My Mission: Fishin’ Mission Bay
Because I have relatives in San Diego, I, Al Harper, have visited the city for many years. Southern California is a fisherman’s delight and I submit this trip report not to highlight great angling success on my current visit but to offer a glimpse of a fly fishing culture I found there that might interest FATC members.
The highest profile angling action in the San Diego area occurs off shore and in nearby Mexican waters. Overnight (and multiple night) charter excursions aboard big fishing boats that range hundreds of miles out can result in impressive catches of gamefish. I’ve experienced a few day trips where we fished with the heavy spinning rigs they provided. We bounced heavily weighted live and cut bait off the ocean bottom enticing fish the captain had located with sophisticated sonar equipment. Deck hands scurried around to untangle the inevitable fishing line “bird nests” that resulted from those unfamiliar with the cumbersome reels. The deckhands also placed the fish participants brought up in numbered bags to be filleted on the way back to the harbor. We all walked down the gangplank with a fish dinner in hand.
These so-called party boats and the more extravagant charter trips mentioned above fill a fishing niche here on the west coast. And there are a few boats that offer fly fishing trips too. But I find the pursuit of salt water bass and other species on light tackle in Mission Bay to be more satisfying. This trip was my first time using just a fly rod and I discovered an interesting subset of angling enthusiasts as a result.
Before my trip I contacted the San Diego Flyfishers (SDFF) club for insight and advice. I learned some locals use a fly rod and wade fish in Mission Bay, the largest man-made aquatic park in the US. The bay is a refuge for fish and waterfowl seeking a more protective environment than the open ocean. The bay is also more accessible to anglers who don’t have the suitable watercraft or expertise to venture offshore.
One sunny morning during my stay I witnessed a pod of Orca whales about a half mile off shore just beyond a favorite surfing area. The Orcas were putting on quite a show as they enjoyed a feeding frenzy and breached frequently to the delight of people on the beach and a few boats that followed them. A local newspaper article a few days later explained they were feeding mostly on dolphins that are off the coast in huge numbers. The whales were feeding within an underwater park and ecological reserve set up in 1970 by the state just off the La Jolla coast. Only a couple of miles away is a cove inhabited by sea lions which are occasionally on the Orcas’ menu as well.
I also saw seals while fishing in Mission Bay and I understand they will occasionally rob an angler of a fish they are playing. But a more commonplace hazard to avoid is stepping on a stingray. Wade fishermen are encouraged to do the “San Diego Shuffle” while wading to give the rays a chance to escape.
In addition to wading and casting flys from shore, I rented a 14’ skiff with an outboard motor and fly fished several points in the bay. Factors to consider in that effort included the water depth and temperature (less than 15’ and bays that warm up early in the day during the winter months), and spots with grassy bottoms and other obstructions where the bass hide from predators. A popular fly used is a Clouser minnow fished much like a fresh water streamer. One local fly shop owner also suggested a ghost shrimp fly fished along the bottom. Apparently tippet size isn’t critical and stronger is better because, while primarily pursuing bass, one might hook into a larger fish like a Bonita, a Corbina, a Halibut or even a hard fighting ray or guitar fish.
Summer is prime time for bass in the bay. Calico bass, Spotted bass and Kelp bass are the most highly sought after species. I restricted my efforts this trip to Mission Bay and managed to pick up a couple of Calicos.
Some of the fly fishing enthusiasts I met suggested nearby San Diego Bay a few miles to the south was also a good place to try. I had an interesting conversation with one fly fisherman who was fishing from boulders placed along the shore to forestall erosion caused by the surf. He said his best angling battles had been with stringrays that take a Clouser fished deep. He related that taking a half hour or even longer to wear down a ray was not unusual. He preferred an 8 weight rod. Through trial and error he’d settled on using a tippet strong enough to play a fairly big ray but one slightly weaker than his fly line and backing so if he had to break off he’d at least save the more expensive line. The boulders proved tricky to scamper around on. I resorted to wading and shuffling my feet on the sandy bottom mostly.
I saw a few guys fishing in kayaks too. In years past I brought my own Hobie kayak to the area for some off shore spin casting around kelp beds. I witnessed a couple of kayak fishermen whose kayaks were being pulled out to sea while they waited for a large shark they had hooked to exhaust themselves.
Fly fishing offshore in the kelp beds from a kayak is a fairly difficult undertaking. The beds are hard to get a fly through and a longer than usual line is needed to try to coerce fish out of the safety of the beds, but there are many species inhabiting the cover provided by the beds.
Watching fishermen launch and beach heavily loaded kayaks in rough surf is a source of entertainment for locals at a couple of beaches. It takes a peculiar skill set to maneuver a kayak in surf since they tend to act like an overloaded, unwieldy surfboard in certain conditions.
While members of the SDFF do a good bit of fishing in the saltwater bays, they also take trips to pursue trout in the mountains further upstate and in nearby well known venues in western states like Wyoming and Montana.
As mentioned, I received a warm email welcome from the San Diego Flyfishers (SDFF) prior to my arrival. I accepted an invitation from the club’s program director to attend their monthly meeting scheduled for the first week of February. The guest speaker they had lined up was Dave Zoby, author of the book “Fish Like You Mean It”.
Unfortunately, a state of emergency engulfed much of Southern California due to flooding from torrential rains the night before he was to speak and Zoby was unable to fly in from Wyoming. I did want to pass on that the SDFF has a Facebook page and I was told that if anyone from FATC was planning a visit to the San Diego area they could make a post on that site and receive great advice on fly fishing from club members. Here is that link:
What a great report, AL.
Personally I find the different styles and types of fly fishing/species to be of great interest.
It’s also heartwarming to hear that other fly fishermen are so eager to embrace their fellow sportsmen.
A really fun read !