Hello to all! It’s great to be part of such a well organized site. I had a “Raider” sighting this past weekend on the East Walker and he suggested I look into this forum, great advice to say the least. I was camped out on a hole struggling with very selective fish that were rising and I welcomed a newcomer to give it a whirl. Initially he refused and opted to stand with me offering up flies from his box for me to tie on in my futile attempts. After only hooking into 2 and losing 1 of those I bowed my head in shame and stepped aside. What I witnessed after that was nothing short of a miracle. The “Raider” as he referred himself as, proceeded to stick and land nearly every rising fish within the hole. One fish in particular was the very fish I had lost and he graciously removed my 2-fly rig from its lip and returned them to me.  
Anyways, I posted this into the beginners forum because I have been doing this flyfishing thing for the past 10 years but I am new to California trout. That, and just like I stated above these trout make a guy like me feel like I just started yesterday. One day I’m on the water sticking fish so regularly I almost feel bad for the fish, the very next day I fish for 8 hours and not land a single fish. Trout are like women, once you think you have them figured out and everything is going great, they blind side you with a silent treatment, and you haven’t the slightest clue what you did wrong.
I’ll try to make this brief and to the point but I am not going to make any guarantees. First I’ll give a quick background and then lead up to my current situation. As stated above I have been flyfishing for the past 10-11 years. I enlisted into the Marine Corps in 2001 after 9/11 and was stationed in Washington, DC for my first 4 years of active duty. While there I took up flyfishing and learned through the school of hard knocks reading, watching videos, and countless unsuccessful trips on the water. I eventually started putting it together and was bitten hard by the flyfishing bug. I spent countless hours chasing brook trout through the Shenandoah Mountains, browns and rainbows of numerous spring creeks in the MD, PA, and WV.  Broadening my horizons I shifted to saltwater quests off the shores of Long Island, NY with a buddy of mine in search for stipers and bluefish.
Once off active duty I returned home to IL and joined the local reserve unit to keep a foot in the door, not wanting to let the Corps go completely. Flyfishing pursuits switched over to warm water species as there are no trout in IL. I began with your typical farm pond bass, bluegill, and crappie. I have since branched out into top water smallmouths, hybrid stripers, northern pike, and most recently musky. I have this flyrod “bucket list” and I try to land as many different species as I can on the fly. I though musky would be a long standing troublesome fish, but I found the right spot and can now make it a yearly quest instead of the once in a lifetime opportunity that I thought it was going to be.  
Current situation….like I said I make no promises on being short. So, here I am in Camp Pendleton, CA doing a workup getting ready to go to Afghanistan in May. Not wanting to spend all my money in the bars on the weekend I had my wife send out some of my flyfishing gear. I did a little research and found Hot Creek, Owens River, and the East Walker. Since the end of February I have traveled north every Friday night on 395 as fast as I can to get to the mountains for crisp cool air and of course the trout. Thus far I feel as though I have been relatively successful. I have caught fish on each trip but have had a couple days of sheer frustration (to be expected from CA trout from what I hear).  As successful as I have been, there has been a nagging cloud that continues to haunt me that I have ignored to this point, the “Golden Trout.” I have been so successful, and have been having such a great time catching fish on now familiar waters, I have not wanted to “waste” a precious weekend hiking blindly through the mountains in search of some remote stream that may or may not have a fish in it. I am now down to 2 more weekends before I deploy and can’t take it any longer, I have to at least try. To be this close to a fish that I may not be able to catch anytime soon, and drive by these pristine waters seems to be a waste. I have been doing a little research where to go, but it seems every time I find a spot I get word that roads may be closed this time a year. As much as I like to do my own homework and explore new areas I am crunched for time. I am sending out a request on this site for a few minimal details to point me in the direction I need to go. I don’t want a 10 digit grid of your secret fishing hole, I am just looking for a stream name, a parking area that is clear of snow, and a trailhead to begin my hike. I know this is a lot to ask, but I have run into a few roadblocks and I want to make every attempt I can.
This weekend is the opener to the trout season and many areas may be busy, but I’m not sure I can go back to the East Walker and see one of those beautiful browns on the end of a stringer. I have had so much fun catching those fish to see one destined to a frying pan would kill me. Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for your time. DH

TroutMan,
  Welcome to the forum and THANK YOU for your service.   I'm sorry that I can't be much help on your quest for gold, but I'm sure you will get plenty of help from forum members. As for that "Raider" guy......many of us have gotten a lesson or two from him, your in good company on that account.   You will be hard pressed to meet another who represents flyfishing as well as Mr. Raider.
 Again, welcome and keep us posted on your quest.
 
Laugh and Enjoy,
 
  Randy

You know Raider really talked a good game before I let him into my spot, then when I saw what he tied on his line I began to have second thoughts. While the fly he used is a great fly, it just didn't seem the right type, and definitely the wrong size...boy was I wrong! This guy has it together, here I am trying to do everything by the book and he comes in with some crazy off-the-wall idea and sticks em'  
I have gotten 2 PM's so far, and they are basically sending me to the same general area, I am going to listen to their advice and see how it goes this weekend. I'm in great shape and have all the necessary gear to get me in and out safely, with some well sought after success in between. It's a pleasure to serve both my country and my Corps, it was a job while on active duty, but it has become almost a hobby for me now. I was trained well and it comes easy and natural now after 11 years. The stress can be intense at times but the pride has always been greater for both myself and my family, it is what keeps us going that is for sure.

Quests are a good but a  highly focused effort.
 
You may enjoy a different (expanded) viewpoint by checking out the CA Heritage Trout challenge on the CA Dept of Fish and Game website.  Some of those Heritage fish can be found much closer to your current home in Orange County.  It is something to consider.
 
All my best to you.  Here's hoping your luck in meeting folks like Raider continues, wherever you travel!
 
Ants

Trout Man 1775,
First of all GREAT handle.  For those of you who are unaware, 1775 is the birthday of the Marine Corps.  Welcome aboard Devil Dog.  Glad to have a fellow Jar Head that I can relate to on the forum. You are a lucky man to have had a chance encounter with the famous "Raider", ouch I hate even typing that name.  I'm a true blue "BRONCO" fan so Raider and I have some back and forth when we have seen eachother. He is definately a wealth of knowledge.  This forum is blessed with some great people who truely care about the environment and fly fishing.  If you have the time, we are having our 2nd annual kids academy on May 5th on the West Fork San Gabriel River.  If you would like information please go to the following link. http://westforksgrc.org/ We are always glad to have a fellow fly fisherman and Marine join us to educate our future fly fishers.  Hope to see you on the river some day.  Peace Drew

Im really enjoying reading theese posts and learning a lot to boot. Thanks guys. Mark

Dustin,
  Welcome to the forum and california flyfishing!  Better than central Illinois?  I'm glad you have had such a great time fishing the waters around here and the guys on this forum have top notch knowledge of flyfishing.  I'm learning alot quickly from these folks as they are a great group to learn from and share water with.  Hopefully your last couple weekends here are even better!
I sent you a PM also.  
Erik

This is a prime example of how small this world really is, and just how much smaller our flyfishing world is! Just as an FYI to anyone who cares, the above poster by the handle of Olive Bugger just PM'd me. It turns out this guy is from my home town in IL and was best friends with my older brother all through high school. Off and on through time our paths have crossed while I was in DC, home, and now in CA of all places. He once smashed my jack-o-lantern on the road in front of our house when I was a little kid. (no hard feelings, honestly, I'm 35 and can hardly remember it). Crazy world we live in, I hope we can link up for a trip if our schedules allow it prior to my departure. It has been a wild and crazy few days since getting on this site with all the PM's, posts, and friendly jabs back and forth. This has truly been a distraction from my work this past week, and hey it's almost Friday. I'm ready to go! Got to tie me up some ants tonight I guess.  
Hey Raider I was trying to keep your fly selection on the down-low because I know how secretive people can be, and I didn't want to be the one with diarrhea of the mouth. If a guy shares a secret fly with me I keep tight lipped out of respect to them. If I do the research and find out what their biting on I let everyone know, its more fun when others are as successful as I am. Some like to keep it a secret and that is on them, if I figure it out I feel it's my own info to share. From what I gather here, you too have the same outlook and enjoy seeing others catch fish. I remained quiet just in case though. DH