By Blake Karhu

Greetings SoCal fly fishers.  Our good friend and messenger of the local streams, Jim Burns, has relocated to fishier waters up north and he asked if I would share an update with you all.

We have been dealt a late arrival to cool winter temps this year and our local trout are still active.  So, if you like solitude and the contrasting late fall colors of our natural landscapes, then this is your last chance to get out there before real winter sets in and trout fishing is largely on hold until spring. 

After some of the highest flows in years, flows are now low and the early fall extreme heat wave was stressful for fish and aquatic insect populations.  The trout are cautious and your A-game is required for the bigger fish (“bigger” = larger than 9 inches in in most local streams). 

The good news is that after years of drought and fires, most of our watersheds are largely bouncing back as they naturally do following good rain years, so there are a lot of young trout in the streams too.  

Not to say that the fires are not destructive, especially if they are too frequent, and the Bridge Fire on the East Fork San Gabriel represents a once in a generation reset of that watershed.  Fishing may be on hold there for two or more years as the trout population recovers.  

Nymping is generally the way to go this time of year but dry flies can still get them, especially during the warmest part of the day.  Also, be gentle when catching and releasing fish as they prepare to spawn and don’t fish for spawning fish–we need all the spawning success we can get as local streams are no longer stocked.  Barbless/pinched barb hooks, wet your hands before handling fish, and keeping fish in the water as much as possible is key. 

Some good catch and release etiquette from CDFW >>HERE.

Good luck and enjoy our local natural treasures! 

Timothy

14h ago

I was just out at the West Fork today, after not fishing it for about 6 years. I’m happy to report that there was the least amount of trash and graffiti I have seen, probably since the late 90s, when I first learned to fly fish up there. The water was low, though not the lowest I have ever seen. Many of my old spots were gone. For example, the straight that runs from the West mountainside under the first bridge to join up at Bear Creek. That entire section, probably 75 yards, used to be fabulous. Caught many fish there.

On the West side of the bridge, the water split in two for about 20 feet and came together again to create a deep and productive pool. Not there anymore. I saw another young guy fly fishing there and he claimed he caught something, but I didn’t see any fish or any rises. It was ok enough for me to return soon.

I live in Riverside County now, so its about an hour drive for me. I have to compare that to the drive to Bishop and the Owens, which is three hours and much better fishing. I sincerely hope the river continues to recover and we see a return to the glory days, which to me ended with the drought in SoCal in the late aughts.