Bill Lynch: Fishing in old Sonoma

Former Sonoman Tyler Lee, now a NorCal fishing guide, remembers the way it used to be in his old home town.|

Here is part two of Tyler Lee's memoir about fishing in Sonoma Valley in the 1980s. Last time, he and his brother, Colby, were trying to figure out how to catch giant carp they'd spotted in Sonoma Creek below the Verano Avenue Bridge. Here's the next installment:

'Colby and I went home and concocted some dough balls marinated in stink – the smellier the better.

'Upon return, with baited dough balls perspiring with stench, we cast into the stagnant water and let the dough balls sink to the bottom of the bridge abutment.

'Wham! The carp hit.

'You think salmon, steelhead or sturgeon fight hard. Hook a grass carp when you're 12. We simply weren't prepared for their ferociousness.

'Today, steelhead have replaced carp as my favorite target. But even they first captivated me by appearing magically in Sonoma Creek one cold day in January 1986 during Super Bowl XX.

'I was watching TV at Dan and Fran Weber's home in Schellville. The lopsided game afforded me, and their son Joe, the chance to walk down to Sonoma Creek to explore.

'When we got there, we crawled out along a slab of concrete that jutted out over the water. Below us we saw 10 to 20 steelhead, some possibly over 10 pounds.

'One enormous steelhead slowly swam so close we could count the spots on his back. It was one of the coolest steelhead encounters I've ever had.

'We ran back to Joe's house and collected the entirety of the Weber family tackle, then ran as fast as we could back to the pool, dreams of the glory in our 14-year-old heads.

'The steelhead were still in their depths. We were out of ours. We figured big fish, big lures, and chose a silver lure so large it eclipsed the sun. We cast. It hit the water like a meteorite striking the ocean. Fish scattered. In seconds, the once thriving pool was quiet. Usually, you hear crickets. That lure even scared off the crickets.

'Joe and I reeled the lure back in and stayed hidden, waiting for life to return to the pool. Nothing. Our beautiful steelhead were gone.

'Sonoma is different today, for sure. But I have many fond memories of Sonoma as a boy. For those who ask, are there any good places to fish in Sonoma?

'My best answer is, there used to be.'

Back to the now

I got a report this week from Steve Arelt who just got back from steelhead fishing in British Columbia. Here's Steve's report:

'The early returns on both the Dean River and Kalum River (lower Skeena drainage) are very good. The last several years were pretty skinny, but when you get an early season report like this I think you should make your plans to go for it.

'The reports of high early returns on the Columbia River are also very encouraging. I'd expect this to mean good returns for the other Washington, Oregon, and California coastal rivers. If any of your readers are interested I'd suggest Flywater Travel in Ashland as a pretty good place to start if you want to plan a guided trip.'

Locally, the best fishing is still for salmon out of the Golden Gate and Bodega Bay. Or inside San Francisco Bay for halibut, striped bass and salmon. Call Capt. Rick Powers at Bodega Bay Sportsfishing 875-3344, for ocean fishing, and Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait Shop in San Rafael at (415) 456-0321 for bay fishing.

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