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Local Stream Cleanup September 18th
2004
Saturday
September 18th is the Club's keystone conservation outing of the
year, our annual stream cleanup at Deep Creek and Bear Creek. Because of
last fall's fires, much of Deep Creek is still closed and all the trash got
burned, so we'll just be focusing on Bear
Creek/Santa Anna River scheduled for the 18th of September and contact Steve
Kopp as soon as possible to let him know if you will be available.
Steve Kopp (skopp@esri.com)
We will spend
the morning picking up trash and replacing the special regulations signs as
necessary. After a break for lunch, assuming things are pretty well cleaned up,
its time to enjoy the stream. This is a great opportunity to get to know our
local streams, since some of the people who fish them frequently will be there
with you. Even if you're brand new to fly fishing, we'll help get you going.
Deep Creek and
Bear Creek are both designated by the California Dept of Fish and Game as Wild
Trout Streams. Although they do not contain native fish, they do have self
sustaining populations of rainbow and brown trout and have not been stocked
since their "wild" designation in the 1970s. For more information on this
program and other "wild" trout streams, go to
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/html/WildAndHeritageTrout/WHTrout_0.htm
People going to
Bear Creek should meet at The Oaks Restaurant in Angelus Oaks on Hwy 38 for a
9am departure. If you want to have breakfast at The Oaks, plan to be there at 8
so you are sure to be ready by 9.
Assuming we get
enough people, I'd like to split into 2 groups for Bear Creek. One to go to the
upper section at Slide Lake (there's no longer a lake there), and the other to
go downstream near the confluence with the Santa Ana River.
Generally, the
Slide Lake area has better fishing, particularly if you don't mind walking 30
minutes before you start fishing. You can fish 100yds from the car, but its low
percentage fishing compared to further upstream.
The area down by
the confluence is easier access, walking, and driving, and you can fish 10 ft
from the car. From the parking area at the confluence you can also walk 10
minutes down the road to the Santa Ana River. The area downstream was rewatered
last fall by SCE after several years of very low flow. A few years ago the
fishing down there was very good and few other people.
As of a few
weeks ago the roads had not been graded this spring, so 4WD is strongly
recommended, especially if you want to go to the Slide Lake area. The reason to
meet up on the paved road is so people without 4WD can carpool down to the
stream with others. To go to the lower section near the confluence with the
Santa Ana River, you can make this with 2WD if you have some clearance and
patience.
Things to bring:
Water
Hat and
sunscreen
Work gloves if
you have them
Lunch
Fishing
equipment if you want to fish
Fishing equipment:
the streams are small and can be brushy, so the shorter and lighter the rod, the
happier you may be. You can fish it with a 9 foot, 5 wt, but if you have
something shorter and lighter, bring it. The fish are more spooky than they are
picky, so stealth is more important than fly selection. Size 16 elk hair caddis,
red or yellow humpy, or royal trude all work well. For nymphs, size 16 or 18
pheasant tail or hare's ear. There are also a lot of gnats and large black ants,
so size 18 black dry flies as droppers can help a lot.
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