Russian River & Steelhead Park, Sonoma County / Forestville, California

My goal for 2012 is to fly fish at least one day each month. Of course, I will fish far more that 12 times, but the goal is to at least fish one day in each of the 12 months.

So, for February’s fly fishing day I fished the Russian River for Steelhead at Steelhead Regional Park in Forestville, California. This is a wonderful river to fish with a great deal of easy access that can easily be fly fished from shore or waders. This is a great location and a world class river right in the middle of Sonoma County wine country. There are several great places along the river in the area to fish, but with limited time I chose the highly reputed Steelhead Park.
The weather was typical early spring type in CA… 60 degrees and sunny. Fly fished for about 3 hours with various pink & orange streamers, articulated steelhead flies and an occasional double bunny. I saw only one float go down river, no waders and about 5-6 guys fishing with jigs and floats. I saw 3 fugly fish slowly swimming down river, even smacked one of them on the back without disturbing his oblivious travels. All three were certainly past their due dates. I could tell I had missed the run and read reports that fishing was better either several miles up river or closer to Bodega Bay. Being there for business I didn’t have a lot of flexibility, so this was as good as it was going to get. No fish caught today, but the good news is that it is quite easy to cheer up at any one of the 500+ wineries within a 10 mile radius or the Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa & the Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma. Highly recommended to all.

FYI: Do you like chowder? Try Spud Point Crab Company in Bodega Bay. It is without a doubt the best I have ever had anywhere on either coast. Well worth the 30 minute drive after fishing.

EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Today, I had much better success testing out the new Sharkskin Steelhead Fly Line. Check out the review on the EARTHangler fly fishing gear & equipment page.

GPS:38.496627,-122.899354
Address: 9000 River Rd, Forestville, CA 95436, USA
Time: Sunday, January 1, 2012, 12:45-2:30pm
Weather: 58-60 F
Water: 45 F, low, clear
Access: Great
Rig: Steelhead flies
Notes: This is a GREAT place to fish, the park has ample parking, BIG boat launch, picnic tables & nice public bathrooms

Fly Fishing for Bass at Lake Cachuma – Santa Ynez, California

As planned we took the trip from Monterey to Santa Barbara, California April 2-8 & went fly fishing at Lake Cachuma in the Santa Ynez Valley, just up in the hills from Santa Barbara. I brought my Orvis TLS Power Matrix 906-4, a fine four piece rod that travels well in airports. I also brought the Orvis Battenkill Large Arbor with a sink-tip fly line and an assorted collection of streamers, zonkers, & wet & dry flies since I had no idea what to expect.

It’s early in the year and the weather is often unpredictable in the hills of Central California wine country. This time, it was overcast & about 60°+. We rented a motor boat and set out across the lake to Cachuma Bay. The water level is 180% of normal, so water is deep & had a ton of foliage, trees, rocks, etc. just under the surface.

Once I had the boy’s gear in the water & the boat calmly drifting through a small inlet, I quickly tied up a big Grey/White Double Bunny.
BAM. Two casts and I landed the first small mouth bass in the boat…fun. I had never caught bass on a fly, but this was looking easy. A couple more casts and another one. Another small mouth about 2lbs…nice fish. He was smart enough to jump off right at the boat.
Then… disaster hits. Long story short…I put down my fly rod & help my son’s line from getting caught in the prop. Just as I manage to save his line mine gets tangled in the prop. I kill the motor, too late. My $70 line is toast and so is my Double Bunny.
Note to self: Take your own gear out of the water first.
We concentrated on his fishing for a hour more and called it a day. Expensive & short, but still a good day on the water.

-gone fly fishing,
EARTHangler

Central California Coast – San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, California

Get the rods out… We are taking a week long trip from Monterrey, CA down to Santa Barbara, California April 2-8.
Do you know a good place to fly fish? It looks like many of the rivers and streams don’t open until April 30th, according to California Fishing Regulations
What are your suggestions for fishing in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties in early April?

I am hoping to trout fish but just don’t know where to go.
I’ll take my son to Lake Cachuma to fish where I used to fish with Grandpa and my Uncle.
Has anyone got much experience fly fishing Cachuma from the shore? What areas of the resevoir are the best? Sadly, we’ll be leaving the day before the Annual Trout Derby. We will plan better next time.

-gone fly fishing,
EARTHangler