Glenn Ueda Biography

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A native of Southern California, Glenn was introduced to surf fishing as a child by his father. Every Sunday, from Morro Bay down to San Onofre, they caught their own bait and targeted everything from striped bass to barred perch to corbina. Reading about fly fishing in Field and Stream, Glenn soon learned basic fly casting and tying at world famous Long Beach Casting Club, He was ten.

 

A local pond provided endless joy fooling bluegill, crappie and bass. Almost six decades later following a rewarding career as an architect, he sought new challenges. Taking all of those cherished surf and freshwater lessons, he built a very successful business “So Cal Flats Fishing Guide Service” teaching fly anglers the art of sightfishing in shallow surf for one of the world’s most challenging species, the California Corbina. Guiding highly skilled anglers from all over the globe, many agree after a day’ of stalking that they our “Ghost of the Coast” is as difficult if not worse than the very popular and highly coveted flats permit.

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Loving all things fishing, Glenn is a Pro Staff member for Galvan Fly Reels, Orvis Fly Fishing, Scientific Anglers, Gamakatsu, and Costa Sunglasses. He enjoys sharing his passion for our sport, filling his annual calendar by hosting international fly fishing adventures to Christmas Island, Mexico, and the Amazon, as well as conducting presentations that support our fly fishing community. They include “Jungle Predators – Beyond the Bucket List”, Ghost of the Coast – Sightfishing for California Corbina”, “Midnight Madness – The Hunt for Trophy Calico Bass”, “Planet Carp - Fly Fishing for the World’s Popular Fish” and “Chrome Spots and Fangs – Cold Water Predators” all of which have been embraced by every fly fishing club from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

 

An extension of his teachings, Glenn has written a number of feature articles for such notable publications as California Fly Fisher, Fly Fisherman, Sport Fishing, Saltwater Sportsman, Pacific Coast Sportfishing Magazine, and Western Outdoor News.

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Borne from an affinity for sightfishing, he has ventured abroad for exotic species such as Baja Mexico roosterfish dorado and tuna, Belizean permit tarpon and bonefish, Christmas Island giant trevally triggerfish and bonefish, Amazon arapaima peacock bass wolffish and arowana, Argentinian golden dorado pacu and pira pita, and most recently Colombian “vampire fish” aka payara. Fishing over 150 days annually, Glenn also enjoys the challenge of stalking finicky hard-fighting carp in metropolitan Los Angeles to massive Montana impoundments to the narrow canals of Japan.

 

Developed specifically for pursuing these “golden bones” in all conditions, his extremely popular Loco Moco carp fly has followers in virtually every state that contains carp as well throughout Asia, Europe, and Australia. Most recently, he added the giant Brazilian arapaima and rare Alaskan sheefish aka “Tarpon of the North”, to his extensive list of fly-caught species.

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With a background in long range big game fishing, he also enjoys venturing well offshore, seeking hard-fighting pelagic and coastal species, all from his 20’ Edgewater center console. An immense aquatic resource, his coastal stretch of the Eastern Pacific Ocean supports a very healthy population of California Yellowtail, Pacific Bonito, Kelp Bass (aka calico bass), and Pacific Barracuda, as well as seasonal visitors such as yellowfin tuna and dorado, all eager to slam a well-presented fly.

 

Having landed 145 species on fly to date during his aforementioned international and domestic travels, he is perhaps most proud of his IGFA Fly Rod World Records for California Corbina on 4#, 12# and 16# tippet, all captured and released on his local beach.

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When not fishing, Glenn and his wife of 41 years, Mona, enjoy traveling to Japan to visit their son Randy and family, spending time outdoors with their dog Mac, and strolling the sand near their coastal home in Huntington Beach.