By Dan Bacher

From the July 4th weekend through mid-August, the Bodega Bay area yields some of the best salmon fishing on the West Coast as the fish make their way south towards the Golden Gate. However, the fishing this July exceeded the expectations of even veteran anglers, such as Dick Pool, owner of Scotty Downrigger Company.

"We've caught limits every day since I got here on Sunday," said Dick Pool, prior to a two-day trip that Allen Bonslett, Fish Sniffer General Manager and I made to Bodega Bay to fish with Pool and his representative, Doug Pyburn, on July 21 and 22. "However, what really makes it great is the size of the fish, averaging 20 pounds and going up to 40 pounds. The weather has been flat calm, so the fish have been able to follow the bait into the shore."

Bonslett and I made the trip from Sacramento, arriving at Pool's boat in Spud Point Marina around 9:00 a.m. After we loaded up our gear, we made it up through glassy calm seas amidst an overcast sky to our target, the mouth of Russian River at Jenner.

Although fish were biting nearly everywhere from the Russian River to 10 Mile Beach, he felt the mouth of the Russian would be the most consistent spot because the salmon, smelling the influx of a river, stop there before moving on their journey to the Sacramento River.

When we arrived there, dozens of boats were circling around, both trolling and mooching. We put the lines in the water, all on Seeker rods, and then put out the downriggers. At the end of the leader were both Rotary Salmon Killers, baited with anchovies and herring, and Apex lures behind Hot Spot Flashers. We were very close to shore; you could probably catch salmon by surf casting. "The fish are stacked in close to the beaches because the bait has moved in there with the calm weather," noted Pool.

We were trolling between two rocks when one of the rods started bouncing furiously with the strike of a big chinooks. After a great fight, Allen Bonslett landed the first fish of the day, a 16 pound beauty. Then I landed a fish about 25 pounds, followed by another big fish caught by Bonslett. The fish seemed to be concentrating over about 30 to 48 feet of water, with the baits down 20 to 30 feet deep.

Pool, past president of United Anglers, board member of the American Sportfishing Association, and a tireless worker for conservation, commented on the significance of the fine fishing anglers have found off Bodega Bay and other areas of coast this season.

"The fishery reached a low point 4 to 5 years ago. Now the fishing should only get better and better, due to the actions taken for the winter-run chinook salmon, as well as to implement the Central Valley Project Improvement Act," said Pool.

The day continued at a fast pace, with us hooking up one salmon after another, with several lulls in the action. The last fish of the day was the largest. Line started ripping off Pool's rod; he invited me to take it, but I declined and Bonslett was in the cabin. "I think it's gone," said Pool as he kept reeling. "Something funny is happening with the line."

Well, it turned out that the fish was running straight towards him and he could barely keep up with it. Pyburn finally netted the fish and hoisted it in the boat. It was a fat, healthy chinook that weighed 41 pounds.

We ended up with limits of fish ranging from 16 to 41 pounds in a little over four hours of fishing! On the next day, we launched out of Pool's berth at 7 a.m. and started fishing the Carmet area north of Bodega Bay. Bonslett and Pyburn were putting down their downriggers and I was working on a third rod when Pyburn's rod started bouncing and the downrigger popped. "It's a good fish," he said, but it actually turned out to be one of the smaller fish of the trip, a solid 12 pounder.

Over the next few hours we took turns watching the rods, steering the boat and fighting fish, with the next hook-up a double hook up by Bonslett and Pyburn. We were having a great time, just like we had the day before. I landed a couple quality fish in the 20 pound class. Bonslett also took his biggest fish of the trip, a 30-plus pound beauty.

However, possibly because of a little wind that had ruffled the water first thing in the morning, the fish were showing in deeper water, about 30 to 55 deep in 60 feet of water, and many of our fish were caught while trolling deep on the bottom.

By around 11 a.m. we had full limits of big, brawling chinook salmon. On both days, we saw anglers aboard other private boats, as well as party boats, hooking up many quality salmon. The main area where Bodega Bay area anglers target salmon is from the mouth of the Russian River to Ten Mile Beach. When the wind picks up, small boats can go fishing for salmon around the Whistle Buoy in the relatively protected waters of outer Bodega Bay.

Bodega Bay has a lot else to offer - deep water rockfish trips to Cordell Bank, shallow water trips along the coast up to Fort Ross and other scenic areas, crab/rockfish combos during the crab season, and even live bait trips for rockfish, lingcod and halibut.

But the salmon is the undisputed king of the coast when fishing is at hot as it was this July. "The largest fish we've heard of so far this year was a 49.5 pounder," said Laura Lee at Wil's Sportfishing. "We haven't seen a 50 pounder yet."

But my prediction is that several 50 pounders will be caught in the ocean around Bodega Bay or the Golden Gate before season ends, while the possibility of a 60-plus pound fish is very real. Unfortunately, the salmon fishing has slowed down off Bodega in the week since our trip; whether or not the bite will rebound is anybody's guess.

Note: many anglers have been cited for possessing for silvers over the past few weeks, so make sure that you know how to recognize a chinook from a coho before putting it in your fish box!

Camping and boat launching are available for private boaters out of Bodega and Tomales Bay. Anglers can find both camping and boat launch facilities at Westside Regional Park, Porto Bodega and Doran Regional Park.

For more information about salmon fishing with Scotty Downriggers and Apex call Scotty Downriggers at (925) 825-8560. Anglers can call Wil's Fishing Adventures in Bodega Bay at (707) 875-2323 for more information about salmon, rockfish and lingcod trips aboard the Aggressor, Tracer, Payback, Wieda, ProFish'nt or Rumblefish.

Note: Beginning August 1, sport anglers fishing the ocean between Point Arena and the U.S.-Mexico border are required to keep the first two salmon caught - with the exception of coho salmon. On September 6, the minimum size limit of 24 inches will be reinstated between Point Arena and Pigeon Point.

September 13, 1999

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