Greg Goddard

Yesterday's blog today. I got home from a long day of fishing yesterday - exhausted. It all started at 5:45 a.m.  

I had slept pretty well. I expected to take the boat out into the ocean which is still a bit scary. I knew that Greg Goddard would join me, bringing years of experience and wisdom. I was less afraid.

The alarm woke me up. I had everything prepared the night before. Simple to pack up and go. Easy drive to Treasure Island - less than ten minutes door to gate.

I got there early as always to get things set up. I hate trying to remember everything (switches, lines, rods, reels, bait tank, warm up engines, etc.) and do all the prep while everyone is ready to depart. Everything went smoothly. I put on the downriggers for salmon fishing. 

Greg showed up at 7 a.m. We quickly untied the mooring lines and embarked on our journey.

While fishing, I realized that I spend more time fishing than any other activity these days.  Fortunate. Every fishing trip is an adventure. You don't know exactly where you are going; You don't know whats going to happen; You don't know how it will end. You have a goal - to catch fish. You don't think about the intangible benefits. I read this in a NYT article today about giant squid fisherman in Mexico: "To fish is to be privileged to be in contact with the sea, with nature, with living beings, with God." I am not religious, but I know what the author meant. You might say I am obsessed with fishing. I am. fishing is rewarding, productive and fulfilling.

Back to the trip. We stopped at Fisherman's Wharf for live bait. Short line. We got live bait thinking we would use it for salmon and possibly do some halibut fishing in the bay in the afternoon. We planned to return from the ocean about noon, before the wind picked up.

First step of the journey - get out the Golden Gate. It can be treacherous. Many folks have heard of the Potato Patch Shoal. There is a "bar" at the entrance of the Golden Gate. Greg cautioned that going out the gate on a strong ebb tide (which we were doing) can be dangerous, because the tide rushing out meets the swell of the ocean coming the opposite direction, sometimes causing waves or other navigational hazards. 

We headed out slowly toward Pt. Bonita at the North side of the entrance to SF Bay to take a look and make sure it was safe to cross. It was safe and relatively easy to get around the corner, out the Gate, into Bonita Channel - into the ocean.

As soon as we were there, we saw tons of birds, Murres, Pelicans, seagulls. All diving on what was likely a school of bait. There was a whale feeding as well. Our sonar showed bait, so we decided to put out a few lines and see what would happen. Nothing. We trolled around a bit. The feeding frenzy ended. The whale and birds disppeared.

We continued northward up the Marin coast. I warned Greg early in the day that he would be the feature of my blog. He laughed. About Greg: I became acquainted with him thru my professional work. He is a dentist who performed evaluations on many of my clients. I liked his reports. They were well written, detailed and he seemed to care about my clients. He understood that the workers compensation system was to provide, not deny, benefits to workers.

I met him in person about ten years ago, when he  and a colleague did a presentation to a group of worker's compensation lawyers. After that, I only encountered him through his written reports. We got re acquainted thru Earl Johnson, who I met last year. He and Earl are great fishing companions.

I have gotten some details about Greg's life from several times fishing together. I decided to do  some research about him to augment this story. 

Greg grew up in California. He is a multi faceted individual: professor, dentist, author, fisherman. He might put those pursuits in a different order. Fishing might be first.

I knew Greg had written a book about Salmon Fishing in California, and a recent book about Accupuncture for Dentistry. I didn't know he had written at least one other book, California Boy, a memoir about growing up in California in the 1950's onward.

Greg is not a simple individual. He is a retired UCSF professor. He has written extensive medical/dental professional articles. His professional resume is impressive.

I knew Greg had worked as a dentist at the Native American Health Clinic in SF, for many years. A google search led me to an article stating that he had provided free dental services to the Native American children, during the occupation of Alcatraz, in about 1970.

Greg is likable, wise, funny and opinionated.  I look up to him as my fishing guru. He knows I am eager to learn. He mentors me.

Back to yesterday's fishing trip. We put in our lines to troll when we got to Muir Beach. We were pretty close to shore. Probably no less than a quarter mile off shore all day. Shallow water between 35-60 feet. I had lots of doubt and questions. There is a zen saying: "To a beginner there are many possibilities; to an expert there are few." So good to be fishing with an expert! Will this bait work for this kind of fishing? yes. Will it work in this harness? yes. Do I need to put on a rubber band to hold the tail? no. Endless questions - How deep? How far back behind the boat?

I was happy to be out there. I was reasonably confident that if there were fish to be caught, we were doing everything right. The odds were good.

First strike about 8:30 a.m. Between Rocky Point and Gull Rock. 

Greg reels in a small salmon. It looked a bit green - might be a silver salmon. Endangered - must be released. C'est la vie. The skunk was off. He caught two more, including a King about 10 pounds. I texted Beth - "Salmon for Dinner!" I caught one "shaker" - undersized salmon that we released. Overall, a successful venture into the ocean. 

The wind was mild and swell manageable. We got off the Ocean early. Back around Bonita Point just before noon.

We still had lots of bait. Back in SF Bay, we drifted for Halibut. Too windy around Angel Island. 

We tried the Berkeley Flats

 and Treasure Island before we located the fleet of fishing boats off Alameda. We got in the line of boats drifting southward. I caught a shaker and Greg caught a 24" Halibut. We pulled the plug at three p.m. Another fantastic day fishing.

We returned to the dock, filleted fish, cleaned up and organized the boat.  I did not get home to Inverness until about 6:30 p.m. To my surprise and horror, there was traffic on I-80 between the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Fields. There were a few benefits from the stay at home order.

Beth cooked up some salmon and pasta. 

 I 

I scarfed some dinner, had a glass of wine and was in bed before 9 p.m. 

the bear