2 minute read
The Editor’s Note
As a quick fishing excursion beckoned during a visit to California to hang with my family, I wanted to try something new.
Usually when I fish urban lakes near where I grew up – just outside San Francisco – I keep it simple: a sliding sinker trout rig, some PowerBait or nightcrawlers, cast out, sit in my folding chair with a magazine or book and wait for a bite.
But this time, as a summer heatwave promised temperatures climbing into the 90s by midmorning, I knew the trout likely weren’t going to be biting in the lakes I’m used to fishing.
So, I found a new spot I’d never hit before – Stafford Lake Park, located in the community of Novato and 20 miles or so past the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
There are no trout in the lake, plus no boats allowed. But there are plenty of catchable bass and catfish for shore fishing warriors. Since I’ve rarely gone bass fishing on my own, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to see what I could do.
Armed with newly purchased crankbaits and topwater lures from a local sporting goods store, my sister Charlene and I headed north early on a July Saturday morning. As it goes around San Francisco, we were greeted with chilly fog crossing the Golden Gate but then bright sunshine and hotter conditions almost instantly once we were clear of the bridge.
I wasn’t super confident I’d catch any bass, but just excited to be fishing. There’s just something peaceful about having almost an entire lake to yourself (I spied about five other anglers at various times throughout the morning). And as our August issue celebrates catching Alaska’s biggest and baddest fish – see correspondent Randall Bonner’s halibut jigging piece (page 16) – on this day I was content to quietly cast my lures in the blazing morning sun hoping for one bucketmouth to devour my crankbait.
Unfortunately, the best moment of the morning for us was driving into the park and encountering about six deer scampering across the road. Fishing was a bust, as all that my baits hooked was the plentiful weeds during retrieves. After a couple hours of walking up and down the shoreline the hot sun finally chased us back home.
There will be other days and other fish to catch. It just felt good to soak up the sun. Let’s get out this August and do the same. -Chris Cocoles
One of the editor’s summer fishing excursions yielded only strands of weeds and no bass, but it felt good to be outside on a warm and peaceful morning. (CHARLENE KING)
KENAI SOLDOTNA
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