the sports section and you should be able to get the current report free online by finding the link to the current report on this page:
[url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/outdoors/:b69d0]http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/outdoors/[/url:b69d0]
Their report lists their sources too (another way to get a lead on a guide if you want one…or find a decent shop).
Around Mt. Shasta area, there are tons of very scenic places to fish. Fall River, Hat Creek, Pit River, Eagle Lake…the lodges in that area can arrange a guide for you if you need one.
Point your browser [url=http://www.fishsniffer.com/:b69d0]http://www.fishsniffer.com/[/url:b69d0] and see if anybody close to where you’ll be staying carries their latest issue. If not, drop me a snail mail address and I’ll send you a back issue.
it’ll be chock full of a zillion places around the state to fish, plus ads to find whatever kind of guide service or shop you might need.
Also, search the message forums around here for other folks that have asked similar questions. I’ve posted lots of details on this topic within the last couple of years…it’s probably still available.
From San Francisco, you can find charter boats and guides for everything from squid to sturgeon to stripers, bass, trout, and probably anything else you could want.
Lake Chabot, Del Valle, Los Vaqueros, Camanche, and a big variety of other locals still waters are stocked by Fish & Game plus have native species (like lake-bound stripers).
Some of those places have boats available for rent (Del Valle, Los Vaqueros, probably Chabot, Camanche, and some others).
You can find details on CA fishing regulations by checking the California Dept of Fish & Game’s web site:
Visitor fishing licenses are available (and required). Guides are required to check that their clients have a valid license (and record the license number of all clients).
While you’re at the Fish & Game site, take the time to download the PDF with the fishing regulations. Lots of commonly fished waters have their own custom rules on what’s allowed, when it’s allowed, etc.
Some places are barbless and artificials only, some allow catch & release only, some rivers have different rules for different portions…and we have New Zealand mud snails in at least the Putah Creek area (probably some others by now).
There are plenty of private waters around the state as well if you prefer.
Another good source of info on California fly fishing can be found by picking up a copy of:
[url=http://www.calflyfisher.com/:b69d0]http://www.calflyfisher.com/[/url:b69d0]
Local fly shops likely carry it or maybe you can email the publisher to see about snagging a back issue?
I don’t know any good places along the major roads from Yosemite to Monterey though there are some good places around Yosemite…
If you pass through Merced, I know a guide that’s put me on steel head out there (wrong time of year for you) and no doubt he can get you into whatever is in season.
There are some places around San Jose itself (and south of there along Hwy 101 which runs across your route from Yosemite to Monterey). Coyote Reservior, Anderson Reservior (both are long narrow canyons dammed to create a place to store melted snow all year). I don’t think either has boats to rent though…you should be able to shore fish if you want.
Uvas, and some other area waters hold fish (native and stocked)…depends on where you want to hit and where you’re staying as you bounce from place to place.
Uvas has a place to pitch a tent if you need but not all of the places mentioned have that. If you’re staying in hotels, that might change where you fish (some of the places to fish aren’t close to hotels).
Good luck.
Regarding licenses- we have kmart, walmart, Big5 Sporting Goods, Sportsmart, SportsChalet, including FF shops for you to get a license. Now if you fish the Sacramento Delta (striper opportunity) you’ll need an additional sticker.
Forgot to give you the link to Kiene’s Shop. [url=http://kiene.com/messageboard/:e8b64]http://kiene.com/messageboard/[/url:e8b64]
God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn
Backbeach, as one of the other guys mentioned, " theflyshop " is one of the most respected fly shops in Norcal and one of the most on the entire west coast and they can provide you with a lot of good info as to what where and when.
If you get up to the Redding area which is the jump off point to a lot of good fly fishing, and you want to fish with a guide I highly reccomend Kirk Portocarro
ahttp://www.sacriverguide.com/
my son and I fished with him last spring and had a wonderful trip with him, catching large bueatiful wild raindows on the upper Sacramento out of his drift boat, he also guides on the coastal rivers and lake Shasta for trout, steel head and salmon, depending on the time of year
I forgot to include another useful bit of info in last night’s long-winded post.
Here’s a link to an interactive CA fishing guide on the Dept of Fish & Game’s web site. It has lots of info on the entire state:
[url=http://maps.dfg.ca.gov/fgw/jsp/app.jsp:8e2ac]http://maps.dfg.ca.gov/fgw/jsp/app.jsp[/url:8e2ac]
If that link doesn’t work, go to the following page and scroll down…click where it says, “LINK TO GUIDE”:
[url=http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/html/FishingGuide/FishingGuide.html:8e2ac]http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/html/FishingGuide/FishingGuide.html[/url:8e2ac]
Tell the guide what kind of fish you’re looking for and where you want to fish…you can zoom in, move around, etc.
It’s actually kind of cool.
If you want to try stripers then go to the bulletin board at [url=http://www.danblanton.com/:532ee]http://www.danblanton.com/[/url:532ee] and ask for info on San Luis Reservoir. All of the landlocked striper world records have come out of this reservoir. Just fantastic striper fishing. Also look into the Delta for good stripers. The guys at Dan Blanton’s website are well versed in the area. Good Luck.
Oasis Springs is about an hour from Red Bluff. It is one of the Orvis endorsed lodges. It is truely paradise!
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/stuff067.jpg:a9787]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/stuff067.jpg[/url:a9787]
Hey there backbeach,
I too forgot a few things to my earlier post.Monterey Bay kayaking, that’s the aquarium in the background ( must see). My favorite view of " the bridge" from the Marin Highlands side. Guess who’s truck?? South of Carmel on hwy 1, you’ll stop and “WOW” too many times to count.
Enjoy the trip, fish if you have time.
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/stuff067.jpg[/url:a9787]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/mapko333/stuff067.jpg%5B/url:a9787%5D){kind=link}
Mark
Backbeach will need the time until he leaves to wade thru all of this excellent information. Ha! Good luck and have fun.
Thanks for all the info! I realize that we will have alot to see and alot of driving also. I have never been anywhere out west at all so this is all new to me. Around here, I’ve been known to fish like a maniac- including one 36 hour stint of surfcasting after working a full shift and driving 100 miles to the water… As appealing as that would be, I have to see alot of “real estate” while we are out there. I dont want to miss the Redwoods, or Yosemites Falls because I spent 4 hours determined to get a picky fish to bite… I’m hoping we can take a half day striper fishing; then hit a couple of trout streams along the way, to break up the driving and to get a taste of some nice California water. What I want to avoid is coming home and someone saying, “Oh man! you blew it- you drove right past the one place you should have stopped at, summer steelhead, Golden trout or whatever were absolutely peaking then!!!” If there is a must see, or just a nice detour- like that Tuolomne Meadows that we will evidently be near, I’d like to know of it. Our budget probably allows for a couple of half day trips with a guide, but I honestly prefer to fish ‘on my own’ when I can. I’m not into the high end private water/ranches and steep rod fee type thing. We are used to camping, and roughing it. Due to time constraints and probably the need for a boat or special local knowledge it probably makes sense to book a guide at least for the stripers. I cut my teeth on fishing with East Coast schoolies, it would be really cool, to catch a “Left Coast” striper, as well as some thing we don’t have around here- like a cutthroat or something. It’s not about trophy fishing, just getting out and having a reasonable chance to get tight along the way. Thanks Again for taking the time to reply, Jim
backbeach,
In July, you may be able to target some nice stripers in the American R. right in Sacramento. Bill Kiene <billkiene@kiene.com> of Kiene’s Fly shop [url=http://www.kiene.com/:2ee99]http://www.kiene.com/[/url:2ee99] in Sac would be THE one to call on that.
…lee s.
[This message has been edited by lee s (edited 14 February 2006).]
In your post you mentioned Hwy. 152 ~ You’ll be passing the O’Niel Forebay and San Luis Reservoir, which on their worst day, represent a more consistent Striper fishery than the American.
Even in the heat of July taking Stripers there shouldn’t present much of a challenge to an accomplished Striper angler. The O’Dark thirty and sunset bites can be quite good.
Best, Dave