Catch fish while cooling off

As the hot, dry days of August make us long for some cool shade, you may want to take a day off to go fishing.|

As the hot, dry days of August make us long for some cool shade, you may want to consider a day off the Sonoma Coast or on San Francisco Bay, where water temperatures and cooling breezes are both refreshing and rewarding.

The rewards come in the form of some of the best fishing in many months.

Salmon are biting like crazy from north of the mouth of the Russian River to the Marin coastline.

Capt. Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sportsfishing says there are salmon everywhere. His combo trips are resulting in limits or near limits of salmon on every trip with the fish averaging 12 to 14 pounds, and many going into the high 20s and even some in the 30-pound range.

In addition, his clients finished off their days with limits of beautiful rockfish and lots of ling cod. The water is cold, but the weather itself is mild. It is a great time to be out on the ocean. Kids are also welcome on the trips, and all tackle is included in the price, which is $130 per angler for a full day’s fishing.

If you want to book a trip, call Rick at 875-3344.

Halibut and striped bass are still being caught in impressive numbers inside San Francisco Bay. And recently, salmon that are migrating toward the Sacramento River are being caught off Cal City (near Tiburon).

Bay fishing at this time of the year can be very nice too, especially if the cool breeze counters the 90 to 100 degree temperatures that heat up our August afternoons.

Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait Shop says tides this weekend should provide good conditions for fishing. He books for Trent Slade’s six-pack party boat “Bite Me.” Call Keith at (415) 456-0321 for the latest fishing reports and to book a bay fishing party boat.

I spoke to Bob Grace at the Ted Fay Fly Shop in Dunsmuir this week, who reports fair to good fishing on the upper Sacramento River and on the McCloud River below the reservoir.

Bob says that there is smoke in the air from the fires near Redding, but that it is not bad enough to keep anglers off the water.

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