The fish was so big ...

My fishing buddy, Steve Kyle, is a master of fishing tales that require us to suspend disbelief. He is currently bringing the Babine River in British Columbia to its knees, but before he left, he sent me the following story. Stranger than fiction, or just fiction? You decide.

“Friday I leave for a small steelhead fishing lodge tucked neatly against a giant backdrop of old-growth red cedar, hemlock, cottonwood and spruce trees, and just a few dozen yards from what is considered the last of the unspoiled and pristine rivers in British Columbia, the Babine River.

“Besides being one of the most spectacular wilderness settings an angler can find himself, the river is also home to a breed of steelhead that can defy the imagination when it comes to how big these critters can get. Every once in awhile, you get lucky and land a fish so big that it won’t even fit inside one of Vadasz’s wide-angle lens when photographed.

“The photo (sent with email) is a testament to just how big these guys can get. The hand in this picture is me holding the front part, while unseen to the camera are the two hands of the guide holding the back part of the fish. There was no way to guess the weight or length of this fish because as soon as the fish heard the click of the camera, he snapped his tail violently sending the guide reeling backwards onto the ground and then, after giving me the stink-eye, did a complete mid-air flip out of my hands and back into the river and in an instant, was gone.

“After helping the guide up off the ground, we both thought it would have been better to have taken a video so you really see the fish in all its glory, but who would have known that a fish of this size was even possible?”

Those of us who have been “Kyled” more than once into an overly-touted fishing debacle, simply roll our eyes and go back to doing something more important, like organizing our sock drawers. Les Vadasz reminded Kyle of the quote from Ed Zern (above).

Feel free to add your commentary the next time Kyle attempts to tell you of his latest piscatorial triumph.

Locally, Keith Fraser, of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael, whose grand fish tales often rival Kyle’s, said that the striped bass bite in the Bay is excellent. Drift live bait on the moving tides or troll the Marin Shoreline at the top of the tide. Keith took out a couple of anglers last Thursday, and they caught and released around 20 bass apiece with seven of them keepers up to five pounds. Keith books party boats for Bay fishing. Call him at 415-456-0321.

Striped bass are also biting in the Napa River. Try bank fishing along Cuttings Wharf Road. Live mud suckers get some big fish.

While salmon fishing off the Sonoma Coast is somewhat hit or miss, the rock and lingcod action is outstanding, said Capt. Rick Powers, of Bodega Bay Sportfishing. Rick finds full limits of lings and rocks on most trips. The weather has been fantastic with calm conditions. Call Rick at 875-3344 for more information and to book a trip.

Local lakes have been a little slow this week, but guide Sid Silberberg has had some fair successes on Lake Berryessa. Check out his website at fishingconnection.net, or email him at bestguide@hotmail.com.

Fishing on the upper Sacramento and McCloud rivers is perking up, reports Bob Grace, at the Ted Fay Fly Shop in Dunsmuir.