Fishing near Lompoc?

[Steve B]

My company is wanting to send me to do a project in Lompoc for a few years. I have mixed feelings, in part because it takes me away from my preferred Northern California trout streams/rivers and mountains.

That said, I have never fished in southern California, so can anybody provide any suggestions of fishing near Lompoc?

Thanks in advance.

[Lew Riffle]

There is the southern Sierra a couple of hours away from Lompoc. Kernville and Guy Jeans fly shop there are just about as mainstream as it gets s far as getting a mountain fix. There are some lakes and a few streams up the line in the San Luis Obispo/Paso Robles area. There in Lompoc if you are interested in the surf are some remarkable beaches for such when conditions are right. The Santa Ynez River once held a good run of steelhead but that ended with the dams. The river and local streams are closed to fishing because of the listing of the southern steelhead.