Wild Rainbow Trout in Los Angeles, California

Southern California's wild rainbow trout represent the remnants of a species slowly vanishing from the region. Some may be distantly related to the endangered California steelhead that still roam the ocean, seeking to return to coastal rivers and streams. Others are the descendants of rainbow trout stocked during the early days of pioneer settlements in the region, bringing life and vigor to cold mountain streams previously uninhabited by sportfish.

The drought has not treated these fish kindly, yet in remote creeks a few still survive. On a recent journey after the welcome rainstorms, I journeyed to one such location, and was pleased to find these finned, glistening trophies. All were safely released back into their pools, after a quick photo or video. You may recall the Trout Box post I wrote about several years ago, and it made a re-appearance on this trip, offering a safe location for photographs with less handling. 

I've read that the drought, which has affected around 90% of California, continues to recede, now dropping to around 50%. These numbers are encouraging but show just how dry the state is. Here's to hoping and praying for more precipitation to keep these streams and their rainbow treasures alive!

Happy New Year.

Tiny Creek Redband Trout San Bernardino

 Locating a tiny creek through online research and discussion with other fishermen, then hiking in and actually fishing it sucessfully is truly rewarding. Such was the case for one of my recent fishing trips in the San Bernardino National Forest.

 Armed with my ultralite fishing gear, I located this miniscule watershed and proceeded to catch many healthy Redband-strain rainbow trout in less than an hour. All fish were quickly released back into their mountain stream environment, colorful patterns and all.

The creek has been through a lot, with natural disasters and manmade problems really hurting the fish population. Still, some fish still exist here, as evidenced in the video I took of the trip:



California Stream Fishing: Brown Trout

Flows were low but still consistent on this wild stream deep in the Southern California mountains.

We landed several beautiful brown trout from crystal-clear pools

  

Fishing the San Gabriel River in Azusa Canyon

Went hiking and exploring the San Gabriel River for new spots. The weather was a little chilly, by California standards, but the clear skies made up for the cold. We found plenty of interesting water, including deep pools and bends, but no fish. Perhaps in the coming months these spots will be worth returning to. Still, it wasn't a bad trip, as the fantastic scenery is a testament to! Check the video below as well for a better idea of the variety of locations we scouted.

SoCal Trout Fishing Photo Box

Fishing for wild rainbow trout in the many mountain streams of Southern California has become one of my favorite pastimes. 

While I love hunting largemouth bass and other warmwater species, wild trout in crystal clear, ice-cold streams are a treat to catch like no other.

Recently, I took a new approach to photographing these fragile wild fish. 

Keeping them out of water too long for a picture unduly stresses them, making it difficult to get a nice shot. Instead, I brought along a small "trout box", a clear plastic container, filled with (on occasion) stream water, to allow the trout to calm down and get a nice photo.
(Click below for more photos after the jump)

Angeles Waterfall Rainbows

Went hiking in the San Gabriels, Angeles National Forest. Came across a fantastic waterfall with a deep pool at its base. The rest of the creek wasn't great for fishing, but this pool produced two tough, chunky rainbows, around the 12-14'' range. First was caught on a soft plastic worm/jighead, the second on a Yo-Zuri Snap Bean imitation lure. Both released to be caught another day.