Any worthy streans in so cal to fly fish?

[Redrocker53]

Hey a buddy and I may head out tomorrow to try some fly fishing. Does anyone know if the streams in big bear have enough water in the this time of year? Or can anyone recommend a different area? Thanks!

[GhettoBasster]

Don't want to be a jerk but you may get a better response if you ask responders to get PM you. That being said, most of the SoCal streams are very skinny and the drought has made the streams even smaller. Some have even dried up. This and the dense vegetation makes flyfishing them a bit of a pain. I actually prefer to use a small UL spinning setup. Good luck.

[Ornery Bob]

I haven't been up there in decades, but back in the day the San Gabriel River had areas that were open enough for easy fly fishing. Maybe someone knows what it's like these days.

[Viejo]

You will find that local streams are enduring a record drought....many are choked with silt and ash that hasn't been washed out by real winter rains and water temperatures that are in the high 60's and low 70's. Flows are just a trickle. You'd be better off renting a boat at Big Bear lake and throwing streamers for trout near the dam. Better still, the entire Eastern Sierra has water and fish and is fishing well this time of year. The Middle Owens is fishing very well in Bishop and the creeks are full enough offer a fly person a great day of catching Browns, Brookies and Rainbows.

Oh...when you ask for spots, GhettoBasster's advice is good. Pm's are the way to go. Take the time to post a trip report when you get back. You don't want to be known as "that guy" who only logs on to ask where to find the best fishing.

[DarkShadow]

Yeah, at this point in the game, try the Eastern Sierra. Even though Northern California had a decent snow pack which has tributaries still in fisheable conditions, our Southern California streams have been struggling for a while, and we cross our fingers that the areas are not getting hit by anglers this time of year.

The Eastern Sierras isn't that far of a drive!

[carpanglerdude]

If you absolutely must try for some trout with flies, you could consider Big Bear Lake early in the morning near the dam or at dusk. Might get lucky but it's a stretch.

A better bet for fly rod action would be dry flys at an warmwater lake at dusk for big sunfish and the occasional bass. Perris can be excellent for that, even some local city park ponds have good action this time of the year with that approach.

Trout streams in SoCal right now aren't worth considering, not with drought and heat right now. As explained above, the Eastern Sierras are great right now.

[Marley]

Lake Gregory is a good option as well.

[Brewcrafter]

Carpanglerdude is right. Another option (if you are looking for fun, and are not picky about species) is hitting local golf course/cemetery ponds. I am NOT advocating trespassing or ninja fishing, but many times they make for a great and quick early morning/end of day get away, who doesn't like to catch a quick 45 minutes of fishing before or after work? You generally will not have issues with having to deal with brush (great opportunity to tune up and work on fly casting skills, if you happen to suck at it like me). And it is surprising how effective asking nicely, being respectful (a little bit of stray trash from golfers around that pond that is not yours? No reason why you can't pick it up and pack it out) or even something as simple as bringing a box of donuts to share with the groundskeeping personnel in the morning can go a loooong way....Stay out of the way of any golfers (or mourners, if doing the cemetery thing) be respectful, and needless to say, strictly C&R, but those bluegill and little bass can be a LOT of fun on fly tackle!