1. Troutnut Forum
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2. Fly Fishing Beginners
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3. How to find out what to fish for nearby?

Well that is about as vague an inquiry as I have ever seen. Where do you live? What state? What do you want to fish for, trout, bass, panfish, catfish, give us a clue. Do you want to fly fish, spin fish? Do you want to fish in moving water, stillwater, or both? Wade or in a boat?

Well, I live in California. Im targeting trout on the American River with a fly rod. I'm curious if there's anything I can do to catch some trout at this time, or if I should wait till the spring.

Thethrill02 wrote;



Sorry mate I don't know anything about fishing is California. Perhaps you could go to a local fishing store or Bass Pro store if one is near you and ask the guys behind the counter. Also try Googling "winter trout fishing on the American River" and see what hits you get. Maybe there are some steelhead in the river now.

I too live in California and I am wondering myself lol. Since I am new to this also.

What I would do is go to Google. Find a stream, river, or lake that you are interested in fishing and google the fishing report. If there are fish in it its likely someone else has fished it before you and written about it. Orvis usually has a pretty decent fishing report on most creeks and rivers. That being said, sometimes there are creeks that nobody knows about. When I lived in Utah I was able to find one that had wild rainbows, and nobody I ever talked to even knew there were fish in it.

Not sure about CA, but many if not most states will have web pages on their fishing opportunities, as well as rules, regs, license info, etc. I spent a summer in Arizona and before going I went to their state fisheries website for info, and it was very helpful for a state that is on the opposite side of the country from Michigan. Look up "State DNR" or whatever it might be called in CA, and they should have some info on species and etc. for you. Best of luck!

Jonathon