The Big Guy and buddy Steve hunting for ghost shrimp near Bodega Bay

Back in 1987 we had more free time than money on our hands, and we spent a lot of that free time going fishing — whether in our local area or on the Northern California coast. Bodega Bay and the Sonoma coast was one of our favorite places, and we had discovered that winter was a great time to be over there. The crowds were small to nonexistent, and the weather was surprisingly mild.

We traveled with our camping tent and supplies plus German Shepherd Zack and pitbull Phoebe in our black 1976 Camaro. Setting up camp at The Dunes campground just north of Bodega Bay, we would then proceed to visit a string of beaches, fishing for surf perch.

Coleman Beach:

Even though the ocean was fairly calm in January, the weather wasn’t exactly toasty warm. At Schoolhouse Beach, Phoebe huddled up with Zack to keep warm, and I tried to help by wrapping a long-sleeved shirt around her. She was sweet and patient, as usual, but I know she would have much rather been at home, snoozing in front of the heater!

Zack’s main concern was not letting The Big Guy out of his sight for more than a minute. He didn’t like it one bit when his dad climbed over some rocks and disappeared around the corner in his search for fish — and that was why Zack very nearly went for an unplanned swim in the ocean and gave us a bit of a scare in the process.

Next week, more fishing adventures with dogs!