Work is taking me to San Luis Obispo in Feb.

[hokiehunter07]

So I'll be in SLO for 3-4 weeks starting mid-Feb into early March. I understand there's opportunity for surf perch but it sounds like I may end up with 2-3 days off a week. I'll be staying in SLO so running to the beach should be easy, but on my days off I'd love get some real fishing in.

Was thinking about driving up to Yosemite, Kern, or Bishop and getting a day or two of fishing in on the weekends. Any preferences on places to stay? Bucket list fisheries? How's the fishing this time of year? I was planning on taking a 4wt, a 6wt, and an 8wt. Any decent fly shops or places of interest I should check when I'm out there?

If anyone out there would want to split a float trip that might be an option as well...

Any tips on fishing the surf? Everything I read seems to have you waist deep in crashing waves with a buddy wearing PFDs. Not likely gonna have all the gear for that...

I'm not much on the night life and although I realize SLO can be a great place to have fun, that's not in my plans. I always like to take a rod or three with me on business trips to make the time away from my family a little easier.

Thanks,
Hokie.

 

[darkshadow]

Any preferences on places to stay?

For Bishop, I've stayed at your usual Motel 6s, and haven't had any problems. If you're planning on hitting the Kern, any place near Kernville is good. I've also stayed at McNally's which is closer to the 'wild trout' section than Kernville, and the lodging is pretty good. With Yosemite? That's a bit harder, since the national park really only has camping and no real lodging. You can find lodging in the outskirts of the park, but the only town I've stayed in was Oakhurst.

Bucket list fisheries? How's the fishing this time of year? I was planning on taking a 4wt, a 6wt, and an 8wt. Any decent fly shops or places of interest I should check when I'm out there?

Take into consideration that the fishery in the Sierras opens on the last Saturday of April. I'd recommend checking regulations to see what is available i Yosemite. I know that in Bishop, the only fisheries that are open are the Owens and Hot Creek, both are highly recommended. The Owens has the "upper" section above Lake Crowley, and the "Lower" section below Pleasant Valley Reservoir. The "gorge" section is real fun, but access can be a bit tricky.

The Kern will also be open, and it can be split up into two sections: the '20 mile section' which is very accessible, and the 'wild trout' section which has special regulations. A trail parallels the wild trout section and you can fish up to about 4 miles of it, before the upper section becomes closed for the3 season. For all these areas, a 4 and a 5 weight will suffice. IMO, a 6 and 8 wt would be over kill, unless you're planning on doing some still water fishing near SLO, like Santa Margarita or Lopez, which I don't have too much information on regarding fly fishing, as I use casting gear to fish these places.

I know there are a handful of fly shops in Bishop. I like Sierra Trout Magnet myself.

In Kernville, you can visit Guy Jeans' shop, which is the only one in town. They usually have a good low down on how the Kern is fishing.

Any tips on fishing the surf? Everything I read seems to have you waist deep in crashing waves with a buddy wearing PFDs. Not likely gonna have all the gear for that...

I have not fished the surf, but there are various resources online that give you a good idea about how the surf fishing is. I hear the further north you get from Los Angeles, the better the surf fishing is. I hate sand in my gear and in my clothing. I've lived in LA all my life and have gone to the beach twice.

I'm not much on the night life and although I realize SLO can be a great place to have fun, that's not in my plans. I always like to take a rod or three with me on business trips to make the time away from my family a little easier.

Thanks,
Hokie.

SLO is a real chill town. Make sure to visit the Firestone Walker brewery. Have a great work trip!

 

[flyminded]

Can’t help you with the fishing but be sure to visit the Madonna Inn while you are there ...just about the strangest place I ever stayed in a good bad kind of way.

 

[mcnerney]

Hokie
For surf fishing, I'd take a run out to Avila Beach, you can fish off the pier and I believe you can access some of the rocky points in the area.
Pismo Beach also has a pier you can fish off. When I was in high school you could launch a dune buggy there at Pismo and drive about 10 miles south to a huge outcropping of rocks, that was my favorite place to surf fish, but they have closed the beach to vehicle traffic.
Morro Bay has a huge rock jetty that protects the boat harbor, you might take a run up there and see if there is a way to access the jetty to do some fishing.
Also take a run up highway one going north, there are lots of places there with rock outcroppings that would be ideal to fish from.

 

[yikes]

Most of the central coast rivers are closed near the beaches due to the endangered steelhead.

Yosemite - no, closed for the winter, but I think the Kings River below Pine flat is open year round.
Kern - check the fishing reports at Kern River Flyfishing. They say the upper Kern (20 mile plus wild trout) is fishing relatively slow due to cold water temps - -better in the afternoon. The lower Kern is a tailwater and is fishing well with a BWO hatch.
If I could choose any spot you mentioned, base on past history, I would say the Owens. Please check road conditions: the path across Yosemite is probably closed for the winter.
Go up to Paso Robles to Bakersfield, then east up through the lower Kern (Hwy 178) and fish it along the way, drop down to US 395, then go up to Bishop. That will be about 6 hours of drive time.

If you come back after April, there's a whole world of opportunities on the Western Sierra.

 

[tcorfey]

Freshwater ideas:
For trout:
You can fish the Merced River just outside the western Yosemite boundary.
(B) From the western boundary of Yosemite National Park at El Portal boundary downstream to Foresta bridge.
Season: All year. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used.
Some descent Brown Trout on that river. It is about 4.5 hours from SLO to Foresta.
Truckee River near Tahoe is fishing well about 6 hours drive plenty of places to stay.
About 4 hours puts you on Putah creek.
About 7 hours gets you to Upper Sacramento River in Dunsmuir.
About 6 hours for Bishop/Mammoth has been said for the Owens and Hot Creek but it is beautiful.
A possible chance at Steelhead?
About 4 hours gets you to Sacramento for the lower American.
About 5 hours gets you to Yuba for the lower Yuba river or the lower Feather river.

Lakes are open pretty much year round and there are some much closer to SLO check the regs.

General regulations:
Inland Sport Fishing

Special regulations waters (what is open what is not)
http://www.eregulations.com/california/fishing/freshwater/special-fishing-regulations/

 

[hokiehunter07]

Thanks guys. I'm excited to get out there.

 

[acorad]

Wow. You may not realize it but all of the above comments are spot-on intel.

The only thing I would add is that most of what the trout are eating at this time of year is sub-surface, mainly caddis larvae, etc.

Best,

Andy

 

[hokiehunter07]

Wow. You may not realize it but all of the above comments are spot-on intel.

The only thing I would add is that most of what the trout are eating at this time of year is sub-surface, mainly caddis larvae, etc.

Best,

Andy

It looks like gold! I just hope I'm going to be able to truly get away once out there. I could very easily see myself losing the supposed time off / long weekends but if I do get a 3-day weekend I'll make sure to put this knowledge to use. As far as the surf goes, how well does that work out if I'm not standing in the water? I'm not really in the mood to drown on a business trip with little ones depending on me back home...

 

[mcnerney]

Hokie

I'm with you there, that's why I was pointing out places you could fish without getting wet, that water is COLD!

 

[acorad]

It looks like gold! I just hope I'm going to be able to truly get away once out there. I could very easily see myself losing the supposed time off / long weekends but if I do get a 3-day weekend I'll make sure to put this knowledge to use. As far as the surf goes, how well does that work out if I'm not standing in the water? I'm not really in the mood to drown on a business trip with little ones depending on me back home...

I've never surf-fished in the SLO area, but I don't think the central coast surf there is anything remotely like what I've fished up in Monterey, where some flyfishers actually do wear PFDs. I do believe you can fish off the beach in SLO/central coast without getting much deeper than your shins, if that.

Standard waders are fine, maybe wear a windbreaker or something over the waders so water can't possibly dump into the waders.

Surf perch really are in the surf, so there's often no reason to cast out very far for them. They slide in and out with the waves, I've caught most of mine (which is not a lot) in 1 to 5 feet of depth, which are pretty easy depths to cast to.

Perch, and croakers, stripers, etc., all relate completely to structure. Walk the beach at low tide, reference the holes, troughs, etc., to something permanent like parking structures, trees, etc., and fish in the structure when it fills in.

If nothing else you'll master your double-haul!

Best,

Andy

 

[yikes]

Back in my college days there used to be a lot of fishing near the Morro Bay power plant. The warm water at the outlet attracted all kinds of creatures.
The plant has been shut down for a few year, but the fish are still around.

Ff you want a REALLY close encounter with sea life, try Souza Rock off Avila Beach:

 

[mcnerney]

Yikes: Wow, that was a close call!