Sonoma Creek:  A Haven For Shore Anglers Pursuing Stripers And Sturgeon   By: Dan Bacher December 16, 2007 More Articles by Dan

My cousin, Chris Bacher, and I were walking along Sonoma Creek in the city of Sonoma during the late 1960’s when we saw a dead steelhead, about 4 pounds, floating in the water next to shore. We both noted that the fish looked otherwise healthy, and we wondered why it had died. 

After we walked further upstream, we saw a plume of nasty, turbid water coming down the creek. We kept walking upriver and saw the source of the foul water – raw sewage spilling out of pipe from a convalescent hospital. It shocked us both, since it was the most overt example of water pollution we had ever seen.

About two decades later, two anglers from Sonoma came into the Elk Grove office to ask for the support of Hal Bonslett, the late publisher and founder of the Fish Sniffer, and myself in restoring Sonoma Creek’s steelhead run. 

Faced with increased snagging of the declining run of wild steelhead, as well as habitat destruction and water pollution like I had witnessed years before, they wanted our support in closing a section of Sonoma Creek to fishing. We told them it sounded like a good idea and that we supported their effort.

Based on their recommendation, the DFG closed the Sonoma Creek and its tributaries between the Adobe Canyon Road Bridge and the Highway 121 Bridge, while the tidewater section from the Highway 21 Bridge to the mouth remained open. The closure remains in effect until this day.

Since that time, a coalition of individuals and groups under the umbrella of the Sonoma Valley Watershed Council Creek Restoration Program, a program of the Sonoma Ecology Center, have worked hard to restore the creek. 

Their goal is to “protect and enhance the Sonoma watershed’s riparian ecosystem” with activities including controlling invasive pest plants such as Giant Reed “Arunda donaz”;  reintroducing native plant species where needed for habitat and erosion control; raising public awareness regarding the stewardship of Sonoma Valley’s stream resources; and supporting programs such as Adopt a Watershed.

While Sonoma Creek is being restored, the tidewater section of the creek from the Highway 121 Bridge in Schellville to its junction with San Pablo Bay provides an excellent opportunity for anglers to catch striped bass, sturgeon, leopard shark, starry flounder and other species throughout the year.

“Sonoma Creek is the number one spot for shore anglers to catch stripers and sturgeon in our area, followed by Port Sonoma on the Petaluma River and Cuttings Wharf on the Napa River,” disclosed Joel Sinkay on Leonard’s Bait and Tackle at Port Sonoma. 

The best public access is on either side of the Highway 37 Bridge. Although a large number of anglers fish this area, there were more on the weekend of November 17-18 because of the Governor’s executive order closing fishing in San Pablo Bay, supposedly to “protect” anglers from catching oil-drenched fish, even though no oil has been reported in San Pablo.

Small skiffs also experience solid fishing for a variety of species in Sonoma Creek, Hudemen Slough and Napa Slough. The closest launch facility is the state boat ramp on Hudeman Slough, where a $20.00 deposit is required to acquire a key. 

You can also enter Sonoma Creek via the Napa River which connects Sonoma Creek to the Napa River through Napa Slough and other sloughs in the meandering Napa Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. Since the creek and adjoining sloughs are tidal, be very careful when navigating and time your trips with the high tides, since you don’t want to get stuck on a mudflat during the low tide!

Going on a trip to Sonoma Creek and the Napa Sloughs is like traveling back into time. While the rest of the North Bay Area has undergone a frenzy of development in recent years, this area of salt marsh and sloughs is relatively pristine. Anglers, bird watchers and duck hunters all practice their passions in this unique region.

Although anglers can catch stripers in Sonoma Creek year long, the best time to go is from Labor Day through the winter. Anglers fish with bullheads, mudsuckers, anchovies, mud shrimp, ghost shrimp, grass shrimp and other baits for the linesides.

“Romano, a local angler, had a great day recently when he caught and released an 80 inch sturgeon and kept a 65 inch diamondback,” said Sinkay. “He enticed both of the fish while using bullheads for stripers.”

The sturgeon fishing heats up with the advent of fall/winter rains and the beginning of freshwater inflows down the creek and into San Pablo Bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Anglers target the big diamondbacks with salmon roe, shrimp baits, lamprey eels and pileworms.

When the water is salty, as it has been this fall so far, leopard sharks provide good action in Sonoma Creek. “If you want to catch a big leopard, throw out a live kingfish on a 6/0 hook and hold on,” said Sinkay.

Fishing pressure in Sonoma Creek dwindles to a minimum during June, July and August, although that is probably because most saltwater enthusiasts are on the ocean chasing rockfish, lingcod and salmon or are fishing San Francisco Bay for halibut, stripers and leopard sharks.

Sonoma Creek is the main watershed draining the “Valley of the Moon” where author Jack London once resided. The stream’s headwaters are in Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park, located in the Mayacamas Mountains between the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. From there it flows 31 miles to the mouth in the agricultural bay land and marsh areas north of San Pablo Bay. 

The creek and its tributaries flow through a very diverse 170 square mile watershed. “The watershed has a diverse range of habitat from the redwood/fir forests in the headwaters to chaparral, oak woodland and bay areas,” according to the Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District. 

The park has a resident rainbow trout population above a 25 foot waterfall and offers the best fish habitat in the area, particularly due to abundant shade provided by the park’s trees. The creek near Glen Ellen also features good steelhead habitat. 

Tributaries to Sonoma Creek typically carry larger sediment loads coming off Sonoma Mountain. Agua Caliente Creek hosts a small steelhead population, while Calabazas and Stuart Creeks also offer some habitat. Arroyo Seco, another tributary, used to have a decent steelhead population; my cousin and I fished for “trout” – steelhead smolts – below a small dam on the stream during the summer in the 1960’s.

Sonoma Creek’s steelhead population is notable in that its eggs provided the stock for New Zealand’s legendary rainbow trout fishery. The Auckland Acclimatization Society made the first successful importation of rainbow eggs to New Zealand from Sonoma Creek in 1883 and another  in 1884. 

With the addition of one further importation of trout eggs from Lake Almanor in 1930,  “it is understood that all present stocks in New Zealand have been bred from these three batches of ova,” according  to Ron Giles’s “Trout Fishing in New Zealand” website, http://www.trout-fishing-new-zealand.com/the_fish.htm.

For more information about fishing lower Sonoma Creek, call Leonard's Bait & Tackle, 260 Sears Point Rd, Petaluma, CA 94954, (707) 762-7818. 

Sonoma Creek Facts

History and location:   Sonoma Creek drains the beautiful vineyard region of the “Valley of the Moon” of Sonoma County. The creek flows 31 miles from its headwaters in Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park, located in the Mayacamas Mountains, to San Pablo Bay.

Fishing season: Sonoma Creek and its tributaries between the Adobe Canyon Road Bridge and the Highway 121 Bridge are closed year round to protect spawning steelhead. The tidewater section from the Highway 21 Bridge to the mouth is open year round. Anglers here are subject to the same regulations in effect on San Pablo and San Francisco Bays.

Fishing: Striped bass, sturgeon, starry flounder and leopard sharks provide year round shore and boat fishing action in Sonoma Creek and the Napa Sloughs. The best shore fishing access is on both sides of the Highway 37 Bridge.

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

Lodging: plenty of motels, camping and other lodging facilities are available in the surrounding cities of Sonoma, Petaluma and Vallejo.

Marinas and Boat Launching Facilities:   Hudeman Slough Boat Launch: This ramp, 28020 Skaggs Island Road in Sonoma, provides the best access to Sonoma Creek and the Napa Sloughs.  Boaters should call the Sonoma County Regional Parks office, Sonoma Valley/Spring Lake Division at 707-565-2041 to obtain a key. A deposit is required. 

Directions: To reach the boat ramp from the east, take Hwy. 121/12 west from Napa. Turn left on Cuttings Wharf Road, right on Bay View Ave., left on Las Amigas Road, left on Duhig Road, and left on Skaggs Road.  Cuttings Wharf: a very modern paved launch ramp south of Napa on the Napa River. Floating docks, ample parking for cars and trailers and toilets are available. A café and bar are adjacent. 

Black Point Public Boat Launch: Adventurous small boaters can also reach Sonoma Creek, going through San Pablo Bay and up the creek mouth, by launching on the Petaluma River. Extreme caution is necessary when approaching Sonoma Creek from this direction, since there is an extensive area of shallow flats on San Pablo Bay around the creek mouth. Operated by Marin County Parks and Open Space, the ramp was closed for modernization, but is expected to reopen in December of 2007. For more information, call 415-499-6387.

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