What’s for What
Here are some general recommendations, based on species. The big “X” means that you’ll definitely want to have some of this style in the fly box. The small “x” means this style can be very effective at times, but is not a “go to” selection.
Also notice that some of the entries are flagged with a different color in the first column…This means that while the recommendations shown are the best available, there’s no commonly accepted guidelines for catching that species in our waters on fly. That DOESN’T mean it’s impossible – it just means that no one’s completely figured it out yet (or if they have, they’re not talking about it!).
| Species | Slim Baitfish | Wide Baitfish | Surface Fly (popper) | Squid Imitation | Creature Fly | Other | Notes |
| Tunas | X | X | X | X | X | Creature flies can be effective when the tuna crab are around | |
| Yellowtail | X | X | X | X | Creature flies can be effective when the tuna crab are around | ||
| Bonito | X | X | Smaller, extremely sparse flies are often very effective | ||||
| Barracuda | X | X | |||||
| White Seabass | X | X | X | X | |||
| Calico Bass | X | X | X | X | X | Creature flies, sculpins around rocky areas; Whistlers or other bulky flies when the water is murky; Calicos often show a preference for reds, browns and pink | |
| Sand Bass | X | X | X | X | Whistlers or other bulky flies when the water is murky | ||
| Dorado (Mahi-mahi) |
X | X | X | X | |||
| Halibut | X | X | X | X | Whistlers or other bulky flies when the water is murky | ||
| Rockfish | X | X | X | X | Whistlers or other bulky flies when the water is murky | ||
| Sharks | X | X | X | Large streamers; orange or yellow; lots of saddle hackle, Schlappen, or hair | |||
| Striped Marlin | X | X | No data on SoCal Striped Marlin yet; suspect standard fare from other areas will work. |
So what about some names?
In Part 2 of this series, we’ll take a look at some top picks by local captains…