Okay,in an effort to avoid some of the topics that get personal,hows about we talk fishing?
Ive fished for most species that swim in California's waters,fresh and salt,at one time or another......I worked in the fishing industry for much of my working life,over 20 seasons as a deckhand on various Charter fishing vessels, Salmon,Striped Bass,Halibut,Albacore Tuna,Rockfish,Sturgeon were all targeted by boats ive worked.....I spent about 8 years working in several fishing tackle stores around my area....
Now,with California on its second year of virtually no sportsfishing allowed for Salmon,and dramatically shortened RockFish seasons,my saltwater gear is gathering dust in the garage.
Im doing a little Black Bass fishing,and i head up to the high Sierras whenever possible for some Trout Fishing,primarily at or east of the Sierra Summit.....I know of spots where Rainbow,Brown,Cutthroat,Brook,Golden,and even Lake trout are all within reach in a couple days fishing.......... I really enjoy the fire of a good political thread,but sometimes its nice to take at least a little break from that,or to at least have another topic not so controversial..........Any Anglers care to chat,compare notes,tell tall tales?

 

I've fly fished all over Northern California, parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska, British Columbia, and so many other places I've
forgotten.

Never on a boat though, except maybe on my Avon inflatable a few times.

I like walking/working the stream.

I should think about dusting off the fly fishing equipment.

At least take it out to the casting ponds in Golden Gate Park.

 

Ive only Fly-fished a couple times,im primarily a lure fisherman......Ive got a fair amount of credit through using a Cabela's credit card,and im thinking about getting a decent fly combo......figuring on either an 8-1/2 or 9 foot,4 piece in 5 or 6 weight would be the most versatile.

 

Great thread, Bob!

Fishing is something I've enjoyed in the past but never really had time to persue. My fishing experience is limited to deep sea outings with my dad when I was young and catching planter trout in the mountain streams with cheese bait when I was a young man. I used to SCUBA dive, but I don't count the abs and bugs I took as fishing.

Though I live near the Pacific, fishing off the pier or surf casting has never held any appeal to me. We have a camp in Michigan right on Lake Superior now. So that is the kind of fishing I look forward to. Whitefish are my tastey favorite. But I'm not sure if they are mostly netted in the lake's deepwater. There are some huge lake trout to be had though. But I think they are found in '75-'100 of water and you don't catch these off the pier or shore. So my retirement plans include a boat that can handle the rough waters of Lake Superior. Wish me luck on that though. Wifey is a lake native who was brought up on stories of all the lake drownings and is distrustful of boats!

 

Get a good solid boat,make sure its big enough and seaworthy enough to be suitable,keep the engine in tune,consider a kicker or trolling motor as a backup,make sure all your safety gear is in order......Lots of those horror stories revolve around people who didnt take safety seriously........Up to a certain size,modern boats are required to have built in flotation,designed to keep the boat afloat even full of water,toss in a radio or cell phone to call for assistance,and boating can be a reasonably safe activity.....

 

Did a crapload of boat fishing since I was a kid......Still do.....But since 2003, I've discovered surf-fishing at Portsmouth Island on NCs Outer Banks (just south of Ocracoke). It's not just surf-fishing (you don't know what you're missing, Scott....).....It's also camping. We take a kawasaki mule, and a camper on my F250 and head on out for 4 or 5 days....usually 2 or 3 times per year. The whole package is a nice experience, and you really get to work the 4X4 on the beach and on the back roads of the 30-mile long island (it's a national seashore....no private dwellings except for one). And it's fairly sparse. You need a ferry to get your crap over to there....or a boat to get there....so you're not fighting with the tourists that crowd Hatteras elbow to elbow......Fall is the best fishing.

Whiting (sea mullet) all year. Blues in the Spring. Flounder in the Summer. Red drum in the Spring, and especially in the Fall.

Bring lots of bug juice, food, water, and booze. GOOD times!!!

 

I can only imagine it makes for an affordable vacation as well.....even assuming that you eat really well,its far cheaper camping than staying in a motel and dining out......I would bet that 2 or 3 vacations like this annually still costs less than 1 traditional hop on a plane vacation does......another benefit,your money spent benefits your own home state,rather than some distant locale where you may or may not even get good service for your buck

 

Dang, Steve. You are making me interested in surf fishing. The problem is and what I don't like about SoCal is that acess to any water is mostly restricted. You especially cannot bring vehicles on the beach. Pismo is the one exception I know of. You have to pay to get acess to most of the beaches around here. And all of the lakes. That's what I like about Michigan and the midwest is, there are so many lakes and waterways it's like wtf? Why whould anyone think of blocking them off? You can pretty much go anywhere as long as you don't tresspass on private property. Public acess is completely open.

Oh yes, whiting. I was brought up on that. My mom always fixed us frozen whiting when it was fish night. 'Course she always fried them up!

 

Until you get down south of the Border,along Baja,you still dont get particularly good surf Fishing,they start getting a decent showing of halibut,rockfish and other stuff......Still no Comparison to the quality and variety that much of the East coast gets.....and regarding Access,your on foot in California....And if Pamela Anderson is having one of Her PETA gatherings on the beach,your going to have a tough time getting any peace while angling.

 

Although I love red drum....Whiting is one of the best tasting fish around. Fried is best, of course. Flounder is at the top of the list too. We mostly 'gig' them around here....but you can catch 'em too if you have the right rig.

Sucks about restricted access and no vehicles on the beach. NC got a gift from God when he created the Outer Banks. That's how everyone gets around up there.....ATVs or trucks. The Park Service runs it, and they enforce regs like anywhere else...but they're pretty cool. 25mph max speed limit......OCCASIONALLY...during turtle nesting season, they block off parts of the beach (usually not more than a mile-long stretch), but you can drive up access ramps behind the dune line and take the back road (all still sand, of course......).....then at the next ramp, jump back onto the beach. That's one thing I REALLY love about the island....You're always on '4X4'...and you really give the truck a workout. With all that weight, I keep in on 'low' range. About 25 to 30psi in the tires.

We usually find a good 'hole'....hunker down and set up camp---which means just putting the truck in 'park'....putting out the stabilizers, and setting up the rods. cook, eat, sleep, fish right on the beach. That's what I love about a slide-in truck camper...You roll your home with you wherever you go. They have cabins for rent on the south end of the island....but if you're fishing on the north end, at the end of the day, you have about an hour-long ride back to the cabin.

Hey guys.....Great website......Pull up:

Portsmouth Island Fishing

Good pics and info. I post on the 'boards' there too occasionally. There's actually a Portsmouth Village (extinct) near the north end......It was mostly deserted by 1971....and in 1972...the last two residents packed up and left. The Park Service took over the island in 1974 (or '75)...and it's an historic landmark.

 

I'm a catch and release fisherman, since I find almost all fish barely edible. some of my more favored species:

Fall steelhead on the Salmon River
Cutthroat trout on the Snake River
Kokanee and Mackinaw on Flaming Gorge
Small and Large mouth Bass are a blast

 

You dont have to Eat-em to enjoy catchin-em........I enjoy most Salt Water fish better for eating,but i absolutely love the vivid colors on many species of Trout.....The Spectacular high Sierra scenery is an important part of the mix too.....

 

High alpine trout angler here, from hike ins to big lakes that require a boat to get anywhere near the trout.........Fall Chinook salmon fishing on the tidewater rivers, heck, running the boat is half the fun of fishing to me. Little bit of sturgeon fishing too, but I shy away from fish that are almost as long as the boat!

 

how many days do you want to spend looking at pics?
my family has been bass fishing as long as I can remember.
here is a private lake we fish in and a few pics from the last trip
<a href="http://s527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/?action=view&current=IMGP2715.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/IMGP2715.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/?action=view&current=IMGP2672.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/IMGP2672.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/?action=view&current=IMGP2653.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/IMGP2653.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/?action=view&current=IMGP2638.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc359/mrhelifixer/IMGP2638.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

Nice photos and Fish.......having access to private lakes is really nice, a couple of my friends have brought me to several small,private farm ponds that have some decent bass,although nothing like the quality/quantity your pics show!