Archive for September 2017

A Welcome Adventure: Forgotten Trout Stream in the Los Angeles Mountains

10:22:00 AM Add Comment


Have been fascinated by this particular creek for years, researching it to no end, but had not fished it-until now. I'll let the photos and video do the talking. 

Unexplored Streams in the San Bernardino Mountains?

9:13:00 PM Add Comment
Discovering new trout streams in local mountains is my passion. I spend hours pouring over old stocking records, topographic maps, satellite imagery (Thanks, Google), outdated fishing reports, and more in my search for wild trout, both in the San Gabriels and the San Bernardino mountain ranges. I don't keep these fish - rather it's the thrill of hiking to a hidden stream and discovering wild trout that offers all the satisfaction that I need to make an epic fishing trip. I rarely share these creeks, mostly due to the devastation hordes of people have done on more well-know watersheds, like the San Gabriel River and Lytle Creek. 


However, there are several creeks that I can't seem to find any information on, let alone get to access. Some of these might end up being a trip in the far future, but some appear almost completely unrealistic to ever explore. Thus, I'm posting about these in hopes anyone who has information would be willing to let me know what these lone spots are like.

Banning Canyon
San Gorgonio River
Millard Canyon and East Millard Canyon
Wood Canyon

All of these watersheds appear difficult to access, primarily due to a lack of public roads. The first, Banning Canyon, is enormous, but really lacks all info about it online. What's back there? How can one access it? I'm all ears. 

The others, especially Millard Canyon, have access roads that go through the Morongo Reservation. It sounds like they do not offer public access to this national forest area, which is unfortunate, 

A couple of reports from others, predominately hikers, have been posted, and shed a little light on the tough situation to get back there:
http://www.summitpost.org/kitching-peak/764739

The USDA Forest Service also lists several trails that access Millard Canyon in the San Bernardino National Forest, including a Bear Wallow Camp, Deer Springs Trail, Kitchen Peak Trail , but state "access trailed closed".
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5402321.pdf


Interestingly, the only mentions as of late about Millard Canyon are related to the Nestle Bottled Water controversy during the drought:
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2014/07/12/nestle-arrowhead-tapping-water/12589267/

Other, more disturbing mentions of Millard Canyon have also been posted:
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/23/news/mn-6391

I'd love to learn more about these canyons and creeks. Feel free to post here, or contact me at Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingTheRiverKing/
Or, email me: 

Lake Arrowhead: Fishing Trip and Report

8:41:00 AM Add Comment
Got invited to fish the famous Lake Arrowhead - a private lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. It's deep (up to 180ft), crystal clear, and has a variety of gamefish (trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, sunfish, and reportedly even kokanee).




Fishing was not easy - I'm not used to fish steep dropoffs right at the shore! Still managed to tie into a smallmouth bass. Had a bunch of little largemouth follow all my lures around, one ended up getting foul hooked, all safely released. Fished spybaits, dropshots, crankbaits, jigs, soft plastics.

Newport Bay: Spotted Bass Fishing Trip!

7:52:00 PM 1 Comment

Fishing in local bays and harbors for saltwater bass is always fun. This time of the year, the water is warm enough for float tubing without a wetsuit on, and the fish are eager to bite. Throwing an array of soft plastics lures, I typically tie into both calico and spotted bass. Lately, I've been fishing Newport Harbor, both from the shore and from my float tube alot. The float tube is simply perfect for navigating the shallow water structure that I prefer to target, and it's easy to fit into my vehicle as well.


Video of trip
Filmed in 4K

This particular trip, I was throwing a softplastic, red paddletail worm. Picked it up for just a couple of bucks here (Aliexpress), and matched it with a jighead. Pretty decent action in the water, and the 16" spotted bass that chomped on it thought so too!

Hawkeye Firefly 8S Action Camera Review: Smooth Gyro + 4K

9:42:00 AM 1 Comment


Hawkeye first released their Firefly 7S last year, and I was fairly impressed with it. At a very low price point, it offered premium features including a gyro and high-quality images. However, it didn't offer true 4K footage.
Fast forward to September 2017 and Hawkeye's newest model, the Firefly 8S (http://bit.ly/2x684Ix), has arrived, with true 4K footage at 30fps. Gearbest hooked me up with a review sample of this new action camera, and I'm happy to report it did a great job in a variety of environments. Read on after the jump for my take on the new 8S model. 


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