CHROME SPOTS AND FANGS – BEYOND THE BUCKET LIST
With GLENN UEDA
2/16/2026
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 five 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 sight fishing 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 our “Ghost of the Coast” is as difficult if not worse than the very popular and highly coveted flats permit. Loving all things fishing, Glenn also enjoys sharing his passion for our sport, filling his annual calendar with presentations and tying demonstrations to many of the fly fishing stores serving Southern California including Fishermen’s Spot, Bob Marrioe’s Fly Fishing Store, Orvis Pasadena, and The Fly Stop. Those presentations, whether in person or via Zoom, “Ghost of the Coast – Sight Fishing for California Corbina”, “Midnight Madness – The Hunt for Trophy Calico Bass” and “Planet Carp - Fly Fishing for the World’s Popular Fish” have been well received by virtually every fly fishing club from Santa Barbara to San Diego too. An extension of his teachings, Glenn has written and collaborated on a number of feature articles for such notable publications as Fly Fisherman, Fly Fusion, Sport Fishing, Saltwater Sportsman, California Fly Fisher, Pacific Sport Fishing Magazine, and Western Outdoor News. Borne from an affinity for sight fishing, 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 milkfish, Amazon 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. 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 132 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.
When not fishing, Glenn and his wife of 39 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.