Meandering Angler: State trout season opens Saturday, April 17

Some rivers and lakes are open to trout fishing all year, but most are not – until tomorrow. Saturday, April 27, marks the opening of trout season in California.

When I was a kid the trout season opener was a big deal here in the Valley of the Moon. All of the tributaries of Sonoma Creek and the main branch itself opened for trout fishing. There were several sporting-goods stores in the Valley where you could get licenses, tackle, worms or salmon eggs. Local anglers all had their favorite secret spots.

There was plenty of water and rainbow trout in the creeks in those days and it was rare when we didn’t catch our limit.

I caught my first trout where Sonoma Creek runs through Adobe Canyon in what is now Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

Tomorrow, when the season opens, that part of the Sonoma Creek watershed is the only place you are allowed to fish for trout. Everything else is closed to fishing, except “Sonoma Creek and tributaries above the Sonoma Creek Seasonal Waterfall in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park (located 0.2 miles upstream of the west end of the Canyon Trail),” according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations.

That’s it. You are not allowed to fish for trout anywhere else in our entire Valley.

The next closest stream is Putah Creek, which flows east out of Lake Berryessa. It’s accessible by driving up Highway 505, then taking State Route 128 west past the town of Winters and up into the canyon. Fishing access begins below Monticello Dam at the southeastern corner of Lake Berryessa.

Restricted to fly-fishing, catch-and-release only, Putah Creek is brushy, hard to wade and difficult to fish. It is, however, home to some very large trout, and popular because it is the nearest trout water to the Bay Area.

The lower Yuba River east of Marysville is the best trout stream that is less than three hours from Sonoma. But access is a challenge because some of the best water is bounded by private property on both sides.

Still, a lot of guys park at the Highway 20 Bridge and take paths up or downstream from there and find pretty good fishing. Several guides I know also take their clients on float-fishing trips through there. I recommend Hogan Brown, hgbflyfishing.com, to guide your fishing.

The East Fork of the Russian River above Lake Mendocino is another place that you can fish for trout. It is about a two and a half hour drive from Sonoma. The state plants rainbow trout there regularly. You find the stream by taking Highway 20 east from Ukiah, then just past the north end of Lake Mendocino take Potter Valley Road east. The East Fork runs along that road.

The choices increase the farther you’re willing to drive. My choice is usually the upper Sacramento River near Dunsmuir. I can be there in three and a half, and there is more than 40 miles of accessible river between Lake Siskiyou and Lake Shasta. The wading is a bit challenging but the fishing is pretty good. There are also good spots near Tahoe on the Truckee River and the Little Truckee River.

My neighbor, Bill Fernandez, drives all the way to Bishop on the eastern edge of the Sierra to do his trout fishing.

Striped bass, sturgeon and halibut are biting in San Francisco Bay. Call Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Bait Shop in San Rafael for the latest conditions. Salmon fishing off the Sonoma Coast is also good now. Call Capt. Rick Powers at Bodega Bay Sportsfishing at 875-3344 to book a trip.