Le Peu on lePetaluma 10/28

I haven't been to Black Point since it reopened, the launch ramp is now non-slip concrete, and the single dock is new, but seemingly taken over by shore fishermen (friendly enough if scary looking).

I've never seen the SWR marsh area, so I rode the AM flood to the junction with San Antonio Ck. It had the feel of a Delta Slough, but the scenery suffered a bit from being next to the dump, with endless Waste Management trucks rolling past and landfill aroma.

At the top of San Antonio, I noticed on my Navionics chart that there appeared to be a tiny path about 2.5miles long thru the marsh back to the Petaluma. The top of the 6' high was still an hour or so away, so I went for it. Even tho some spots were only a little wider than my boat, I never had less that 2' of water.


I popped out a little below LakeVille Marina/Pappa's Taverna (which I'm told has great Greek food), fiddled for a while until I could ride the ebb back to Black Point.

The whole day I worked the SI hard over every likely spot, and if it looked promising I cast a bit, nada. Didn't see any definite marks all day. Water was murky at low tide in the AM, but good color on the outgo in the PM.

The "bad" part of GPS is that you can tell how far you paddle on a skunk day (17miles). Still, it's hard to beat a warm windless fall day for exploring.

mikechin

wow!...that's a long skunk of a paddle. Like you said "a windless fall day" how can it be better?
...maybe just 16mi......thanks for the report&track

The "bad" part of GPS is that you can tell how far you paddle on a skunk day (17miles). Still, it's hard to beat a warm windless fall day for exploring.

That's the good part of the GPS, Mike!  You should be proud of that.  Nice work and thanks for sharing your report.   

Thanks for the report Mike I'm going to try it tomorrow or Friday.
Did you try trolling the tules?

Good info, too bad you had to cover 17 miles to get it.  That's 4 trips for me.

Dale L

Thanks for the report Mike I'm going to try it tomorrow or Friday.
Did you try trolling the tules?

I wasn't setup for trolling, and with the miles I was trying to cover didn't get to fish all the creek mouths and flats that I would have liked. You mentioned tules, what I do remember seeing on the SI was that as I paddled by a monotonous above-water tule shoreline, every so often there would be 10-20' clearance in the sub-surface weeds.

There was also a marina on the west side of San Antonio just above the confluence. I can't remember the name, there was some RV's and boats on land, one tied up in the water, but I didn't see anyone there. It was great location, but the marina/launch looked a bit sketchy.

Just as I was driving off, I *thought* I saw a group of paddlers at the Bahia mouth.

mikechin

Awesome paddle, and thanks for the report, Mr. Chin!

Good to "see" you on a kayak!

Well done IRONMAN!!! Seventeen miles?!?!? Incredible.
Nice job on exploring new territory too. Sorry about the Le Peu but at least you had a great adventure.