Al Q with a grande rooster fish estimated between 70 and 80 pounds, landed July, 2019, in East Cape, MX off the beach on fly. Pictured holding fish on right is his old friend and guide, Jeff DeBrown from The ReelBaja
I will continue to be a student of fly fishing, trying to learn something new everyday I am on the water. This blog is basically a place for my passion, ideas, inspiration, and photography, all geared mostly towards the endless hours spent fly fishing beaches, inshore and exciting destinations around the world. Let keep it real, it’s fishing, it’s should be fun, let’s try not to take it too seriously…and remember every day on the water is a blessing!”
-Al Q
Al Quattrocchi (aka Al Q) has been a saltwater fly angler, fly tier and fly fishing advocate for over thirty five years. He is a passionate educator and environmentalist who has created fun fly fishing events along the coast of California to introduce new anglers to the exciting and challenging world of saltwater flyfishing. His personal mentors include Neal Taylor, Lefty Kreh, Nick Curcione and
Bob Popovics.
Al is a two-time, IGFA world record holder. Both of his saltwater records were accomplished in a single day with a 12 pound tippet record for Calico bass and twenty pound tippet record for White Seabass. He was recently awarded the Ross Allen Merigold Complete Angler Award by the historic Pasadena Fly Casting Club. Past recipients include Gary Borger. His articles, illustrations, photography and fly patterns have been published in many prominent fly fishing magazines across the country. Al is a licensed and bonded fly fishing surf guide that prefers teaching techniques over guiding.
Al originally founded the popular One Surf Fly event in Southern California which lasted nine seasons and raised thousands of dollars for non-profits and fly shops up and down the West Coast. Al and Conway Bowman teamed up to co-host the Carp Throw Down at Lake Henshaw in San Diego. This was the first, fly only, catch and release carp event in Southern California that supported many non-profit organizations with an annual raffle. Al and master FFF MCI instructor, Jim Solomon, teach fly casting techniques to many anglers traveling around the world with their self-designed program entitled The FlyZone. One of Al’s most favorite fly fishing students is Jimmy Kimmel.
Al is currently the West Coast regional editor of Tail Magazine. Tail is a bi-monthy publication and the premiere saltwater flyfishing magazine in the country. Al is also the Los Angeles Ambassador to the American Museum of Flyfishing. Although Al has fished in many places around the world, his passion is still sight-fishing the local Southern California beaches in search of the ghost of the surf, the elusive corbina. He has recently self-published his first fly fishing book entitled, The Corbina Diaries which was published in 2021 by Love2FlyFish Media.
Al resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Janet and daughter Quinn. He is a creative director/partner at his agency, Tornado Creative which is located in the historic Helms Bakery in Culver City, CA.
Where the magic happens! Tornado Creative
Follow me on Instagram! HERE
Conway Bowman & Al Qs’: www.carpthrowdown.com
Casting instruction: theflyzone
Pro-staff member and products I use and endorse:
flies, sand & surf 
Hey Mr Q,
Glad I found your blog sight. (from a referance on fliflicker blog) Nice setup. Good info in a well developed mediam. You are a good story teller. Had fun on the delta with you all. (even though the fishing was not red hot) Maybe I’ll see’ya at the one surf. Good Job. Hope things are going well.
Brian Hodges (from Bakersfield)
hey brian:
glad you liked my stories. you have to come to the OSF5 to pick up your reel! LOL hope to fish with you again soon!
-Q
Great site! Newbie (surf) fly guy and looking forward to learning from this great resource. Quick product question…who makes the stripping basket shown in the Corbina Underground pic above?
Hey there,
I’ve been told that you (maybe last year) gave a great seminar on sight fishing for Corbina OTF in the surf and as usual I missed the boat and only heard about the event way after the fact. I was wondering if this seminar at Marriots was recorded and if so if there was someplace online that I could access a video so I can pseudo attend the seminar. If not will you be giving any future seminars on this topic?
Thanks for the site this is a great resource!
-Brian
Brian:
Thanks for your kind words, I will be doing my corbina presentation at the San Diego Fly Club on Monday, July 1st and The Sierra Fly Fishers in Bakerfield on Saturday, July 13th, that’s all I got for ya..grin!
Sounds good, thank you for the heads up, I will try and attend one of the two.
Regards,
– Brain
Al, tons of great info condensed here. Any chance you have a link to the ghost whisperer tie, I couldn’t find it.
i just uploaded the ghost whisper and thin lizzy for ya…tight lines
I’d like to send you some art, reach out, http://www.relogear.com
hey david: my email is alq@tornadodesign.la, shoot me an email so I can find out more about what you do.
thanks
-al
Been fly fishing corbina last 3 weeks here in san diego county , been chewed up and spit out so many times (ha)! but managed to hook one and he or she bolted to the horizon taking my leader with… it was a exciting 5 seconds and hyper speed very fun ! I was using a surfing merkin (pink ) and Im tying my own , any tips on these torpedos would help thanks ….frenchy
Frenchy, first i would make sure I am using a good connection. I use a non-slip mono loop to the fly. Then I would make sure to use strong tippet, like 12# they are not leader shy and a heavier pound tippet will allow you to play the fish without worrying about your tippet popping. the last tip would be to alway use the same length leader so you are consistent in your presentation. good luck.
Al,
Thanks for all you do for the saltwater fly fishing community. I read a lot of your stuff and for those of us who are new to Flyfishing the surf, you really are a great resource. Sincerely, thank you. Do you know where I can buy pink and gray Surfin Merkins referenced in your recent article in California Flyfisher Magazine. I don’t tie flies and have searched the Internet and can only find white. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Can I buy them from you?
Terry:
email me at alq@tornadocreative.com and include a phone number…
Mr. Quattrocchi:
I attended your presentation to the San Diego Fly Fishers club last week.
I have a question for you. Can you fish for Corbina at the beach shore (surf) with Tenkara gear? If so, what do you recommend on length of gear, line, tippet and fly?; and how to approach this?
Eduardo:
Yes, anything is possible with tenkara. If you have my book there’s a shot of my friend Elliot landing a corbina on tenkara. I know a few others that got them as well on tenkara too.
I would suggest using a longer than usual rod, like 18 to 24 footer. That way you can cast at least 20 feet. You have to be stealth and drop it right on them. Its a game for the elite my friend, but I have faith in you, so go for it and send me a pic of your first tenkara bean! Remember your drag is the lift and bend of the rod, the bend is your friend. good luck.
–Q
Hey there,
Love the new book. Anyways, I was reading the section regarding sinking fly lines for corbina. I currently use the Rio Fathom sinking line with a sink rate of 7ips. I noticed you suggested a slow sinking line. Is my sink rate too fast in your opinion? What sink rate do you recommend?
Thanks,
halona
Halona:
I would suggest a 150 to 200 grain sinking line depending on the rod weight you are using. It will land softer and in shallow water will sink enough to keep the fly anchored to the bottom. Use a leader that is 7 to 9 foot, I sometimes make is shorter if there is side current so I can stay in contact with the fly. If you can’t feel the fly at the end of your line you are out of the game. Remember to keep you rod tip down, almost on the sand as you strip, point it in the direction of the fly so its a straight line, it will help in hooking fish. good luck and thanks for the question, hope it helps…
Al where can you purchase “stiff”orange salt water Krystal flash? As I never have seen the “stiff salt water”variety before that you mention in your book.
Pete
Pete:
I can not find it anymore? You can use regular orange krystal hair
Thank you
Luis:
I appreciate your enthusiasm and kind words. Corbina can be associated with bonefish but there are a few differences. Bonefish will eat well presented flies, corbina sometimes do not. Flyfishing off the beach makes it more difficult to position your fly with waves and currents. It can be frustrating so be prepared. My favorite time of the year for beginners is end of June or beginning of July. Time the early morning minus low tides on the incoming. First few hours on incoming is when you want to be there. Check water temps, when they hit mid seventies and above its usually game on. This is when we typically see fish crawling all over the beaches, look for flat beaches with sand crab beds. That’s the ticket. Email me at love2flyfishmedia@gmail.com when you plan to be here, if I am around I will try to meet up with you for a few hours or at least try to point you in the right direction. Cheers – Al Q
Will do… Thanks! PS – my Texas licence plate is Love (heart)2FLYFSH