Looking for a little California advice

[Ccard257]

I'm headed west on a Christmas road trip and hoping to get some fishing in.

First stop will be in san diego, staying at south carlsbad state beach. I'm planning to make a few casts in the surf but I have no experience with that so any and all tips would be great.

We're also staying one night in Sequoia/kings. We'll be in the grant grove area and I won't have much time to venture far from the lodge. Anything nearby worth checking out (i'm not picky, anything with fish is "worth it" to me)?

We'll also be on the big sur for a couple of nights, but if i'm reading the regulations correctly fishing is only allowed on sat/sun/wed? is that correct?

This will be my first time fishing in california so any other advice,weird regs I need to watch out for, etc. would be great.

Thanks

[willie61]

The best fishing in Cali in winter is in the ocean, see if you can take a 1/2 or 3/4 day trip out of any landing up and down the coast, main target will be rockfishing this time of year ( red snapper, lingcod, ect...) maybe get into some Tuna off Mexico.

I used to do OK casting a small plastic grub into the surf for perch using bass tackle, rootbeer brown, or fishing off jetties with anchovies.

The lakes are pretty much stocked trout this time of year, the bass have gone deep. There are a few around Sequoia/ kings.

Over in the Sierra the trout fishing is still good, but access can be a bitch because of snow.

Up in the big Sur area you could get on some Salmon boats or rockfishing, I.m not quite sure about salmon rivers around there, but their is quite a few north of there.

Take a look at " Western Outdoor News" online, they will report weekly on the hot fishing spots around the state, both fresh and saltwater. Good luck.

[plugboots]

It sounds like you don't fly fish, but if you do check here:
http://www.garybulla.com/forum/

[snapt]

Like Hugh says don't bother with the Sur. Regs are iffy, runs are a shell of what they used to be. Go hike through some coastal forests, find some good food/wine and enjoy the coastline.

[Ccard257]

It sounds like you don't fly fish, but if you do check here:
http://www.garybulla.com/forum/

I'll be fly fishing so i'll check that out.

Thanks for the advice, guys.

[BS720]

Two options I'd consider at this time of year are San Diego harbor, and the kelp beds in SC. You can rent boats for roughly $100 each day, and do a little different style of fishing than elsewhere in the country.

I didn't look up each and every stream and ripple in Monterey, but most freshwater streams to the ocean on the central coast is completely closed after November 15th. No holidays, no Monday-Wednesday-Friday, nothing. Someone can always correct meif I am wrong-it's just my spin on our thousands of fishing regs.