Well the party for my grandma is going to be in Los Angeles the same weekend as my birthday and I am planning on taking my fly rod with me.
My only question is there is any decent saltwater fly fishing near Santa Monica? Can anyone help me out. If it comes down to it, I will just walk the beach and cast a clouser or crab imitation out in to the surf. Thanks.
Paul
I would recommend you go to King Harbor in Redondo Beach, rent a skiff from Rocky Point Tackle (near Portifino Hotel.) You’ll have a blast with Bonito and Mackeral and ?. Fish near the bait barge. My favorite flies for King Harbor are deceivers and clousers size 2 to 2/0. Colors, blue / white, olive / white and brown / white. If there are barracuda in the area it’s best to have some bite tippet with you. I use Tyger.
You can use lighter tackle, especially for the mackeral, but I usually use an 8wt with a 250 grain sink tip. The Bonita are strong fighters and occasional large bonita, white sea bass or yellowtail will really test your tackle.
If you want to fish the surf, small clouser or crazy charlie type flies. Orange with a lot of flash seems to be the most productive.
Let me know when your going to be there, I spend a lot of time there and maybe I can show you around.
Joe
Joe,
Thanks for the information. I would love to rent a skiff but it is not in my budget and plus I am not that experienced with boats.
I guess I will have to tie up some more deceivers and clousers. I do not have any in those colors.
It looks like I will be there April 8 - 11 as of right now. I am not sure what day(s) I will be able to fish. I will know better until a week or so before I get there.
Paul
Joe, I had the good fortune to fish with Paul one day not long ago. He is a die-hard fisherman! If you guy’s get together you’ll have as much fun as he will.
Bill
Paul I’m pretty sure I will probably be in Redondo on those dates. Just let me know. Contact me by email and I will send you my phone number. I believe renting a skiff for a half day is $50.00. A skiff is just a big rowboat with an outboard. The Harbor is just like a lake. The bait barge is just a short run. I’m sure you have more than enough skills to handle it. If it works out for me we can split the cost and I will supply the flies. There are other possibilities. I may have access to a boat. There are also some good places to launch a kickboat, I might have two in that area then. At that time of year the halibut fishing should be good also along with the Calico bass. Chartreuse and white is also a good color. If you would like to tie up some flies, here’s a link to some popular local fly patterns:
[url=http://www.garybulla.com/flies.htm:af976]http://www.garybulla.com/flies.htm[/url:af976]
Joe
Bill,
Thanks for the compliment. My family and friends call me something else but I can not print it here. It goes something like bleeping insane. 
This time when I go out, I am going to bring a water proof camera. That one that I dropped when we went fishing was ruined. Dang, that was a nice fish. Oh well, I can still picture it in my mind.
Paul
Joe,
I did not know that the rentals were so cheap. That might be a possibility then. That Gremmie Fly looks like something I could use in Colorado. Thanks for the web site. There are some nice patterns on it. I will send you an email before I get out there and once I know what my schedule is going to be that weekend.
Paul
Paul
[url=http://www.fliesunlimited.com/:7a651]http://www.fliesunlimited.com/[/url:7a651]
[url=http://www.danblanton.com/bulletin.html:7a651]http://www.danblanton.com/bulletin.html[/url:7a651]
Paul,
Here are a couple more sites you might want to snoop.
At the Blanton site you may want to search out a guy, Jerrold Paul Shelton. I think he does a LOT of beach fishing in the area you seek.
Hope it helps some…
…lee s.
Try fliflicker .com
Paul, funny you should single out the Gremmie. That’s probably the most popular surf fly used around here. it’s one of Gary’s patterns. The surf perch love it. What would you be seeking with it in Colorado?
Joe
Thanks for the links. I will look at them when I get home from work tonight.
Joe,
I can see the Gremmie working for bass, pike, perch and even rainbows in a couple of the lakes and ponds I fish in. I will not know it works until I try. It is still a little cold to be fishing the lakes and ponds here yet.
Paul