Month: February 2018

Fish Fan Shots

LA River carp catch, three years in the making
Analiza
HOW STOKED do you get when you waited three years for that first carp? About this stoked! (courtesy @fishshootbrew)

By Analiza del Rosario

Guest Contributor

I’ve been fishing the LA River for more than three years with no luck, so I certainly had no expectations to catch one this time.
I only had two hours to fish and I was a bit distracted since I had to prepare for a meeting.
I got on the phone with my office while continuing to cast when I suddenly felt a tug and I screamed!

Since I had just lost one prior to hooking this one, I made sure I set the hook properly. I continued to scream while Celine @fishshootbrew started walking up with her big Rhino net, ready to assist.  I was shocked to eventually land on, with so much excitement, I fell backwards!

Analiza1
HEY, WHO you lookin’ at? (Courtesy @fishshootbrew)
I had so much emotions going through me, but In the end, the best part of catching my very first carp was not landing the fish, but the adventure that got me out to the river, even for just a few hours! It was the best experience!
I was at the The Fisherman’s Spot the day before to buy flies and leaders, so they were all rooting for me.
Although, Celine also gave me flies she tied. I’m not sure if the one I bought from the Spot or one the Celine made caught my fly because they both gave me the same exact one.  All in all, I lost five flies, lost two fish and landed this small one.
Hubert Crawford commented on LA River carp catch, three years in the making
My buddy AnaLiza! She’s super cool!! H. Carl Crawford >
Equipment

One of life’s rites of passage: the broken fly rod
SLAMMED CAR DOORS are a particular enemy of the fly rod. (Jim Burns)

Modern life is full of rites of passage: first date, getting your driver’s license, graduation from high school, maybe college, and later, a first pay check, the one where you find out that gross pay and take-home pay are two radically different numbers.

If you love fly fishing, add to that list buying your first fly rod and – on the down side – experiencing your first broken section.

I feel at least somewhat lucky that my first broken rod just happened after years of fishing. True, my son lost his tip top way back when in Juneau, Alaska, which tried to teach me the lesson I still don’t follow: pack a spare tip top.

But losing a tip top, the very top ring on your rod, and breaking your rod all together are two different miseries.

Most premium companies will repair your rod no questions asked for a processing fee, one of the reasons big-name rods cost so much. You’re actually paying for that replacement rod as part of the cost. And, it turns out, that can actually be a lot of rods during the season. Field and Stream reported one manufacturer saw 500 returned rods per week!

So, how do you protect your rod against getting broken? Here are a few tips:

— Don’t pack your rod in your car unless it’s broken down and away from the door. That’s how I messed up, by keeping my rod strung and whole.
— Don’t pull that carp out of the river horizontally, putting all the pressure on the tip top. Instead point the tip of the rod at the fish and reel it in.
— Use your rod tube when driving to your destination. It’s made to protect your expensive purchase.
— Don’t put your rod on your truck or car’s roof. You might forget it’s there after a long day of fishing and – scrunch, it’s under the tires before you know what happened.
— Always carry a spare.

ondafly

13 hoursflies, sand & surf

And watch out for ceiling fans in tropical climates! Lol

My first time fly fishing, the guide told me to always put my fly rod on the windshield of my car making sure the handle of the fly rod was underneath the windshield wipers. That way, he said, you won’t slam the tip in the car door, forget it on the roof and run over it or forget it leaning up against the picnic bench. I know it sounds crazy, but so far I haven’t lost a rod or broken a tip . . . . I’m keeping my fingers crossed 🙂

Now I’ll see how long it takes Sage to get me my replacement.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Political action

Urgent Help for Southern Steelhead Needed

SteelheadBy Rosi Dagit

Guest Contributor

Dear Friends of Steelhead,

We have two important opportunities to help the recovery of steelhead in Southern California coming up FAST! We lost another one last week to starvation, and the impacts of the drought have continued. These fish need desperate help NOW!

Chris York
Irippchainsaws@yahoo.com
174.214.9.225		 Restoration of damaged habitats for our struggling native species is as important as anything. Look at the amazing job that was done at the Carmel River Restoration Project. Thank you, Chris

DUE FRIDAY BY 5 p.m.!!!! Rindge Dam Removal

Below I am forwarding an email from Jamie King of State Parks who is hoping that we can provide comments to the Coastal Commission on the upcoming review of the Rindge Dam Removal Project.  Please take a look at the plan if you have not already, and take a moment to send in your thoughts.  Support for this will be super helpful!

 

Bob Blankenship
bob@hremcleanup.com
96.39.238.88		 What Rosi says, goes! I’m commenting on behalf of the South Coast Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and you should comment too

 

Thea Boyanowsky
boya@me.com
66.133.193.34		 Hi, thanks for all your hard work. My concern is that all this habitat restoration will ideally occur but the rising temperatures in SoCal might mean that the water will be too warm to sustain the steelhead? Just a thought. Wondering about what maximum water temps are for those beautiful fish.

Meeting on Tuesday 6 February 6-8 p.m.

On another front, I am attaching the media release sent out by State Parks regarding on going visitor services at Topanga Lagoon.

We have an opportunity on Tuesday, Feb. 6, to share our thoughts about the restoration of Topanga Lagoon. State Parks is holding a public meeting at the Santa Monica Civic Center to get input on concessions. The RCDSMM has worked for years with State Parks to obtain funds needed for the next steps of lagoon restoration, and these funds could be available soon.

The RCDSMM supports prioritizing lagoon restoration as envisioned by the Topanga State Park General Plan (2012). Any concessions/leases located in the proposed footprint of the lagoon restoration should be conditioned so that restoration planning and implementation can begin within 5 years.

Please take a look at the General Plan (found at parks.ca.gov) and either come to the meeting to speak, or send an email with your thoughts about the priority of lagoon restoration and how visitor services can supplement that vision in the General Plan to Angeles District Superintendent Craig Sap at craig.sap@parks.ca.gov and/or Suzanne Good at sgood@parks.ca.gov.

Thanks so much for your help in responding to these fast moving requests for input. Your voice is important!

Please feel free to spread the word! For the fish, Rosi

Hello Friends of the Rindge Dam Removal Project,

 Our project goes in front of the California Coastal Commission on 2/7 for a CCC Consistency Determination. As we had hoped, the Locally Preferred Plan (CA State Park preferred plan) is the option that has been selected by the USACE and California State Parks and was supported by the vast majority of public commenters.

We invite you to show your support for the project either by sending comments in to the CCC Commissioners by 5 pm this Friday, AND/OR attending in person.

The Commission Meeting is 2/7 in Cambria. We are item W11b on the agenda. The meeting is located at 2905 Burton Drive Cambria, CA 93428. The link to requesting ex-parte communication is here: https://www.coastal.ca.gov/roster.html

 To provide written comments: go to this link, and click the submit comment button under to item 11b,

CD-0006-17 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles Co.): https://www.coastal.ca.gov/meetings/agenda/#/2018/2

 Edits to the FEIR/EIS and responses to comments are ongoing and we are looking to wrap that up in the next two months, and have the document sent up the state and federal chains for review and approval.

 With thanks for all your support during this project, Jamie

 Jamie King, Environmental Scientist

California State Parks, Angeles District

1925 Las Virgenes Road

Calabasas CA 91302