Garcia River

Fishing the Garcia River

The Garcia is a small coastal steelhead stream on the Mendocino coast, much like the Gualala in character, and most people fish it from the bank. It reaches the Pacific through a tidal estuary under the cliffs of Point Arena Lighthouse, at the south end of Manchester Beach, with the town of Point Arena to the south and Manchester to the north. Fort Bragg is 44 miles up the coast, Gualala 15 miles down it, and Ukiah 49 miles inland by Mountain View Road. About 10 miles of the river hold fishable water, from the mouth up to the Eureka Hill Road bridge. In 1989 nearly all of the land along it was private and posted, and the public had just four ways in. Tidewater runs from the mouth and estuary below the lighthouse, past Minor Hole and the mouth of Hathaway Creek, up to the trails from the Lower River Access, a gravel road off Highway 1 on the south bank. Expect to wade to reach the best of it. The lower river runs from the Highway 1 bridge up to the Windy Hollow Road summer crossing, a stretch of gravel bars, runs and holes. Above Windy Hollow Road the middle river swings through long bends to the North Fork mouth; in 1989 the 12 holes there could be fished only from a boat or sat inside private land. The upper river climbs from the North Fork to the Eureka Hill Road bridge, the highest public access, where two holes just below the bridge were open to bank anglers. As of 1989 there were 23 holes in all, Minor Hole and 22 with no names. North of the river, Stoneboro Road off Highway 1 is another way to the water, though it means a long hike over the dunes or along Manchester Beach. Small boats can be carried in at Eureka Hill Road and pulled out at Windy Hollow Road; drift boats launch at Windy Hollow, or at Eureka Hill with plenty of hand work when flows are up. Steelhead are the whole story. They arrive after the first fall rains and hang in tidewater early on, with each high tide pushing a few more over the shallow mouth. Once more rain lifts the flows they spread upriver. From late November and December to the end of the season the fishing is good the length of the river. Carry a tide book, since fresh fish come in on the tidal cycle. Any method works in tidal water and fly fishing is popular there, with the Gold Comet, Silver Comet, Fall Favorite, Boss, Skunk and Glo-Bugs. Upriver, the shallow pools and riffles suit roe and flies. Little Cleo, Panther Martin, Corky, Spin-N-Glo and Kastmaster lures do well at the Highway 1 bridge, but leave them in the box at Eureka Hill when the water is low. Regulations change and differ by section, so check the current California regulations before you go.