Fly Fishing

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Wanna fish the San Diego area?

I'm slated to be there for 10 weeks beginning 2/23. You can use the place i'm staying at as a base of operation.

If you can travel on short notice this might be worth the trip. All it will cost you is a plane ticket, rental car, food & beverage money.

Let me know. I figure I owe you since you did a big favor for me not too long ago.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Linesidesonthefly,

So great to hear from you! It's been a while and I know you were going through some of the most difficult times that life can dish out and to some degree probably still are .. and you will probably never fully recover. Aside from all of that .. It's great to hear from you and it sounds like in at least some respects, you are on the "up and up." .. So, ya know what .. I am in! ... I just talked to my wife and explained the dynamic nature of this invite and it sounds PERFECT! here is why.

1. I have always wanted to catch a Mako Shark on the fly (and sandiego is the place to do it) .. I actually have some solid connections out there with a couple of the regions legendary mako shark fly fishing guides.

2. I also have been trying to line up meeting a guy "CLOUSERHEAD" from this site .. who is an offshore fly fishing addict from the sandiego area .. and just a couple weeks ago .. we were talking about finally making this the year that we "hook up" .. (ps. clouserhead - i am sure you will see this .. and it looks like things are finally going to fall into place!)

3. I know that YOU are a HARD CORE northeast salter with an undeniable love for the striped bass (hence the name "linesidesonthefly") .. and we haven't fished together since this great trip where you invited me in 2006 to fish with you on your boat in maine .. (article and video here)
http://www.fliesandfins.com/article580.html

4. Since 2006 - its incredible how big fliesandfins is now with members and visitors from all stretches of the globe .. and i recently learned from some of the salters on the west coast that STRIPERS on the WEST COAST are not native to that region .. and they were implanted there from the east coast and have really thrived and done well over there ... SOOOOO .. how COOL would it be for me and you to catch some west coast tripers TOGETHER!! That, to me, would have alot of meaning on so many levels. (I have never caught one on the west coast .. so, even just 1 fish would be awesome!) and to catch it with you onboard fishing with me would be incredible! ..

5. If you are gonna be there 10 weeks starting Feb 22 .. I think that is during a time when the fishing (in general) starts to get good? ..

So - I am serious here ... I am in ... all we need to do is find out when the best time for me to come would be .. End of march or early april would be ideal for me .. hopefully that coincides with when the fishing will be at least pretty good .. we don't need and probably won't be able to make this happen during PRIME TIME .. (i am not even sure when that really is) .. just as long as its an OK time will be good enough for us .. as catching 1 striper and maybe getting a shot at 1 mako would be stellar ... So, I have some frequent flyer miles and this is a trip that we need to do and interests me on many different levels (more so than just catching fish) .... So, I am in! ... Let's start to think about a rough timeframe that would work best .. I will also email clouserhead and some other connections who can help us in our quest for a west coast striper and a mako shark .. and possibly help us figure out the best time for me to come there and us to do this trip together .. sound like a plan? thanks for the invite .. i very much look forward to fishing for stripers with you ... 3,000 miles or so from our home striper waters Smile

.. and if we could find a mako shark .. well that would be great too Smile

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

I was out there this past October for three weeks. Unfortunately it was all work and no fishing. Sixteen hour days seven days a week. I did make a boat load of cash while there and that is always good.

This trip for ten weeks will not likely involve that kind of hours. I anticipate my evenings and weekends will be free.

I did do a little research back in Oct. The fishing fleet is humongous but I'm shure you already realize that. The options are as numerous as our wallets allow. Overnight trips for Pelagics seem to be very popular with the locals. Unfortunately that is not too condusive to us fly guys. I hear that there is some monster Bucketmouths in the resevoirs.

I'm reading that right now Bonita are around the Isles and small Bones are in the bay proper. We do need some local advice on when its best for you to arrive.

I'd like to load my Charlton SS 8500.8 with as much Gel spun as it can handle and chase down a Mako. LOL Mako on an 8wt. That would make a sweet video if the ole Sage does not erupt. I did tell Jack Charlton that I'd eventually put his reel thru its paces.

Gimme a call. (207) 710-4338

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

On a side note I have been putting together a bunch of materials in a Fishpond Coyote tying bag for the occasion.

I hear Mako like baby Gannett flies.

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

LOL scratch the Mako on an 8wt. idea. Watch this video. For the record I think the angler should be bowing to the fish when it clears the water.

http://www.truveo.com/Mako-on-the-Fly-Directors-Cut/id/276131

Looks like a 12 wt. might be in order. Jeez I hate buying more gear.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Linesides,

Ya .. i hear ya .. there are some great opportunities out there .. and I am friendly with John Loo who is the editor and chief and webmaster for "beyond the breakwater" .. sandiego's premier saltwater fly fishing site .. of which conway bowman (a legend for the sandiego makos) is also a part of .. here is that website
http://www.btbff.com/index.php/btbff/1E1PS/166 i am going to email john .. and see if he can come over here and give us any insight, as to what our opportunities will during this time frame ... like i said, will just be great to fish with you .. and anything fish over there on that coast that's willing to take our fly will be great ... i also have an email out to "clouserhead" .. who runs out of sandiego and is way dialed into the saltwater game .. so, standby .. let's see what these guys say .. PS. don't go spending money on any gear just yet .. just focus on tying some flies for us .. .. i am pumped .. this is going to be a killer trip!

clouserhead · Posted: Sun 01/18/09 5:00 pm Post subject: san diego Trip

Jeremy, that's cool. Looks like it is going to happen. The deeper into April you can get the better. The water warms about then and the fish start moving. Bonita at the islands, possibly mako's depending on water temps and bones in the bay. We caught four off my bay boat last weekend along with a gob of bass. I'll set you up anyway I can. Anything could be going off at that time. If the pelagics show I have a 20 foot Scout that we run 20-40 miles offshore regulary and fish the same spots as the overnight cattle boats. roll up the tuna and cast to them when they rush the boat. San Clemente Island usually goes off then as that is the beginning of White Sea Bass fishing at Catalina. This could just happen. John Loo is a great guy who really knows his stuff. It would be fun to put together a buddy boat run with John and Scott Leon. I recommend hooking up with Conway as well. Conway fishes freshwater bass that time of year and has some monster bass spotted in a local lake. He could break the WR if a big sow will open her mouth.

Randy (Clouserhead)

Drydocked · Location: Vista, CA

Jeremy, thanks for the plug. The coastal and offshore fly-fishing community out here is small, but growing, and we welcome visitors! For so many years, the reality was that you couldn't easily get "beyond the breakwater" to chase the most popular gamefish. It was mostly the domain of larger charter boats, or the party boats with dozens of anglers fishing conventional gear. Most fly-fishermen were confined to fishing the few bays that we have, or the surf.

Now, we have a small contingent of fly-fishing friendly guides that are small-boat based, working San Diego, Orange County/LA, and the Ventura/Oxnard/Santa Barbara area. Plus, as outboards have gotten more reliable and better with fuel, and electronics (mostly GPS) have gotten to the point where we can routinely navigate well out of sight of land, there are more and more people fly-fishing blue water out of their private boats. That was the reason for starting the Beyond The Breakwater Website, as well as my other site, Ocean Skiff Journal. They've both got a ton of information about how we fish out here.

Anyhoo...I concur with what Randy (Clouserhead) said, the later in the year, the better, for the coastal and offshore fish (warmer water). Although you could get into some good fishing in February and March, it could be a bit hit or miss, depending on weather. But San Diego Bay will be good for smaller bay bass and a variety of fish, including the possibility of some small bonefish, and some of our lakes will be producing largemouth and carp on fly.

The California Bight actually has a good population of immature makos (meaning 6 feet or less), as well as some grand-daddys, so the 8wt is not out of the question...but the 12+ is a better bet.
Capt. Conway Bowman and Capt. Dave Trimble (http://www.ontheflyfishingcharter.com) and are both very well known shark fly-fishermen, they work from Mission Bay (Dana Landing) in San Diego. And they have all the good gear, so you won't need to buy any.

My good friend Capt. Scott Leon (former Editor of FF in Salt Waters magazine) also works out of Dana Landing and runs Paradigm Shift Charters (http://www.paradigmshiftcharters.com). While he will fish for anything you want, he loves the pelagics, and is licensed to run into Mexican waters to fish.

Like Randy, I'd like to welcome you to San Diego, and hope you can get out fishing with us!

John Loo

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Thanks for stopping in Drydocked. I/we appreciate all the help we can get.

Capt. Brian Horsley (Nags Head, N.C.) also tossed a plug out for Paradim Charters. They are the west coast rep. for Mako reels.

Networking at its finest.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Linesides,

Sweet! looks like things are starting to shape up and we'll have some nice options in SanDiego ... as far as the "LINESIDES" (striped bass) go, i think that game gets played in san fransisco .. and that's only (501 mi – about 7 hours 40 mins) to the north ... same distance as maine to the salmon river .. so, if we wanted to bomb up there in search of a striper (not sure if that timeframe would be decent?) .. we could easily do that (travel at night . fish 1 day and travel back) .. as i would love to catch our first west coast striper together ... anyone got any insight on the striper fishing in the san fran area? during april? any good? any options a bit south of san fran area? ..

PS. Linesides -- I wonder if YOUR killer fly pattern will work out there .. I can't imagine a striper that wouldn't want to chow on a pollock .. this was one of the greatest fishing experiences for me ever .. and a great story .. as the video shows .. your fly hook a nice fish and i thought he had me beat .. but thanfully he came loose from the rocks.
http://www.fliesandfins.com/article556.html

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Do not worry I got about 20 variations of that very fly tied up and ready to go. I also plan on doing some Squid up just in case.

This is something I been working on lately. Its a combination of Murphy's Soft Short and Skok's Slobster patterns. I basically took what I liked from both patterns and tied it up on a 5/0 EC 413 Jig hook.

Drydocked · Location: Vista, CA

clouserhead · Posted: Thu 01/22/09 9:14 am Post subject: Stripers in SoCal

Jeremy, stripers in our area is a sketchy deal. Lake fishing for stripers is an on and off affair. In April there is a good fishery going on up north. I have some contacts and some favors outstanding if you want to fish the Delta. In our area April can be amazing for bass. Diamond Valley Lake is a destination fishery for LMB. It also has stripers but the lake is new and that fishery has yet to develop fully. There are a couple of fly fishing guides that fish the lake. Just need to keep you options open and see what is available.

Randy

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Randy,

You are the man! And I look forward to meeting and fishing with you .. you don't have to exhaust your favors on us (although the offer is very much appreciated) .. we won't have a problem doing our part to keep the local guiding community going by paying our way. Anyway, the delta option seems pretty cool ... as does the offshore stuff in SanDiego area ... I know you are like me and just like playing it by ear .. so like you said we'll "keel our options open" and see where the fish bring us .. maybe you'll have a beat on some fish off sandiego and the fishing will be decent? maybe not? in which case we can consider the delta? .. whatever .. but no matter what we gotta hook up with you and catch SOMETHING on the fly! Its so cool to kind of get to know people through a couple years on this site .. and then meet up and fish .. and do a fishtale and video .. makes for a killer story! .. Lookin' forward to meeting you and fishing with you .. Thanks so much for all the help.

clouserhead · Posted: Mon 01/26/09 10:49 pm Post subject:

Jeremy, I'm sure we can get into some offshore action in SD. The pelagic bonita will probably be around and they are pretty good sized. We'll just see what develops. There might even be an early chicken (Albie) run. Things have been starting earlier and earlier these years.

Randy

mro · Location: Hayward, CA

Striper action is very hit and miss now-a-days.
For any chance at all you will need a guide and April is not exactly prime time altho there are some stripers in the Delta year round.

I fish the Delta from Bethel Island to Mildred Island.
(Once in a while fly fish the Berkeley flats in SF Bay too ((summer time))
Last 4 times (end of December to last Saturday) have only landed 6 stripers. 4 on one trip and two on another, none the last two trips.
You wll want to be able to keep your streamer near the bottom in up to 15 feet of water.

mro

Linesidesonthefly · Location: Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Jeremy,
I picked up my orders yesterday so its etched in stone. Well, at least the start of the trip is.
I leave Portland early Monday arriving in SD in the afternoon after a short stop in Atlanta.
I'll be bringing some tying stuff along. Probably pack the 4pc. 8wt. as well.
Keep in touch.

clouserhead · Posted: Fri 04/17/09 8:39 am Post subject:

Jeremy, Linesisdesonthefly (dude, your handle is too long), It's just about time here in SD. This should be the first serious offshore fshing weekend. We have been sticking some big blue sharks and small Mako's. The Yellowtail are starting to push up with a reported 100 ton school just out of reach waiting for a path of clean warm water to move in. Lineside... if you are still in SD on business PM me and we canset something up.

Randy