Lago Fig- A new FF-Only Private Near Santa Barbara

[Greg Madrigal]

Lago Fig, Los Olivos, Ca.

I had the best two days of fishing I can remember in a while!

I joined two of my fellow Orange County FF Club members this past Thur/Fri. to fish the private ranch still water
known as Lago Fig. Named after Figueroa Mt. which is the backdrop of this beautiful little lake.
The small lake is snuggled in amongst the gnarled-oak-dotted rolling green hills above Los Olivos.

The fishery was recently opened up to the public for fly fishing C&R ONLY. The plants were made in November of
last year after the previous year's fish died off over the summer. It sounds like there are plans to add a windmill
and 5 aeration bubblers. I spoke with the Ranch owner, Fred, who asked my opinion about offering camping.
I said, heck yea, but you need to add a porta potty or two. There is one picnic table, no bathroom, and a
beautiful setting waiting for you at Lago Fig.

I left the OC at 3:50 am Thursday. John & Andy left Walnut, Ca. at 4am.
When I contacted them after reaching the 405/101 interchange, they were 2 exits behind me!
Considering we started at opposite ends of thr LA basin, that's pretty good. We met in Santa Barbara for B-fast, and headed up to Los Olivos to meet Rick, the Lake Manager. Rick is a nice guy and a fly fisherman too. He has known Fred all his life and is the reason behind this opportunity.

Rick led the caravan of 3 cars (There were 2 others from the Santa Clarita FF Club) up to the ranch about 4 miles
into the hills above the town. We passed thru a gate I recognized from my research on Google Earth. It was 8:30 am, and we were greeted by a covey of California quail feeding below a lone, old, gnarled oak tree situated near the entrance. They ran away from us and alighted on a nearby fence.

It was a short jaunt up to the lake from there. We were slowed by a pair of Jennies(mules) crossing the one lane dirt road.

The lake was glass as we drove across the narrow earthen dam face. A submerged oak tree protruded from the middle of the lake near the dam.



Upon returning to the car at the end of the day, the aforementioned Jenny and her rogue band of 15 horses will have screwed with my wife's A3, biting at the rear bumper hatchback, and roof rack. The damage was made worse by the fact that we just had the bumper recently painted due to scratches. The offending equine scraped his teeth across the paint in 4 areas removing paint in 4 parallel scratches. If you see these horses nearby, consider yourself warned!

Great views form the dam.





Fishing was better than the "wildlife." We fished until 5pm. I had the hot stick and had 13 or so fish the first day. Top fish was prolly 4lbs.



My buddies had a bit tougher time but managed 6 and 2 fish respectively. Day two was quite a bit slower. Maybe due to the really nice 78 degree sunny weather.




The fish are tuned into midges as small as a 26. We fished a #16, and they were whacking it. I fished a duel rig the whole time and caught only 1 fish on the upper fly. I pumped the stomach of one to see. Here is what they were eating. The largest midges were something around 18. Note two have hatched right there on the tray.






This place is a birder's paradise. I saw Northern Harriers, Bald Eagle, quail, woodpeckers (2 types), great blue heron, American Kestrels(sparrow hawk) galore, Black Pheobes, coots, mallards, unidentified ducks, Red Tailed Hawks. There were plenty of ground squirrels and gophers to keep em all fed!

I loved how the shadow of this oak just melted into the tree itself. Just gorgeous country up there.

More fish pics...

This is a closeup of the trout in one of my Curly Maple & Walnut nets.


My nemesis on the far side...









As A bonus, I spent the next two days up in Twin Peaks with my spouse, and another couple. We walked around Lake a local lake and I saw some koi carp hanging with the locals.
Since My wife kindly drove home with her friend, and I had my gear...

I hooked one of the huge 24+" koi using my buddy Jeremy's carp killer fly.

He spun lazy circles until he realized he was hooked, and simply freight trained it towards the middle of the lake. The fly pulled. A few minutes later, I hooked a regular carp. This one gave me a helluva fight. After several minutes, I asked a couple of passers-by to help me by handing me my net which I left on a boulder on the other side of some small trees. They obliged and one offered to net it. As I worked to get the fish into her, she perched atop a boulder excited to be netting my fish. As the fish surfaced in front of her, she literally dropped the net on the bank, ran off, and said, "You're on your own!"
I was like WTH?! LOL!

Anyways, I caught it, and the wind chased me off the lake. I think she ran about 8-9lbs. An eagle flew overhead while I was fishing. Pretty cool to see them local.


Views coming down the mtn.



All in all, a great few days of fishing with some great company! And John Williams......Nice fish. :P

[ityperx]

I'm loving every sec. of this report. The way you captured the environment, the settings, and the storytelling is exceptional. Beautiful lake with a breathtaking view. Love the part about the girl helping you till she saw the fish, got me cracking up. Too bad you didn't get the Koi, oh maybe next time. Thank you for sharing.

[FKNChristopH]

Thanks for the report!

I'm itching to get back to fly fishing.. I was never good but when I hooked something I felt more accomplished that I usually do fishing. Haha way to go on the carp too. Must of been awesome..

*shakkaa*

[Webfoot]

Good to see all is well with you Mr Madrigal. Los Olivos does seem like a magical place. The scenery is really beautiful. Give me shout the next time you find yourself in Twin Peaks and we'll get that Pinnacles hike in.

[DockRat]

Great report and pics.
Thanks, DR

[Troutman65]

Way cool fishing trip . Sorry about the Jenny's taxing your Wife's car . Thanks for sharing Greg .

[trout masterson]

Great report! Sounds like an amazing time with friends. Awesome pics as well.

[troutdog]

Great report Greg, been reading about that place...glad to see you got to sample it out. Hope to see you soon buddy, been too long.


TD

[Wingnut]

Most excellent report Greg, congrats on all the nice catches.

[PONTOON]

Awesome report and pics Greg!

I was just checking out the pictures and that is some very beautiful country up that way but I was having some trouble deciding what was more beautiful, the fish or the net!

I started up the workshop again and I've been working with some bubinga..........Very pretty wood.