Just like the title says I have to drive to California and I wanted to stop for some camping and fishing along the way.

What would your choices be? I was planning at stopping at the Kerr.

Iv heard there are lots of little natural streams in New Mexico Etc.

Any Help is appreciated.

Maybe the San Juan. Anyone have a better idea?

I-20 or I-40?

I-10 isn't going to yield much, and it's nowhere near the San Juan. So I'm assuming you're talking about taking the I-40 route that runs from N TX to Bakersfield, CA.

First, you'll come to the Pecos River Southeast of Santa Fe and East of Albuquerque, NM. To the N of Santa Fe, it's not very far to Taos. There are a BUNCH of good trout streams around Taos. The Jemez Mountains Northwest of ABQ have some nice trout streams. Research and choose using resources on-line via New Mexico Trout and by contacting the Streit's fly shops in Taos or Santa Fe (Taos Fly Shop and The Reel Life). From ABQ, you'll either go N or S to get to the destinations you choose, making your first major side-trip. To the Southwest, you have the Gila Wilderness, with it's 3 major branches of the Gila River. This is SERIOUS backcountry fly fishing! Mostly roadless wilderness area, hike-in or pack horse are your modes of transportation, but it is one of those "trip of a lifetime" kind of things where you can fish for days without human contact, never see a power line, and catch native Gila Trout (a type of Cutthroat that was on the Endangered Species list for decades...until a few years ago). To the North, the fishing is mostly more civilized. You can hit the Conejos and Los Pinos all the way up on the CO-NM border, or you can fish the Cimarron, Red, Costilla, and Rio Grande within an hour of downtown Taos.

Moving west, your next waypoint will be Flagstaff, AZ. You're not far from the Grand Canyon and Greer's Ferry to the Northwest. You're also not far from Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon to the South. Beautiful place with a nice trout stream and a single fly shop that's sort of "off the beaten track." Sedona is a serious Hippie/Yuppie town. Lots of New Age and crystal shops, and an abundance of over-priced spa retreats. But the fishing is actually decent and the scenery is fantastic. Greer's Ferry is a big tailwater fishery mostly fished by drift boat and raft.

From western AZ to San Bernardino, CA, is pretty much Mojave Desert. Not much fly fishing going on there. There are trout streams in the San Bernardino National Forest, but I haven't heard of many folks fishing them since the Mexican drug cartels started killing fishermen and campers over a decade ago. The fishing might be really good by now! But you've been warned...

It's quite a ways from Bakersfield to the trout streams of the Sierra Nevada to the North. They begin in the vicinity of Yosemite. When you get to the coast, there is some great fly fishing in the Pac Ocean.

Thanks for the info guys. Please keep it coming!!!

We will be taking I-40 to get back.

We cant decide on spending our time in New Mexico or Arizona. We need a place that will let us camp out and we would love to catch a few fish too.

There are plenty of places for primitive camping and some good campgrounds with full facilities near most of the great fishing in NM. I haven't found that to be the case at Sedona or Greer's Ferry.

One you may really want to consider...depending on timing of your trip...is the Valle Vidal in northern NM. There's no shortage of camping around there! (outside Red River, NM) Another option about 1 hour drive further north is the Conejos River on the CO-NM border. Great federal campsites all along the river. Just don't fish near the campsites. Everyone else does that. It would be about a 3-4 hour drive north on I-25 from the junction with I-40 at ABQ.

If the Valle is closed or not fishing well, there are lots of other options around Red River and Questa, NM. The Rio Grande, Red River, and some lesser know streams are right there for easy picking. The federal campgrounds on the rim of the Rio Grande canyon is huge and under-utilized. Facilities are nice, too. I've base camped there a few times when fishing that whole area on a 5-10 day trip. Be aware: it is run-off season in that region right now. It'll die down in late May/early June (most years).

Regarding the Gila-skip it. Two terrible snow years, fires, and floods last September killed a lot if fish. The streams w/ fishable Gila populations were hit especially hard.

Thanks guys.

Right now our list is this

Chevelon Canyon Lake
Kern River
Shelter Cove Pacific Ocean
Lost Coast Pacific Ocean
Trinity Lake
McCloud River

Would you guys adjust any of that?

Thanks again.

That's a pretty good list of places to fish in CA, and if you're going that far North there are a bunch of options. American River (east of Sacramento) is really nice. There's a Steelhead fishery in the lower river (below Folsom Lake) that is very accessible. Above the lake, the North and South Forks of the American are above the lake and drain the western side of Lake Tahoe. Those are good trout streams in pretty country. Surf Perch and Corbina fishing in Morro Bay can be very good when conditions are right, and it's worth doing most of the time. There are a couple of beaches between Carmel and Big Sur that are good to surf fish as well. The Sacramento River has very good trout fishing and sometimes nice Steelhead runs.

There's some good trout fishing around Yosemite and down toward Kern River country in the Sequoia NF. I'm not nearly as familiar with the CA fishing scene, because I lived out there for about 18 months back at the end of the 1980's. I hit a few of these spots a couple of times each. I'm sure a lot has changed since then.

I am a student from NM and when I go back I always fish the San Juan and the Pecos. Both rivers are awesome. I agree skip the Gila, it was awful and frankly just a depressing place to fish in. Red River is awesome, there is a nice trout fishery that you can check out and fish under and right now the weather is perfect. I fished it twice over my break. Also, the rio grande near Taos has great fishing and right now is a great time because the weather has warmed up and the snow that high has started to melt a bit more. I agree, it is usually run off season right now but they have been having a shortage of moisture this year. Honestly, my family has a houseboat on a lake in southern NM and there is nothing spectacular south of ABQ. I would stay very high if at all possible. Finally, this seems obvious but bring layers...thats one thing it can get so freaking cold at anytime. I know that sounds dumb but trust me, take layers.

thanks for the report. Nothing like feet on the ground updates.