Lost Coast in August

[hwchubb]

We will be hiking the Lost coast (64 miler) with the Scouts this August, and wondered if anyone had backpacked and fished that stretch. The first 20 miles south from the Mattole trailhead is along the beach, and thought some surf perch might be a nice addition to our backpack dinners, but don't know if the extra weight in the pack would be worth it. Anybody know anything about this stretch, besides the fact that I won't have much competition?

[Darian]

Altho I've been to the Mattole for Steelhead fishing before, I've not fished between there and the northern end of Mendocino County.

If you can locate a copy, try the booklet, "Mendocino County Coastal Fishing & Diving Access Guide" by Rouvaishyana. The author is/was(?) a DFW "fisheries technician" assigned to the Fort Bragg office. The first part of this booklet describes fishing/diving from Usal Beach (Sinkyone Wilderness) to Fort Bragg. That covers the southern end of your planned trek. Altho it doesn't cover all, the fishing/diving isn;t that much different for rocky/surf fishing areas.

The surf fishing up there will likely be for Redtail and other Perch, Surf Smelt and, if you're lucky, shore picking of abalone (in season). Caution: the surf up there can be dangerous.

[hwchubb]

Thanks, Darian - hadn't heard of that booklet, but will try to track it down. Have twice planned steelhead trips to the Mattole, and had it blow out both times just before I got there.

As far as the surf, there are two spots on the northern half where we have to wait until low tide to pass. Sinkyone Wilderness gets us up away from the coast a bit. Had thought about a hammer as one of the luxuries for the trip (weight vs function), abalone would be as good an excuse as any.

One of my favorite Mencken quotes (paraphrased) - "There is always one solution that is simple, obvious, and wrong"

Wayne

[TaylerW]

Jack Harrison is a surf fishing guru. Check him out he may be able to help you....