San Francisco and Sacramento are two of the largest and busiest cities in California. However, sandwiched between these two metro areas is 88,000 acres of unspoiled marsh known as the Suisun Marsh. This vast marshland, which is America’s largest contiguous estuarine marsh, serves as a haven for a vast variety of wildlife. Within the Suisun Marsh is the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, which affords visitors the opportunity to explore the marsh along scenic trails and fish for a variety of fresh and saltwater gamefish within the sloughs, ponds, and bays found within its boundaries.
Despite its name, Grizzly Island Wildlife Area is not situated on a singular island of land. Rather, it spans over 12,000 acres of the Suisun Marsh and encompasses a variety of small islands that have been carved by the labyrinth of waterways. However, the entirety of the wildlife area is separated from the mainland by the Montezuma Slough and several bays, which gives it a true island feel.
The grizzly portion of this moniker is also a bit misleading, as there are no grizzly bears in the wildlife area or the state of California, for that matter. While they do appear on the state flag, grizzlies were extirpated from the Golden State more than 100 years ago. There are, however, still large mammals to be seen in Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, including tule elk and wild pigs. Additionally, visitors to the wildlife area are likely to catch a glimpse of smaller creatures such as river otters, beavers, minks, shrews, and rabbits, as well as some of the 200 different species of birds that spend time here.
Fishing at Grizzly Island Wildlife Area
Fishing is a unique experience at Grizzly Island Wildlife Area. That’s because, depending on the time of year and prevailing conditions, anglers might catch either fresh or saltwater species. Among the different types of fish that can be caught in the wildlife area are striped bass, sturgeon, catfish, crappie, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and largemouth bass…