Tight Line Nymphing for Trout in a Southern California Stream (San Gabriel River, East Fork)
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Spent a day fly fishing at one of my local streams here in Southern California. Had a blast learning and catching fish on the euro nymphing setup.
Gear Used:
Rod - Orvis Clearwater 10ft 3wt
Reel - Lamson Liquid (3wt+)
Social Media:
/ makethecast
Music Credit:
The Deli - Tyner
crwsox - seaside
Great video! Happy to see there are still fish in the river and in the same pools that I used to fish. i love the beauty of those native trout! My dad started taking me fishing there when I was three years old, and I caught my first fish there at age four. We used to go there to fish on opening day of the fishing season as they used to stock a lot of large trout. I fished there almost weekly, from 1951 to 1976 before moving on to bigger lakes and streams. I am 75 years old now and still fishing.
Its good to know there still fish in the east fork love fishing that whole stretch👍🎣
Looks like a great day! Thanks for sharing and keep them coming!
I’m glad you were able to show those people that there are fish
Thank you! I used to fish this branch when I was a real young adult. Great shots.
Awesome video quality! I’ll have to give that spot a try sometime soon.
Just came across looking for some tightline nymphing video. Really liked what I saw! Subscribed.
Great job first time seeing your channel I’m subscribing
Nice video. Really well done.
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching.
Great job. I also fly fish our local creek. There are some good sizes that surprise you out there. When was the video taken? Not sure how the flow is now, we lack of rain this season.
Thanks! Yes they’re definitely out there! This was in mid January. I haven’t been up there since then so I’m not sure how it is. Will probably go back and check it out again soon
Nice fishing.
Is the west fork on the San Gabriel river still closed? Thank you.
Nice video dude. I'm just discovering your channel. New sub. Keep em coming.
Thanks I appreciate it!! Took a peak at your channel, you’ve got some great videos. New sub right back at ya.
Nice of you to let your dad fish ahead and fish virgin waters! How many miles did you guys go upstream?
Not too far, I think we barely hit the 2 mile mark. Would like to go back again soon and fish even further!
@@makethecast You guys hit it pretty early on in the year but do you think it fishes well in the summer? How is the flow when it gets into late summer?
@@MuddyBootsOutdoors that’s a good question, I usually give the place a break during the summer so I’m not entirely sure. Heard the water was flowing pretty high and fast a few months ago. I assume it would be getting lower and slower as the summer progresses. I’ve fished it before in the late spring/early summer last year and I didn’t catch as many fish as I expected. So I would think during the late summer, the further upstream, the better the fishing. If not, then maybe higher water temperatures could play a factor.
Any specific colors of flys that work best for creek/river fishing?
Usually depends, sometimes they’ll want a more natural colored fly like a pheasant tail and hares ear, but other times they will go crazy for flies with attractive colors on it like orange, pink, or red. If they’re really picky, then you can’t go wrong with olive or black midges. I usually start off with those attractive style flies and if I’m not getting much luck, then I’ll switch to naturals.
Amazing video! Have you been up there recently? Would love to do some TLN together, have tried just once on the Owens and it was real fun!
I appreciate it! Last time I was there was in May. Water levels were a lot lower and the fishing was not so good as previous times. I’m hoping it will get better as the weather cools down and hopefully we get more rain!
I’ve had lots of success TLN streams in the Eastern Sierra this summer. Haven’t tried it on the Owens yet, sounds like fun!
Is that specific area (not west fork but where you were) closed right now? Everything online says open but ranger told me it’s closed. Don’t want to make the 2 hour drive for nothing.
Haven’t been there in a few months, but as far as I’m aware, the Bridge to Nowhere Trailhead (East Fork side) remained open since it never got affected from the fires last year. So I don’t see why it would be closed unless something recent happened. Other than that, I think you should be fine. I might go back either this week or next week and check it out, maybe I can give you an update on that if you don’t want to risk the drive up
@@makethecast hoping the ranger is just wrong. There’s literally dozens of reviews, CZcams vids and pics online from the past month of that hike 😂. I may head up and see.
@@myotherlinefishing yup just checked the location tag on Instagram, few recent posts within the last hour and tons in the last few days. Maybe the ranger got west and east mixed up haha. I think you should be fine 👍
@@makethecast I think so too. Imma head up this weekend and fight the crowd I think. Let me know if you wanna go.
@@myotherlinefishing nice, the earlier you get there the better, the weekend crowd is in full force at around noon so just be prepared haha. Fish might be a little more pressured compared to the week days but you should still be able to get on em. Lots of fish in that stream
Subbed! Love the channel dude.
Nice video! What setup was your dad using? Have you tried indicator nymphing there? If so, how was it?
I appreciate it! Yes indicator nymphing works great there too. A dry dropper or yarn indicator setup works well. And my Dad was using a single dry fly on his 9ft 5wt, fly was a Stimulator size 12-16 I believe.
Not asking for exact location of where your fishing, but about how far do you need to walk from the parking lot to get to any decent fishing? I normally fish some other local creeks but the hikes are too difficult and long for my grandpa to come along.
I believe you can start fishing from right below the parking lot at 0:30 in the video. I don’t know how well the fishing is though. Me personally, I walk up the main trail about 1 mile before I start fishing. The further upstream, usually the better as the fish are less pressured. I fish some of the other local creeks as well and this place is one of the easier ones in terms of access.
Is the west fork still washed out?
I haven’t been to CA in a little while and I’m hoping to visit this spring.
Yeah it's been pretty bad weather up there and the water is brown in the west fork, but crystal clear on the east fork.
Yup, haven’t been there at all lately but like Peter who commented before me, I’ve been hearing it’s still not great. However, I went to East fork last month and water was flowing fast and clear.
We’re getting some record rain/snow here in CA this winter. This coming spring will be nice.
Tried to send a message to Josh on Instagram went to the East Fork today. Did you go to the top parking lot? And...when you did, did you go the right, facing the mountains on the trail past the locked gate? Reason I'm asking I went to the left and went down the hill next to the outhouse, and it was quite a hike to the river...and I did not see any of the signs Josh posted on the video. Also, was this video made before the Bobcat fires or afterward? Let me know...I got skunked and did not get any bites using size 22 bead heads and the river flowed very, very fast. Thanks for any input about which way you left the parking area and I do not even know if you went as far up to the parking area as well.
Hey Danny, yes at the parking lot, you start up the trail passed the locked gate. This is the trail head to “Bridge to Nowhere”. After about a mile or so up the trail you will see the signs that are in the video. From there, the river starts to flow next to the trail with lots of easy access spots. Just keep hiking as if you’re going to bridge to nowhere and you’ll find some good spots along the way. This video was filmed in January 2021 after the Bobcat fire. East fork did not get affected by the Bobcat fire. You may have to hike further up since these areas are less affected by fishing pressure. Hope this helps.
Nice video. Where did you park to get to that part of the river?
Thanks for watching. The parking lot at the Bridge to Nowhere trailhead is where I parked and I hiked up the East Fork Trail as if I was going to Bridge to Nowhere. I just fished along the way.
Do you always try to release the fish into the same hole he came out of?
Not always, but I try to if I can
Is it actually safe to park there again? I quit going to the West and East Forks due to vandalism and car break-ins. I guess maybe it's not so bad on a cold morning in January.
Man that's a bummer. Haven't had a problem as of yet, then again I only really go during the week days and mostly winter/spring to avoid the crowds. Gave the place a break entirely this summer.
👍🏼👍🏼😍
Can anyone give me the names of creeks to fish in southern ca. I love fly fishing and just moved to the area. Down to drive multiple hours
Very sorry for the late reply. There’s not many places in SoCal for some quality wild trout fishing due to the weather and geography. Because of that, most people aren’t willing to give up their secret spots. This creek in this video is one of the most known down here and also the West Fork of the San Gabriel River, which is unfortunately closed right now due to damage from a wild fire last year. There is also Deep Creek, and the Santa Ana River, both located in the San Bernardino mountains that have wild trout in them as well. If you are willing to explore, you can have some great fishing, but it does take some effort to find the honey holes.
If you’re willing to drive multiple hours, the Eastern and Western parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range have some of the best trout fishing in the State. Great camping and fishing.
Hope this helps.
Any tips for this place? Went about half way to the bridge today and got nothing I’m trying to fish flies on a spinning rod. Water was moving really fast
Fast water can definitely make the fishing tough. I'd try to target any slower deeper pockets where the water is pooled up or even the outside edges of that fast water. They don't really like hanging out in fast current this time of year, so any current breaks like behind or under rocks are good spots too. For flies try something that'll stick out like big nymphs, squirmy wormy, or even those artificial powerbait trout worms if you're using a spinning rod. Then add some split shot to get it down and drifting under the current. Ditch any floating bobbers/indicators if the current is too fast and try to feel for bites instead. If that doesn't work then might just have to wait a bit till the flows slow down.
Hope this helps!
@@makethecast helps a bunch man thanks! Does how far up the stream you go matter? I recognize a spot or two from the video, I only got a little less then halfway to the bridge this time with my son idk if the higher up you go the better the fishing is?
@@Artificial_Fishing no problem man good luck! In my experience the fishing does get better the further you go up. Might be some better spots as well. I haven't been there in a while so I'm not sure how much has changed but it could be worth a shot 👍
@@makethecast appreciate you bro tight lines
Did you guys go pass “bridge to nowhere “?
We did not, most of the fishing was actually within the first mile or two. However it was during the wintertime
@@makethecast thanks man, I went last year in July but I passed the bridge
Can you tell me what kind of net that is? Looking for a nice small trout net but not having any luck!
This one is the Promar Protecnet 12” X 8”.
I got mine at a tackle shop in Lone Pine, CA. Kind of hard to find but looks like they have em in stock on Amazon right now. Just watch out, it’s pretty small so it’s a little tough to net fish sometimes. I have the 15.5” x 11” version as well (medium size) which I prefer more lately because it’s easier to land fish.
Here’s the link to the 12” x 8”:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO93TUS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_9J84SPTSYM1EDTZ2Y3Q3
@@makethecast awesome thank you!
Where did you park?
Bridge to Nowhere Trailhead parking lot