By Tom Stienstra
Spawning salmon are back in Lagunitas Creek in Marin County. Naturalists are leading creek walks to see the fish - some up to 2 feet long - at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Register online to reserve a spot.
On Sunday, naturalist Candace Hale of Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) reported her group sighted seven coho salmon on Lagunitas Creek between the Leo Cronin Viewing Area and the Kent Dam. The action included full fish courtship activity with bright red males and fights over territory (spawning areas called redds) and the actual "act" where a male released its milt when a large female deposited its eggs.
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Naturalists reported they also have seen salmon leaping through a section of small pool-and-drop falls called the Inkwells. You can view the Inkwells from the Shafter Bridge on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, the second metal bridge west of Lagunitas, near the edge of Samuel P. Taylor State Park.
Other good spots are Roy's Pools in San Geronimo, where there is a fish ladder that local legend Leo Cronin of Trout Unlimited helped get constructed, and Devil's Gulch Creek, adjacent to the trailhead for Bill's Trail and Devil's Gulch Horse Camp at Samuel P. Taylor State Park.
Naturalist-led trips: Donation suggested, SPAWN, (415) 488-0370, SpawnUSA.org.
State-park viewing: Samuel P. Taylor State Park, (415) 488-9897 or parks.ca.gov.
© San Francisco Chronicle 2009