San Francisco Surf Fly Fishing Report

Captain Kevin DeGulis reports on 5.9.19

Open Ocean Time

Well, it’s starting to be that time! Fish have finally made it to San Francisco’s famous Ocean Beach. In the past, three or four days the swell has become much more manageable to giving fly anglers a chance to hook into some nice healthy fish. The LCO team is hugely excited for the opportunity to get into a toad; many believe you can only get a behemoth of a fish on the east coast. That is not the case you have plenty of opportunities to catch a hog within easy driving distance for the city, gotta be willing to battle the Pacific swell.

Two-Handed rods certainly has made it much easier to cast in a headwind, and we love Beulah’s new 7/8 Opal Switch Rod the perfect tool for the job. We have been matching the rod with a Sage Spectrum LT 9/10 or Sage Spectrum Max 9/10.

Lines - 10wt shooting heads from Rio or 30ft of T-14 for the open ocean and you can even go heavier.  If you have any questions, come into the shop, and we would love to help you get ready for beach season.

Fish /Photo: Steve Adachi

Conservation Note:

In the past two weeks, the bay has been clear which is unusually for such an extended period, also, LCO teammate Steve Adachi saw two dead Leopard Sharks in the south bay. A cause for concern absolutely, we are just guessing, but a lack of plankton in the water could explain for both events.

The bay has gone through abuse since San Francisco’s early days, going through a dramatic change in a short period. Many nonprofit organizations are helping with cleaning up the bay, for example, California Trout: https://caltrout.org/?s=San+Francisco+bay.

“The Bay Area program will implement a mix of restoration projects in highly productive estuaries and heavily altered urban/rural watersheds both on the coast and in San Francisco Bay itself, and develop targeted outreach and education on how the salmon and steelhead in our backyards are indicators of healthy watersheds that we all depend upon.” - Cal Trout