San Francisco Surf Fly Fishing Report

Capt. Kevin DeGulis reports on 6.6.18

Highway 1

Well, it’s time. Time to hit the beaches, this past Sunday LCO hosted another fly fish the surf clinic. The original plan was to fish Crissy Field like the previous clinics, Friday morning George realized that Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon was during our clinic and the race went through Crissy, Baker, and China beach. So I started scrambling different beaches began racing through my head should we do Pacifica? Stinson? I wasn’t sure.  In the end, we picked Stinson about an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Driving through the mountains and widening roads I finally get a glimpse of the beach and man did it look good. Got down to the parking lot and LCO teammate Steve Adachi was patiently waiting for our arrival. Steve has been fishing the surf since the 1960s, having him and his knowledge of the sport was a treat for all of us.

The clinic started with everyone fishing the beach no question nothing go out, and fish you will have questions after. In a matter of 30 minutes, Sebastian hooked into a nice Red Tail perch, a first in our clinics. Around 10:30 am just before the people hatch Greg Lemins hooked into a 28-inch striped bass, everyone was excited and in awe that the fish took the only 30 feet off the sand. It’s incredible that this migratory pacific ocean stripers can get into any waves.

We took a lunch break talking about fish behavior and we food stripers are looking for in the surf. As lunch break broke around 1:00 pm I hooked into striper but not nearly the size Greg roped in hours earlier. In summary, the clinic was a home run.

The best part is seeing people take on the beaches after the clinic. Sebastian was able to wrestle in a striper days later in the beaches south of the gate. The entire point of surf clinics is to get individuals who live in the bay area, fly fishing on their own and often. 

Yes, going up to Redding and fishing those magical rivers is a treat but a treat you can only taste every so often. The surf and the striper migration is something you can study, learn, and improve on a weekly basis. 

Andy with a nice one

Most of all you can make your own, there is so much water to fish explore a beach or the entire California coast, the fish move and so should you. I will end with a quote that sums up my feeling when fly fishing the pacific ocean. 

“The sea is as near as we come to another world.”- Anne Stevenson