Question? Salt Water Fly Fishing in CA

[kbolland1]

first off.... does anyone fly fish in the ocean around southern california? ive never seen anyone do it before... second of all. what do the fish bite more, dry flies, or nymphs. and third. where do you fish? it would be kinda difficult to fly fish from a boat. but there isnt exactly any given place to fly fish around here... im curious. i want to start getting into fishing alot mroe, and i fly fish alot in the sierra's but i live like 8 hours away from them and only 20 min from the beach... so any help, any advice, or any constructive comments are welcomed.

[SIOthresher]

Saltwater Fly Fishing : Southern California : Beyond The Breakwater
http://www.sandiegoflyshop.com/

[BiggestT]

Originally Posted by kbolland1

first off.... does anyone fly fish in the ocean around southern california? ive never seen anyone do it before

Been doing it all summer. Have a pending IGFA record for a 5.8 lb Pacific Barracuda on 12# tippet using a Blue/White Mega Clouser. Biggest mako on fly gear is about 150 lbs. Tons of calicos and bonito caught this year on fly gear.

[QUOTE=kbolland1;1452528]... second of all. what do the fish bite more, dry flies, or nymphs. and third. where do you fish? it would be kinda difficult to fly fish from a boat. but there isnt exactly any given place to fly fish around here... im curious. i want to start getting into fishing alot mroe, and i fly fish alot in the sierra's but i live like 8 hours away from them and only 20 min from the beach... so any help, any advice, or any constructive comments are welcomed.[QUOTE=kbolland1;1452528]

Clousers, deceivers, streamers. Have seen calicos eat a pink squid dry fly in a wide open bite. No nymphs. Nymphing is like fucking fat chicks....don't do it.

On the salt I fish 100% from my boat. If you want to surf fish, you should visit Gary Bulla's site:

Gary Bulla's Message Boards - Powered by XMB

[Fin Fever]

I agree with Steve

I have been fishing from my sportfisher all summer.

I set up a chumbucket, and stand up on the gunwale to give me a little height over the water. I mostly use Clousers and decievers. Have had the most luck on Calicos, Mackerel, Bonito and Barracuda.

[Capt. G]

Originally Posted by kbolland1

first off.... does anyone fly fish in the ocean around southern california? ive never seen anyone do it before... second of all. what do the fish bite more, dry flies, or nymphs. and third. where do you fish? it would be kinda difficult to fly fish from a boat. but there isnt exactly any given place to fly fish around here... im curious. i want to start getting into fishing alot mroe, and i fly fish alot in the sierra's but i live like 8 hours away from them and only 20 min from the beach... so any help, any advice, or any constructive comments are welcomed.

Those in red are for freshwater applications (and are tied on different hooks)--of course they can be used, but so can an ugly fat chick (after nine beers).

If you are twenty min. from the beach, I suggest you try for barred perch, yellowfin croaker, and if you are skilled, corbina. Check out the site Steve recommended, and you can see the type of shrimp or sand crab imitations that are used in So Cal to catch fish in the surf.

[fallsfromboats]

I also fly fish in the mountains, but live nearer to the beach. I camp at the beach 2-3 weekends a year, so I thought surf fly fishing was worth a shot.

I learned you pretty much need to wade ankle to knee deep which really sucks if there are rocks pelting your ankles. It's much better on a straight sand beach. I bought a selection of flys online, mostly sand crabs, clousers and deceivers. In four outings I've yet to catch a fish, but I have a coworker who has caught plenty and vows to show me some tricks one day soon. I was already at the beach each time I tried and I had not intentionally picked beaches to fish rather I fished where I was camped. San Onofre, Point Magu, Doheney and Carpenteria. I also tried from the jetty, but had no luck there either. I have two rods set up specifically for this so I hope it will pay off sooner or later.

This summer I've done all my fishing in the Sierras, Colorado, and Wyoming. I caught a lot of trout. My salt outings have been fruitless surf fishing at Sunset Beach and yesterday at Catalina on a chartered boat where I caught 16 trout sized fish, no fish steaks or even tacos, but still lots of fun.

Originally Posted by kbolland1

first off.... does anyone fly fish in the ocean around southern california? ive never seen anyone do it before... second of all. what do the fish bite more, dry flies, or nymphs. and third. where do you fish? it would be kinda difficult to fly fish from a boat. but there isnt exactly any given place to fly fish around here... im curious. i want to start getting into fishing alot mroe, and i fly fish alot in the sierra's but i live like 8 hours away from them and only 20 min from the beach... so any help, any advice, or any constructive comments are welcomed.

[kbolland1]

thanks! that helps a bit. i might try it at some point, but ill probably have to buy new equipment to even start, so for the time being (and since im broke) i cant even afford to get a good saltwater set up. but ill definitely take some of those suggestions for future reference. :]

[NulodPBall]

Originally Posted by kbolland1

thanks! that helps a bit. i might try it at some point, but ill probably have to buy new equipment to even start, so for the time being (and since im broke) i cant even afford to get a good saltwater set up. but ill definitely take some of those suggestions for future reference. :]

===

If you have a 5 wt, you can fly fish the surf. A float tube in bays is even better if you only have a 5 wt, you don't have to cast.

If you fly fish the surf with a 5 wt, just realize that you're main enemy is the wind, and you WILL be throwing weighted flies at some point so lean your rod over to one side, and watch out for people stopping behind you to watch. You won't be able to cast as far as you want, but you can catch fish. My mistake was that I caught 3 Spotted back bay bass my first time fly fishing the surf with a 5 wt rod and a full sink line. It was all downhill from there.

I tend to target halibut so clousers are my friend. You don't need a big fluffy fly, a skinny, almost no-feather fly will work just as well. If you're ever in Costa Mesa, hit up Frank at His and Hers fly shop.

If I'm using a white fly, I occasionally catch croaker.

smaller flies will get perch. Research it.
Orange can be your friend. Orange will also catch bass.

If you're espcially lucky, or good, you will hook a corbina instead of watching them dart off when they almost hit your ankles.

You don't need an expensive reel...a cheap reel and a decent rod can land 20# Yellow Fin Tuna easy...I made a friend do it with a 9 wt, but he probably would've been happier with a 12 wt.

In the surf, I like a 9 or 10 wt rod, only because of the wind. If the wind wasn't there I could be catching most of my fish with a 5 wt, easy.

There are occasionally exceptions...I attached a pic of a halibut I caught from a float tube, working a weed line that was in easy reach of the beach. Don't float tube outside of the protected bays, and make sure you have a PFD just in case.