California Fly Fishing...Specifically the La Quinta Area

[Chef]

I may roll to Palm Springs for a little jaunt at La Quinta. Are there any streams to fish nearby? Totally clueless in that area.

Thanks,
Chef

[utahtu]

I grew up in Beaumont, about 25 miles west of Palm Springs and fished many small streams and lakes. You might want to try Hemet Lake on the back of Mt. San Jacinto, it used to be very productive especially in the early evening. For streams some of my favorite were the Mojave River below Silverwood Reservoir north of San Bernadino; the north fork of the San Jacinto, can't remember which USFS road you needed to take to get there;

Silverwood Reservoir was just coming online (yeah that many years ago). It was producing quite a few stripers and other warm water species. We used to fish Salton Sea for corvina and tilapia, but I believe it has gone down hill due to increased salinity.

Hope this helps.

Wes

[Trucha]

It has been years since I lived in S. CA. Around Palm Springs you may not find much. Head over to the San Bernardino Mountains that have a few streams that you can fish. Deep Creek has some wild fish in it. Bear Creek used to be good. E. Fork of San Gabriel is fishable. There are a few lakes that contain good fishing. Big Bear Lake is good. Silverwood is good (I used to fish it a lot for bluegills, some bass and an occasional trout). Irvine has some good fishing (private lake). Check out Deep Creek Fly Fishers and Fly Fisher Club of Orange County websites for more info.

The southern Calif., coast has some pretty good fly fishing right off the surf. I used to do it a lot. You can catch Sand Bass, Calicos, halibuts, Barred Surf Perch and other species. It may be a little longer drive but you will have a ton of opportunities.

Hope it helps. Thomas.

[Chef]

Thanks guys good info. I'm getting head hunter hits to move and work in that area.

[Fly Chef]

Let me know when you're over here, we might be able to get together and fish my little silver mine - wild native 'bows.

K.


PM sent.

[rayfound]

From a guy who fishes the San Bernardino Mountains almost exclusively, there are some wonderful streams. That being said, they can't take a lot of pressure... and while the registration requirement here SHOULD protect information from the general web, its still best to avoid naming names specifically IMO.

Chef, I would be happy to help you locate some water that is an acceptable drive from where you're staying. Shoot me a PM if you haven't found what you're looking for yet.