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By Sean Fenner, December 7, 2010 11:05 pm

The last couple of weeks haved been some of the most trying times in my life. Personal issues running rampant, work  is non stop at what is supposed to be the slowest time of the year, and the ear ache of the century. What more can I say, it’s been tough!

I remember thinking to myself “I wonder, how can I get some time away from the daily grind?” That’s right! What was I thinking? All I need is a little Urban Fly Fishing. Sometimes you just have to pick up your gear and leave the world behind.  

So I locked the doors to my truck and left it all in the parking lot of Chantry Flats for some adventure in the local San Gabriel Mountains.

The air was crisp, the sound of the creek was filling my ears, and my hands were still warm from my daily caffeine fix. Away I ran. Barreling down the Santa Anita Creek Trail with my 3 weight in hand, ready to hit the stream with full force. I tied on a size 16 Stimulator with a dropper Prince Nymph and the fish didn’t even know what hit them.

It was amazing, for hours it seamed like every cast produced a fish. One, Two, Three, Ten, Twenty, Thirty, I  lost count. Not even an hour on the stream and the battery on my camera was already running low from flash, after flash, after flash.

Was I dreaming?  Is this real? I has to sit down, and take it all in with a few deep breathes. What just happened? Suddenly I could not think about anything but Rainbow Trout, where was the next one hiding? Would this keep up, could I really catch a fish on every cast for more than a couple of hours? So many questions running through my head. What was I doing different? Where is the hatch?

All these questions mixed in with one profound thought “ Thank you Randall Kaufmann”!

It was amazing! I have caught a lot of fish on Santa Anita Creek over the last couple of years, but never had a day that came even close to this. After 4 hours of hiking from hole to hole and fish after fish. I decided to call it quits.

As I made my way back up the canyon to the parking lot (the only part of Santa Anita Canyon that is not to my liking) I just remember sitting down on the edge of the trail for a minute and thinking “Thank You GOD”. This was exactly what I needed!!!

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By Sean Fenner, December 27, 2009 8:05 pm

There are many great things about not having to work on Christmas Eve, one is that I can go fishing in the morning and another is that a lot of people are working or at home with family. That means that every year on Christmas Eve morning I am out on the water all by my lonesome.

I had to decide where I was going to fish and I have been long overdue for a hike up into Santa Anita Creek to get in a little Wild Rainbow Trout Action. I was amazed when I got the the Chantry Flats parking lot and it was almost empty, when it is normally busting at the seems with people looking to take a nice stroll amongst the beauty of the canyon.

The hike and the fishing was great.  I managed a few small native fish after just a few hours time and the weather was crisp, cool, and refreshing. I was amazed to see how many trees had been uprooted though by our recent rainstorm, after such a dry season the last couple of years and then the sudden rain the roots must not have had a very strong hold.

Can’t wait for my next trip up there, I am such a sucker for the beautiful waterfall dams that line the hike about every 1/4 of a mile. If you decide to do any kind of fishing up in Santa Anita Creek, please remember to practice “Catch and Release Only”. The creek is small, has not been stocked in a long time, and cannot spare even one fish to power bait and treble hooks!!!

Comments (2)

By Sean Fenner, January 21, 2009 3:37 am

This is a photo of a small Native Rainbow Trout that I caught at Santa Anita Creek in the Angeles National Forest. This really is a unique place to fish in Southern California. There is no stocking that goes on here, so you can fish right as soon as you get on the trail. If you want more info about Santa Anita Creek check out the link under locations on the main blog page.

Comments (2)

By Sean Fenner, January 5, 2009 4:26 am

On my latest Fly Fishing adventure I decided to go and check out Santa Anita Creek. So I got on the 210 freeway exited at Santa Anita Ave, and followed the road up to the end at Chantrey Flats. So you will end up in the parking lot and the road that you want to take down is at the south side of the parking lot. Follow the paved trail down alittle and that will take you down to first water trail. Not long after jumping on first water trail you will be at the creek. The creek will mini dams on it about every1/4 mile or less and these are the spots to fish. I fished each one on my way back to Sturtevant Falls for about5-10 minutes each and I caught 7 fish and also got a couple hits on a few Rainbows that got away. This creek is not stocked, all of the fish are Native Trout (you can tell by the beautiful coloring of the fish) so I urge you CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY! If you want more info and better directions check out the link on my main page under locations.