Hi everyone I would like to call on you all to help us plan our trip to the USA. We will be going to all the places listed below and would like to know from the locals what is good to see and what to avoid in each location or on the way their.

We will are hiring a car and heading from Anaheim to
Wendon Arizona onto the Grand canyon via Prescott Valley, Camp Verde, Lake Montezuma, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon Flagstaff then onto the Grand Canyon.

From Grand Canyon to Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon to Los Vegas

Los Vegas to Bakersfield
or Los Vegas to Ridgecrest

Bakersfield to Yosemite National Park
or Ridgecrest to Yosemite National Park. (Can anyone tell me if the road from this way to YNP if in March would it be closed.)

Yosemite National Park to San Francisco.

Owen seems to think that he will need to buy a fly rod while we are there what are your thoughts on this as well? :-)

All help would be great.

Sandra

Sandra, you left out Wisconsin. I can't help you on your quest for this area, but if Owen and yourself ever find your way to the middle of the country I'll be more than happy to help out. Mark Blabaum

P.S. I think Owen needs a fly rod.

Owen,
may want a fly rod for several of these areas you are visiting. He should be able to build a 7'6" 4wt rod in 3 or 4 pc. that he could take along though.

Regards,

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Dear Sandra and Owen...
The roads from Bakersfield into Yosemite should be no problem in March....and Yosemite will be beautiful that time of year.
Todd Vivian is right on with the fly rod at 7' 6" 4 wt. it will be a joy to be holding when used in Yosemite .

Tight Lines
Tight Wraps
Fishin'Stix by Fred

Sandra,
The blank recommended should be more than adequate for Oak Creek Canyon also. Nice little pocketwater stream. I don't know how well off it is these days. A couple years ago it got blown out pretty bad from a huge amount od rain runoff. I am sure it has cleared out by now though. As I recall,it was mostly stocked rainbowsand some browns,with an occasional larger rainbow that may be a holdover from previous stockings. Just don't expect much in the way of size to any of them. Perhaps contacting the local Chamber of Commerce in Sedona can provide you with a contact for a local fly shop that will answer any questions about the area and its waters. Perhaps try Steffen Brothers Flyrods. I think they are in Flagstaff.
Sedona is nice for shopping and Jerome is also an interesting diversion if its not fishing well in OC Canyon. I lived in Jerome for about 4 months and boy was that a weird scene in 1980. LOL The hippies vs. the oncoming yuppie onslaught.
Best wishes for a safe and fun trip,
Chuck

Hi Sandra. I take it that you are from Australia? Well, I can only advise about the California aspect of your trip. First, March is still winter in much of the higher elevations of California. You mention fishing. The general fishing season in the High Sierras does not begin until the last saturday in April. Much of the best fishing locations in the Sierras will be closed and in fact some of the higher elevation waters may still be frozen in March. The lower waters around Bishop CA (ie lower Owens River ) will be open and fishable but the real season will not begin until the general openner in April. I am not sure about Yosemite in March as part of it may still be snowed in and if you go through Ridgecrest, then you will be on the eastern side of the Sierras mountains. Not sure about the fishing season in the park. Highway 395 will be passable in March but the transition from the eastern side of the mountains to the western side may be iffy in some locations. Some of the passes do not open until June and sometimes the pass through Yosemite is not open in March. I believe that access into Yosemite may be limited to the Western side only thus Bakersfield and up into N. California on the western side may be your only alternative. Of course, from a scenic side, the eastern side is my favorite but crossover to the western side that far north may be restrictive. Of course, you can cross over by going thru Reno and Lake Tahoe ( more gambling) lol. And ah San Francisco. A great destination but a parking nightmare. Food and lodging is especially expensive here. Chinatown is tough to drive/park. Fisherman's warff (sp) is the one exception and can be driven and parking is easy here ( but expensive). The drive over the bridges are great and you pay only for the south bound Golden Gate Bridge. Enjoy your trip.

Hello Sandra,

A couple of thoughts.

I gather you all enjoy driving? I might consider flying straight into Arizona and save the time and expense of driving there. You can see it
all on the return trip back to the coast. It's a lot of desert, and after a few hours, it all looks the same.

The central part of California is dominated by the Sierras. A very large mountain range that contains several National Forests and Parks. During the summer, Yosemite is accessible from the East or West side. However, in March it will be very unlikely that the passage will be open. You will most likely want to enter Yosemite from the west to visit Yosemite Valley.

San Francisco. I'd stay some place out of town that is served by the BART. (BART is the local mass transit system) I wouldn't recommend driving and trying to park in SF. For newcomers, the hills can be a challenge.

Fly rod? Of Course! An 8' 6" rod would be my first choice. As Mel said, fishing at the higher elevations may be challenging, there is lots of fishing in the foothills. Chris Shaffer wrote three books called

"The Definitive Guide to Fishing in Southern California",
"The Definitive Guide to Fishing Central California" &
"The Definitive Guide to Fishing in Northern California"

I like these books in particular because they are concise and easy to use. They are the kind of books you just leave in the car, and when you
stop somewhere, pull them out and see whats nearby for fishing. He lists lots of locations and he has fished them all many times.

Instead of stopping in Bakersfield, why not consider stopping in Kernville on the Kern River. Water level may still be rather high in March, but it is a beautiful place.

Good Luck with you Trip.

Ed

Sandra - please travel safe, and welcome to the left side of our country.

When you get tired of the mountains and the deserts, then come east - all the way east. We have native mountain brookies at the tops of our Western NC mountains that will break your heart, and some beautiful trout waters along the rest of North Carolina, with rainbows that'll surprise you. That 4wt would be perfect for those streams.

And our brand of "southernese" is sort of like Aussie, in the bargain.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Hi Sandra,

I recently moved to the Prescott Arizona area, so can offer some tips. If you are ultimately headed to Flagstaff, from Prescott Valley, I would drive highway 89A over Mingus Mountain and thru Jerome, which is an interesting drive and old mining town built up the side of a mountain. Then down into the Verde Valley to Cottonwood and you can stop at Dead Horse State Park and fish the Verde River for stocked Rainbow trout, and the fishing lagoons for the same. Or you can skip Dead Horse and drive straight to Sedona, which is a beautiful area to go site seeing. Red Rocks park is great, etc...

Then up Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff, fishing for Rainbows and Brownies along the way. That is a small stream, and a 7'6" 2wt is plenty of rod there. Those fish are easily spooked and hard to catch.

Personally I think Camp Verde is a waste of time, but Montezuma might be worth seeing. That area is all within a 50 mile radius of Sedona or Cottonwood.

From Cali, you are right in going to Wenden, then to Wickenburg, then highway 89 toCongress, thru Prescott, then on to 89A past Prescott Valley to Jerome etc.... VERY nice drive and a narrow winding mountain road from Wickenburg to Prescott.

crossing from the east side to the west side of the sierra through yosemite, highway 120 aka the tioga pass road is possibly doable with a snowmobile or skiis but only for the hardcore if at all. the road is usuallly not ploweed and opened until late june and we're getting a very good pack of snow so far this winter. it has been pushed back until july sometimes. search for tioga pass openings and you'll find historical dates going back quite a bit.

eric
fresno, ca.

Mark if in the area we will surely look you up. I have no idea where Wisconsin is but you have me curious enough to look it up.

Todd we both need a fly rod and have decided that the best option is to make one while we are in Long Beach. I like the idea of 3 or 4 piece rod and now as Owen and I don't do fly fishing here is Australia would love to know a good combination for the 7' 6" 4 wt. What components are needed and even how to construct one. We will have not enough time to do this before we leave Australia.

The hippies vs. the oncoming yuppie onslaught Chuck would I have loved to have seen that. Do you need different fly rods for different fish? I think I know the answer to that question before it is answered. Owen Once said to me and I think this was taken from a great rod builder, if you play golf do you use the same iron for every hit. Well what is the different to fishing?

Mel and Ed thank you both for your input. I would have stayed at fisherman’s wharf if someone had not given advice on other ideas, Yosemite had me concerned and it seems we have the wrong time of year to go visiting there.

Russ would love to see your area sounds like a great place to visit.

Marc thanks for the info on around that area. You say fishing for Rainbows and Brownies is that what is around that area and also you said that a 7'6" 2wt good for most fly fishing.

Eric thank you for your help on the pass road good that people are willing to help as maps only tell you so much.

Thanks Guys

Sandra Dare