Wide fishing adventures

Right now fishing is pretty good in the Pacific Ocean just off our coast where you can find excellent salmon and stonefishing action. Fishing in the San Francisco Bay is also increasing, with many striped fish being caught and halibut being seen. Even closer is the Napa River on Cuttings Wharf Road, where not so long ago Vic Zarzana, his son Max, and his grandson Maximillian had fun catching striped bass.

Fishing trips are also a good idea. Last month my friend and neighbor Vic Mike visited Tomasello in Vancouver, Washington and fished for giant white sturgeon with guide Charles Whitt in the Columbia River. They had a fantastic day fishing and brought five sturgeons to the boat for release. Most were two to two meters long and weighed several hundred pounds. Vic said it would take him more than 30 minutes.

While Vic’s sturgeon adventure only required a trip to Washington State, if you find yourself in an Indiana Jones state check out the offerings from Untamed Anglers, who operate several lodges in the jungles of South America. Including the Kendjam Lodge in Brazil – it’s winter down there with daytime temperatures in the 80s. The number of fish for eight guests in Kendjam was 640 last week. The largest was a wolffish, three feet long and exactly like its name.

Kendjam Lodge is located near the upper reaches of the Iriri River in one of the most remote areas of the Brazilian Amazon, the Mekragnoti Indigenous Territory. Untamed anglers, untamedanglers.com, also has a few other jungle lodges in Brazil and Bolivia.

But Dottie, my favorite fishing partner, prefers something more civilized. She liked the Sweetwater Travel Company’s Montana itinerary through the British countryside on the world’s most famous chalk rivers, including the Tess and Itchen. The package includes guided fly fishing, accommodation in a 17th century aristocratic house on the riverside next to a 13th century chapel.

Of course, we need to watch our manners, take tea breaks, and maybe communicate with the spirit of Izaak Walton. But if it sounds good to my fishing partner, I’ll be there. For more information, contact [email protected].