By Bernard Yin

Guest Contributor

There is a certain subset of the fly-fishing community, hopefully a sizable one, who pay extra attention to the fascinating heritage of California’s native fishes. The California Heritage Trout Challenge, recognizes those who have sought out six of the 11 cutty and rainbow qualifiers within the state’s borders.

Analiza del Rosario on the East Fork San Gabriel River

You have to log your catch diligently with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to receive a well-earned acknowledgment in the form of a colorful, personalized certificate featuring the art of renowned fish illustrator, Joseph Tomelleri. Your certificate will show six full-color images representing the trout you caught, along with the dates and locations. It is sized to fit in a standard 16×20-inch matted frame. Ah, trout geekery at its finest.

Up until now, the submission process has been antiquated and required some effort. Recognizing this, the department recently updated its website to include an interface that allows for online submissions. What makes this all the more exciting is that here in So. Cal., there are actually waters that qualify. And rejoice, the challenge’s founder, Roger Bloom, spent years cutting his teeth in our trout waters, seeking out native fish and studying them for the CDFW. In other words, the challenge’s founder truly has local stream cred.

Here’s a hot-off-of-the-press statement from a Department of Fish and Wildlife representative per my inquiry:

“For Coastal Rainbow Trout any watershed that flows, or used to flow, into the ocean will count. All the rivers you mentioned and their tributaries (East Fork San Gabriel, West Fork San Gabriel, North Fork San Gabriel, Arroyo Seco) will count. Piru is another good spot. The next closest species for someone in Southern California would be the Kern Watershed. They can get Ca Golden Trout out of the South Fork Kern or Golden Trout Creek, Little Kern Golden Trout out of the Little Kern River, and the Kern River Rainbow Trout out of the mainstem Kern River.”

The idea of a road trip is also echoed by So. Cal.-based author James Pogue, who has completed the challenge four times.

“There is no way for a SoCal angler to get six (legal) species without making at least one trip up to the top of the state,” Pogue wrote in an email, “so combining the HTC with a trip to explore the North Coast or the high reaches of 395 is a necessity.”

But, he also noted, once up in the Jefferson area you can easily get a new species per day, every day, if it’s the right time of year and you plan well. 

What more encouragement does one need? All this lies a shopping cart’s throw from, well, the LA River – nudge nudge wink wink.

Should any of you reading this already have accomplished the challenge, please leave a comment. It would be great to know of which species was the most challenging or interesting to find; whatever you feel like sharing.

Tight lines and safe travels!

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Editor’s Note: The CDFW reports the Paiute region and the entire area, including the Paiute’s native range, is closed to fishing at this time into the foreseeable future.

Resources

An Overview: https://bit.ly/heritagetroutchallenge

The current list of waters statewide: https://bit.ly/wildandheritagetroutwaters

The Angler’s Guide (Truly informative): https://bit.ly/troutchallengeanglersguide

The new web-based form: https://bit.ly/heritagetroutchallengeapplicationandverificationform

Great interview with Roger Bloom by Guy Jeans: https://bit.ly/rogerbloominterview

Guest contributor – Bernard’s passion for fly fishing goes back over 40 years having started as a junior member of the Diablo Valley Fly Fishing Club and working in the legendary Creative Sports Fly Shop in Northern California. He has since guided in the Sierra Nevada, worked at the Fishermens Spot in Van Nuys, and managed social media for the Southwest Council Fly Fishers International. His “blue lining” exploits in the So Cal mountains are renown. Currently, Bernard and his wife Rebecca also serve as CalTrout’s “eyes on the ground” in Southern California. Both also serve as conservation co-chairs for the Southern Sierra Fly Fishers Club and a Patagonia Fly Fish Ambassador.  – and this is the short version folks.

@bernardyingram

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Joel Stewart

A Fly Rod in My Sea Bag

This is great! I was hoping to do a HTC trip before I retire and move out of CA. This is definitely moving that plan towards reality.

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Randy Skidgel

President, Southern Sierra Fly Fishers

Carole and I did this two years ago. The planning and research were epic as the

adventure. Dismal Creek will always remain one of our favorite spots. Amazing

adventure, everyone who fishes in California should do this. We are currently

getting prepared for Nevada Heritage Trout Challenge.