The Tidal Marshland Stripers Of The Petaluma River    By: Dan Bacher December 16, 2007 More Articles by Dan

The Petaluma River in Sonoma County flows through 10 miles of extensive marshes. These include the Petaluma Marsh, California’s largest and least disturbed example of an ancient tidal marshland. The river and its marshes sustain an abundant population of striped bass, sturgeon, leopard sharks, starry flounder and other species common to San Pablo Bay.

The U.S. Congress in 1959 declared the Petaluma, formerly considered a tidewater slough, a river in 1959. This designation from slough to river authorized periodic dredging by the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers to remove sediment originating in the river watershed.

Historically, paddleboats and other craft made the journey up and down the river to Petaluma to transport eggs, grapes, hay and other crops. Boats now regularly travel from the river’s mouth in San Pablo Bay to the turning basin in downtown Petaluma to fish or to bird watch in these unique marshlands,

One of the most popular areas to fish the Petaluma River is the Port Sonoma Marina area. Shore anglers have excellent public access on both sides of the river adjoining the Highway 37 Bridge.

Shore fishing has become increasingly popular in this area in recent years. A trail, picnic tables and benches make this area a nice area to fish from shore, provided you wear rubber boats to walk around the marsh grasses that line the banks of the river.

Black Point Boat Launch, located in Marin County on the west side of the Highway 37 Bridge across from the marina, is closed for modernization, but is expected to reopen soon.

“If all goes well, Black Point Boat Launch should reopen in December of 2007,” according to the Marin County Department of Parks and Open Space. This one-acre site contains parking and a two-lane ramp for boat launching onto the mouth of the Petaluma River and also provides shore fishing access.

Of all of the species that anglers pursue on the Petaluma, striped bass are the most popular. “This fall has been a very good year for stripers in the river and adjacent waters such as Sonoma Creek,” said Joel Sinkay, who with Debbie Vinje owns Leonard’s Bait and Tackle at Port Sonoma Marina. “The fishing turned on about six weeks ago and we expect the stripers to provide good action through the winter.”

Shore fishermen and boaters experience the best success on bullheads, mudsuckers, cut anchovies and ghost shrimp. Vinje likes to fish ghost shrimp regularly for the fish – on her first cast off the docks on November 2 she caught a beautiful 24 inch striper. On the same day, Karen and Kevin Collins of Petaluma teamed to up to nail two keeper stripers while fishing anchovies from shore.

Boaters fishing in the river and adjacent waters also catch lots of stripers while tossing out Hair Raisers, Loch Lomond wormtail jigs and Rat-L-Traps, according to Sinkay.

Another popular species anglers target in the river and San Pablo Bay is the white sturgeon, northern California’s biggest gamefish. The sturgeon hit year round, but Sinkay recommends fishing from November through the spring. Shrimp baits – ghost, grass and mud shrimp- are the most popular baits, but salmon roe and lamprey eel are also effective enticers.

To obtain the shrimp for his shop and others throughout the Bay Area, Sinkay commercial fishes daily in San Pablo Bay in a 1941 U.S. Navy net tender boat originally used to keep potential Japanese submarines out of San Francisco Bay. This classic boat is the only one left in operation anywhere.

Shrimping in the bay has bounced up and down, depending upon the water year. “2006 was one of the best years in 30 years for shrimping,” said Sinkay. “This was because of the flushing of the bay that occurred when large freshwater flows moved down the bay in 2005 and 2005.”

However, this year has not been as good for shrimping because the waters of the bay and adjacent sloughs have become more saline, due to the lack of freshwater inflows into the bay from the Sacramento, San Joaquin, Petaluma and Napa rivers and Sonoma Creek.

“The jellyfish that appeared in the bay this year killed a lot of the shrimp. Fortunately the jellyfish are disappearing with the rains that we had recently,” he stated. On the day I interviewed Sinkay at his shop, he had netted 25 pounds of shrimp that morning.

Leopard sharks and starry flounder also provide solid action for boaters and bank anglers on the Petaluma. The leopard sharks bite midshipmen, squid, sardines and shrimp baits, while the flounder love grass shrimp and pileworms. The population of starry flounder found in local waters has notably rebounded over the past two years, according to Sinkay.

One of the most interesting catches on the Petaluma in recent years was the six steelhead that Vinje caught and released last year while fishing shrimp baits from the docks. The fish, ranging from 22 to 28 inches long, were definitely hatchery fish, judging from the lack of adipose fins that I observed on photos of the fish.

The reappearance of steelhead on the river is testimony to the hard work that the Casa Grande High School students are doing to bring salmon and steelhead back to the watershed. Adobe Creek, a tributary of the Petaluma, is the site of an ambitious restoration project by Tom Furrer, a high school biology teacher at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, and his students.

Adobe Creek was once the major source of drinking water for Petaluma and had robust salmon and steelhead runs. But after years of pollution and 100 percent diversion of its water, state and community officials declared it "dead."

That all changed in 1984 when Furrer decided it was time to bring Adobe Creek back to life. He formed a student group, the United Anglers of Casa Grande, that cleared debris from the dry creek bed, planted thousands of trees along its banks, and spearheaded a successful drive to restore flows that had been diverted. The anglers also raised funds to build a state-of-the-art fish hatchery.

In 1987, they rescued 2,000 juvenile steelhead from drying summer pools. In 1989, the students lined the creek as 21 of their steelhead returned to spawn. During the same year, the students began stocking the river with striped bass the same year.

The students also were instrumental in the construction of a fish ladder over a 12-foot culvert that made it impossible for fish to get upstream to spawn. They contacted NOAA Fisheries officials, who provided funding and engineering expertise to construct the ladder. In 1998, native steelhead were able to reach historic spawning grounds for the first time in over half a century.  

The group has also been successful in restoring king salmon to the creek. In 1990, five king salmon returned to spawn in Adobe after being absent for decades. Their numbers increased to the point where in 2002 when a record 74 chinook salmon and a stray chum salmon ascended Adobe Creek.

The group celebrated its 25th Anniversary with their annual pasta feed on November 3. Furrer and his students are a stellar example of how a committed group of local people can bring back a dead creek to life. For more information, go to http://www.uacg.org.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Petaluma River has been working on a number of projects to restore the creek and its other tributaries. For example, the groups conducted a coastal cleanup on September 15, while DFG/Americorps service members have been studying the creeks of the watershed to determine habitat suitability for salmon and steelhead. For more information, go to www.friendsofthepetalumariver.org.  

Petaluma River Facts  

History and location: The Petaluma River has served as a transportation corridor since the nineteenth Century. Where paddle wheelers filled with crops once cruised down the river, fishing and recreational boats down ply the channel between Petaluma and San Pablo Bay. Congress declared the Petaluma tidewater slough a river in 1959, authorizing periodic dredging by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  

Fishing: Striped bass, sturgeon, starry flounder and leopard sharks provide year round action in the Petaluma River.  

Fishing information: Call Leonard's Bait & Tackle, 260 Sears Point Rd, Petaluma, CA 94954, (707) 762-7818.  

Marinas and Boat Launching Facilities:

Petaluma Marina: (707) 778-4489, 781 Baywood Dr., Petaluma, CA 94954. VHF channel 9, 196 slips. Guest slips. Gas only, diesel by appt. only. Pumpout station, launching ramp, restrooms, showers, phones. Marina Bean Coffee Shop, Petaluma Yacht Club, the Sheraton Hotel and boat repair are nearby. Recently dredged.

Petaluma Turning Basin: (707) 769-0429, (877) 273-8258, www.visitpetaluma.com, Petaluma Visitor Center, Historic RR Depot Bldg, 210 Lakeville Hwy./Hwy. 116, Petaluma, CA 94954. 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily at (707) 769-0429 to schedule cruise in and for boater information package. Harbor Master's office hours: Tue.-Thu. 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Fri.-Sun. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Port Sonoma Marina: (707) 778-8055, 270 Sears Point Rd, Petaluma, CA 94952. 282 slips. Guests slips. Fuel dock has both gas & diesel. Restrooms, showers, pumpout station.

Black Point Public Boat Launch: operated by Marin County Parks and Open Space, the ramp is closed for modernization, but is expected to reopen in December of 2007.This one acre site contains parking and a two-lane ramp for boat launching onto the mouth of the Petaluma River. The launch is under the highway along the south side of the Highway 37/Petaluma River Bridge. Vehicle Fee: $5.00/day/vehicle - Pay at the Park. Annual Passes: $75/year Senior and Handicapped: $37.50/year. For more information, call 415-499-6387.  

Wetlands Hikes and Tours: Shollenberger Park offers an opportunity to experience the wetlands with a 2 or 4-mile round-trip walk winding through wetlands along the Petaluma River. The park features a two-mile circular trail and a new one mile link to the Petaluma Marina through 80 acres of marshland.. For more information, call 707-763-3577 or 707-763-2934 or go to www.petalumawetlandspark.org.

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