San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Greetings,
First time poster. I'm from Utah, an avid freshwater flyfisher. I've had a drift boat for years and love floating rivers in the west. For example, I floated Utah's Green river, streamers and BWO action 5 days in April.

I'm driving down to the SD area this weekend and would like to get out for a SW session, either in a bay or surf.

I have gear; plan to bring 6, 8 weight outfits with floating and fast sink lines. What I don't have is knowledge; where, when, what flies, etc. (Looks like clousers work.)

I have tons of flies, tied my own for years, so I don't think flies or gear should be an issue.

I plan on moving to North SD County in the next five years, so I really want to better understand options to flyfish for Corvina, sand bass; whatever makes a living in the bays and surf.

I'd appreciate any help, advice, or even a meet up. And if you happen to get up my way I'm happy to provide up to date info on the lakes and rivers I fish.

Bit of a loaded question, but I'll give it a shot.

This weekends tide is high at sunrise, low at noon, high at sunset. The bite is best when water is moving, so avoid peaks and troughs. I personally like fishing the surf from low to high so I can see the structure fill in. If it's high to low, I tend to fish the bays.

For surf, go with your full sink line. Clousers work. I tend to use red flies. Wolly bugger-like, or San Juan. There's a pattern called Krabby patty which is essentially a buggar. Cast into troughs and holes. Look on YouTube on how to read the surf for structure. Make sure you're not fishing in a protected area.

For bays, if you're shore pounding stick with your floating line. Mission bay is best with sandy beaches, west side at Bonita cove, Santa Barbara cove, etc. Use a long leader so the fly can get to the bottom and thru the ell grass where the bass are. Clousers and shrimp patterns. I particularly like tying on weed guards so I'm not picking of grass each cast.

Great info, thanks!
Looks like should scout out an area around noon to see hidden structure, then head back early evening to fish.

Another question, is there a site that shows area fishing restrictions?

Salmo3T wrote: Wed May 10, 2023 3:45 pm Great info, thanks!
Looks like should scout out an area around noon to see hidden structure, then head back early evening to fish.

Another question, is there a site that shows area fishing restrictions?

Essentially throwing flies and catch & release there is no fishing restrictions ( other than requiring a license and fishing in an MLPA). So just don’t fish at La Jolla shores and you are good. Torrey Pines north was looking really good today from the train.

CnR for me is the standard. I saw a you tube where a local guide gave a detailed presentation about fishing the shore specifically in Newport Beach, some Long Beach, a little Huntington. Shared specifics about precise locations and what types of fish, etc.

Crap, forgot to remind you about having a stripping basket for the surf. Hope you were reminded in someway and were able to get out.

Crap, forgot to remind you about having a stripping basket for the surf. Hope you figured that out and were able to get a line wet.

I carry 2 types of flies in the surf
Baitfish - I like clousers
Sandcrabs - orange or red somewhere helps (match the eggs under a female sandcrab)
Mine all tend to be "heavy" to get down and stay down