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A little over one month ago, I took my longest hike into the San Gabriel Mountains. This was deep in the Angeles National Forest, and I hiked and fished to my hearts content at a tiny, secret mountain stream. The secret creek I explored meandered between cliffs and forests, partially hidden from the intense Southern California summer heat. Gear was pretty simple: ultralite rod/spinning reel, 2lb mono, micro jigs with plastic trout worms and plenty of water. I truly lost track of how many beautiful, wild rainbow trout I hooked and landed. (Video and more after the jump) Every pool contained stealthy shadows of wary fish, requiring a careful approach and exquisite casting technique. The dense thicket overhead forced me to primarily flip, pitch or side-cast to place my lure in just the right spot.   I reflected on this fantastic trip as the sun set and I hiked back to my vehicle. It was definitely one of my best small stream trout fishing experiences in SoCal.  Some of th...

Geared up for wild Cutthroat Trout Anglers, hikers and other fans of the great outdoors in California recognize the importance of protection from the sun's harmful UV rays. While some rely on the traditional sunscreen method, I really got tired of smearing it on beforehand, then watching it wash away in sweat not even halfway through the trip. Instead, I've began to rely on protective hats and clothing for my fishing trips. While companies like Simms sell high-priced sun sleeves specifically for fishing, several companies make excellent alternatives that are considerably more affordable. This article will take a look at two affordable sun sleeves, perfect for anglers and others exploring the outdoors. SolarTex , from Virginia, offers a massive selection of UV protection clothing and related gear. Of particular interest to me was their line of UV Sleeves . Available in sizes XS to XXL, and in 6 different colors, these fitted sleeves purportedly block 98% of UVA and UVB rays, ra...

Testing Ground ThinkTankLure’s announcement of a “steerable lure” back in 2011 at iCast was met with a great deal of enthusiasm and press coverage. Tackle Tour , InFisherman , Field and Stream , plus several other websites covered this unique topwater bait. However, since then, I haven’t heard much about the Triggerfish. Fortunately, I was able to get in touch with the folks at ThinkTankLures and I have a brand new review on this exciting topwater lure.   Design ThinkTankLures has basically taken the Walk-the-Dog concept to a new level with the Triggerfish. The head swings from side to side, acting as a weight to change directions of the lure as needed. Line tie is on top of the lure, not by the lip, unlike many other hardbaits. The Triggerfish features two sets of treble hooks, like most poppers and topwaters, along with a prop at the rear for greater topwater action. Finally, the Triggerfish comes in a huge selection of excellent colors. One I prefer is the Ayu Shad color, ...

Thanks to a sweet tip from a fellow angler, I found a new urban creek to explore. It's actually more of a canal, but hold water year round and is absolutely loaded with chunky green sunfish, up to 12 inches. I lost track of how many scrappy greenies I landed in a short afternoon fishing session at this Inland Empire creek.  Since then, I've returned several times, always landing loads of these sunfish. I've also spotted a couple of turtles, many mosquito fish, and a couple small largemouth, along with the obligatory pile of litter and trash. Urban creek fishing at its finest hmm?

Location: Los Angeles National Forest Target: Rainbow Trout Operation: Success Hiked in. Fished. Had fun. Enjoy the results.  (More after the jump + video) Check the gnarly bug hatch out! Threw micro jigs and trout worms. All fish catch-photo-release. Found some sweet rainbow trout action in deep pools further along the creek. Lost a much larger trout at the very end of my trip. Kind of overpowered my 2lb mono ultralite setup.  All in the Angeles National Forest. Please practice catch and release or these trout streams will quickly be empty (no longer stocked).

Went hiking in the San Gabriels, Angeles National Forest. Came across a fantastic waterfall with a deep pool at its base. The rest of the creek wasn't great for fishing, but this pool produced two tough, chunky rainbows, around the 12-14'' range. First was caught on a soft plastic worm/jighead, the second on a Yo-Zuri Snap Bean imitation lure. Both released to be caught another day.

Loads of fishing photos on my desktop and not enough posts on Hunting the River King? Let's fix that. Here are three fish from a previous trip in the last few months in California, two bluegills and one small largemouth bass. All caught on 2lb mono with a Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow in my favorite Firetiger color. More to come!