West Coast Fishing Question from an East Coast Guy

[benarsenault]

Hi everybody,

This is my first post, so apologies if this should've been in "off topic" but since it's fishing related I thought it might be more appropriate here. My girlfriend and I are moving out west from NYC but we haven't really narrowed it down and I'm looking for advice on where we should move (that also has good bass fishing). I have a pretty good fishing situation here in NYC - we have a series of interconnected reservoirs north of the city with really great bass fishing. Roland Martin did an episode on the reservoirs at one point. You have to use a rowboat, but the reservoirs don't get much pressure and consistently produce big fish (big for us is anything over 5 lbs.). Anyway, fishing is really important to me and I need to live someplace where I can throw a jon boat in the back of a pickup truck and get to some decent water within an hour drive (hopefully I'll have a bass boat someday).

My girlfriend and I are in our early thirties and want to get married and start a family within the next few years, and we definitely don't want to raise kids in NYC. We're planning to move to a west coast city and enjoy a couple more years of youthful partying and we'll eventually settle down in wine country or someplace peaceful with lots of nature.

We've both been to LA, and she's been to San Diego and a few other places in SoCal, as well as Seattle and Tacoma. I've always thought Seattle or Portland would be cool, but she gets depressed in the rain and cold weather, so I'm not sure either would be a good fit. We talked about the Bay Area, but the cost of living is even higher there than it is in NYC. We're both outdoorsy types, so we need someplace with access to lots of outdoor activities (and fishing of course). I'm also not ready to live in a place with no music scene (I'm a musician), and we both need jobs, so that's why we're targeting a city for the initial move.

Anyway, if anyone has any pearls of wisdom I'd love to hear them. Am also interested to hear about smaller places on or near the west coast like Eureka, CA or Bend, OR for example. Have been doing a lot of research on the interwebs lately, but I trust bass forum guys more than I trust the interwebs. Anyway, thanks for listening.

[Fast Eddie]

Hey Ben,
First off welcome.
When considering your move, you need to take into account the freeway system here in CA. You can surf in the am if your so inclined and in a matter of hours you can be in the snow on the same day.

The bay area is the place that meets your criteria in my view. The music scene has always been here. As far as expense, the delta towns of Brentwood (not where OJ lived), Oakley, Tracy are plenty reasonable as far as real estate goes. (What your paying for rent in your apt, or borough house is what you'll probably pay for a housepayment in those areas)

There are a lot of reasonable areas around Sacramento too. All within an hour or two of "world famous bass fishing". Several of Bassmasters top 100 lakes are near these areas. There are worlds records swimming nearby as attested this last year with an almost new world record spotted bass taken out of New Melonies Reservoir. Most areas will require a boat though. Bank fishing is tough on most lakes due to steep inclines and loose gravel and private property.

Send me a pm as I'll be back in CT late june an early July, if you want more info, maybe we can hook up.

Good Luck in your decision.

Tight Line
Fast Eddie.

As a Connecticut transplant myself, you'll need to get used to driving. We left coasters think nothing of traveling 3 to 4 hrs for a tournament, then driving home.

[whazup]

Have you considered Arizona. There are at least 6 bass lakes within 3 hours of the Phoenix area. The summer heat is an issue, no doubt, but then when you consider 9 months of heaven.......Don't know where you stand politically, but CA and AZ are polar opposites so keep that in mind. As far as the music scene, I think Scottsdale would meet any requirement in that regard. I have lived in both..58 years in CA and 5 in AZ. I would not even begin to consider considering moving back to CA. MUCH cleaner here. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Good luck to you.

[Oldschool]

The San Diego area has several city lakes that fit your same boat and offer good bass fishing. The city isn't as cosmopolitan as NYC, few are.
SF is a great small city for your career and has several small lakes between Gilroy to SF on both sides of the Bay Area. The suburbs are less expensive, still the Bay Area cost of living is high.
The wine country is wonderful, doesn't fit your career.
OC and LA fit your career and offer some decent fishing, traffic via the freeway system in SoCal is a zoo!
Central Cal and most of NorCal doesn't fit your career opportunities, offer good cost of living and outdoor sporting activities.
Good luck.
Tom

[stickinlips86]

I live in Yuba City. Its 40 minutes from Sacramento, 1hr 20min from Clear Lake, 30mins to Collins lake, 45 min to Bullards Bar, 45 minutes to Oroville Lake, 1hr 30min to Lake Berryessa, and 1hr 20min away from the Delta. Its a smaller farm town with lots of hunting and fishing all around. We have a bunch of sloughs all around locally. We call it the bypass which has bass,catfish,bluegill, you name it. Its perfect for a small boat until you get a bigger one. The ocean is about 3 hours away too. As far as jobs, there are decent jobs but most likely you would want to look in sacramento.

[fresnobassman]

Keep in mind the Calif Delta areas. Easy access for any size boats and so many miles of quality bass fishing. Depending on where you settle you could be as close as an hour from the bay area, great for musicians ( i am one as well). Clearlake is close by. These two fisheries are always rated top 10 in US for bass. Throw in nearby lakes like Don Pedro, New Melonies, New Hogan, Comanchee just to name few. All easily reached from a central location like Lodi, Sacramento, Elk Grove. You say you dont want to raise a child in NYC, i guess it all depends on your reasons for moving out here. Keep in mind the political climate in NYC and California are nearly identical, so if your leaving because of politics you wont be bettering your situation here. Other than the Cal government wanting to put ahalt to nearly anything outdoors related, fishing, hunting, access to public waters and lands, gun ownership, you name it, and it aint going away anytime soon. Too many voters on the dole for handouts here, help keep those that want to restrict you in office. That said, if you can stand the politics, Central California would be pretty hard to beat. As posted earlier you would be within an hour or two from surfing to snow skiing and everything in between and nearly 365 days a year. E me when you get here, if you do, and i will take you out on the delta and introduce you to some killer bass fishing. Seriously

[benarsenault]

Wow thanks everybody! I really appreciate your replies, especially given that I'm brand new on this forum and nobody knows me yet. Special thanks to Fast Eddie for the PM invite and to fresnobassman for the fishing invite! You guys are awesome. My lady is leaning toward LA or Portland, and I think both would be really cool, although I know that Northern / Central CA is probably the best spot for fishing. Maybe we'll move there someday but probably not this next move. Anyway, if she is happy then I am happy, so I'm starting to focus on Portland and LA. Seems like there's some good smallmouth fishing on the Columbia River near Portland. I prefer green fish to brown fish, but I'm sure I could learn to love smallie fishing. LA has Casitas, Castaic, Perris Reservoir and Diamond Valley within a two hour drive (according to Google Maps). I know the pressure is much higher in CA than OR, but then again the fish are a lot bigger in CA. Does anyone have any thoughts on Portland vs. LA for fishing or non-fishing reasons? Portland seems less expensive and like I'd be stuck in traffic less, but I've heard finding a job can be tough. The nature seems better in Portland, but the rainy winters seem like a drag. LA would have better weather and more traffic, but also more job opportunities. I don't care about the beach but she does, so we might end up in LA for beach reasons. LA is also closer to her family in Arizona. This is a tough decision so we're visiting both cities next month. If anyone has additional thoughts, I'm all ears. Thanks!

[gabuelhaj]

LA over Portland any day, every day! Although the fresh water fishing may be somewhat limited in the LA area, there's still enough to keep you busy. Also, you can use your same gear and baits for the Calico bass off of Long Beach/San Pedro down to Orange county.

And, there's plenty of bass water in Arizona too!

Good luck!

[benarsenault]

Hey guys,

So it took awhile, but we're finally making the move from NYC to LA in late August! I'm going to have to start doing some research about how the drought has impacted the lakes near LA, what the bass are eating in specific lakes, etc. I love the research and discovery parts of fishing so I'm really excited to get out there. I'll probably buy a kayak to start off, so hopefully I can launch from pretty much anywhere with public access. I'm also gonna have to buy a big swimbait stick and some giant trout swimbaits! My personal best largemouth is 6.5 pounds and I'm hoping I can beat it this year. Looking forward to learning more from you guys and becoming a contributor here and posting my own reports soon. Tight lines!

[reddog]

There's Kayak clubs all over as well. Search them out and ask where those guys are fishing/tournaments. For a bunch of guys that are extremely secretive about where "their fish" are I'm always amazed at how helpful they are.

[Brian D.]

Best of luck to you. Which part of "LA" will you reside? As a guess, you will be fishing Castaic and Pyramid since those are the closest. Recommend you join a bass club to get your light line skillz up to par especially for fishing Western lakes. Oh, and watch out for that over-paid carpenter, Mark Poulson.

[george]

Let me know when you make it out as I fish the lakes to the north east of San Diego and east of Los Angeles and often have an open back seat. I have a good friend who was the keyboard player in my band who moved from central California to upstate New York and now guides on Lake Champlain.
You will definitely have a chance to break your personal best every time you go out here in California, SoCal has some great fisheries as well as going north to the delta and Clear Lake which you can all but guarantee it if you spend the time on the water.
Anyway, have a good trip and let me know when you get out here.

George

[benarsenault]

Thanks guys! I can't wait to get out there! We're looking for apartments in Silverlake, Echo Park, West Hollywood, etc. Would be fun to meet up with some of you guys if you want to fish!

[ash]

Being a SOCAL native, moving to NORCAL 10 years ago they are definitely two different worlds. I ended up moving from Orange County CA to Sacramento CA i have to say Sacramento area is where i call home and love it. It does not have the night life or music scene that you will find in LA area but the fishing purrrrrre heaven, Delta in an hour, Clear Lake in 1:45 Folsom in 30, Berryessa in an 1.5 hours all great high quality fisheries and the cost of living is about 10-12% less then LA area. Of course its all CA so taxes and regulations still suck. It depends on what it is your looking for, for me NorCal is the place for me. West Hollywood - wow dude your looking for the full crazy LA experiance - i would recommend the Long Beach area, great art scene, music , culture half way between LA and OC.

[benarsenault]

Being a SOCAL native, moving to NORCAL 10 years ago they are definitely two different worlds. I ended up moving from Orange County CA to Sacramento CA i have to say Sacramento area is where i call home and love it. It does not have the night life or music scene that you will find in LA area but the fishing purrrrrre heaven, Delta in an hour, Clear Lake in 1:45 Folsom in 30, Berryessa in an 1.5 hours all great high quality fisheries and the cost of living is about 10-12% less then LA area. Of course its all CA so taxes and regulations still suck. It depends on what it is your looking for, for me NorCal is the place for me. West Hollywood - wow dude your looking for the full crazy LA experiance - i would recommend the Long Beach area, great art scene, music , culture half way between LA and OC.

My fiance's new job is in W. Hollywood, so we're definitely going there for now. Eventually we will want to get out of LA and find a more laid-back way of life. Maybe Northern CA, or maybe OC or one of those little coastal towns between LA and SD. Anyway it's gonna be a fun adventure!