It’s education! It’s entertainment! It’s performance!
We offer three one-of-a-kind walking tours/expeditions where you can get learn all about fish, fishing and foraging with author, eel master, fisherman and former PSMFC Fisheries observer Kirk Lombard:
The San Francisco Coastal Fishing and Foraging Class
The REAL Fisherman’s Wharf Scallywag Tour
The Mega Low Tide Foraging Expedition
Private tours
“Kirk’s knowledge about local sources of fish and other seafood is outstanding, as is his passion for sustainability. A thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile way to spend an afternoon.”
The San Francisco Coastal Fishing and Foraging Class
I offer a fun, crazy, fish-centric class in which we learn how to fish the local coastal waters and talk all about local seafood: rules and regulations, sustainability, history of the fisheries.
Learn the basics of how to “poke pole” for flavorful monkeyface eel
How to catch rock crabs
How to throw a Hawaiian casting net
Discover what the best local mollusks are and how to be sure you aren’t eating risky ones!
Where to find strands of edible sea weeds, the advantages of eating your bait, what’s in season when, and why you should consider catching your own dinner!
Suitable for ages 9 and up.
Tickets: $75 per person
Duration: 2.5-3 hours
What to wear: Wear comfortable walking shoes and layers for warmth. Tours operate rain or shine. See ya out there!
“Kirk gives great tour and he is multi-talented. Ask him to sing you a song! Ok, maybe that's not part of the tour, but he's got strong pipes. The city tour was loads of fun. Kirk showed us how to catch the coveted monkey face eel , red crabs, dungeness crabs , night smelt, herring and other sustainable fish.”
Mega Low Tide Foraging Expedition (Class)
Learn the basics of low tide hunting and gathering in this one of a kind, totally awesome, intertidal mudflat tour!
Mudflat 101: Reading the Mudflats: ghost shrimp, mud clams, and horsenecks, oh my!
The ethics of Gathering: Proper etiquette in the mud. The why and wherefore of CA’s complicated regulations, and why you need to follow the rules!
Between Pacific Tides: Clams, urchins, seaweeds, and everything in between.
Learn the finer points of poke-poling for monkeyface eels, cabezon and rockfish
Here's a video from the New York Times showing a bit about me and my love of the mudflats.
Tickets: $125 per person
Duration: 3-4 hours
Location: Half Moon Bay
What to wear and bring: Dress warmly! I do not generally cancel tours because of rain. This is a rugged outdoor tour, in an area that tends to be foggy or windy and cold. The water, as we all know, is frigid. In short: there is never a time of year when a tee shirt and shorts will suffice. Rubber boots or waders are recommended and I also suggest bringing a change of clothes, socks and a towel.
Please note: this is a class, not a guided fishing trip. If you want to forage and fish, you must wait till the class is over and make sure you have a valid CA fishing license. Please read that last sentence again.
Ages 10 and up. Children must be passionate about catching cool intertidal creatures and interested enough to maintain focus while I speak about topics like sustainability, migration patterns, and the many rules and regulations governing coastal species. If you or your kids are going to freak out about hooking a fish in the mouth, or unearthing clams and other inverts, rest assured this will be an unhappy day for you. And please note: we do a lot of walking. And it’s fun! See you out there.
"Within the first 20 minutes of the start of the tour, Kirk already had a greedy dungeness crab hanging onto his fishing pole. We tossed it back, of course, but not before he showed us how to tell males from females.”
The REAL Fisherman’s Wharf Scallywag Tour
This tour is by special request only. There is a 12 person minimum. Larger groups can qualify for a discount.
The Real Deal: Learn why there's more to the wharf than tee shirts and bread bowls!
Insiders Only: Go behind the scenes at the most sustainable fish business in the world!
Fish Tales: Hear the tales of the early settlers, bonanza fishermen, and desperate characters who helped build the wharf.
Sewer Trout and Slime Crabs: Are there any fish living at fisherman's wharf? What are they? How do they survive in our inner city waters? How polluted is the bay?
Tickets: $60 per person
Duration: 1.5 hours
What to wear: Dress for San Francisco (not L.A.) and wear comfortable walking shoes
“If you haven't yet partaken you're really missing out on something great: Fascinating. Informative. Funny. Interactive. Useful. Funny. Fun. Practical. Entertaining. Kirk loves what he does and loves to teach you how to do it too.”
Kirk’s private tour
Looking for a more intimate experience with just you and your best friends? This is it — a private tour. Tell me what you are interested in, and I'll tell you if I can make a tour of it. (No boat or kayak trips at this time).
For those who want to schedule large private groups (work events, birthday parties etc) click the button below to enquire. I’ll consider groups of 10 max.
For those who want a more intimate, private, guided experience, here’s the deal. Private tours are $150 per person with a minimum of 5 people (max 10). If that seems steep, you have several options:
Sign up for a group tour
Convince me that you are desperate to learn the ways of the eel/smelt/clam and need some kind of discount, an hope that I’m in a generous mood
Read my book!