[Cabinetman]

Hi all.

I'm a rank newbie to this forum so please be kind!

My wife (who is my flyfishing partner) and I will be traveling to San Diego from Connecticut for a week of touring the Southern part of California. We'll end up flying home from San Francisco after driving that whole area, South to North. We're just going to explore the area inbetween those two cities. I was wondering if any of you who might be familiar with this area would be able to suggest a few places where we might be able to wet our lines for a day or at least 1/2 day as we spend the week driving and touring around. If there is an Orvis guide in that area, we'd be interested in that too. We find that guides work really well when you don't have a lot of time to investigate good fishing areas.

We've fly fished from the North Woods of Maine (Libby Camps) to the South Western part of Alaska on an Inuit reservation for wild Salmon. We've also fished Montana and Wyoming a bit and I had a great few days in South Eastern PA this past fall. We'd love to be able to stop and spend some time in Southern California if there are any good areas to explore.

Any suggestions will be welcome. Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions you might have.

Rome
aka Cabinetman

[JBinUTAH]

Welcome to the forum. I am a native of San Diego and have fished the area extensively. But never with a fly. Started that after I moved to Utah a dozen years ago. Not familiar at all with guides for the area. What your options will be I am sure depends on the time of year you go. Lots of saltwater action, and some good largemouth bass in fresh water. Trout fishing is not very good there. But the Sierras have some great areas for that just a little north. Now if you plan a trip to Yellowstone or to Utah, let me know. Enjoy the forum. Some great people here and I am sure someone will chime in and can give you some better direction for So Cal. Good luck!

[Salmo Nella]

Cabinetman....
That is a lot of state to cover in a week, or a month, or a lifetime for that matter.
When are you coming?
Are you staying along the coast or are you also headed inland near the Sierra Nevada Mountains?
If you have a list of cities you are planning on visiting I can get an idea from that.
Do you have a preference for what type of fishing you do? River, stream, lake, trout, bass, panfish, carp?

I am sure that there is plenty of opportunities for some type of guided trip here depending on your timing and preferences.

Feel free to Instant Message me also if you would prefer that to the open forum.

Dave (aka salmo nella)

[Cabinetman]

Hi fellas.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I was expecting the forum to notify me of any replies but I've probably got it set up incorrectly. I'll examine my setting later.

We'll be arriving in San Diego on the 13th of May and leaving San Francisco on the 19th. I know it's not a lot of time but what we want to do is just get a "taste" of the West Coast and we're going to drive the 500 miles to SFO during the week. We'll just do about 100 miles a day, stopping here and there. We're really not interested in sitting in once place for very long. We'll probably drive up Rodeo drive just to gawk but will be on Route 1 ASAP. Once there, we'll stop at some of the little towns but try to stay on that route as long as possible. We'll grab hotels on the way although we do have two nights booked for San Diego when we arrive, just in case we decide to explore a little.

I was hoping to find some fly fishing along the way. I've done some research and found that there are some streams along side of the road that we might take advantage of. But, If I could locate a local guide for at least a 1/2 day I'd be a happy boy. I figure that during the week there aren't make takers.

Thanks for the info you've provided. I'm up for any suggestions. I know that there is a lot of area that we'll just be driving by that would be interesting to see but understand that we'd really just like to see the countryside for the most part.

BTW, the last time I was in LAX was when I was 5. I've got a photo of me standing right next to Walt Disney himself at the park when it just opened! My family stayed in the area while we prepared for our move to Hawaii for a couple of years right after that. I'll bet things have changed a bit since then!!LOL

Rome

[Salmo Nella]

Originally Posted by Cabinetman

But, If I could locate a local guide for at least a 1/2 day I'd be a happy boy. LOLRome

I am not sure what sort of experience you are looking for nor what sort of cash you want to spend.
If you are looking for a very nice experience for a place to stay and fish, try this link. It is beautiful, private and should be lovely in May.
http://www.alisal.com/lake.asp#fishing
It is about 2 miles off of Hwy 1 near the town of Solvang (which you probably will want to visit anyway. They have an Orvis approved guide and fly shop.
I will keep looking and let you know what else I find.