Local Trout - Always Fun

 

Took most of a recent day off and fished a local creek. Early fall colors (California-style), hungry (somewhat limited) wild rainbow trout, caught on dry and wet flys. A great day!

Recovering Trout Stream in Southern California

I'm still here!

Fall trout fishing in the local Inland Empire mountains of California can be amazing - provided it was a relatively wet year. This last winter/spring kept snow up on the mountains up until late July (thought I saw some on San G in beginning of August?) and the creeks are all running nicely.

I spent an afternoon on an old, reliable favorite creek. It's never produced any monsters for me, even in the pre-drought days, but at times could be a consistently-fun blueline stream to explore. It's become even more enjoyable as I've switched to fly fishing for these small wild rainbow denizens. 

However, it really suffered in the drought and the last time I fished it, I caught only a few tiny rainbows. I was eager to see today how things might have changed, and I wasn't dissapointed.

The stream was running along, water flowing at a steady pace with plenty of pools to explore. The amount of water seemed great for this dry period of the year. 

Even though it's fairly late in the season, I still came across patches of not-yet ripened blackberries, and a few patches of good ripe ones. 

Did I mention there was blackberries? Some stretches had basically walls of blackberry growth, not easily bushwacked through. I've not noticed this very often in other local creeks, felt a bit like a trip to Washington in some ways. 

My first cast was rewarded with solid strike, but a missed fish. Not a bad way to start out the day. Shortly thereafter, I landed a chunky little rainbow. Great colors!

I continued walking upstream, pausing to explore interesting pools along the trail. Someone had cleared much of the brush near the start of the trail, and I found a heavy lead sinker on the ground, but fortunately the fishing was still excellent. I proceeded to get strikes in most pools, split evenly between my dry stimulator pattern and wet nymph/dropper. 

This overhanging tree root had enormous rocks wedged into it. Looked like years of past erosion had really worn away at it.

Came across this pool nearby. Great place to practice bow-and-arrow casting underneath the overhanging logs. In fact, I ended up using this casting strategy for a majority of the spots. Worked here, with a nice rainbow as my reward.

The fish were consistent, most around 6-8". Nothing wild but a welcome change from last year's micros. They are growing up and appeared well fed. Plenty of forage in the creek too. 

Fall leaves were all starting to come out. Crisp day, perfect for fishing. 

In one pool, I had enough room to get a backcast in. First attempt was perfect, dropped it right at the far side of the pool. Water was deeper than it looks in the photo, but not so deep that I couldn't see anything in the shade. As my flys drifted back, a large shadow came out and slurped up the dry. I set the hook, was rewarded with a very strong pull, big splash, and then...slack line. Sigh. Better luck next time. 14" my guess, very big fish for this little creek. 

Fishing slowed down a bit as I hiked further upstream. Funny seeing these little cacti amidst the more coldwater riparian habitat within this canyon. 

Still a few flowers blooming along the stream. Very tranquil, very peaceful. 

This pool marked the furthest I've hiked back before. Fortunately, I still had a couple of hours, so I pushed on. But not before one more cast...

...and the result.

The next 45 minutes or so were spent fishing a number of pools. One stretch of creek was rather limited on fish, but beyond it lay mutliple pools with hungry trout. Lots of missed strikes, but I still landed fish. Same fly setup all day. Simple and rewarding.

The remains of old cabins dot the canyon. Also came across these. Somewhat interesting, paint still on this cooking range. 

And..alas...my last pool of the day, twin mini waterfalls and all. Missed the first few fish and almost wrote it off, but waited a while and made a last cast. Hookup!

It was finally time to go. 

Looking forward to another year of hopefully good wild trout fishing!

Another Los Angeles Trout Stream

This stream always skunks me.

Not today. 

Keeping these SoCal rainbow trout well fed. 

A favorite SoCal Trout Stream - Revisited

I'm back! Changing responsibilities have altered my fishing adventures but I'm still out on the water.

Went back to a favorite local wild trout stream in the local San Gabriels. Fly fishing and conventional fishing for a few hours after a rugged hike.

As I have explored the world of fly fishing, I am also getting to re-learn an old hobby - entomology. Identifying insects that serve as valuable forage for local wild trout is part of the fun.

These small beetles were plentiful along the stream. Feeling smart, I tied on a similar pattern as the "dry" on a "dry/dropper" rig, only to see the fast-moving stream whip it as an unfishable pace. Oh well, it was a good thought.

Managed to land this beautiful wild rainbow trout:

Also encountered this large rattlesnake along the streambed. Grateful that I had snake gaiters on, but it was too close for comfort!

California's received much-needed rain. Now the fishing cycle should start again. 

Best Ultralite Budget Trout Fishing Setup

I'm often asked about my setup for micro trout fishing in tiny streams in California. Since most of these trips require a long hike in and stealth to ensure dozens of hikers don't know I'm on my way to fish (thus protecting hidden streams), I utilize collapsible rods exclusively. These usually cost an arm and a leg, but they don't have to! Check out this list of the best ultralite trout fishing budget gear (conventional)

Reel:

1. Shimano Sienna 500: https://amzn.to/2CeuKIi

This is my primary reel for micro trout fishing. It has an amazing drag, allowing me to handle fish much larger than expected on very light line. The retrieve speed is a little off for fast streams, but overall works well.

2. Goture Spinning Fishing Reel Metal Spool Coil 6BB : https://bit.ly/2QNfshW

This is one of my travel spinning reel for lightweight trout fishing. It's very compact, thanks to the folding reel handle, and drag works well. Get the 500 series if you can find it, otherwise the 1000 series should work. It's super affordable, doesn't hurt to have a few of these.

Rod:

1. Carbon M Power Lure 3.5g Portable Telescopic Fishing Rod. https://bit.ly/2IWqJJV

This is one of the better telescopic travel fishing rods on Aliexpress. Cork handle, sensitive rod, very portable. Just be careful with the tip, either have a few rod guide tips to repair it with, or transport it in a carrier, because they won't stand up to alot of luggage abuse. I use the 1.6m version or the 1.8m version. 

2. Eagle Claw Telescopic Travel Fishing Rod: https://amzn.to/2CeuoS8

I have the prior model of telescopic fishing rod from Eagle Claw, featuring a different color (silver/black). It's basically impossible to find at this time, and this yellow model, which has good reviews but I have not used, it the replacement. My older version has stood up to an enormous amount of abuse and it's in many of my videos.

Lures:

1. Berkely Trout Worms: https://amzn.to/2CeJJBZ

Throw these on a barbless hook with a small split shot, and you'll catch 90% of the fish you run into. They'll only hit it a couple of times before getting smart, so don't miss that first bite. Ensure your hooks are barbless - you don't want to be killing these fish inadvertently when catch and release fishing.

Line:
1. P-Line Fluro: https://amzn.to/2CbffRz
2-4lb Monofilament or fluoro is my choice. P-line has worked well for me.

Fishing Grimes Creek in Idaho - Trip Report

This last week I travel to Boise, Idaho. I only had a couple of days to explore the many surrounding rivers and streams in the area, but I was incredibly excited to check out new water in a entirely different state. 

Unfortunately, I was almost rained out. However, by the second day the weather cleared, and I drove up to Grimes Creek. This creek is approximately 45 minutes outside of Boise, and looked like the perfect body of water for a small creek trout fan.

Initially cloudy and crisp, the day quickly warmed up, with fall colors greeting me at every turn. 

From my research, Grimes supposedly holds a variety of trout species, plus whitefish.

I have been warned before going to the creek of the waters might be a little too low to fish. Apparently, the best fishing is earlier in the summer, and during the fall the fish seem to travel elsewhere. Perhaps downstream to Moores Creek? Regardless I hit the creek hard, fly fishing with light gear, and a hopper dropper setup. 

As the sun slowly came out, the fish started smacking hopper pattern flys. They were quite small - the largest was probably 6", but it was still a blast to see them. I only landed a couple of these, all wild rainbow trout, no other species to be seen, and quickly released them.

The water levels were definitely low, but the creek wasn't unfishable. It was roughly the size of the East Fork of the San Gabriel in early summer, with a fair number of pools and runs to sample (just minus the trash and graffiti so common here in California).

I enjoyed fishing Grimes Creek. Surrounded by the beauty of fall, casting on an empty stream, was perfect. Hopefully I'll get to explore it again, this time when larger fish are present. 

Hat tip to Reddit user GH and to QuixoticAngler for info on this creek