Hey Clarrus. I used to spend a lot of time at Muir, due to living close by. Muir Beach has a very sandy bottom for the most part. Surf perch along the shore, occasional striper in the same zone and yes, some RCG species at the far north end out around the point by the wash rock. If you are talking about the monolith looking rock at the mouth of Redwood creek, that's all sandy bottom. If you are talking about the wash rock out at the point, that has a bit of structure around it and running back towards the shore. Never fished the south end, but I've seen people fishing from shore south of the beach, off the rocks. If you are gonna be fishing in your kayak, bring your beach wheels. It's a bit of a hike. Also a surf launch, but the north end can be more protected from the west and north swells. South swell? Forget it.

Helpful cam - http://sigward.com/

Josh

p.s...I'd be asking more ; )

Hi Malfunction,

You seem to have gotten the itch, that's great. I started fly fishing a few years ago (in the bay area and Sierras) and spend most of my time now in the pursuit.

Looks like you've got some good resources here. I'll add a couple thoughts/learnings from when I got started. You don't have to jump into the high end rods at first, but don't got too cheap either. IMO, there's a bigger difference between a really cheap rod and a mid-tier rod, than the mid-tier to high end. I learned on an older Redington 5wt and I think it's a great entry rod. TFO also makes nice rods. My point, you should be able to find a rod/reel combo with line for around $200, that you'll actually enjoy using for more than just the learning phase.

I'd recommend a 9' 5wt - good all around fly rod for the Truckee, Little T, Lower Yuba, Putah, etc...you'll also be able to throw streamers with it, but learn to cast dries first. Once you get set up, go to your local park and just practice swinging the rod. I like to put a tiny piece of yarn on the end of a leader/tippet, so you can see how your cast plays out. My biggest issue when I first started, was not letting the line load in the backcast. Crucial and probably a common issue.

In terms of dry fly fishing for Bows, that's an awesome goal, but most of your results will come from nymphing. In between trips to the rivers, I'd throw Adams dry fly's at my local ponds and hook up on blue gill. Great practice and fun.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this thought. If you can find a course take. You should also go out with a guide on your first river trip. Worth it for many reasons - They will help you with your casting technique, they will teach you to fish that particular river, which you'll be able to come back to on your own and they should be putting you on the fish. You'll also get to try a few higher end rods in the process.

Hope this helps, PM me if you have further questions.

Josh

p.s. get REAL good and efficient at tying knots. Time wasted on knots, is time not fishing.

Thanks Pat! Unfortunately no ocean conditions here in Arkansas. Guessing I'd only be doing a few miles here and there on the lakes for Bass. Main use case is going to be fly fishing tailwaters for trout.

Do you think the design of the boat would accommodate an anchor system?

Josh

Clousers and Decievers or similar baitfish pattern. If you only have floating line spooled up, you may want to get some sinking leaders, the higher the sink rate the better, measured in IPS (Inch Per Second)

I fish an 8 wt for stripers, but a 7 wt would work. The weight of the rod isn't as much a limitation for the size of the fish, but rather a limiting factor on the size of the fly you'll be able to practically cast. I will say the sinking leaders don't make it easier, but you'll get used to it with practice.

Josh

I'm going through a similar thing right now. Moving into a place with a 1 car garage and the wife "has to have her car in garage".

Therefore, I'm getting creative. Garage is 20' x 13', car is 16' x 6'. I'm working on a fold up/drop down work bench, 18' shelves and gonna play tetris with the freezer and a bunch of my other crap. The workbench may drop down and sit right above the freezer. We'll see...

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Josh

Jaffa Parks connection to an employee who is attempting to build 13 homes in Marin/unincorporated Mill Valley. I'm not gonna offer an opinion. I used to live a few miles from this area before moving out of state. I'll let the comments section of the article speak for the neighborhood's feeling towards this.

http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20170224/NEWS/170229889

Scurvy,

I didn't read the link that lightfoot provided, so sorry if this is redundant. One of the biggest considerations will be the excess line as you are stripping in. Manageable on a river, but prone to chaos in the surf. Consider a container that attaches to your belt to drop line into as you strip back. I'm sure you can come up with something cheap and easy, like a gallon milk jug cut in half...might want to smooth out the edge to protect your line. Have fun with it!!!

Josh