I’m a newbie here, but can already tell that FAOL is doing a great service to the community.
My father introduced me to fly fishing this Summer when we went backpacking in Yosemite. I live in Southern California (near Disney Land) and was hopeing to gather some advice on good streams to fish in the area and possibly any local fly shops.
Thanks in advance,
Jonathan
Welcome Jonathan!
There are a number of fine shops in southern CA. If you’re near the Magic Kingdom, then [url=http://bobmarriotts.net/:92cdd]Bob Marriott’s[/url:92cdd] in Fullerton is probably closest to you.
Good Luck
http://sdfish.com/forums/dcboard.php
Try that site. Should be able to get some good information there.
Wow, I just checked their website out and not only are they close (<5 miles) but they appear to be quite large. Thanks so much for the tip.
I also peeked at the sdfish.com forum and it looks like there may be some usefull information there as well. From a quick glance however I did not see much about stream trout fishing which I would really like, but I will have to check it out in more detail later.
Thanks again for the help guys, I will post back with an update. If anyone else has some advice please pipe in.
Jonathan
Jonathan, I guess you can blame your dad for introducing you to this insanity. Now, get ready for the ride!
You should find whatever you need near home. Your dad may wish he never got you started!
Sent you a pm.
Some of the best Southern California fly fishing is in the ocean (surf, bays, inshore, bluewater) and in many of the lakes for bass, panfish, and during the winter, stocked trout.
The San Diego county area has some tiny, fragile, streams with wild trout that are very difficult to get to. You won’t find much info on those and people are tight lipped about them with good reason.
Closer to the greater Los Angeles area you will find a number of trout waters of varying quality within an hour or two drive, or less.
In the mountain areas near San Bernardino you will find Deep Creek, Bear Creek, and the Santa Ana River. There are some tiny streams on Mt San Jacinto including the San Jacinto River. San Antonio Creek is in the Mt. Baldy area and the San Gabrial River can be accessed off of Highway 39 north of Azusa. Piru Creek is in Ventura County North of Los Angeles and west of I-5. Sespe Creek, also in Ventura County, is near Santa Paula and Ojai. I have not fished any of these waters so I don’t have specific information, but it is not hard to come by. The book “Fly Fishing Southern California Lakes and Streams” by Richard Alden Bean is a great resource. They will most likely have this book at Bob Marriotts.
For most of my So. Cal fly fishing I stick to the saltwater and bass and panfish since there are so many close opportunities and head for the Sierra for trout. However a great many anglers take advantage of the opportunities that those streams provide.
You also may want to check out other ‘nearby’ fly shops such as “The Fisherman’s Spot” in Van Nuys, “His and Hers Fly Shop” in Costa Mesa, and the Orvis store in Pasadena.
Thanks again for the help guys. I went to Bob Marriots with my wife today and kind of regret it. Not the shop, but taking my wife. She liked it at first, but somewhere after 15min towards an hour her disposition changed from, “Wow thats neat” to “Honey, are you done yet?” to quite silence interposed with promising glares of what life would be like if I spent another 5 minutes talking about flex, rod weight, line weight, etc.
Anyways, thanks again for the heads up on the staff. Bud unfortunately has just retired as of last week, and had moved up to Montana. When I walked in one of the pro staff, Steve, greeted me and offered to help if I had any questions. I wanted to look around first and said so and after eventually finding my way over to the rods I got asked again by another staff member (Joe Libeu). He was very friendly and polite and asked how he could help. I let him know I was just getting into the sport and wanted to get my own set up. (I had declined my dads offer to borrow a set from him) And after he asked how much I was willing to spend on a rod I told him I thought $150 was a good starting point as I am still new and unsure what would be best or even if I might end up not liking the sport as much as I thought. After hearing how much I was wanting to spend this guys attitude changed on a dime. He suddenly remembered that he had to go and said “I have to go” pretty much to my face and then he found another staff member (Alejandro) to take care of me. I apologized rather loudly for “Not being the kind of customer he would have liked!” I suppose he heard that because he came back and made some excuses that he had called his wife 10 min. ago to tell her he was headed home. I frankly don’t believe he would have suddenly remembered that had I said I was looking to spend at least 4 to 5 hundred. :evil:
Thanks for letting me vent. All that being said, I did enjoy Steve and Alejandro and will take the Joe guy with a grain of salt. I was just very disappointed by getting that kind of customer service even though I had read about similar experiences in another section of this BBS
I ended up leaving with a number of catalogues and have resigned to do some more research before I purchase a set up. Oh, I will also leave the wife behind next time as well.
Thanks again for the helpful advice on fishing locations and stores. I will post again if I have any other update.
Jon,
I am sorry you felt that I left because you were only spending $150 for a rod. In truth, I didn’t handle this very well. I should of expained to you that I was suppose to leave at 4pm from Marriotts and that I would get someone to help you. As I expained to you, after your statment of “not being the kind of customer you would liked to have” my wife had called and reminded me that we were suppose to be on our was to visit a very close friend of 30yrs that is dieing from ALS. You told me you understood and that you were sorry you made that statement.
Jon, you do not know me and I don’t know you. Of all the people in the shop, I am one of the ones that would have help you the best had I had the time. I tried to pass you off to someone that would do the same. Perhaps, you should go to Google and enter my name and see what you get. You will see that I am very involved in the industry and well respected.
Again, I am sorry I offened you and look fwd to having another chance to help you. If you are ever in need of some helpin casting or have any question, please give me a call at 310-749-6771.
BTW, Steve was not working yesterday, I think you talked to Brant and Alex.
Regards,
Joe Libeu
Bob Marriotts, was a sponsor on FAOL for a few years, but alas, no more. We tried again this year to sign them up, but even though Bob thought it was a good idea, we just could not make the right connections through the inter offices. Huge store, grate folks, monsterous catalog. Sorry, but we did try to bring them to you. Sometimes we just plain fail. 
Jonathan:
Hello. Welcome to the insanity of the sport called fly fishing. Fly fishing is the most ego driven form of fishing I have ever been envolved with. But, also it is the incredible way to try to catch a fish. Most people who fly fish are very friendly, fine, caring people who are willing to help and share their knowlege of this wonderful sport. The small percentage of fly anglers who are dubed fly fishing snobs as you say should be taken with " a grain of salt."
Marriott’s is one of the best fly shops I have ever been in. They have a incredible amount of stock. The staff are very knowlegable and most are fine casters.I have always had good experiences there and find the staff to helpful and friendly. I have been going there when it was still called Dale’s Hackle and Tackle before it was bought my Bob Marriott. I have encountered much more attiude and poor customer service from fly shops in the Sierras and other states. I have been fly rodding for over 25 years and tie all my own flies and assemble all my own rods. I am by no means an expert and have much learn about the sport. If you have any questions or need any help I would be happy to help you as I am sure most of the other people who post on this board would. Good luck and enjoy the best form of fishing there is. If you don’t take it too seriously and remember it is just fishing and ment to fun you will do fine.
Lanny De Rose
Jonathan,
Gee, I hope you don’t feel I steered you in the wrong direction, or that one experience with one person at one shop made you feel any less inclined to pursue this interest.
Spending $150 on an entry-level rod is more than adequate and will give you numerous options. As you can see, Marriott’s catalogs many rods in your price range and should welcome your patronage and provide plenty of service after the sale.
Naturally I am sympathetic toward the saleperson’s pending loss of his close friend. That’s a truly difficult issue, and it may have contributed to his inability to assist you. I don’t argue or question his talent, skill or reputation as an angler either. However, I do think a little regard to basic customer service skills would have left you feeling better. Abandoning a customer for any reason is a CS no-no. You are wise to take this interaction with a grain of salt, and hopefully your next encounter will not result in someone trying “to pass you off to someone…”
Joe,
Perhaps I read to much into the whole thing. I think I entered the store with the same mentality most people enter a car salesman’s lot, and was prepared to be fed to the wolves. (As I mentioned I had just recently read http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=12649)
When you explained why you suddenly needed to take off, I did indeed apologize to you saying I understood. I did this in hopes that the other staff on hand would not take offense and treat me poorly as well. After haveing a day to cool down and also after reading your post I would like to publicly say I do accept your apologies and sincerely offer mine as well. We obviously started on the wrong foot and I look forward to meeting you again next time I am in the shop to make ammends face to face.
-Jonathan
Jon,
Thanks for the reply. I look forward to helping you any way I can. If you are interested, I am at the Long Beach Casting Club almost every tues. night about 6:30PM. I would enjoy chatting with you and if you would like, we can take a look at your casting. If I can help you in this area, I would like to do so.
Again, I am sorry I left you in the learch and look fwd to getting together with you. If you need to contact me via email, here it is. Fishlgf@ix.netcom.com
Thanks again,
Joe Libeu
Jonathan,
What you might consider is visiting, and then if you like it, is joining one of the local clubs. Near you is the Fly Fishers Club of Orange County that meets the 4th Thursday of the month at the Phoenix Club. It is a dinner meeting featuring a speaker on a particular fly fishing topic. In addition, they have clinics and outings. Their website is www.ffcoc.org. The other club nearby is the Long Beach Club which Joe Libeu referenced in a previous post. Hope this helps.
All good advice. Let me add this. If you want good, specific information on fishing in Southern California and the Sierras, visit this site and their forum:
http://www.kernriverflyfishing.com
Also let me know if you head up to the Kern, which is the closest good trout fishing to you, I’m often up there and we might be able to get together for some fishing.
Jonathan,
A good bit of FF’g in So Cal is in the surf. Try this site for local activities…
http://www.garybulla.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=6