In Marin, rain equals fish

With the latest blast of winter weather raising creek levels, grab the rain gear and head to Marin's coastal creeks to see if you can spot one of the region's rarest species, endangered coho salmon (also called silver salmon) heading upstream to spawn. One of the best places to catch this annual phenomenon--at least in past years--has been Redwood Creek, which slices through the middle of Muir Woods National Monument on the southwest side of Mt. Tamalpais. Though numbers of spawning salmon have plummeted to nearly zero this year, this big rain event may be what's needed to reduce salinity and coax the ocean-going fish to start spawning up Northern California creeks like this one.

In Muir Woods, walk the raised boardwalk path bordering the waterway to bridges crossing the water, then look up and down the creek to see the 2-foot-long fish making their slow progress upstream, sometimes flailing wildly to make it over small barriers (no spectacular leaps up waterfalls here--head to Alaska for that), sometimes resting in quiet eddies. In shallower areas along the banks you may see males and females pair up as she lays eggs in a shallow nest, called a redd, scuffed out by her tail. Bring binoculars to check out the male, which may have patches of maroon and a noticeable hooked snout during the mating period.

If you see brightly colored plastic tape dangling from a creekside branch, it likely identifies a redd being monitored by park staff. Cross your fingers that the tiny young will hatch successfully in six to eight weeks. To learn more about park efforts to protect local salmon populations, listen to this short podcast.

Another good spot: Lagunitas Creek bordering Sir Francis Drake Boulevard north of Lagunitas. For more places to spy salmon (this month for cohos, and later for steelhead salmon, which visit January through March) join a guided walks offered by SPAWN (Salmon Protection Action Network), held every weekend in winter to various locations. The group also conducts habitat restoration projects year-round and provides details on what you can do to help reduce threats to these fascinating and endangered fish.