SoCal Dry Fly Fishing

[mcquade outdoors]

Since the wind has been an issue with the paddleboard, i took advantage of the few warm days and trekked back to the mountains for some more trout "fly fishing". Ive had a few opportunities to dry fly fish but never been able to execute, and last time i was out the trout were swiping at my indicator and or i saw them hit the surface, so main goal was to get a dry fly fish....What i didnt realize is that dry flys dont float. Oh well, dried it off between "casts" and it seemed to work well enough. I dont have a large assortment as i flyfish maybe 5 times a year but opted for a black with white and yellow parachute, seemed like a semi close match to some of the bugs but get something like a may fly or small cream-colored moth would probably work better.
Back to the adventure: although round trip was more miles than last time, the hike was far easier as far as incline/decline but strangely harder with overgrowth. I saw some of the coolest "rapids" and waterfalls ive come across and all holes held trout in the 1"-12" range. Im not used to seeing signs of human life when i hike into these areas so it was a bit of an odd find to see a folding chair miles down creek and even further there was an old 1 gallon yeti filled with some moldy water. Not sure who would send that energy but someone went down there at one point in time.

[Dry Fly Rie]

Very cool video and an epic looking place to fish. Small stream exploring and bushwhacking for wild trout is always an awesome adventure. Be careful...dry fly fishing can be a major addiction (note my member name).

Depending on where you were and how close there was road or ATV access, the chair and cooler could have been left over from a marijuana grow site. Anytime you're in the back country in SoCal near water, if you come across random discarded items and signs of people, there's a good chance you're in, or near a marijuana operation. Lots of growers utilize the national forest land and secluded canyons in the backcountry as camouflage to grow and harvest their product. Some of the dead giveaways are black pvc pipes they use to divert stream water to irrigate the plants, and man-made mini-ponds created with tarps to dam up the stream flow and cache water for the crops. A lot of the sites are abandoned and no longer being used to grow plants, but be aware that some sites are carefully watched and protected by the growers.

I don't say all of this to scare you, but just want you to be aware of a potential danger when you're hiking miles into the backcountry by yourself. There are some amazing places to explore in the mountains of San Diego. Just be safe while you start to discover them.

[Midnightpass]

Excellent video…I really enjoyed it… Ever thought of using a tenkara rod on those little streams?… Thanks for posting…
Butch

[mcquade outdoors]

Excellent video…I really enjoyed it… Ever thought of using a tenkara rod on those little streams?… Thanks for posting…
Butch

a Tenkata rod would be perfect, I just haven't justified buying one for the 1-3 trips a year i might do.

[mcquade outdoors]

Very cool video and an epic looking place to fish. Small stream exploring and bushwhacking for wild trout is always an awesome adventure. Be careful...dry fly fishing can be a major addiction (note my member name).

Depending on where you were and how close there was road or ATV access, the chair and cooler could have been left over from a marijuana grow site. Anytime you're in the back country in SoCal near water, if you come across random discarded items and signs of people, there's a good chance you're in, or near a marijuana operation. Lots of growers utilize the national forest land and secluded canyons in the backcountry as camouflage to grow and harvest their product. Some of the dead giveaways are black pvc pipes they use to divert stream water to irrigate the plants, and man-made mini-ponds created with tarps to dam up the stream flow and cache water for the crops. A lot of the sites are abandoned and no longer being used to grow plants, but be aware that some sites are carefully watched and protected by the growers.

I don't say all of this to scare you, but just want you to be aware of a potential danger when you're hiking miles into the backcountry by yourself. There are some amazing places to explore in the mountains of San Diego. Just be safe while you start to discover them.

Ya there was 1capped 2.5" PVC drain down there that made me think of that but i didnt spend any time investigating!

[Midnightpass]

a Tenkata rod would be perfect, I just haven't justified buying one for the 1-3 trips a year i might do.

I really can't justify buying most of my fishing gear (or other toys), but what the heck, we gotta have something to keep us out of mischief. ....
Butch

[DarkShadow]

Having some desiccant or a method of drying the wet dry flies was the first thing I realized I needed the first time dry fly fishing. My first cast, I was all excited, my 2nd cast, a little less so, and finally by my 4th, my Parachute Adams had become a Adams Streamer.

I also find that material really dictates how easier a dry fly will float. Once you get huckin' some big ole floating bugs made outta the foam from your kids arts and craft projects, only an iceberg in the North Atlantic would sink them.

[mcquade outdoors]

Having some desiccant or a method of drying the wet dry flies was the first thing I realized I needed the first time dry fly fishing. My first cast, I was all excited, my 2nd cast, a little less so, and finally by my 4th, my Parachute Adams had become a Adams Streamer.

I also find that material really dictates how easier a dry fly will float. Once you get huckin' some big ole floating bugs made outta the foam from your kids arts and craft projects, only an iceberg in the North Atlantic would sink them.

Yup, i cut the clip, but i had a whole section where i stated that i had no idea that dry flys dont float. The material on mine was pretty thick so i good shake an it would dry off and float for 2-4 casts. Something with foam would be way nicer!