It was quite a scene. The time was 1:00 p.m and Greg Sommer was standing near the Calico's stern, his rod deeply bowed as he battled a quality chinook.

Mike Harbarth, the skipper of the Calico, stood to the left of Greg, net in hand. Joel Guiducci stood behind Greg, feeding him words of encouragement. My dad had his back to the action frantically reeling in his rod. I was perched on the port side engine cover, taking photo's as I leaned over the rail.

The king was putting up an impressive fight. At first the salmon was determined to stay deep. As Greg wore the salmon down, it suddenly materialized about 40 feet from the boat. For a moment it seemed the salmon was about to be brought to net. However, the salmon appeared to be closer than it really was, due to the clarity of the water.

Greg kept his cool and kept the pressure on the king without attempting to horse it. Three times the chinook came tantalizingly close to the net only to surge away. When the beautiful 18 pound king finally slid into the net, we all gave a collective victory yell. Such was the culminating event of my first salmon fishing adventure this season.

Typical of spring salmon fishing, the trip had began with an air of uncertainty. Sure, charter boats operating out of Bodega Bay had been experiencing good action and the weather forecast called for calm conditions.

However, a week of strong winds and heavy swells had kept the boats in port. Would the schools of bait and salmon that had been in evidence before the wind be broken up? Motoring out of Bodega Bay's harbor just after 6:00 a.m. we were determined to find out.

The best salmon action generally takes place in dark, nutrient rich water, so we were a bit disappointed when confronted with extremely clear water with no evidence of baitfish, krill, or salmon. Rather than waste time trolling water that seemed devoid of life, Harbarth opted to stay on the move watching his sonar in hopes of finding action. From the radio chatter, we knew the other skippers in the fleet were having difficulty finding sign as well.

About 10 miles out Harbarth started spotting scattered bait on the sonar.

"If there are salmon around, this is where they should be," proclaimed Harbarth, as we readied our gear for trolling. For the first hour we had only one strike that resulted in lightly hooked fish that quickly came unbuttoned. The further offshore we went the more bait and birds we encountered.

"I'm marking a bunch of bait and some bigger fish that I think are salmon guys," Harbarth announced. The words were barely out his mouth when the lead rod on the starboard side began bucking violently. Greg grabbed the rod and started fighting a strong salmon. Seconds later Joel's rod got hammered and we had a double hook up.

Within five minutes, we had two bright 8 pound kings that had both fallen for anchovies rigged in red Rotary Salmon Killers, safely in the box.

Harbarth had showed his angling prowess by not only being the first skipper in the fleet to find bait, but also by being the first to put salmon on the boat.

Once Harbarth announced our success over the radio, it didn't take long for the rest of the fleet to converge on our position. Despite our heightened expectations and the constant presence of bait and birds, things slowed down and we didn't have any more action until Greg hooked the big king I described at the beginning of the story.

After taking several photos of Greg's heavy chinook, we continued prospecting for salmon until about 3:00 p.m. when we called it a day. On the way back Greg decided to give my dad and I his 8 pounder, so everyone would have some fresh salmon to take home. Greg's gesture was very generous and much appreciated.

While I didn't catch a salmon, I still enjoyed the time spent on the Calico a great deal. Fishing on a 6 pack boat provides a uniquely intimate fishing experience and I had a good time visiting with Greg and Joel both of whom are knowledgeable outdoorsmen. Mike Harbarth is a gifted hard working skipper and I look forward to spending some more time on the Calico later in the season.

According to Harbarth, the salmon fishing in the Bodega area should continue to improve until the action peaks during the latter half of July. "We've got a great season ahead of us. I will keep trolling until the bait begins to concentrate and move near the coast. When that happens we will change over to mooching," disclosed Harbarth.

Throughout the season the fish caught on the Calico average between 10 and 12 pounds with fishing ranging into the 30's. "Last year my daughter Madison, who was 7 at the time, caught our biggest salmon of the season. The fish weighed 40 pounds and was caught near the Bodega Whistle Buoy," related Harbarth with a big grin.

The Calico will be running salmon trips throughout the season and will begin offering rockfish, lingcod, and halibut trips in July.

To book a trip on the Calico, call (707) 829-4728, or get on the web at www.bodegabayadventures.com.