HomePescadero Creek - Native Wild Steelhead Fishery

Pescadero Creek - Native Wild Steelhead Fishery

Our local homewater with native, wild coastal steelhead

PFF members, you can enjoy the challenges of fly fishing for native, wild steelhead 40 minutes from the Peninsula and help wildlife officials continue the restoration efforts for the Pescadero Creek fishery and watershed.

PFF enjoys a unique partnership with Trout Unlimited, California Trout and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), with the collective goals of restoring the Pescadero Creek native steelhead fishery and providing the scientific field data to justify the inclusion of Pescadero Creek to the state’s Heritage and Wild Trout Program. That program is pretty heady company; think of this local fishery being awarded the same status as Hat Creek, Fall River, the Upper Sacramento River, the Lower McCloud River, or the Lower Owens River, just to name a handful!

The coastal steelhead season on Pescadero Creek and other San Mateo and Santa Cruz county coastal creeks is from December 1 through March 7, but only on Wednesdays, weekends, holidays and opening and closing days. (Check the CDFW Regulations for specific dates.)

PFF members can assist CDFW in its restoration efforts for this wild, native steelhead fishery in two ways:

1) Submit an angler survey after fishing

Nobody likes to do surveys, especially after a long day of fishing, but taking some time to provide your fishing and observations for the day will help the state in improving our fisheries.

The California Inland Recreational Angler Survey (CIRAS) is the new online survey form that the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) is using statewide. Their staff biologists review the surveys periodically to make decisions on where to allocate resources, and which fisheries require their attention.

CIRAS can be accessed from your mobile device by opening the QR code or by clicking HERE on your mobile or desktop device. Note that CIRAS replaces the online and paper Pescadero angler surveys used in previous years.

2) Pescadero Creek Lagoon Sampling Surveys

PFF has partnered with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Trout Unlimited and California Trout, to work on habitat restoration and fishery studies in a long-term effort to restore the native, wild steelhead trout population at nearby Pescadero Creek on the San Mateo coast.

Lagoon sampling is typically performed during the summer and early fall months onsite at the Pescadero Creek lagoon. Click Pescadero Creek Lagoon Sampling for more information.